A couple of people, worn down by the sheer amount of instagram posts from my recent holiday, asked me to write up how I planned my trip so they could recreate it. Also there is nothing I love more than recommending things so here we are. This is not a tiny review, it is a longer than average review/guide to recreating my holiday to Mostar and Dubrovnik.
This holiday was Craig and I’s 50th birthday present to each other. I had wanted to to go Dubrovnik for ages and once I found out it was possible to travel by bus from Dubrovnik to Mostar I was sold on a 2 location trip. Readers of a certain age will remember when Mostar was on the telly every evening during the devastating conflicts as Yugoslavia broke up and the images of the destruction had really stayed with me so when I saw more recent photos of how they have rebuilt the old town, in original materials, to look just as beautiful, I knew I wanted to visit.
Flights from Glasgow to Dubrovnik and vice versa are Sundays so we planned to fly in to Dubrovnik at lunch time and then head straight to Mostar, getting most of the travelling over with on one day. Mostar has an airport but until they signed a deal with German budget airline Wings recently it was exclusively for charter flights. If you want to get there you need public transport or a hire car. The bus is about £15 one way and you can only pay in Croatian kuna, no cards, no euros. The bus leaves from the main bus station which is where the airport bus arrives in to so transfers are very easy. We had about 3 hours between arriving and getting the bus so had time to get lunch in a nearby cafe and go a walk. I’d say be at the bus station half an hour before the bus leaves because people form a queue and even in May our bus was packed and some people didn’t get on.
The journey itself takes around 3 and a half hours and is stunning. The first part is along the coast with hairpin bends and sheer drops down to beautiful bays and villages. Due to the nature of the borders you have to leave Croatia and enter Bosnia Herzegovina twice which means 4 lots of border control. I can’t lie, this part is tedious. Once you’re in Bosnia Herzegovina for the second time you can relax and enjoy the more countryside/green part of the journey. I tried to see the bus journey as part of the holiday and a way to see some more of the country and actually enjoyed it for the most part.
We arrived in Mostar about 8pm and got a taxi to our Airbnb apartment which was amazing. You can find it here
We paid £250 for 3 nights in a very spacious 2 bedroom apartment with a huge terrace, about 30 yards from Mostar old town. I can’t recommend this apartment highly enough for a visit to Mostar.
While in Mostar we did two trips with ihouse travel. The Death of Yugoslavia and Herzegovina Classics. Both were fantastic and brilliant value. Their website is here
The Death of Yugoslavia tour cost €20 for adults and lasted over 2 hours. Herzegovina Classics cost €35 for adults, lasted over 6 hours and included admission to the locations you visit including Kravice Waterfalls which is stunningly beautiful. Our guides were friendly and knowledgeable and on both trips we were the only participants meaning we got private tours!!
In Mostar we visited the Old Bridge museum which gives incredible views and lets you see the history of the Bridge from its original building in the 16th century. On the other side of the old bridge is a small photographic exhibition with photographs of Mostar during the siege showing life inside the Enclave. It’s staggeringly moving and vital and only costs about £4. We caught a couple of bridge jumpers while we were there and there are so many cafes and restaurants with bridge views you can happily sit for an hour or so and catch one.
On Wednesday we got the bus back to Dubrovnik for 4 nights there and stayed in this Apartment in the old town.
Jelena’s apartment cost us £501 for 4 nights. Yes accommodation is more expensive in Dubrovnik, everything is but this was a 2 bed apartment right in the heart of the old town with a small balcony and it was so great to walk out your front door and be in the heart of everything.
While in Dubrovnik we took the cable car up Mt Srd which is a must do even if it’s pretty expensive (about £20 each) and your legs are shaking because you’re scared of heights. We did a walking tour with Dubrovnik Walks which was very good and worthwhile, a GoT tour which probably wasn’t worth the money, walked the city walls (costs about £12, nearly gave me a height related nervo). We also took a boat trip to Cavtat (100 kuna, 80 kuna, which is about £7, if you book your ticket in advance and then you can use it whenever you like) which I really recommend. It’s a village set in a bay down the coast, takes about 40 minutes in the boat to get to and it’s beautiful. It also has a lovely promenade right along the coast to the next village. You have trees on one side and the sea on the other. Visiting Cavtat was a real highlight as was sitting at the waterside cafe Pile Bay, in the shadow of the Red Keep looking at where Marcella sailed off to Dorne, Littlefinger walked with Sansa and the Golden Cloaks hunted for Baratheon’s bastards. Don’t worry if you’re not a Game of Thrones fan, it’s still incredibly beautiful.
After Mostar I found Dubrovnik super touristy and expensive so be prepared. For the first day I worried about that but it won me over with it’s sheer beauty and the amount of great places to sit on rocks and look at the sea.
Anyway, that was my dream holiday and it really was everything I hoped I would be, and in the case of Mostar, much more. Go, you’ll love it.
Tiny Reviews 