Best day trips from Mostar
From Mostar: Herzegovina Full-Day Tour
What are the best day trips from Mostar?
The top day trips from Mostar are Kravice Waterfalls (50 min), Blagaj Tekke (20 min), Počitelj (30 min), Trebinje (1h30), and Sarajevo (2h30). Kravice is the most popular in summer. All three Herzegovina sites can be combined in a single day. Trebinje adds wine country. Sarajevo is a full-day commitment.
Mostar is one of the best bases in the entire Balkans for day trip travel. The city sits at the heart of Herzegovina’s limestone landscape, within striking distance of a remarkable concentration of natural and historical sites. From a base in Mostar you can swim under a tufa waterfall, sit in a medieval Ottoman monastery, explore a perfectly preserved walled village, taste Herzegovina’s indigenous wines, or start a full-day push north to Sarajevo. The distances are short, the roads are good, and the rewards are high.
Kravice Waterfalls — the must-do day trip
Distance from Mostar: 42 km, approximately 50 minutes.
Kravice (Kravica) is the most popular day trip from Mostar in summer, and the reasons are obvious: a horseshoe of tufa limestone waterfalls 25 metres high and 120 metres wide, enclosing natural swimming pools of ice-blue water. Entry is 5 BAM. Swimming is permitted and is the main draw from June to September. The surrounding konobas serve grilled meats and fish at reasonable prices.
The one caveat is crowds: between 11:00 and 15:00 on summer weekends, Kravice can be seriously overcrowded. Arrive by 09:00 or after 16:00 for a transformed experience. The waterfall is also magnificent in spring — April and May bring the strongest flow and a more powerful natural spectacle.
From Mostar: Blagaj, Počitelj and Kravice Waterfalls day tourFor comprehensive practical information, see the Kravice Waterfalls guide.
Blagaj Tekke — the closest beauty
Distance from Mostar: 12 km, approximately 20 minutes.
Blagaj is Mostar’s nearest major attraction and one of the most beautiful places in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The Buna river emerges from a cave at the base of a 200-metre cliff at a rate of 43 cubic metres per second — one of the most powerful karst springs in the Balkans. The 16th-century Dervish tekke (tekija) built at the water’s edge is a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture: whitewashed stone under overhanging rock, reflected in the ice-blue Buna. Entry 3 BAM; dress modestly.
Half a day is enough for Blagaj itself, but combine it with a canoe trip on the Buna river or a walk along the cliffs above the source for a fuller experience. See the Blagaj Tekke guide for details.
Počitelj — Ottoman village frozen in time
Distance from Mostar: 30 km, approximately 30 minutes.
Počitelj is the Ottoman Balkans in near-perfect preservation: a walled village on a limestone hill above the Neretva river, with a 15th-century fortress, a domed mosque, a clock tower and stone houses cascading down the slope. It is partially damaged from the 1993-1994 war — some houses are still uninhabited — but the essential character is intact and deeply impressive.
The climb to the Gavrankapetan tower at the top takes 15 minutes and gives panoramic views over the Neretva valley toward the Croatian border. Entry to the fortress is 3 BAM. The village is hot in summer — visit in the morning or late afternoon.
All three of the above sites — Kravice, Blagaj and Počitelj — can be combined in a single long day from Mostar. See the Herzegovina day trip guide for the full circuit.
From Mostar: Herzegovina full-day tourTrebinje — wine country and ancient city
Distance from Mostar: approximately 75 km, 1h30 by car.
Trebinje is the most-overlooked gem in Herzegovina, and the least visited by tourists arriving from Dubrovnik. The old town (staro jezgro) has a remarkable Ottoman bazaar (čaršija) of the 17th-18th century, entirely car-free, surrounded by plane trees and small cafes. The Trebišnjica river (technically a sinking river that disappears into karst aquifers) reflects the town’s stone walls.
Above the town, the Hercegovačka Gračanica — a Serbian Orthodox church built in 1999 as a replica of the medieval Gračanica monastery in Kosovo — commands the hill with views over the old town and the reservoir below. It is controversial (built over what was previously a mosque site), but architecturally beautiful.
The countryside around Trebinje produces Herzegovina’s best wines: Žilavka (a white grape with high acidity and mineral notes, unique to this region) and Blatina (a robust red). Several wineries in the Popovo polje near Trebinje offer tastings — the Trebinje wine guide covers the best.
Medjugorje — pilgrimage town
Distance from Mostar: 25 km, approximately 30 minutes.
Medjugorje is one of the world’s most visited Catholic pilgrimage sites, where six young Bosnian Croats reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary from 1981. The site attracts 2-3 million visitors per year. The main draws are Apparition Hill (Brdo Ukazanja), where the first apparitions occurred, and Cross Mountain (Križevac), a 40-minute climb with the Stations of the Cross.
For religious visitors, Medjugorje is deeply meaningful. For secular visitors, the site is culturally interesting — a vast pilgrimage infrastructure built around an active disputed religious phenomenon. See the Medjugorje guide for an honest assessment of what to expect.
Sarajevo — the full day option
Distance from Mostar: 130 km, approximately 2h30.
Mostar to Sarajevo is a natural day trip in reverse — or a one-way journey continuing north. The train through the Neretva canyon is one of the great railway journeys in southeastern Europe. Buses run several times daily (18-25 BAM each way, 2-2.5 hours). If you are basing yourself in Mostar, a day in Sarajevo gives you access to Baščaršija, the Tunnel of Hope, the war history sites and the city’s unique multi-cultural atmosphere.
See the Mostar day trip from Sarajevo guide for the route in the opposite direction.
Practical planning from Mostar
By car from Mostar: A rental car opens up all the sites above, including the more obscure Ottoman villages of Stolac and Ljubinje. Parking in Mostar’s old town area costs 2-3 BAM/hour. The roads to Blagaj, Počitelj and Kravice are all good quality.
Without a car: Organised tours from Mostar cover all the major sites. Local buses serve Blagaj and Čapljina (near Kravice) but the timetable requires planning.
Currency: All sites take BAM cash for entry fees. Some restaurants and larger shops accept card payments, but have BAM available for small purchases.
The Bosnia travel guide has full advice on getting around Herzegovina by car and by public transport.
Frequently asked questions about Best day trips from Mostar
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