Bosnia And Herzegovina 5 Day Itinerary
Bosnia And Herzegovina 5 Day Itinerary
Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the cheapest countries to travel in Europe and also one of the least straightforwardly categorised. Sarajevo spent 44 months under siege in the 1990s (the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare), and the city has rebuilt itself in a way that is neither cheerful denial nor memorial paralysis. It simply gets on with things, and the Bascarsija bazaar and the Ottoman architecture and the extraordinary food are all there alongside the evidence of what happened. That combination is unusual and worth spending time with.
Entry Requirements
US, UK, Canadian, Australian and EU citizens can enter Bosnia and Herzegovina for up to 90 days without a visa. Your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned departure date. The country is not a Schengen zone member; the visa-free access here is separate from Schengen allocations, which matters for visitors trying to manage their 90-day Schengen limits.
Getting In
Sarajevo International Airport (SJJ) is about 6 km southwest of the centre. The airport trolleybus to Bascarsija costs 1.80 BAM (about EUR 0.90) and takes 30 to 40 minutes; it runs roughly every 30 minutes but the last departure is typically around 7 to 8 PM. Standard metered taxis from the airport to the centre cost around EUR 10 (about 20 BAM); surcharges apply for luggage. Private transfers from EUR 23 to 40. The local currency is the Bosnian Convertible Mark (BAM or KM), pegged to the Euro at approximately 1.96 BAM = 1 EUR. Cash is king in smaller venues, restaurants and museums; many places do not accept cards.
Day 1: Sarajevo Old Town
Bascarsija, the Ottoman-era market quarter at the heart of Sarajevo’s old city, is the right place to start. The square centres on a wooden fountain (Sebilj) that has been here since the 16th century; the surrounding lanes sell copper goods, hand-worked leather, Bosnian coffee sets and jewellery. The Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque (1531) is one of the finest Ottoman mosques in the Balkans; entry is free for respectful visitors outside prayer times.
Bosnian coffee (bosanska kafa) is served differently from Turkish coffee: the grounds go directly in the small pot (dzezva) and you pour it yourself into a tiny cup, letting the grounds settle. Cafes in Bascarsija serve it with a small cube of rahat lokum (Turkish delight) and water. Do not accept instant coffee if you are offered it here; the real thing costs about the same and is categorically better.
For lunch, cevapi are the definitive Bosnian street food: small grilled minced-meat sausages served in a somun flatbread with raw onion and kajmak (a clotted cream cheese). Zeljo is the most famous cevapi restaurant in Sarajevo and consistently one of the best. Budget around 7 to 10 BAM for a portion.
In the afternoon, walk the Latin Bridge, a short Ottoman stone bridge where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on 28 June 1914, directly triggering the First World War. The Museum of Sarajevo 1878-1918 in the building at the corner tells the story clearly. Admission is 4 BAM.
For dinner, Inat Kuca (the Spite House) on the river serves traditional Bosnian food in a building that was physically relocated stone by stone across the river in 1896 to make way for the City Hall building; the story is as good as the food. Try bosanski lonac (slow-cooked meat and vegetable stew).
Day 2: Siege History and the Tunnel of Hope
The siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995 is documented at multiple sites; the two most important are the Tunnel Museum and Gallery 11/07/95.
The Tunnel Museum (Tunel Spasa) is 6 km from the centre at Dobrinja, accessible by taxi or organised tour. Entry costs 20 BAM (around EUR 10) cash only. The 800-metre hand-dug tunnel under the airport runway was Sarajevo’s only connection to the outside world during the siege, used to smuggle food, medicine, weapons and people. Part of the original tunnel is walkable. The documentary film shown at the museum is brief and worth watching before entering; allow 45 to 60 minutes total.
Gallery 11/07/95 near Bascarsija commemorates the Srebrenica genocide with photographs taken during and after the July 1995 massacre. It is small, free and deeply affecting; the work of Tarik Samarah who documented the aftermath over years is unlike anything in standard war museum presentation.
Afternoon: take the yellow cable car (Zicara) up Mount Trebevic. During the siege, the mountain’s Olympic bobsled track from 1984 became a snipers’ position; the track is now a graffiti-covered ruin and a popular hiking destination with views over the whole city. The cable car costs around 20 BAM return and was rebuilt and reopened in 2018.
Day 3: Mostar
The drive from Sarajevo to Mostar takes around two hours on a good road that crosses mountains and drops into a dramatically different landscape, drier and more Mediterranean. Several bus operators run this route daily; Autobus Promet Mostar and FlixBus both operate it for around 10 to 20 BAM one way.
Stari Most, the famous Old Bridge, was destroyed by artillery in 1993 and rebuilt exactly to its 1566 specifications; it reopened in 2004 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bridge itself is free to cross at any hour. The Mostar Diving Club members jump from the 21-metre bridge as a traditional performance during summer (peak activity is 11 AM to 3 PM from May to October); watching involves contributing around EUR 2 to 5 as they pass with a hat. If you want to jump yourself, training costs EUR 10 for a practice jump and EUR 20 for the real thing, which also gives lifetime membership of the club.
The Old Bridge Museum in the Tara tower at the bridge entrance charges EUR 5 and covers the reconstruction story well; it is worth 30 minutes.
Koski Mehmed-pasa Mosque opposite the river allows non-Muslim visitors to climb the minaret for a view over the bridge and river that appears in every photograph of Mostar; admission is a few BAM.
Stay overnight in Mostar; the old town at dawn before the tour buses arrives is a genuinely beautiful place and most day-trippers miss it entirely.
Day 4: Blagaj and Kravica Waterfalls
Blagaj is 15 minutes by taxi from Mostar (around 15 to 20 BAM). The Blagaj Tekija, a 16th-century Dervish monastery, sits at the base of a 200-metre cliff directly at the source of the Buna River, which emerges fully formed from a cave at the cliff face. The setting is more dramatic than any single photograph conveys. Entry to the monastery building is 10 BAM; modest dress is required (headscarf for women, covered shoulders and knees for both). The surrounding riverbank and viewing areas are free.
Kravica Waterfalls are 35 km southwest of Mostar, most easily reached by taxi or tour (around 25 to 35 BAM for a taxi each way). Admission is 20 KM per adult (around EUR 10), collected at the entrance; children under 7 are free. The falls drop 26 metres across a 120-metre wide arc of tufa rock into a pool that is popular for swimming from May through September. They are busy in summer but not overwhelmingly so; morning visits before 11 AM are calmer. The stop at Pocitelj, a medieval fortified village visible from the road between Mostar and Kravica, is worth 30 minutes and costs nothing.
Day 5: Return to Sarajevo
The drive or bus back to Sarajevo passes Jablanica, where an intact WWII bridge blown up by Tito’s Partisans in 1943 lies at an angle in the river gorge below the modern road. The Jablanica War Museum (Partizanski Memorijalni Centar Sutjeska) beside the bridge is open daily. The story of the bridge’s destruction was later filmed as “The Battle of Neretva” (1969); the bridge is more evocative than the film suggests.
Back in Sarajevo, spend the final afternoon in the Baščaršija for last-minute copper, leather goods or Bosnian coffee equipment. Coppersmith Lane (Kazandziluk) has workshops where artisans still produce cezve (coffee pots), trays and cups by hand; watching the work for five minutes and then buying from the craftsman rather than a market stall is both more satisfying and slightly cheaper.
Before departing, eat one more plate of cevapi. It will be better than anything similar you find elsewhere.
Practical Tips for the Whole Trip:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina is extremely affordable: a good meal rarely exceeds EUR 8 to 12, accommodation in Sarajevo costs EUR 25 to 70 per person, and transport is cheap.
- Approach the recent history with openness; the war ended relatively recently and many people you speak with were directly affected. Asking respectfully is fine; demanding discussion is not.
- The country has no functioning motorway network throughout; mountain roads are good quality but slow. Factor 20 to 30% more time than the distance suggests.
- Landmine risk from the war still exists in remote mountain and rural areas away from marked paths. Stick to paved trails and signed walking routes outside cities.
- The best time to visit is May to September for dry weather; July and August are very hot in Mostar and Sarajevo.