In this travelogue, I recall my day trip from Split in Croatia to Mostar, Počitelj, and Kravica Waterfall in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Počitelj
As part of our visit to Split, Croatia, we took a day trip to neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although we’d hired a car for the week, we opted for a guided tour.
We’d searched the usual travel sites to compare the options and settled on the Booker Travel Agency’s offer on GetYourGuide. The price was reasonable at £65 per person including entry tickets to Kravica Waterfall. If you wanted to check the tour out have a look here https://gyg.me/KaX1RPI3 (if you did choose to book through here, we would receive a small commission).
We met our guide Lovro and boarded our bus at 7 am. Lovro was quite the comedian, and his humorous titbits made the two-hour journey fly by.
The first stop on the tour was the border crossing. This went quickly, and we were soon en route to Počitelj. Admittedly, I’d never heard of Počitelj until we were approximately 10 minutes away from it.
A national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina dating back to the 1400s, the fortified town was sieged by the Ottoman Empire in 1478 and remained under Ottoman control until the late 1800s.
Today, it’s a preserved open-air museum allowing visitors to climb to the top of the tower for views over the river Neretva.
The fortified remains of Počitelj.
The view from the top of the Počitelj tower.
Lovro advised us to try some Bosnian coffee. As an avid coffee drinker, I didn’t need much persuading. It was much stronger than the coffee we have in England… 10/10 – would recommend!
Bosnian coffee – you wouldn’t get this in Costa!
After half an hour, we were back on the bus and heading towards Mostar.
Mostar
We arrived in Mostar around 10.30 am. There, we met our local guide, who gave us a brief history of Mostar including an overview of the Bosnian War, from which bullet holes can still be seen in some buildings.
This building still bears damage from the Bosnian War.
The city is incredibly diverse, divided as it is between the three main ethnic groups: Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs. Consequently, it has some incredible religious architecture. It’s worth dedicating a few hours to visiting these buildings – particularly the Koski Mehmed Paša Mosque.
The Koski Mehmed Paša Mosque, Mostar.
As a non-Muslim, I appreciated the opportunity to enter the mosque and have a look around inside. For around €6, you can climb to the top of the minaret, which offers stunning views over Mostar. A word of warning: the staircase is very tight, and it can be slightly claustrophobic both on the stairs and at the top.
If you can bear the tight squeeze, the views from the Koski Mehmed Paša Mosque minaret are sublime.
Owing to the city’s reliance on aluminium and the metal-works industry, the streets of Mostar are lined with vendors selling incredible metalwork souvenirs, which would make for a welcome, authentic addition to any mantelpiece!
I’ve purposely kept you waiting for the true highlight of our trip to Mostar: Stari Most, the Old Bridge. A bonafide UNESCO World Heritage Site commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557, Stari Most was shelled in 1994 before being reconstructed 10 years later.
In keeping with a tradition held by the historic bridge guards, the new ‘guards’ tempt tourists with the promise of jumping from the bridge if they raise enough money. There isn’t enough money in the world to tempt me (any wealthy benefactors willing to put this to the test… let’s talk).
The Old Bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Can you spot one of the ‘guards’ preparing his jump?
Mostar was extremely busy during when we were – almost to the point of being a bit uncomfortable. So, if that’s not your thing, it may be best to visit in winter.
Kravica Waterfall
Kravica Waterfall was tagged on to the end of our trip – it wasn’t necessarily something we’d booked the trip for. The waterfall itself is quite big, and there are plenty of places to sit by the water and a few bars.
The weather was delightful – perfect for a swim!
There’s not much more to say about the site except that there’s a pretty hefty walk between the car park and the waterfall, meaning it may not be suitable for those who have difficulty travelling long distances on foot.
If this travelogue has inspired you to book a trip from Split to Mostar, you can find the tour we booked here.
We’ll receive a small affiliate fee if you book via the link!
To find out more about our time in Split, click here.
Share your thoughts: