Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls is one of the best and most popular day trips from Dubrovnik. It really is a rewarding and scenic way to experience more of what the Balkans have to offer.
As a solo traveller, I joined an organised day tour from Dubrovnik to explore these scenic gems of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It turned out to be a highlight of my Balkans adventure.
So, in this post I’ll give you an insight into visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina on a day trip from Dubrovnik. Including my experience, and tour recommendations.
ACCOMMODATION: For accommodation in Dubrovnik, I recommend checking out Booking.com and/or Hostelworld. I stayed in Old Town Hostel as well as Love Dubrvnik Hostel, and recommend both of these (if you’re a solo budget traveller)!
Why Take a Day Trip to Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls from Dubrovnik?
A day trip to Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls from Dubrovnik makes for an easy way to explore beyond Croatia, visiting the neighboring country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There is no doubt that Mostar is a charming city, in particular the Old Town area. It’s super picturesque with the river, Neretva River, running through the middle. While there are many Old Towns in Croatia, it’s interesting to see the cultural differences between the different countries within ‘similar’ areas of the city, the Old Town (this is where you will likely spend your time in Mostar).
An (organised) day trip also includes a visit to Kravice Waterfalls, which is an amazing bonus stop. This lets you experience up close the nature on offer in Bosnia. There are actually over 200 waterfalls in Bosnia, so it’s really nice to get to at least visit one!! You can also swim in the falls here – if you visit during the summer months, this is a great way to cool off!
Dubrovnik to Mostar Tour: What to Expect and How to Book
I opted for this Dubrovnik: Mostar & Kravica Waterfalls Day Trip. This is a top rated tour on GetYourGuide, and I can agree with that – everything from the time of booking, to the drop off at the end of the tour, went super smoothly on my day trip.
On this Mostar tour you can expect to travel by coach, so it is a relatively large group tour. There were all kinds of travellers on my trip – other solo travellers, families with kids, couples, etc… (and everyone seemed to have a great day!), which shows this really is a worthwhile trip for all.
Pick ups
You can expect a very early start for a day trip to Mostar, but don’t worry there is plenty of time to wake yourself up, or do the opposite and have a nap on the bus ride there (and back… although the scenery is pretty stunning so don’t sleep the whole journey!).
Exact start times will very depending on which tour you book, and where you leave from in Dubrovnik. This tour has pick-up locations across Dubrovnik, as well as in Slano, Zaton Doli and Orašac. (I was worried this would take up a lot of time, it did not at all – all pick-ups went SO smoothly and quickly on my trip!). When booking, you will input your accommodation details, and be told the nearest pick-up point. I was staying in Love Dubrovnik Hostel, and got picked up at the stop ‘Cable Car Bus Stop’, which was literally 1 minute walk away – so good! I was the only one who got on here – there are stops all around the city near the main accommodation spots.
Pros of Taking a Guided Tour
Taking a guided tour from Dubrovnik to Mostar makes for easy hassle-free travel, is cost effective (some of the tours are really good prices, I paid €30 – well worth it!!!), and makes crossing the border easy to do (these tours are doing this every day – they know what they’re doing and the best times to get to the border to (hopefully!!) beat the queues).
Best Dubrovnik to Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls Day Tour Options:
- Dubrovnik: Mostar & Kravica Waterfalls Day Trip
- The tour I did, highly recommend!!
I booked the Mostar & Kravica Waterfalls Day Trip from Dubrovnik here, through GetYourGuide, and was very impressed even before the tour. (I booked it at 11pm the night before, and then panicked I wouldn’t receive the pick-up info because I booked so late, sent a Whatsapp message to the number on the email, and within 2 minutes had a response with my pick-up information – from the onset the service was excellent in my experience!).
- From Dubrovnik: Mostar and Kravica Waterfall Day Trip
- This option is very popular and seems very similar to the tour I did (above). However, it gives you a choice of travelling by large coach, on a bus with up to 46 people, or in a van with up to 18 people – prices vary depending on which you choose.
- Dubrovnik: Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls Small-Group Tour
- This tour is quite a bit more expensive than the two above, but is a best seller tour option!! It is a very small group tour – people have said there were only 6 or 7 of them, and this made for a super easy border crossing and fast transport times. It has really good reviews!! So if you would prefer a smaller group tour, check this one out. This tour visits the waterfall first, whereas the other two mentioned above visit Mostar first.
How to Visit Mostar not on a tour?
If you wish to spend longer in Mostar and the surrounding areas, as well as have a little more freedom, you could always hire a car and visit independently. Do be aware you should inform the rental car company if you are crossing the border, and there will likely be an extra fee… If visiting solo I do recommend a tour over renting a car if just going for one day, but if there are more of you it could be worth driving.
You can also take a public bus, travelling with companies such as Arriva, Globtour or Flixbus. The times however don’t really work out for visiting on a day trip, but if you wish to go and spend a night or two (or more!) in Mostar instead of just a day trip, you could easily do so by travelling this way. Check for Mostar accommodation here.
Itinerary Overview
I will base this overview on the tour I did, but know that whichever tour you choose will be very similar!!
Leaving Dubrovnik
Tours leave EARLY. My pick-up time was 6:10am (I was one of the first stops, so some people had a little extra time in the morning to get ready, but not much as the pick-ups very done very promptly – I’m still impressed by how quickly they were done, and the bus was essentially full).
It was still dark when we left Dubrovnik, but before long the sun rose and the scenic scenes of Croatia were visible out the bus windows.
Border crossing
Reaching the border from Dubrovnik takes around an hour (after everyone has been picked up!). How long the border crossing takes can really depend. DON’T forget your passport!! The tour guide collected the passports, then went off the bus with them and they were all processed. Once that was done, we got on our way again! We were at the border for around 30-40 minutes in the morning, and that was with being the first bus there (there were 4 others right behind!). So, you could be waiting longer.
Once you cross the border do also turn off your phone data so you don’t get charged – you are no longer in the EU. I had not thought of this, the tour guide should tell you as he did us. But this is your warning as I had stuff I was intending to do on my phone on the bus ride and well, I couldn’t!
Breakfast break
Not long after the border we had a short stop at a café in Neum. Here you can use the toilet and buy some breakfast. This is the only bathroom break on the way so do go!
From there, it is still over an hour of travel time to Mostar.
Stop 1: Exploring Mostar
On arrival into Mostar we were met with a local guide, who gave a brief introduction to the city, while leading the group into the Old Town and to the city’s famed bridge, Stari Most. After around 30 minutes with the local guide, we had around 2 hours of free time to explore independently (how long you have exactly will depend on your tour). Do be sure to keep track of time and remember the meeting time for your bus!!
Walking around the Old Town is charming and vibrant. I loved the colourful buildings, and the stunning bridge crossing the river flowing through the city. There are many stores and market stalls to take a look at, as well as restaurants, cafés, ice-cream stalls. You can expect narrow, cobblestone streets – it’s a good idea to wear ‘proper’ shoes for the cobblestones.
Stari Most bridge is a focal point of the Old Town – this is the bridge you will see in most photos of Mostar. Do go down to the little beach by the bridge for some great views looking up to it! If you’re lucky, as I was, you may even get to witness someone dive off the bridge. (These are people who have learned how to safely dive off! Not everyone is doing this!!).
If you wish to try some food, it is recommended to try ćevapi and/or baklava. I honestly didn’t try any food or drink in the Old Town (kind of hate to admit that – I was too busy wandering around!), but most do!!
We were actually the first bus tour to reach Mostar, which was amazing – we got to see the city come to life. It was really nice to (briefly) experience the Old Town before it got super busy – the narrow, cobblestone streets soon became very crowded. Honestly it was a bit overbearingly busy by the time we departed around 12:15pm.
Me being me and travelling solo, I actually kept walking a little further out from the Old Town, to find the crowds suddenly disperse, and came across some lovely quiet spots overlooking the river. I loved my solo visit to Mostar, and feel the time given was a reasonable length to be able to enjoy this area of the city.
Note that there are public toilets in the Old Town, with a cost of €0.50… don’t be surprised if you pay this for a squat toilet (this is your warning!!). Also, DO give yourself more time than needed to get back to the bus – it’s not easy to walk quickly through the old town due to how busy it can get.
Stop 2: Kravice Waterfalls
After around a 50 minute (maybe a little more?!) drive from Mostar, we arrived at the next stop, Kravice Waterfalls.
There is a €10 entrance fee – the tour guide will collect this from you, and the entrance will all be organised this way (no need to wait in queues!).
Here, we were supposed to have 1 hour, but as my group had all been super punctual and everything was going so smoothly, we were given an extra 15-20 minutes!! I’m so glad about that as I loved it here!! Remember to keep track of time for your groups bus time, and give yourself enough time to get back to your bus.
Kravice Waterfalls is well worth the visit, allowing you to some of Bosnia’s natural beauty up close on a day trip from Dubrovnik. This stop is also fun as you can swim in the falls!! DO go in – it may be cold but it is super cool to swim here!!
So, on arrival I (and most others) got changed into their swimwear (know that there are toilets where you can get changed, but you can also wait until you are down by the falls as there are little changing spots there). From the bus stop and toilets, it’s a short walk down, with some excellent views of the waterfalls. At the bottom, there are cafés where you could choose to chill out at if swimming in the falls isn’t for you, or you can lay out your towel and relax by the water, and/or go for a dip!!
As soon as I got down to the bottom of the falls I knew I had to go right in!! I’m so glad I did. It was indeed pretty cold, but it was worth it!! After a little swim around, I just relaxed by the falls to dry off and warm up. Before I knew it, it was time to head back up to the bus. While you could easily spend longer here, I never felt rushed as such – there is enough time to enjoy the waterfalls.
Return to Dubrovnik
After Kravice Waterfalls it’s time for the journey back to Dubrovnik and to wrap up an amazing day trip! I was so exhausted by this time, as were many others, that the journey back was a pretty quiet and sleepy one! We didn’t get stuck in any traffic (again!) when crossing the border back into Croatia, so that went very smoothly. (There were no further stops, including toilet breaks, on the way back so do go at the falls!).
Like with the pick-ups, the bus drops you off again where you got picked up, or you can request to be dropped off at a different spot – maybe you want to end your day in Dubrovnik Old Town, but aren’t staying so near there. Talk to the tour guide and it should be fine to drop you there!
I ended the day feeling very satisfied and glad that I made the decision to go on this day trip from Dubrovnik to Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls!
What to Pack for a Day Trip to Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls from Dubrovnik
- Passport
- Bosnia is not in the Schengen zone, so you will need your passport to cross the border. Do NOT forget this!!!!!!
- Cash
- Not all places accept card in Mostar, so it is best to carry some cash. While Bosnia’s official currency is the Bosnia Herzegovina convertible mark (BAM), most places in Mostar will accept euros. You will be fine if you bring euros, don’t worry about converting it. It is best to try to bring smaller notes/change.
- Note that you will also need cash to pay your tour guide the additional €10 for the entry fee to Kravice Waterfalls, in addition to a €3 fee (stated on the booking as Entry fee/border crossing).
- Swimwear
- The trip includes a stop of Kravice Falls, where you can swim. So, if you wish to get in, or just in-case you do, be sure to pack your swimwear, including towel and maybe flip-flops (perhaps even a waterproof phone pouch or a GoPro – anything you may need in the water!)
- Power bank
- It is a long day trip, so don’t forget to pack a power bank to charge your phone or other devices you may need.
- Water
- Do bring water – the bus ride is long and Mostar can get very hot especially in summer, you will need water! Of course there will be chances to buy some, but always best to be prepared.
- Sunscreen
- Always best to bring some sunscreen with you!
- Food
- Any food or snacks you may wish to have bring them with you! Most people do choose to eat out in Mostar, but actually I did classic budget backpacker and brought some lunch with me. For me this was good as it meant I spent more time exploring around and not sitting in a restaurant, but for many eating out in Mostar is a highlight. Regardless, it’s best to bring a snack or two for the bus ride!
Is a Day Trip to Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls from Dubrovnik Worth It?
Overall, a day trip from Dubrovnik to Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls is definitely worth it!! Whether you’re travelling solo or with others, this is a great way to spend a day and get a glimpse of what Bosnia and Herzegovina has to offer. I mean, what easier way to visit another country?! The two stops on offer – Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls make for an excellent mix of activities. I’m so glad I did this trip, and found it to be of excellent value (coming from a budget traveller!)!!
If you want to do the trip I did, you can book it online here.
Heading to Zadar before or after Dubrovnik? Check out my Zadar Travel Guide here.
