18 Days in Bosnia and Croatia

Bosnia and Herzegovina | May 11 - May 28, 2026

My trip through Bosnia (and part of Croatia) with a rental car was fantastic. My local specialist, Laurent, skillfully helped me figure out a loose itinerary based on my interests and set up my hotels ahead of time, so it was no muss no fuss, and the hotels were excellent and charming overall. Bosnia was relatively un-touristed when I visited, except for Mostar which lured in the day-trippers from Croatia, so it was great to not have to deal with hordes of tour buses. I had great culinary adventures with roast lamb in Jablanica, čevapi in Travnik, croissants at a 500 year old bakery in Sarajevo, fresh trout in Una National Park, and so on. There was splendid bridge architecture in Mostar, Sarajevo, Višegrad, and Trebinje. Amazing castle overlooks and old town hikes in Počitjelj, the decaying 1984 Winter Olympics venue in Sarajevo, and the sculpture garden at Ostrožac castle was incredible. Beautiful Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic holy places were often built right next to each other in nearly every town. And the river and waterfall colors throughout the country from the limestone and other rocks were incredible. Also notable, the very well done and sobering Srebrenica memorial museum and cemetery, a definite must-visit along with the numerous "Sarajevo Roses" throughout the city, awful reminders of the terrible war in the 90s. One tip: Try to mostly drive in the day time, if you can, because the roads in Bosnia are often very narrow, winding, and sometimes rough and irregularly patched