Mostar is a beautiful place with a cobblestoned old town, a city filled with character, and so much history it’ll blow your mind.
The most recognizable part of Mostar is the Old Bridge, which you’ve surely seen photos of floating around the internet.
On sunny days, you can camp out on the river banks and watch some extremely brave souls jump off the bridge into the freezing water below.
As far as cities go, it’s incredibly cheap and the coffee is very good.
In fact, it’s usually cheaper to eat out at a restaurant than to buy ingredients at the supermarket, plus, Bosnian food is absolutely delicious.
It’s a mix of Turkish, Mediterranean, and Eastern European. There’s a lot of meat and everything is packed with flavor, but it never feels too heavy. A lot of restaurants in Mostar are family-run, so it all just tastes like your grandma made it.
Everywhere you look around the city you’ll see reminders of the Bosnian War that took place in the mid-’90s. Around 70% of the city was destroyed less than 30 years ago, and the city is still quite divided. It’s very safe for tourists, but you can’t help but notice all the after-effects of the war. There’s a free walking tour which gives a really great introduction to the city’s history.
Thousands of people used to live in the houses within these walls, but now there are less than 1,000 full-time residents. You can walk through the stone streets in Pocitelj and up onto old walls and into fortresses that give amazing views of the valley. If you don’t have a car, it’s just a short bus ride from Mostar to the base of the village. Look for buses to Čapljina, but ask the driver to drop you at Počitelj.
There’s plenty of nature nearby if you’re keen for a day trip out of the city.
Kravice Falls are absolutely beautiful. Located 40 kilometers south of the city, you can go there to swim in the summer, or just sit in the cafe over the water and soak it all in. Unfortunately, there are no buses running to Kravice, so you’ll have to do a tour or take a taxi. To cut down on costs, you could get a bus to the nearby towns of Ljubuški or Čitluk and catch a cab from there, Buzzfeed reports.
