Yes, backpacking Bosnia and Herzegovina independently is very doable: buses link every major town, hostels are cheap, and younger locals in the cities often speak good English.
The main corridor,
Sarajevo to
Mostar, takes 2 to 3 hours by bus or train and has frequent departures. Dorm beds run around KM 20 to 35 (US$11 to 19), and a daily budget of KM 60 to 90 (US$35 to 53) covers food, beds and transport. The tricky parts are nature sites such as
Kravice Waterfalls or
Lukomir, which have little or no public transport, so plan on hostel-run day tours for those.
Most travelers need 10 days for Bosnia and Herzegovina to see the two main cities and the central valleys without rushing, and 5 days works for the south alone.
With 5 days, base in
Mostar for three nights and add
Trebinje. Ten days covers
Sarajevo (3 nights),
Konjic, Mostar (3 nights) and
Jajce (2 nights). Two weeks or more lets you add the Drina valley around
Višegrad,
Sutjeska National Park and
Una National Park in the northwest, which sits 6 to 7 hours by bus from Sarajevo and suits an exit toward Zagreb.
Yes, you can travel around Bosnia and Herzegovina without a car, because intercity buses reach nearly every town and a scenic train line runs between Sarajevo and Mostar.
Sarajevo to Mostar takes about 2 hours by train or 2.5 to 3 hours by bus, for roughly KM 12 to 25 (US$7 to 14). Sarajevo to Jajce is around 3.5 hours, and Sarajevo to Banja Luka is about 5 hours. Gaps appear at the national parks: to reach
Sutjeska,
Una National Park or
Kravice Waterfalls, use taxis, guesthouse transfers or day tours priced around KM 50 to 80 (US$28 to 45).
The must-visits in Bosnia and Herzegovina are
Sarajevo and
Mostar, followed by the waterfall town of
Jajce and the southern day-trip circuit around Mostar.
Give Sarajevo at least 3 days for the old bazaar, the
Sarajevo War Tunnel, the
Gallery 11/07/95 and the Trebević cable car. Mostar needs 2 to 3 nights, with one day for
Blagaj Tekke,
Počitelj and
Kravice Waterfalls. Jajce, 3.5 hours from Sarajevo by bus, has a 20-meter waterfall right in town. With more time, add
Višegrad’s 16th-century bridge and
Una National Park.
If you are short on time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, skip the far northeast and the long detours, and focus on the Sarajevo to Mostar corridor.
Towns such as
Tuzla,
Doboj and
Zvornik have local interest but are 2 to 3 hours from the main route, with less for a first visit. The
Visoko Pyramids are natural hills with a tourist story attached, and an hour there is plenty.
Međugorje matters mostly to pilgrims.
Una National Park is beautiful but lies 6 to 7 hours from Sarajevo, so leave it out of trips under 10 days unless you are crossing in from Croatia.
Yes, our itinerary-planner does exactly that. Set your trip length in days, give your interests and travel style, optionally give start- and end location and/or some mandatory stops you would like to include and the itinerary planner creates your personalized routes for Bosnia and Herzegovina in seconds. Try it out!
Try the itinerary plannerv2.webp){kind=logo}
Best Backpacking
