andabanda

I know I'm asking the impossible: if you had to choose where would you go, to Mostar or Montenegro? Due to limited time we will only be able to visit one of them. We will travel with four Canadian highschool and college age kids.

sshephard

I'm not sure about your question. Montenegro is a country and Mostar is a city. I have never been to either but I am spending two days in Mostar in June. I have heard and read very good things about this city.

andabanda

We will have 3 nights in Dubrovnik.I was wondering if we should visit Mostar in Bosnia Hercegovina or Kotor and Sveti Stefan in Montenegro. I wish we had more time and could see both destinations. Right now the plan is to drive to Mostar from Budapest, stay overnight and stop in Medugorje on the way to Dubrovnik.There we will have 3 nights but it gives us only two days for Dubrovnik. The last morning we have to leave for Split and Hvar. (We are desperate for some island sun ad beach time since we even had snow today in Toronto. We would love to see Montenegro as well but I'm not sure we can fit it in this time frame. Or should we skip Mostar and visit Montenegro? Or perhaps spend only one day in Dubrovnik. In this case I'm afraid it would be way too rushed.

Debs

Have visited both and they are polar opposites of each other. For sheer natural beauty, Montenegro has the dramatic coastline and mountains that make it memorable, while Mostar will have more of a cultural impact and IMHO, will leave more of an lasting impression on you. War damage is still very much in evidence in Mostar and the rebuilt bridge brings two cultures together.

Two well planned days in Dubrovnik will give you plenty of time to see the city and hopefully you've included the wall walk on your must do list! Eliminating one day here and doing 2 day trips would definitely be rushed (as you've already stated). You will see some jaw dropping beautiful sites in Dubrovnik, so my vote for a day trip would be to Mostar as the coastline of Montenegro will be more of an extension of what you're seeing in Dubrovnik.

You won't be disappointed in whatever destination you ultimately choose. ENJOY!

global_guy

Debs was right on the mark. Kotor, while beautiful, isn't radically different than coastal Croatia (particularly the smaller coastal cities like Trogir). Having spent time in both Montenegro (coastal and inland) and having traveled rather extensively in Bosnia, I'd say head to Mostar first.

andabanda

Thank you Debs and Global guy! Mostar it is. Do you have any suggestions for a place to stay in Mostar? I figured it makes sense to stay overnight before arriving in Dubrovnik.This way we can have our two full days there.I'm looking for something with safe parking but not outrageously expensive. (There will be 8 of us)I just can't justify over 400 Euros at the Bevanda for one night for all of us.
Deb, We will walk the Wall for sure.Any other tip is greatly appreciated.

tcreath

I have not visited Mostar (not enough time), but we met a couple in Dubrovnik that we became friends with and toured Montenegro (Kotor, Budva and Perast) together. We later separated as we headed north and they stayed put in Dubrovnik. Anyways, they took a private tour of Mostar and loved it. We met again on the last day, as we were all flying out together, and they said that Mostar was a highlight of their trip.

Montenegro was incredibly beautiful, and in my opinion quite different from Dubrovnik, but if you have a chance to get away from the coast and experience more history and culture I say go for it.

Tracy

julia_t

With college age kids, then I would say Mostar.

When I went in October my tour guide was in his early 20s, and was able to tell us a little of what it was like to live under bombardment, hiding in cellars. This will have much more cultural impact on those kids than sightseeing pretty coastline in Montenegro.

I wrote a trip report on my time in Mostar, you may have seen it already, but if not here is the link...
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35086450

andabanda

Tracy,

If we can, we will squeeze in a drive around Kotor Bay, if nothing else. I agree it is stunning. However we will definitely go to Mostar because of its history (both recent and not at all recent).

My son is a history buff studying political science; her girlfriend is majoring in international relations. The idea of hiring that young tour guide is amazing Julia! I'm also trying to book the hotel where you stayed. Thank you so much for all the info. I just joined this forum yesterday but I'm already an addict.
By the way Julia's trip report is fantastic.

yorkshire

Since you will be traveling south anyway, Mostar. Also, given the interests of your young companions, it will be a good choice.
Kotor is about a 3 hour drive, if you decided to include it while in Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is quite small, and while I would usually recommend more than 2 days anywhere, you will see the entire old town in one day and have relaxation later on Hvar, so including the Kotor trip might work--if you really want to spend the day that way.
Forget Sv Stefan though--I see no reason to drive further than Kotor.
In the kids have read a lot about Montenegrin history (quite fascinating), then consider it.

tcreath

Agree with yorkshire about Sveti Stephan. While the setting itself is nice, the real beauty lies in the Bay of Kotor. Kotor itself is a lovely walled city, and we also greatly enjoyed visiting the tiny village of Perast.

Tracy

irishface

I feel lucky that I had a chance to visit both Montenegro and Mostar. The day trip from Dubrovnik was beautiful and I enjoyed Kotor. I found my visit to Mostar thought-provoking. It had a very different feel from the towns and cities of Croatia. The signs of war were still evident; however, there was a feeling of hope and energy to the city. As I wandered through a cemetery where there were many gravestones marking the burial places of young men and a few young women from those war years, I thought, "When are old men going to stop sending young people off to war?"

andabanda

Would we be able to include some beach time along the way to Kotor or there? Ideally it would be great to charter a boat and stop for swimming here and there. I couldn't find anything. Maybe you fodorites know more about this. But probably it would cost a fortune anyways.
I wouldn't mind driving down one day but my son and his friends are joining us for this trip after 14 days of traveling, sightseeing in Rome, Venice, Vienna, Prague and Budapest.(Lucky them, I'm envious) I think it's time to have a little break and to relax. My daughter and her friends will be right after gruelling IB highschool exams and they will have to adjust to the timezone too. I would have liked to go to Hvar first and Dubrovnik second but the accommodations worked out this way.

global_guy

Re driving to Kotor; I don't recall there being a nice beach to stop at between the Croatia-Montenegro border and Kotor.
I know that others have weighed in on Sv. Stefan, and while I agree that the town (if you can call it that) isn't particularly worth a special trip in lieu of Mostar for example, I would say that if you are already in Kotor, you might as well drive the very short distance to Budva and Sv. Stefan and enjoy the wonderful beaches nearby. It's only a 15km drive and when you drive South out of Kotor you get some pretty great views of the bay.
In my opinion Kotor itself is pretty small and it would be quite easy to see the sights of Kotor, Budva, and Sv. Stefan in one full day.

andabanda

Thank you all! I booked our accommodation in Mostar and we will decide about Montenegro on the spot. I hope everybody will be up to it. It sounds really beautiful but for these kids and us experiencing Mostar and thinking about "war and peace" will be very meningful.

Debs

Let us know how things worked out on your Mostar trip. There are numerous posts on Montenegro, however, still lacking many of Mostar. ENJOY!

lanejohann

mostar you could do in a day
but a trip to montenegro has a number of possibilities
if you havent seen a fjord then go to montenegro and head to kotor
if you hire a car its an amazing trip along the winding road ( safe and very picturesque)