hello all! I've had some very helpful tips from here before so would like to seek your comments to see if this plan makes sense? we are a couple mid 30s, and are planning to visit Croatia in March. Initial plan was only to see Croatia but then Mostar and Sarajevo seems incredibly fascinating. So our plan at the moment is:

Day 1: Arrive in Zagreb at noon
Day 2: Zagreb
Day 3: Whole day Lake Plitvice (overnight Lake Plitvice)
Day 4: Drive to Split (walking tour)
Day 5: Split (Sibenik + Krka National Park)
Day 6: Split (Trogir)
Day 7: Transport to Sarajevo in the morning, stay at Sarajevo
Day 8: Sarajevo
Day 9: Take rail to Mostar, Mostar half day, take bus to Dubrovnik
Day 10: Dubrovnik
Day 11: Flight home at 7pm

Any suggestions and comments will be very appreciated! thank you all.

Sarajevo is fascinating! I’m not sure you are giving it enough time, but maybe you’ve already thought through your priorities?

Mostar is, IMO, much nicer after day trippers leave, so you might want to spend the night.

Hope that helps!

I agree with kja. You need to get under the surface of Sarajevo to make the most of it......it's recent bloody history is sad ,yet fascinating. You'll see evidence of it everywhere you look.

The train to Mostar is an excellent way to travel. It's great 2.5 hour journey, best done on the early morning departure while it's still likely to be misty with dawn breaking.

And as kja mentions Mostar Old Town is mobbed during daylight hours.

If you are travelling by bus, I hope it's not Globtour. The buses we used were a bit battered inside, with several seats in the permanent recline position. Not good if the bus is full.

Split to Sarajevo could take almost a whole day of daylight,.

I'd forego Trogir, and add it to Sarajevo. Trogir gets mobbed with coach tours between 1000-1600. Tbh I didn't quite 'get' the place, no fun trying to enjoy the narrow lanes when there's loads of tour groups being herded around. A ferry trip for the day from Spli to Brac or Hvar is time better spent. Also check the Cruise Ship schedule for Split....if there's one alongside then I'd definitely avoid Trogir.

I was fortunate to see Trogir without the masses, and thought it well worth seeing! That said, I would encourage you not to shortchange your time in Split, which has a lot to offer. You can probably decide on your day trips once there.

And BTW, I forgot to mention that I couldn't have seen everything I wanted to see of either the Krka National Park or Sibenik if I had tried to visit both on a single day trip from Split, but it really depends on what you want to see / do.

Thank you for your comments! Good point about staying at Mostar... do you think 1.5 days in enough for Dubrovnik? Since if we stay over in Mostar it will shorten our time in Dubrovnik.

Yes perhaps we should only think about day trips from Split while we are there... though we need to think about keeping the car as I suppose we need the car for Sibenik and Krka National Park?

Thanks for the suggestion to cut Split for Sarajevo! That has been my biggest dillemna.

Thanks again!!!

For most people, 1.5 days is sufficient for Dubrovnik.

You can reach Sibenik and the Krka National Park from Split by public transportation, although it might be a challenge as a single day trip. For your transportation options, consult rome2rio, clicking through to the underlying web pages, as the main pages are not sensitive to seasonal variation.

FWIW, I personally would NOT cut or shorten Split for Sarajevo! Split is my favorite city in Croatia. But your itinerary is extraordinarily ambitious, and it's likely that you will have to cut something. Good luck!

If you are absolutely certain that you want to include all of these destinations in your limited time, can you reverse the order of your trip?

Right now, you MUST spend time in Zagreb because you won't be safe to drive until you get over jet lag, and a car would be very useful for the Plitvice Lakes. Although I enjoyed Zagreb, it isn't of the same caliber, IMO, as your other destinations. So you could fly into Dubrovnik, bus to Mostar, train to Sarajevo, bus to Split, and only when ready to leave pick up a rental car. Then just a night in Zagreb before your flight.

OR fly out of Split.

OR bus from Dubrovnik to Split, rent a car for a few days to see the Plitvice Lakes, etc., then bus to Mostar, train to Sarajevo, fly home from there.

kja....my comment about Trogir was based on the fact that most people seem to visit during the day, ie. during core hours. I'm sure if we'd have visited once the masses had gone home then I'd have had a better experience.

I think Sarajevo is a lot more interesting than Split....but they a bit chalk and cheesy. Everywhere you go in Sarajevo you are reminded of it's recent bloody history, it;'s highly visible, fascinating, and relatively tourist free when compared to both Split and Dubrovnik. Sarajevo is surrounded by hills, and you can feel the atmosphere all the time, of what it must have been like for those poor people while they were under siege for almost 4 years.

I didn't really like Dubrovnik.....but I was part of the problem, ie. on a Cruise, and the place was saturated. That unfortunately is the same in Split, mobbed by day if there is a cruise ship alongside, but very pleasant from dusk onwards.

I didn't find rome2rio very useful in either Croatia or Bosnia & Herzegovina. Much better information by using the web-sites of the bus companies. Same with the transport on Hvar and Brac, and tbh a visit to Split should also include at Brac or Hvar, simply for the cruise [Hvar is best imo].

Thank you again!

My husband was also thinking about Hvar, but we will be there in mid March, so I'm wondering if there is any point since it is still winter?

To kja, thanks for the suggestion to reverse the trip. we looked at the flights again but the flight timing for the other way is not as favorable for us as it will mean we land in Croatia (dubrovnik) at night so we lose a whole day... but thanks to you both, we are now looking at:

Day 1: Arrive in Zagreb at noon
Day 2: Zagreb AM + drive to Lake Plitvice (overnight Lake Plitvice)
Day 3: Lake Plitvice + drive to Split (Split overnight)
Day 4: Split (Palace + walking tour)
Day 5: Split (Krka National Park)
Day 6: Split AM + bus to Sarajevo (is bus the only and best way to get there?)
Day 7: Whole day Sarajevo
Day 8: Sarajevo
Day 9: Take rail to Mostar, Mostar half day, Mostar overnight
Day 10: Bus to Dubrovnik
Day 11: Flight home at 7pm

does this sound better?

To me, yes, that sounds better. It's still rushed, but more manageable.
Enjoy!

I agree with most of this. I've only spent one day in Dubrovnik (although not from a cruise) and that was enough. It's clearly a 'must see' but the historic centre is like a museum rather than a real city.

Bosnia & Herzegovina is fascinating and I think that even a short visit can ignite interest and understanding in the very important and recent war and the different groups involved. Obviously a short stay can't 'do it justice' but you may find that you're much better off having sacrificed some time elsewhere to stir your interest and understanding in a conflict and region which few people have any understanding. To be clear, I'm not suggesting that you can learn all about the region and conflict in a day but it may ignite a desire to read about it and if you do so, it is less abstract when you've been there.

amanda16.....Other than self-drive I don't think you have any other choice getting to Sarajevo from Split, than by bus.

It takes almost 4 hours from Split to Mostar, so you need to add another 3 hours to reach Sarajevo. Our bus experience from Split to Mostar WASN'T great. We used Globtour, who are one of the main players.

We set off from the main bust station at Split Port [easy to reach on foot from the Old Town] about an hour late. The bus had several reclining seats bust and in a permanent reclining position, so quite uncomfortable. We took about 40 minutes to get across the border into Herzegovina, and weren't allowed off the bus. No comfort stop anywhere, and no toilet on the bus. Had to change buses [a better one!] about an hour from Mostar. On the plus side the scenery all the way is spot-on. On our return journey 2 weeks later there was a comfort stop.

From the main bus station in Sarajevo [next to the train station] you'll need a taxi to your accommodation. You've allowed so little time in Sarajevo, that you really need to identify how to best spend your time. I think you've allowed far too little time there, and because of that you could come away quite disappointed.

What walkinaround [prevous post] says about Bosnia & Herzegovina is true. It really is a fascinating country, nothing is hidden away about it's recent bloody past, and your interest should be really ignited by what you'll see as it's all very visual......FORGIVE BUT NEVER FORGET is a message you might see here and there.

I don't know whether the timing would work, but you can take the bus from Split to Mostar and then the train to Sarajevo.

I didn't travel between Split and either Mostar or Dubrovnik -- I flew into Sarajevo, took a train to Mostar, and then a bus to Dubrovnik. My bus, NOT Globtour, was very clean and comfortable. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the company. It is my understanding that you have options other than Globtour.

One can, of course, learn about the Balkan Wars before going (as I did), in which case your travels will bring what you read to life. No need to wait until you get there!

FWIW, I wish that I'd given Sarajevo more than 2.5 days, but I didn't come away disappointed. Instead, I came away grateful for what I had seen and enriched by the experience.

Yes 2 trains a day between Mostar and Sarajevo, and in reverse. The early morning one, 0630 from Mostar or the 0700 from Sarajevo are the best, dawn is breaking, the early morning mist swirling around the valleys and hills.....it's really quite a dreamy experience.

Definitely more than Globtour, maybe only another one on that route though, and you need to get the timing right. We only got the bus as far as Mostar, arriving at about 1530, which was ideal for visiting the Old Town, as the 100s of day trippers were going home. We stayed at locally run Mozart Motel for 4 nights, less that 5 minutes walk towards the Old Town from the bus and train stations....ideal, and only €35 for an ensuite double including breakfast.

We had 6 nights in Sarajevo, in a beautiful, and not very expensive penthouse apartment right on Sniper's Alley, close to the train station, and the American Embassy. Although the apartment was very nice, the building bore plenty of bullet and shell damage on the outside.

6 nights gave us plenty of time to explore and really take in Sarajevo, and the immediate area. Less = more, and imo you need plenty of time to explore Sarajevo.

Here's an enjoyable recent thread off TA about the train between Mostar and Sarajevo...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTo...rzegovina.html

Because you can't book online, it's best to allow plenty of time to buy your tickets, as each one in hand-written. The booking clerk at Mostar wouldn't let us buy tickets until the morning of our journey, which meant getting to the train station at about 0545, for the 0630 departure. On the way back the clerk at Sarajevo let us buy tickets the day before our journey.

I managed to wangle a 30% over 60s discount between Mostar and Sarajevo, but on the way back I was told that that was only for BiH citizens......rule making on the hoof!. xx

I think your revised itinerary looks much better than the first. Sarajevo has a lot to see and Mostar is best with an overnight stay.
In Mostar I'd recommend the Hotel Bosnian National Monument Muslibegovic House
Bosnian National Monument Muslibegovic House

I think it is helpful to read about BiH before getting there. My 2010 TR has a lot of suggestions.
Trip report Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia in October 2010

I am just reading a mystery about the death of a war crimes criminal involved in the Srebrenica genocide, The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan, which is good but wouldn't provide enough information by itself.

Thank you all so much for your generous tips ans advise! We do wish to spend more time and have a less rushed trip. Tonight we will find out if we have any way to extend the trip and then the plan will be better. Given all your comments i think the bus journeys are going to be the most challenging....

Could be! FWIW, my recollection is that the scenery was often stunning.

I wouldn't worry too much about the bus journeys.
Chances are you might get a mix, but you could be lucky .
Length of time it takes at Border Posts can be a pain, especially as you can't get off the bus.
Don't expect rest rooms on the bus.
Comfort stops might not happen.
Don't travel overnight by road.
The scenery along the Adriatic coast from Split to where the bus turns inland is stunning....
Onward to Mostar it's pretty damn good....
Then to Sarajevo it's world class. xx

So it looks like my husband's night classes are cancelled so we are now able to spend 2 more days on holiday! Where would you all suggest that I add those 2 precious day that we are so fortunate to have? I am torn between Zagreb (I do enjoy european cities since we are from asia), Split (because it is famous and can do day trips), and Sarajevo.