lhuffine

Hi; we're flying into Zagreb for a two week trip to the region. Midway through the trip we will be meeting up with family on the coast of Montenegro. My inital thought is to drive straight from the airport in Zabreg to Sarajevo and then head toward the coast. It looks like a 6 hour drive. Any suggestions on how to do the "loop" around the countries? thanks in advance!

Vttraveler

I have been back and forth between Sarajevo and the Croatian coast twice. I am not sure how much time you will have before meeting your family but hope you will be able to explore some of Bosnia & Herzegovina en route to Montenegro. Sarajevo is a fascinating city. From there I would go to Mostar and stop overnight there, then go on to the coast. Mostar is much less crowded, more pleasant and cooler in the evenings than in the middle of the day. (I am assuming the trip is in summer?)

There are several possible routes from Mostar to the coast near Dubrovnik, depending on how quickly you want to get there and what you want to see on the way.

The major route goes from Mostar to Ploce on the coast. On this route, the small Ottoman town of Počitelj is a good place to stop for coffee/to explore a little if you have time. We took this route last fall.


In 2010 we decided to take a different route that would allow us stop after Mostar at Stolac to see the large necropolis of stećcci (medieval tombstones) then on toward the coast via Ljubinje and Trebinje. The section Stolac- Ljubinje -Trebinje is more scenic and has much less traffic than the other route but the road is still heavily mined so we could not pull off at all for a long stretch.

My 2010 TR Day 3 describes the route from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik in more detail. There is also some information about possible things to do along the southern Dalmatian coast and in Sarajevo.

barbloves2travel

We just got back. Crossing in and out of Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro they were obsessed with Your car papers. We purchased the green card for Montenegro from Hertz when we picked up the car. I was also asked for my drivers license so I was glad I had gotten the international one. A few of the border guards commented on the fact that the woman was driving???

lhuffine

Seriously, do you think an international drivers license is necessary?

Andrew

Sounds like it is encouraged but not required for Croatia:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1095.html

<i>According to Croatian law, U.S. citizens visiting Croatia for tourism or business may use a U.S. driver's license for up to three months, but should also have an International Driver’s Permit.</i>

But you must have one for driving in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1070.html

<i>In order to drive legally in Bosnia and Herzegovina, you must have an international driving permit in addition to your U.S. license.</i>

If you are planning to drive down the Dalmatian coast from, say, Split to Dubrovnik, you will be driving through a tiny section of Bosnia and Herzegovina (look at a map). You might be able to get away without an international driving permit in that case but it seems like it would be safe to have one, just in case.

Mimar

<According to Croatian law, U.S. citizens visiting Croatia for tourism or business may use a U.S. driver's license for up to three months, but should also have an International Driver’s Permit.>

The way I read that is you don't need to get a Croatian driver's license for the first 3 months there but you should bring your US license AND an IDP.

You can get an IDP for about $25 including photo at your local AAA office.

Andrew

Mimar: <i>The way I read that is you don't need to get a Croatian driver's license for the first 3 months there but you should bring your US license AND an IDP.</i>

Of course, no country could reasonably expect a tourist who will be driving there for only one week to get a local driver's license. So the question is: will the country accept the tourist's driver's license from his/her own country, or will an IDP required in addition?

To me, it seems Croatia doesn't require an IDP for US visitors (less than 90 days) - they'll let a US tourist use his/her US driver's license. Otherwise, US guidelines would explicitly say "you are required to have an IDP," as they say for BiH. Perhaps having an IDP makes things easier for a tourist involved in an accident in Croatia or something but isn't legally required.