Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo is the city where East meets West on a single street: an Ottoman bazaar of copper workshops and coffee houses on one side of the line, Austro-Hungarian boulevards on the other, and beneath it all the story of a siege that shaped the modern city.
Two hours south, Mostar's single stone arch over the Neretva is one of the most famous images in the Balkans. This guide books the pair properly, with a small-group old town walk through Baščaršija, the Tunnel of Hope and a half-day siege history tour, a private walk across the Old Bridge, and day trips to Kravice Falls, Počitelj and the Blagaj dervish house, and pairs them with the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque and the Trebević cable car. Then it matches you to a hotel, from Swissôtel's modern luxury and Old Town addresses on Ferhadija and beside the Latin Bridge to a stone-throw-from-the-bridge stay in Mostar and a budget hostel, because in a city built for walking, where you sleep decides how much of it you see.
Baščaršija Old Bazaar
Sarajevo's Ottoman heart: a web of cobbled lanes, copper-beating workshops, coffee houses and the wooden Sebilj fountain. It is free, always open and the place every visit begins, with Bosnian coffee in a copper džezva as the essential ritual.
Trebević Cable Car
The Sarajevo cable car lifts you from the edge of Baščaršija to the forested slopes of Mount Trebević in a few minutes, for panoramic views over the city and a start on the Olympic bobsled track. It reopened in 2018, and its official site shows it running in early November 2026.
Tunnel of Hope Museum
The only surviving stretch of the lifeline that kept besieged Sarajevo supplied: a hand-dug tunnel under the airport runway, now a moving museum in the family house where it began. A small-group tour with transport and entry is the easy way to visit.
Mostar Old Bridge (Stari Most)
The graceful single-arch Ottoman bridge over the Neretva that defines Mostar, rebuilt after its destruction in 1993 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A private two-hour guided walk covers the bridge, the cobbled Kujundžiluk street, the Crooked Bridge and Spanish Square.
FreeSarajevo's Ottoman heart: a web of cobbled lanes, copper-beating workshops, coffee houses and the wooden Sebilj fountain. It is free, always open and the place every visit begins, with Bosnian coffee in a copper džezva as the essential ritual.
A small-group walk through Baščaršija, the Sebilj, Kazandžiluk, the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, the Clock Tower and City Hall with a local guide, who explains how Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav Sarajevo fit together. A strong first morning in the city.
The only surviving stretch of the lifeline that kept besieged Sarajevo supplied: a hand-dug tunnel under the airport runway, now a moving museum in the family house where it began. A small-group tour with transport and entry is the easy way to visit.
A half-day driving tour of the 1990s war with a local guide: the Yellow Fortress, the Tunnel of Hope, Sniper Alley and the Olympic bobsled track on Trebević. It is the most complete single introduction to modern Sarajevo, and one of the best-reviewed tours in the Balkans.
The graceful single-arch Ottoman bridge over the Neretva that defines Mostar, rebuilt after its destruction in 1993 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A private two-hour guided walk covers the bridge, the cobbled Kujundžiluk street, the Crooked Bridge and Spanish Square.
The classic full-day excursion from Sarajevo: Konjic, Kravice Falls, the hilltop village of Počitelj, the Blagaj dervish house and an hour at the Old Bridge in Mostar. A small group, a licensed guide and a Bosnian brunch make it an easy way to see Herzegovina in one day.
A broad amphitheatre of cascades on the Trebižat river, with a swimming pool at the base in summer, usually combined with the Ottoman hill village of Počitelj, Blagaj and Mostar. The tour we recommend is a full day by comfortable vehicle with a guide.
A 15th-century dervish house tucked beneath a limestone cliff at the source of the Buna river, near Mostar. Serene, small and quite unlike anything else in the Balkans, with Bosnian coffee in the garden over the spring.
Sarajevo's most important Ottoman monument, completed in 1531 and still the working heart of the old town, with a courtyard, a shadirvan fountain and an adjoining clock tower. Visit outside prayer times and dress respectfully.
The Sarajevo cable car lifts you from the edge of Baščaršija to the forested slopes of Mount Trebević in a few minutes, for panoramic views over the city and a start on the Olympic bobsled track. It reopened in 2018, and its official site shows it running in early November 2026.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Marijin Dvor
Sarajevo's modern five-star, set between the Old Town and the business district and beside the city's biggest shopping centre. Polished rooms, a spa and fitness area and walking distance to Baščaršija make it the comfortable splurge.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Old Town (Baščaršija)
A large, upscale hotel right in the Old Town, two minutes' walk from the Latin Bridge and the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, with an indoor pool, spa and a rooftop terrace. The best address for staying inside Baščaršija with full facilities.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Old Town (Ferhadija)
A boutique-style upscale hotel on Ferhadija Street, one minute from the Eternal Flame and the pedestrian heart of the city, with a rooftop terrace, a restaurant and a bar. Mid-range value in the best walking location in town.
Rates on Expedia →Mostar Old Town
A small hotel about two minutes from the Old Bridge in the Mostar old town, with a free breakfast buffet, a terrace and a very high guest score. The place to stay if you want Mostar to yourself after the day trippers leave.
Rates on Expedia →Mostar (near the old town)
A budget hostel with dorm beds and private doubles, a garden and a shared kitchen, a short walk from Mostar's Old Bridge. Cheap, friendly and practical, though its Expedia listing has only a handful of reviews so far.
Rates on Expedia →A first-timer's guide to Sarajevo and Mostar: what to book ahead, how to get around, how many days you need and where the headline sights fit.
Where to stay in Sarajevo and Mostar: the Old Town, the modern centre and Mostar's historic quarter, with five hotels from budget to splurge.
