We are on a two week trip to Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro!
Our first stop is Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina , a beautiful town with a rich cultural heritage that adds to its beauty. The people in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina are very helpful, definitely one of the safest places for everyone.
First things first, we bought a sim from the gas station right next to our hotel Ibis Styles Sarajevo, which costed us 5 Marks for a Sim with 1 gb data.
It is best to carry Euro’s from your home country and get it exchanged at the gas station or exchange centres around town, when required.
Places to Visit in Sarajevo & Mostar
1. The Gazi Huzrev Mosque, in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Built in the 16th century, it is the largest historical mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most representative Ottoman structures in the Balkans.
Roaming around with the selfie stick, we stumbled upon a cute little kitty that accompanied us and helped in touring the mosque. We rested for a while in the shade, both me & the kitty.
Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash
2. Avaz Twist Tower
The highest Skyscraper in Sarajevo
If you are visiting Sarajevo, you should definitely go and visit the Avaz Twist Tower because it has an amazing view from the 36th floor. You can see the entire city from this place. The entrance fee is very cheap, there is a coffee shop on the 35th floor where you can enjoy a hot cup of coffee with a view of Sarajevo! We loved it.
Photo by Lothar Boris Piltz on Unsplash
3. Kovaci Memorial Cemetery
4. Cafe’s in Sarajevo
We walked towards Gazi Husrev-begova, a narrow street with cafe tables on one side & a white wall on the other side. A good choice would be Cafe Tito, which sits on the corner of the road with windows opening up into the street. It doesn’t really matter which cafe you choose as all of them have the same earthy feel to it and are surrounded by Ottoman geometric patterns and happy people munching cake. The cakes reveal as much about Sarajevo’s diverse heritage as everything else does in this city.
Photo by No Revisions on Unsplash
5. Latin Bridge
While walking we reached the Latin Bridge that over sees an entire lane of houses on one side and beautifully large trees on the other side. If you stand on the centre of the bridge, you can see the sun rays coming from behind the trees & houses on one side.
6. Sebliji
A Ottoman style wooden fountain at the centre Baščaršija square in Sarajevo is a good place to sit and sink in the beauty of the city. Maybe take a cup of coffee or in a vegan’s case, a juice or a smoothie from a Vegan smoothie place just 100mts from Baščaršija and enjoy the beauty of the place.
Sarajevo, has a peaceful vibe where you could just sit in one of the cafes, read a book, have a hookah, maybe a coffee and go for a walk in the evening.
We ended the day at a really cool cafe called AurA, sipped on some beer, hot chocolate and some juices!
8. Klopa Restaurant
Day 1 ended with a nice Dinner at Klopa Restaurant
We ended our first day in Bosnia with a nice dinner at a small restaurant called Klopa, where they make all the food with fresh ingredients that are locally sourced.You can find details here
The Airbnb we rented was called Mey’s place. It is an absolute gorgeous place with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms that are huge and so pretty. The place costed us INR 12,000 / USD 170 a night. You can find the link here
9. Yellow Bastion
Day 2 started off with a visit to the Yellow bastion. It has the most amazing views in Sarajevo, you can literally see the whole city of Sarajevo.
There are 2 cafe’s at the Yellow Bastion where you can sit and get 360 degree views of the city. A must see! Just so you know, 45mins are enough to visit the Yellow Bastion.
We left from the Yellow Bastion and made our way to Mostar and on the way we stopped to check out the famous tunnel of hope. The drive to Mostar from the Tunnel of hope is approximately 2.5 hours and the roads are absolutely amazing.
Please note that there aren’t gas stations on the way, so its best to fill up before heading out!
10 . The tunnel of Hope
The tunnel of hope was built by the Bosnians during the wars for 1992-95 after getting fed up of not being able to get basic supplies in and out of the city. It is located right next to the airport. It took 6 months to build and is only 1metre wide and high, and at places even smaller than that.
They also let you experience the tunnel for about 25metres, and trust me Im claustrophobic as hell, but this! This was easy
You also get fresh juices outside the tunnel museum for just €2.5
We left from the Tunnel of hope at about 12:30pm and hit Mostar at 2:45pm. We headed straight to a Vegan restaurant located near the Old bridge called the Food House Restaurant. I stocked on some Vegan Burger, and Sataras – the national dish of Bosnia & Herzegovina.
After re-fueling we quickly made our way to the famous Old bridge, through the streets of Mostar. The Mostar bridge is rich with history and could not wait to learn more about it.
It is a must visit place!
11. Stari Most or the Mostar Bridge
Stari Most or the Mostar Bridge is are major tourist attractions in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The combination of the Ottoman Architecture and the blue Neretva river is what makes it so beautiful to look.
The bridge was built in the 16th century and took 9 long years to complete. It over looks the beautiful Neretva River giving the Mostar Valley a picturesque view.
One of the interesting things to see at the Mostar Bridge is the Divers that attract alot of tourists. These divers perform death – defying leaps into the river that draws the crowd towards them. The tradition off the Bridge began in 1644 and has been there ever since.
10 . Jumping from the Mostar Bridge
If you like to try this High Adrenaline adventure of Jumping from the Mostar Bridge, you would need the following ;
- You need to speak to the Dive Club, which is on the way to the Mostar Bridge itself. It is quite visible and has an arch that you will not be able to miss. You can just directly go and speak to them, they are very friendly and helpful.
- Once you are 100% sure you want to do this, they will give you a wetsuit and take you for a practice jump. For the practice jump, they will take you to a 10meter board where they will teach you how to jump. Once you are ready, you can go ahead for the actual jump
To take pictures of the valley, you can go down to the River and click pictures. You will find a way down 10 meters ahead of the bridge to take pictures and look at the Valley
Stay tuned for our next post where we will talk about what we did in Montenegro, our 2nd part of the trip!!
Cover Photo by Joshual Balzani on Unsplash