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Driving to Visegrad

As part of my long extended trip in Europe this spring and summer I will be driving from Dubrovnik to Visegrad to visit the famed "Bridge on the Drina" subject of Ivo Andric's book of the same name and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and a truly great book. ( a book I think is absolutely essential to read before going to this part of the world)...But I digress...

I am looking for folks who have driven that route and can provide any suggestions of great stops along the way. Lunch stops? Great little Inns? Sights?

Please hold all comments on how difficult or easy it is to drive in B/H. I have driven in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Egypt and others so I am not worried about the actual driving or the roads. Just interested in interesting sights.

Note: I will not be traveling thru Mostar.

Thanks for any help.

Posted by
971 posts

Probably not, you might have better luck with the more Independent and adventures travellers on the Lonely Planet forum.

Posted by
10 posts

Yeah, I see, you want to take route via Trebinje and Cemerno Pass. Do you know how to reach Trebinje from Dubrovnik? It is not trivial for foreigners, since there are no road signs in Dubrovnik pointing you to Trebinje (this is due to the fact that Trebinjans shelled Dubrovnik during the war, so city is in a sense ‘erased’). You will take a road to Cavtat and then few miles from Dubrovnik and well before Cavtat there is a sign for Brgat Gornji and BiH. Take that road it leads to Trebinje.
Now in this entire trip Trebinje is probably the most interesting town to visit: you have old city core with the old bridge. Excellent winery and restaurant at Vukoje winery, ask for the directions in town. His vranac riserva is subperb.
After Trebinje folov signs for Bileca then Gacko then Foca. You will be crossing Cemerno Pass which used to be the most treacherous point on the road. I deove it few times and if you have done Asia driving, it should not be a problem. However few years ago they did some road widening and improvement so it might be even better now.
Once you cross Cemerno you can stop for a coffee at Tjentiste. It is a site of a huge ww2 battle between germans and Yugoslavs. There is a monument in pretty bad shape. Also once you cross Cemerno observe surroundings: mountains are marvelous and you will be near Mt Maglic, highest peak of bosnia.

After Tjentiste you will descend to Drina valley and pass Foca and Gorazde. After Gorazde you will go through Drina Canyon, very photogenic area. Especially spot where Lim flows into Drina.
After that you will be in Visegrad: but here is a spoiler: besides the bridge, not much more to see.

In all road is very good with the possible exception of Cemerno pass.
Cheers
Edin

Posted by
546 posts

Edin, Hey thanks a lot for the detailed report. Especially the tip on the wine. I havnt bought a map for that area yet but I will soon and follow closely all of your comments.

I enjoy the backroads and am looking forward to this drive.

Thanks again