Anyone who reads my reports has figured out by now I probably spend more time than the average tourist when I am traveling. So once again, take my times with a grain of salt.
2 nights Banja Luka;
2 nights Jajce;
3 nights Mostar;
6 nights Sarajevo
I flew in to Banja Luka from Belgrade. While not the most efficient trip, I needed to put my 4 nights in Belgrade between Montenegro and Bosnia because I wanted to ride the Bar-Belgrade train through the mountains - and I made it on the last day train of the season in mid-September (night trains continue year-round, I think). I actually rode Podgorica-Belgrade, so I missed the Bar-Podgorica section, which I hear is really beautiful. Cost was €23.
2 nights Banja Luka: Banja Luka’s airport is so small, there is no baggage carousel. I was actually out and in front of the building when I realized there was no more opportunity for “through the next door” to find my suitcase! I am still not sure where I should have claimed it, but I THINK out on the tarmac right off the plane.
Stayed: Hotel Vidovic
Did: arrival day - wandered the town, walked through the fort, and ate dinner at the restaurant on the walls by the river.
On my one full day I had a guided walking tour of the town, a great traditional meal, and lucked into a free concert/performance at the cultural hall, which turned out to be half singing and half spoken story-telling (in Serbian) accompanied by a classical pianist. Both performers were professors at a university in Kosovo. I didn’t understand a word but was not bored one minute of it.
2 nights Jajce: Jajce is a small town on the Pliva River, whose claim to fame is the beautiful waterfall in town and lake just outside town. I think it must be a much busier place in the summer, with lots of great outdoor activities, but I was just a little late in the season to witness that (no problem for me).
Stayed: Apartment Vodopad
Did: On the way, I stopped at Krupa Waterfalls, Krupa Serbian Orthodix Monastery, and (almost in Jajce) Mlinčići, which is a small park full of former water mills, with streams running swiftly underneath.
On my full day, I slept late, sat on my balcony which looked directly at the river, and wandered through town.
3 Nights Mostar:
Stayed: Muslibegovic House. Several here have mentioned it and I have wanted to stay since I first looked it up. It is a family home turned hotel/museum and is run by the 9th generation of family. Not damaged in the war, the construction and many furnishings and decorative elements are still from the days of the Ottomans.
Did: On the way, we did a wander off-road looking for the wild horses at Livno. Instead we found a bridge from the Romans - no road, just a bridge at the end of a path.
Day 1: Old Bridge, Crooked Bridge, Kosice Mehmed Mosque (which you can enter - small admission fee but they provide a long apron and scarf to make sure you are well-covered), the small Museum of War and Genocide, and an evening “free” tour of the city led by a native of Mostar who gave a really in-depth guide to ancient history and more recent history. He was a “Muslim atheist” (I told this to a guide in Sarajevo, who was perplexed) and he tried to give a very balanced account of the 1990’s, having been there for the war in Mostar. I had to leave after 3 hours but he was still answering questions.
Day 2: A guided tour to Medugorje and Kravica Waterfall (which I had missed on my one night stay in 2021).
According to guides from both days, most of the remaining war damage you see in Mostar has less to do with finances and much to do with ownership issues.