Balkan Highlights

About this tour

The tour to take if you have one week and want to see why people keep coming back to this part of Europe. It starts with two nights in Belgrade, crosses the Drina into Bosnia for Sarajevo and Mostar, follows the Neretva and the Herzegovinian karst to the Bay of Kotor, and comes home over the Durmitor plateau and the Tara canyon.

Three countries, three currencies, four border crossings and a lot of different food. Two of the eight days involve five or more hours on the road; the rest are two to three hours with long stops. Two nights each in Belgrade, Sarajevo-Mostar and Kotor keep the packing to a minimum, and the group never exceeds twelve.

1. Day 1
   Arrival in BelgradeMeet at 17:00 and walk down Knez Mihailova to Kalemegdan for sunset over the confluence of the Sava and the Danube. Welcome dinner in Skadarlija, the old bohemian street.Airport transfer · 18 km · about 30 minOvernight: Belgrade
2. Day 2
   Belgrade, both sides of the riverMorning on foot: the fortress, Kosančićev venac and the Cathedral, then the Temple of St Sava. After lunch, over the river to Zemun: Gardoš tower for the view, the Danube quay and a late afternoon on the water. Evening free.City driving only · about 30 km in totalOvernight: Belgrade
3. Day 3
   Across the Drina to SarajevoThe first long day. West through Šabac and Loznica, over the Drina at Zvornik into Bosnia, and up through the hills to Sarajevo with a lunch stop on the way. Late afternoon walk through Baščaršija and dinner in the bazaar.Belgrade → Zvornik → Sarajevo · about 290 km · 5 h with the borderOvernight: Sarajevo
4. Day 4
   Sarajevo, then down the Neretva to MostarMorning in Sarajevo: the Latin Bridge, the City Hall, the Tunnel of Hope and the view from the Yellow Bastion. After lunch, south through Konjic and the Neretva canyon to Mostar. Evening at the Old Bridge.Sarajevo → Mostar · about 130 km · 2 h 15Overnight: Mostar
5. Day 5
   Blagaj, Trebinje and the Bay of KotorBlagaj and the dervish house at the source of the Buna first, then east across the Herzegovinian karst to Trebinje, a small town of plane trees and an Ottoman bridge, for lunch. Over the border into Montenegro and along the bay to Kotor, arriving in time for an evening walk inside the walls.Mostar → Blagaj → Trebinje → Kotor · about 200 km · 4 h with the borderOvernight: Kotor
6. Day 6
   Kotor and PerastPerast and the boat to Our Lady of the Rocks in the morning, lunch on the waterfront. Afternoon in Kotor: the walls up to the fortress of St John for those who want the view, the cathedral and the museums for those who don't. Evening free.Kotor → Perast → Kotor · about 25 km · 45 min of drivingOvernight: Kotor
7. Day 7
   Up to DurmitorLeave the coast through Risan and Nikšić and climb to Žabljak at 1,450 m. Afternoon walk around the Black Lake under the Durmitor peaks, dinner of lamb and kačamak in a mountain restaurant.Kotor → Nikšić → Žabljak · about 165 km · 3 h 15Overnight: Žabljak
8. Day 8
   The Tara canyon and home to BelgradeThe Đurđevića Tara bridge first thing, then the long road home: Pljevlja, the Serbian border, Prijepolje and Užice, with a lunch stop, and the motorway into Belgrade. Arrival at your hotel around 18:00; airport drop-off on request for flights after 21:00, or stay another night in Belgrade.Žabljak → Pljevlja → Užice → Belgrade · about 370 km · 6 h 30 with the border and stopsTour ends

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