Bosnia and Herzegovina by campervan: best regions and routes

Areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina: mountains, two rivers and a Mediterranean tail

This is a country of valleys, and the valleys decide everything: where the roads go, where the towns are, what the weather does and how long any journey takes. Read it as four or five river systems rather than as a map, and add half again to every drive time.

Sarajevo and the centre

Sarajevo and the centre: the city in the bowl and the mountains above it

Sarajevo sits in a narrow bowl at about 500 metres with mountains on every side, and the Olympic peaks of Bjelašnica, Igman and Jahorina are within an hour. It is the most concentrated place in the country: Ottoman bazaar, Habsburg boulevards, socialist blocks and the siege's marks, in walking distance of each other.

Best May to early October

What it is like

• Proper seasons. 28 °C in August, 4 °C in January, and rain spread through the year rather than in a wet season.
• The bowl traps air in winter, and air pollution here is a real and officially flagged problem.

Where to go

• Baščaršija and the Latin Bridge
• The tunnel museum under the airport

For the vehicle

• Thefts from cars have increased around Sarajevo, particularly on Mount Trebević. Leave nothing visible and park where there are people.
• The A1 runs north from here and charges a campervan 14 KM to Zenica north against 7 for a car.

Herzegovina

Herzegovina: Mostar, the Neretva and the karst south

South of the watershed the country changes completely: bare karst, figs and vines, and a Mediterranean climate that runs all the way to Trebinje and the Croatian border. Mostar is the centre of it, and the Neretva is the reason anything is where it is.

Best April to June, September, October

What it is like

• Hot. Mostar averages 33.5 °C in August and the karst holds the heat well past sunset.
• Wet in late autumn rather than in summer, and the November figures here are higher than Sarajevo's.

Where to go

• Mostar and the Old Bridge, early or late
• Blagaj, where the Buna comes out of a cliff

For the vehicle

• This is the Federation, so the hospitality law and its 50 to 500 KM camping fine apply here.
• Diving off the Mostar bridge has caused serious injuries and deaths. It is not a thing to try.

The Una and the north west

The Una and the north west: the greenest water in the country

The Una rises near the Croatian border and runs north through Martin Brod, Kulen Vakuf and Bihać over a staircase of travertine falls. Una National Park protects the best of it, and the whole corner is set up for rafting, which means it is also set up for campsites.

Best May to September

What it is like

• The wet corner of the country. Bihać takes over 100 mm in most months, which is why the river looks the way it does.
• Cooler than the rest in summer, at 27 °C in July against Mostar's 33.

Where to go

• Štrbački buk, the big fall in the national park
• Martin Brod and the Una Kruna cascades

For the vehicle

• This was a front line, and it is one of the parts of the country where staying on made surfaces matters most.
• The rafting bases are the easiest legal places to sleep, and they know which ground is cleared.