Guides · July 19, 2026 ·6 min read

Sarajevo — six day trips, and the Mostar route that earns a stop in Konjic or Jablanica for lamb

Vrelo Bosne by tram, Bjelašnica for skiing and Lukomir, Travnik for the Ottoman fortress and Andrić, the Skakavac waterfall on foot, Visoko for Ugljen's mosque, and the Mostar road with a lamb stop in Jablanica or a rafting stop in Konjic. Transport, times, costs.

By Nedim Hadzimahmutovic · Sarajevo

The question every Sarajevo visitor asks on day two: where can I go for a day trip? The answer depends on how many hours you have and whether you want mountains, water, history, or lamb. Here are the six that work.

Day trip 1: Vrelo Bosne — the springs (half-day, easy)

Distance: 14 km west. Transport: Tram 3 from Baščaršija to Ilidža (45 min, 2.20 BAM), then 3.5 km walk down Velika Aleja or horse-drawn carriage (fijaker, ~30 BAM per family). Cost: Park entry 6 BAM for foreign adults, 3 BAM for BiH residents. Time needed: 3–4 hours including transport.

Vrelo Bosne is where the Bosna river surfaces — cold springs at the foot of Mount Igman, a park with swans and footbridges, and the kind of quiet that central Sarajevo doesn’t have. Sarajevans go here on Sunday mornings. You should too. Combine with the Ilidža spa history if the Roman connection interests you.

What to do there: Walk through the park, rent a rowboat in summer, eat lunch at one of the riverside restaurants in Ilidža on the way back.

If you want a wilder spring: Vrelo Mošćanice is the city’s other natural source — on the northern slopes above the Faletići neighbourhood. No swans, no buses, no entrance fee. A steep walk to an icy pool where locals fill bottles. Half a day with the walk.

Day trip 2: Bjelašnica — the Olympic mountain (full day, car or organised tour)

Distance: 30 km south-west. Transport: Taxi (~50 BAM one way) or organised day tour. No regular public bus. Cost: Free access in summer; ski pass in winter ~35 BAM. Time needed: Full day.

The mountain where the 1984 Winter Olympics alpine events were held. In winter it’s the nearest serious skiing to the city. In summer it’s highland meadows, the Lukomir village (Bosnia’s highest permanently inhabited settlement, 1,469 m), and clean air. See our winter piece for the ski detail.

What to do there: In summer, drive to the Bjelašnica plateau, walk to Lukomir (2 hours one way), eat grah (bean stew) at the mountain lodge. In winter, ski.

Day trip 3: Travnik — the old Ottoman capital (full day, bus)

Distance: 90 km north-west. Transport: Bus from Sarajevo bus station, roughly every hour, ~15 BAM one way, 90 minutes. Time needed: Full day (leave by 09:00, return by 18:00).

Travnik was the seat of the Ottoman governor of Bosnia from 1697 to 1850 — the century and a half when Sarajevo was the province’s richest city but not its capital. The town has the best-preserved Ottoman fortress in central Bosnia, working watermills, a cluster of mosques, and the childhood house of Ivo Andrić (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1961). It’s also where the best ćevapi-in-somun outside Sarajevo are made — Travnik ćevapi are slightly different from Sarajevo ones (whiter, with added cream cheese) and the locals will fight you over which city’s are better.

What to do there: The fortress, the Plava Voda spring, the Šarena Džamija (painted mosque), the Andrić birth house, and ćevapi at Hari or Zlatna Ribica.

Day trip 4: Skakavac waterfall — the forest walk (half-day, easy)

Distance: 12 km north of the centre. Transport: Taxi to the trailhead at Nahorevo (~15 BAM), then a 45-minute forest walk. Cost: Free. Time needed: 3–4 hours.

A 98-metre waterfall in a wooded canyon north of the city. The walk in is through beech and pine forest along a marked trail. The waterfall is at its best in spring (April–May) when snowmelt feeds it. By August it can be thin. This is the day trip for anyone who wants to hike but doesn’t want to commit to a full mountain day.

What to do there: Walk in, see the waterfall, walk back. Eat at a local restaurant in Nahorevo village afterward.

Day trip 5: Visoko — the Šerefudin White Mosque (half-day, bus)

Distance: 37 km north-west. Transport: Bus from Sarajevo bus station, frequent departures, ~6 BAM one way, about 50 minutes. Time needed: 3–4 hours.

Visoko is a small town in the Bosna valley. The reason to go is the Šerefudin’s White Mosque, designed by Zlatko Ugljen in 1969–1980, winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983. It is one of the most important pieces of twentieth-century sacral architecture in the Balkans. See our Ugljen piece for the full story.

What to do there: See the mosque (open to visitors, modest dress), walk through Visoko’s small Ottoman centre, take the bus back.

Day trip 6: The Mostar road — with a stop in Konjic or Jablanica for lamb

Distance: 129 km to Mostar. Transport: Bus (~17 BAM one way, 2.5–3 hours, ~22 departures daily) or train (14.10 BAM one way in 2nd class, 1h58, two departures daily at 07:15 and 16:49). Best by car if you want to stop. Time needed: Full day, or better as an overnight.

Mostar is one of the finest small cities in the Balkans. The Stari Most (Old Bridge, rebuilt 2004, UNESCO since 2005) is the real thing — a 29-metre Ottoman stone arch over the Neretva, with bridge-divers in summer and the old town climbing both banks. The train ride through the Neretva canyon is the best rail journey in the region. We’ve written a full piece on the route.

The road south from Sarajevo to Mostar passes through two towns worth stopping in:

Konjic (80 km from Sarajevo, roughly halfway). An Ottoman bridge town on the Neretva. The town’s two draws: the 1682 stone bridge (one of Bosnia’s finest Ottoman bridges, smaller than Mostar’s but less crowded), and Neretva rafting — the organised half-day rafting trips on the Neretva canyon run from Konjic between May and October. The canyon stretch south of Konjic is class II–III rapids, manageable for beginners, gorgeous all day.

Jablanica (90 km from Sarajevo, just past Konjic). A small town on the Neretva famous for exactly one thing: janjetina na ražnju — whole lamb roasted on a spit over an open fire. The roadside restaurants lining the highway through Jablanica serve the best spit-roasted lamb in Bosnia. This is not a guidebook claim; Bosnians drive from Sarajevo to Jablanica specifically to eat lamb. Stop, eat, continue to Mostar. Budget 20–30 BAM for a plate.

The recommended Mostar plan: Leave Sarajevo in the morning. Stop in Jablanica for lamb at midday. Arrive in Mostar by 14:00. See the bridge, walk the old town, stay overnight. Take the train back the next morning through the canyon. Two days well spent.

If you only have one day, the same route works as a long day trip — leave early, stop briefly in Jablanica, arrive in Mostar by noon, walk the old town for three hours, bus back by 18:00. It’s a full day but it’s worth it if an overnight isn’t possible.

The decision matrix

Day trip	Distance	Transport	Time needed	Best for
Vrelo Bosne	14 km	Tram 3 (45 min)	Half day	Families, first-time visitors, anyone who wants green
Bjelašnica	30 km	Taxi / tour	Full day	Winter skiers, summer hikers, Lukomir village
Travnik	90 km	Bus (90 min)	Full day	History, Ottoman heritage, Andrić
Skakavac	12 km	Taxi + walk	Half day	Hikers, spring waterfall season
Visoko	37 km	Bus (50 min)	Half day	Architecture, Ugljen’s mosque
Mostar via Jablanica	129 km	Bus / train / car	Full day or overnight	The bridge, the canyon, the lamb

Sources & further reading

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