Dubrovnik to Mostar with a driver: the route, the border and a day at the Old Bridge

Mostar makes one of the longest and most varied day drives from Dubrovnik: a different country, a different landscape and the Old Bridge, about two and a half hours away. With a driver you set the pace, add the Kravica waterfall or Međugorje, and come back along the coast without anyone at the wheel being tired. This guide covers the route, the border and its papers, the stops worth making and what to know about Mostar itself.

The route

By the fastest road, the drive from Pile Gate to Stari Most, the Old Bridge, is about 146 km: north on the D8 coast road, then the D9 inland to the Metković–Doljani border crossing, and the M-17 north to Mostar. Without stops or queues it takes 2½–2¾ hours. An inland alternative through Trebinje and Stolac is shorter, about 122 km, but about ten minutes slower, by OpenStreetMap routing.

Since the Pelješac Bridge opened in 2022, the coast road north stays in Croatia, so the only border on the way is the one into Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fastest route follows the coast past Trsteno, bypasses Ston and crosses the Pelješac Bridge before turning inland on the D9 towards Metković.

The border and the papers

The crossing at Metković–Doljani is on the EU’s external border: Croatia is in Schengen, Bosnia and Herzegovina is not. That means a passport check leaving Croatia, another entering Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the same again on the way back. Since 10 April 2026 the EU Entry/Exit System has recorded non-EU visitors’ exits and entries with a facial image and fingerprints; EU citizens are exempt.

The lanes. At Croatian crossings, the lanes signed “EU, EGP, CH” are for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and close family travelling with them, and all other travellers use the lanes signed “Sve putovnice” (all passports), as the Croatian police explain. The driver picks the right lane before the booths.

The travellers. UK travel advice for Bosnia and Herzegovina allows British visitors up to 90 days in a six-month period without a visa, with a passport under ten years old on arrival and valid for at least 90 days after departure. All foreign nationals must register with the police within 72 hours of arrival; hotels normally do it, and on a day trip it does not arise. Check the entry rules for your own nationality before you go.

Distances at a glance

All distances are by the fastest road from Pile Gate, without stops or queues, from OpenStreetMap routing.

Stops on the way

Kravica waterfall is on the Trebižat river, about 10 km south of Ljubuški and 40 km south of Mostar; the falls are about 25 m high, and the site is about 122 km from the Old Town. Entry cost about €10, or 20 KM, per adult in 2026, paid in cash at the gate, according to a local guide, so carry some cash.

Međugorje, about 128 km from the Old Town, is a village in the municipality of Čitluk. Reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary began there on 24 June 1981, and on 19 September 2024 the Holy See granted a “nihil obstat” permitting pilgrimages and devotion without declaring the apparitions authentic, as Wikipedia’s article on Međugorje records. It receives about a million visitors a year, and our Međugorje guide covers the shrine and a day built around it.

Both are a short detour from the route to Mostar. With an early start you can see one of them on the way out and keep the afternoon for the city.

Mostar and the Old Bridge

Stari Most was built by Mimar Hayruddin: construction began in 1557 and was completed in 1566–1567. The bridge is about 30 m long and 4 m wide and stands about 24 m above the Neretva. It was destroyed on 9 November 1993, rebuilt between June 2001 and July 2004, and reopened on 23 July 2004; the “Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar” was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005, as Wikipedia’s article on Stari Most records.

Formal diving from the bridge dates from 1968, and Stari Most has been a stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series since 2015.

The old town is explored on foot; the driver sets you down nearby and waits.

Coming back

The way back is the same route in reverse, with the same two passport checks at Doljani and Metković. Re-entering Croatia means re-entering the EU: meat and dairy products bought in Bosnia and Herzegovina may not be brought in at all, according to the EU’s Your Europe guidance, and each traveller arriving by land may bring 40 cigarettes, 1 litre of spirits, 4 litres of still wine, 16 litres of beer and €300 of other goods.

Back on the D8, if you have time, stop in Ston for the walls and an early dinner before the last hour to Dubrovnik.

A day plan with a driver

1. Leave Dubrovnik by 07:00, so the car reaches the border before mid-morning.
2. Stop at Kravica or Međugorje on the way, for an hour or two.
3. Reach Mostar around midday; walk to the Old Bridge and have lunch in the old town while the driver waits.
4. Start back by late afternoon, allowing for the border queue at Metković.

The whole day is 10 hours or more. In July and August, start earlier still and carry water. As a route, Mostar costs €240 by car one way, per vehicle; for a return in a day with stops, hourly hire usually fits better, and the Bosnia and Herzegovina section has every route and price. For the other border, our Kotor and Montenegro guide covers the day in the Bay of Kotor.