The finest drive in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the most common day trip out of Sarajevo. The road follows the Neretva on the M17, through a canyon you do not see from the train or the bus the way you see it from a car you can stop whenever you like.
The M17 is a main road, not a motorway. Two lanes, an occasional third for overtaking on the climbs, and a lot of bends through the canyon. It is not demanding, but it is not a road you cover at a hundred and thirty either.
In summer, and at weekends especially, queueing behind a lorry is normal and two hours easily becomes three. In winter the canyon section sits in shade and can be slippery in the morning, though it rarely holds snow the way the mountains do.
There are no tolls on this route because it uses no motorway. There are plenty of filling stations in Konjic, Jablanica and before Mostar, but the gaps through the canyon itself are longer, so do not set off on the reserve.
Mileage inside Bosnia and Herzegovina is unlimited with us, so Mostar and back does not make the rental cost more.
Leave Sarajevo at nine and you are in Mostar around eleven, with the whole day for the old town before driving back in the evening. That is the usual shape of it.
If you are adding Kravice, count another hour and a half each way from Mostar and start earlier. It makes for a long day, and that is where a driver earns its keep.
Everything here is on the route or a few minutes off it.
The old stone bridge over the Neretva and the turning for Tito's bunker. A good first stop, about an hour from Sarajevo.
The stretch along the water is the most photographed part of the drive, with several lay-bys where stopping is easy.
The Battle of the Neretva museum and the destroyed bridge. This is where people traditionally stop for lamb.
A fortified Ottoman settlement on the slope above the Neretva, twenty minutes past Mostar if you carry on south.
You do not need anything off-road for this. The road is surfaced the whole way, and a comfortable saloon with an automatic gearbox is more pleasant through the bends than a tall car. If there are more of you, or you are adding Kravice, tell us the group size and we will suggest a van instead.
Audi A6 2010
See the carIt can, and that is what most people do. Two hours each way leaves plenty of time for the old town, lunch and the drive back the same day.
No, the whole route is inside Bosnia and Herzegovina. A green card and owner's authorisation are only needed if you leave the country.
Not demanding, but the canyon is shaded and can ice over in the morning. From November to April the cars carry winter equipment.
Tell us the date and how many of you there are. We will suggest a car and a price for those dates.
