On May 29, 2010 we took a bus north from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Mostar, Bosnia & Hercegovina.
We purchased our tickets directly from the Dubrovnik Bus Station for 79 Kuna/person and they don’t take credit cards. You also need to pay 1 euro (or 8 kuna) for any bags that you have stowed in the baggage compartment. They had a couple of departure options going to Mostar and we opted for the morning bus that left at 8:00 AM and arrived a little after 12:00 PM, about one hour late. The bus was late for a couple of reasons. First, this is not a direct bus as it stopped several times to pick up other passengers. At one point the bus was completely full, yet more passengers were allowed on if they didn’t mind standing! There are also 3 check points that we had to go through which were all immigration related. Even though we showed our passports 3 times we didn’t get any stamps which seemed a little strange.
When our bus finally crossed into Bosnia & Hercegovina we thought we were finally getting close, but then the bus stopped immediately after crossing the border for a 20 minute lunch break. It appeared that most of the passengers were not going to Mostar, but continuing on to Sarajevo and welcomed the break. Also it seems that everyone smokes here too, so the smokers would hop out of the bus at any brief stop to get in a few smokes and bring their awful smell back into the bus.
Even though the bus was late, it was a smooth ride and the scenery was also very nice as we passed by the Adriatic Sea for the first 2 hours of the journey. The bus arrived at the main bus station, which is adjacent to the train station and about a 7 minute walk to the center of town, which was very convenient. The bus station also has a check luggage area. Just go to the window where you buy tickets and they will help you. If you haven’t booked your accommodation there were plenty of ladies there trying to get your business for their Sobe (rooms) and/or apartments. We already had a guest house chosen for the evening and made our way there to check in, before touring Mostar.