After taking the ferry back from Hvar to Split, the plan was to drive from Split to Dubrovnik for the last city on our list (kind of). I had added Mostar in Bosnia as a maybe on our list if we had the time and weren't super tired. We didn't have the time, were super tired, but still decided to make a pit stop in Mostar, and it was one of the best spontaneous decisions of the trip (minus the incredibly scary drive down the mountains in Bosnia to Dubrovnik, but more on that ahead).
The view from the ferry on our way back to Split
Upon getting back to Split from Hvar via ferry, we immediately started heading south towards Dubrovnik. We had unfortunately already lost most of the morning on the ferry, and didn't want to run into the situation of driving in the dark. Additionally, we were really hoping to finally be able to go swimming in Dubrovnik, and wanted to make it there before sunset. With a three hour drive ahead of us, we didn't waste time and were on our way. If it wasn't the mountainous driving that kept us alert (and me mostly in a state of panic), it was at the very least the beautiful views. An hour into the drive, the forecast predicted a cloudy and partially rainy afternoon in Dubrovnik, which meant swimming wouldn't be happening even if we made it to Dubrovnik before dark. With the rush to get to our next destination no longer looming over us, we decided to drive through Bosnia on our way down.
Southern Croatia
By the time we reached Mostar, it was about 4 pm and slightly rainy. We planned to spend no longer than one hour in Mostar because we still had about two hours before we got to Dubrovnik. Spoiler alert: we didn't spend just one hour in Mostar, and we should've realized one hour would absolutely not do the beautiful city justice. Mostar is the fifth largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a significant Islamic influence. The highlight of the city is the old bridge, Stari Most, which happens to be (along with the rest of the city) a UNESCO World Heritage site.
View of Stari Most from the market
In order to get an aerial view of the city and Stari Most, we headed into the Koski Mehmed Pasa Mosque (built in 1617) and climbed the minaret. The views were breathtaking, from both inside the actual mosque, and the minaret overlooking the city.
The interior of the Koski Mehmed Pasa Mosque
After a terrifying journey back down the minaret (I'm extremely afraid of heights), we walked around the market for a bit more and grabbed a bite to eat. By around 6:30 pm, we had to practically force ourselves to leave the city. I really do think a part of us wanted to just stay back and spend the night exploring Mostar and forgo Dubrovnik, but we had already paid for the one splurge of a hotel in Dubrovnik. We hopped back into the car, and began the harrowing journey down the mountains.
The night drive from Mostar to Dubrovnik is really a blur (as pictured above). The rain had grown into a full on thunderstorm that at one point forced us to pull over and wait for the rain to lessen. On the drive down, we also happened upon some strange fauna, including a weasel, crab (with no water anywhere around the area), many frogs, and what we think may have been a hog. By the time we made it to Dubrovnik about 5 hours later, we were absolutely exhausted but incredibly relieved to have made it to our final new city.
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