What to do in Blagaj on a day trip from Mostar
A day trip to Blagaj is among the most popular things to do while staying in Mostar. Since Blagaj is located only a few kilometers away, many people visit the town for a full or half day. In this post, we will share everything on how to organize your day trip to Blagaj from Mostar and our honest opinion about it.
Spoiler alert: We may not have had such a great experience in Blagaj, even though every other blog on the internet seems to be raging about this destination. read on to understand why.
What to see in Blagaj
Before we get started, it is important to clarify that Blagaj is the name of a town, where Blagaj Tekke (the monastery) is located.
It probably goes without saying but the most important thing to see in Blagaj is the monastery, so let’s see why:
Blagaj Tekke, the most unique monastery in Bosnia
Blagaj Tekke is a Dervish monastery that dates back to the 16th century. The Dervish are members of the Sufi religion, which is a mystic branch of Islam known for their dancing or whirling form of practice. You may have heard of this religion if you have visited Turkey and seen one of the Dervish dances where they whirl in circles dressing in white long clothes while praying (and if you haven’t yet, add it to your bucket list cause it is worth it!).
The Blagaj Dervish monastery is one of the best examples of Ottoman-style architecture around. It is actually formed by a complex of buildings with a beautiful courtyard.
One of the things I found most amazing is that the Blagaj monastery is still active to this day. It was abandoned for several years when Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Socialist Yugoslavia, but the Dervish monks returned to Blagaj in the 80s. The Monastery was fully restored in 2012 and has since become one of the main tourist attractions of the region.
Tickets to visit the inside of Blagaj Tekke cost 5 EUR (10 KM). The visit can be quite short, in about 30 min you are able to check all the rooms but you can stay as long as you need. It is important to know that you should wear appropriate clothes for going in (women are asked to cover their shoulders and given a cloth for covering their hair).
The best angle to photograph the Blagaj monastery
If you have been researching Blagaj or Bosnia in general, there is a high chance you have already seen incredible pictures of the monastery in a perfect reflection in front of the river, like the pictures above. To get to the place where these pictures were all taken, you first need to cross the bridge to the other side of the river.
Behind the restaurants, there is a small path that goes a bit above the hill and then down right in front of the monastery. This is the best angle to take pictures of the Blagaj Tekke and where you can fully take in its beauty with the surroundings.
This is also the best spot to see the cave that is located in front of the monastery. During the high season, you can buy a quick boat tour that enters the cave so you can get closer to the source of the Buna River.
Visiting Blagaj Tekke: Infrastructure
The highlight of the visit is the monastery itself, but the locals have built a whole area based on the tourists that visit every year.
By the river, you will find a lot of restaurants. These are very tourist-oriented places so you can expect quite inflated prices.
On the path leading to the monastery, you will also have small tents with locals selling souvenirs. Besides the traditional magnets and postcards, there were also some handmade items being sold when we went.
The Blagaj Fortress
Besides the monastery, the spot you can visit during this Blagaj day trip from Mostar is the Blagaj Fortress which is built in the mountains that surround the monastery.
The Blagaj Fortress gives a great view of the area and it must be an amazing spot to watch the sunset in case you will be there at the end of the day. We didn’t want to wait that long as we visited at the beginning of the afternoon, but I leave this as a tip for you guys.
To get to the Blagaj Fortress, you can either drive up the hill or walk up. Be aware that it is quite an uphill walk.
How to get to Blagaj from Mostar
For reference purposes, we will use Blagaj Tekke as the final destination. Here are the three best options of transport to get to Blagaj from Mostar:
Going to Blagaj from Mostar by car
If you will be driving with a rental car or with your own vehicle, the easiest way to get to Blagaj from Mostar is by driving. The two cities are located only 14 km away, but since the path is mostly through small roads, it takes around 20 min to drive from Mostar to Blagaj.
Once you get there, you will see a large family parking – this one is free but if you arrive later in the day during peak season, you may have a hard time finding a spot.
You can also pay 2 EUR to continue down the road and park closer to the monastery itself. Since we combined this Blagaj day trip with a visit to Kravice, we were a bit tired after the waterfall visit so we preferred to pay and park closer. It was totally worth it.
Do you need to rent a car for your trip?
We always use DiscoverCars to rent our car. So far it has proved to be not only the cheapest option but also the most reliable one. We used DiscoverCars to rent our car for our trips through Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia, Italy, and so many other countries, and we never had any issues. We even convinced all of our friends and family to use it. So that’s why we are also recommending it to you!
Going to Blagaj from Mostar by bus
Another option is to go from Mostar to Blagaj by bus, but this will make your trip quite long as you need to adjust to the bus schedule.
The bus departs from Mostar at Spanish Square, right in front of the yellow building. You can take numbers 11 or 12 to Blagaj and the ticket costs 1 EUR per person.
Pro tip: Check the bus schedule in advance as the timetable may be different depending on the time of the year (high season vs low season) and whether it is weekend or weekday.
Going to Blagaj from Mostar by taxi
If you don’t like the idea of getting the bus, you can also get to Blagaj from Mostar by taxi. Since there are many tourists that go on this same Blagaj day trip, most taxi drivers are already used to this kind of request. Make sure you align on the price (or at least a price range) beforehand to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
To give you a price reference, we were told that a one-way taxi trip to Blagaj from Mostar will cost around 10 EUR. During the high season, it is very easy to find a driver back as there are many taxis doing this same trip.
Go on a day tour to Blagaj from Mostar
Last but not least, you also have the option of booking a day tour for going to Blagaj. This is one of the best options if you don’t have your own car because you do not have to worry about any time schedule and you will also be able to see other amazing attractions on the same day.
Most day trips to Blagaj include also other stops, sometimes combined with Kravice Waterfalls or Počitelj. Book your tour below:
Is Blagaj worth visiting?
Now that you know all the important information for organizing a day trip to Blagaj from Mostar, it is time that we tell you our own experience.
We combined Blagaj and Kravice on a day trip from Mostar, going to Kravice in the morning and Blagaj in the afternoon. I personally find this combination perfect, but I have to admit that Kravice was the highlight of our day.
Even though the monastery is very interesting from a cultural perspective, besides going inside, there isn’t much to do there. It felt a bit disproportionate the number of tourist restaurants and souvenir shops for the size of the monastery and the things that you can actually do there.
Don’t get me wrong, the building is incredibly beautiful and I was very happy to visit this spot after seeing so many pictures of it. But the truth is that overall… we were a bit disappointed. We would not recommend saving an entire day for visiting Blagaj. If you combine it with other destinations in the same area, as we did, we think it is a great day trip though!
More information about the area
Check our other travel guides to help you plan your trip:
Organizing your trip
To help you plan your trip to Bosnia, we have put together our favorite planning resources:
- Flights: Get affordable flights to Bosnia on Skyscanner.com.
- Travel insurance: Make sure you are protected during your trip. We use SafetyWing whenever we are traveling abroad.
- Renting a car: We always use Discover Cars to get the best car deals.
- Accommodation: Find the best hotels and apartments on Booking.com.
- Activities: Get fun ideas of what to do and buy unique activities with Get Your Guide.
- SIM Card: Stay connected during your trip with Airalo.
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