Sarajevo → Mostar → Kotor → Petrovac → Shkodër → Tirana
In 60 seconds
The route in 60 seconds
The one long overland run in the atlas, and the Balkans deserve it. The line goes south from Sarajevo — a city in a bowl of mountains, with its bazaar and its siege still legible — through the Neretva gorge to Mostar, then over the karst into Montenegro for the fjord-like Bay of Kotor and a few quiet days on the red pebble at Petrovac, before crossing into Albania for Shkodër under its lake and fortress, and finishing in Tirana. Mountains, an Ottoman interior, a Venetian coast, a beach and two very different capitals, in roughly a fortnight. Nothing about it backtracks, and nothing about it is fast.
Stops
Where you sleep
Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Baščaršija, the tunnel museum, and coffee taken properly.
Open destinationMostar
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The bridge at first light, Blagaj in the afternoon.
Open destinationPetrovac
Montenegro
Two days of pebble, the sea fort and the walk to Lučice.
Open destinationShkodër
Albania
Rozafa above the lake, and the long pedestrian street below.
Open destinationDay by day
How the days fall
The order we would follow, with the transfers already in the right place.
Days 1–3
SarajevoA capital in a bowl of mountains, read from both of its centuries.
- Morning
Baščaršija
The Ottoman bazaar before the coaches, and a coffee ground to order.
- Afternoon
The Latin Bridge and the city museum
Where 1914 began, and the Austro-Hungarian city built either side of it.
- Evening
Yellow Bastion
Up to the fortifications for the call to prayer coming off the valley walls.
Days 4–5
MostarThe bridge, and the Herzegovinian country around it.
- Morning
Stari Most at first light
The rebuilt Ottoman arch with the old town still asleep around it.
- Afternoon
Blagaj
The dervish house under its cliff where the Buna comes out of the rock.
- Evening
Coppersmiths' street
Back over the bridge as the stone goes gold and the divers pack up.
Days 6–7
KotorVenetian stone at the head of Europe's southernmost fjord-like bay.
- Morning
The city walls
The long climb to San Giovanni, started early and before the heat.
- Afternoon
Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks
A boat out to the built island, and lunch on the quay.
- Evening
Stari Grad
The squares once the day boats have gone, which is when Kotor is itself.
Days 8–9
PetrovacTwo days of doing very little on the quietest part of the riviera.
- Morning
The town beach
Red pebble, calm water and a promenade that takes ten minutes to walk.
- Afternoon
Kastio and Lučice
The Venetian sea fort, then the coastal path over the headland to the cove.
- Evening
Buljarica
Two and a half kilometres of almost empty beach, and the marsh behind it at dusk.
Days 10–11
ShkodërAn Albanian lake city under a fortress, and the best bicycle town on the route.
- Morning
Rozafa Fortress
Up to the walls for the three rivers and the lake spread out below.
- Afternoon
Lake Skadar's Albanian shore
Out to the water by bicycle, which is how Shkodër gets about.
- Evening
Rruga Kolë Idromeno
The restored pedestrian street, and the photography museum on it.
Day 12
TiranaA capital that has repainted itself, and a short last day.
- Morning
Skanderbeg Square and Bunk'Art
The square, then a bunker museum that explains the forty years before it.
- Afternoon
Blloku
The once-closed quarter, now the city's cafés — and the pyramid to climb.
Transport
Between destinations
- Sarajevo → MostarTrainAbout 2 h
Take the train rather than the bus: it follows the Neretva gorge the whole way and is one of the most scenic lines in the Balkans. Sit on the left going south. Buses cover the same route in about 2 h 30.
- Mostar → KotorBusMost of a day by bus; about 4 h by car
There is no reliable direct bus. By public transport it is Mostar to Trebinje (about 3 h, roughly one service a day) and Trebinje to Kotor (about 2 h, also sparse), so allow the whole day and check both legs before committing. A hire car does it in about four hours including the border, and the Trebinje road is the best of the drive.
- Kotor → PetrovacBusAbout 1 h
Frequent local buses along the riviera, changing at Budva if there is nothing direct. The coast road is slow in July and August.
- Petrovac → ShkodërBusAbout 3 h, plus the border
Coaches run down the coast through Bar and Ulcinj and across at Sukobin. Scheduled time is about three hours for the 93 km; the border adds up to an hour in season, when everyone leaves the bus twice.
- Shkodër → TiranaBusAbout 2 h
The easiest leg of the route: buses and minibuses run through the day on a good road, and the drive is under two hours outside the Tirana rush.
Highlights
Key experiences
If the trip is cut short, these are the four to protect.
The Neretva gorge by train
Two hours of river and rock for the price of a bus ticket.
Kotor's walls before eight
The only hour the climb is cool and the bay is still grey.
The coastal path to Lučice
Ten minutes out of Petrovac and the water goes from calm to clear.
Rozafa over Lake Skadar
Three rivers, a lake and two countries from one set of walls.
Coffee, four ways
Bosnian in a džezva, espresso in Kotor, macchiato in Shkodër, and whatever Tirana is doing now.
Stay
Where to stay
- Sarajevo
- Stay within walking distance of Baščaršija; the city's evening happens there.
- Mostar
- A room on the east bank puts the bridge two minutes away and the coaches behind you.
- Kotor
- Inside the walls for atmosphere, Dobrota for quiet and a parking space.
- Petrovac
- Anywhere back from the promenade; the bay is ten minutes end to end.
- Shkodër
- Around the pedestrian street, where the guesthouses lend bicycles.
- Tirana
- One night near Skanderbeg Square is enough before a morning flight.