Raft, Hike and Canoe in Bosnia
Explore the Via Dinarica route through the rivers, mountains and canyons of Bosnia's beautiful Zupa Valley
What's Included?
Small Like-minded Groups
Solo-friendly by design, join our small n’ sociable groups of up to 12 like-minded, active and outdoorsy people…
…
What's it like?
Hike to the remote ruins of a mountaintop castle before rafting along the peaceful pools and rapids of the clear Neretva River
Clamber into a canoe and paddle along the unspoilt turquoise waters of this wild, narrow gorge
Explore the charming Balkan city of Mostar and the unique village of Blagaj, built around a Dervish monastery
Key Information
Day 1
Mostar
Driving
Fly into Dubrovnik in neighbouring Croatia and drive over the border and into the beautiful Zupa Valley, stopping to explore the charming city of Mostar, famous for its 16th Century bridge over the Neretva River. Explore the old town and then sit down for a traditional dinner in a local restaurant before continuing the drive for the final couple of hours to your accommodation by Boracko Lake beneath a starry sky.
Day 2
Raft the Neretva
Hiking
Rafting
Drive to the Upper Neretva Canyon and begin your challenging hike to the remote ruins of a 14th Century mountaintop castle. Head back to the Neretva River and raft through peaceful pools and down grade 2 to 3 rapids, taking plenty of breaks for swimming, cliff jumping, and snacks. You’ll finish your rafting right in the camp, where you can refuel, kick back and relax!
Day 3
Neretva river canoeing
Canoeing
Take a short drive to the Neretva River. Jump in your 2-3 person inflatable canoes and learn how to paddle independently and as a team as you drift through wild gorges. Afterwards, you’ll have the opportunity to dry off and change your clothes before heading to lunch. Then drive to Blagaj and explore a unique city built around a remarkable Dervish monastery, if time allows. Head on to Mostar and spend your last night in this charming and famously beautiful city.
Day 4
Departure
Enjoy a last, relaxed breakfast in Bosnia and Herzegovina and then drive back to Dubrovnik in time for your flight home.
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Dubrovnik Airport
13:30 on Day 1
Ends
Dubrovnik Airport
12:00 on Day 4
Transfers
Your adventure begins at Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) where you will meet your host and fellow adventurers in the arrivals area at 13:30. Please schedule your flight to arrive more than 30 minutes before this time.
At the end of the trip you will be dropped back at Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) at 12:00, so you're free to catch any flight departing after 14:00. Alternatively, you can always stay on and explore Dubrovnik further. There are regular airport shuttle buses to and from Dubrovnik Airport and the city centre for those that are arriving early or staying on after the trip.
If you are unable to get the group transfer from the airport, you'll need to either hire a car or book a taxi to get to the start point in Mostar (2.5 hour drive). Your host is unable to arrange a private transfer to the start point of the trip.
Travel options
There are regular flights to Dubrovnik from airports across the UK and Europe.
Day 1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 3
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 4
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
Bosnian food is fresh, home-cooked and hearty. Common food items include local cheeses and other dairy products, dried meats, fish, freshly baked bread and pastries, and local fruits and veggies.
Vegetarians, vegans and other dietary requirements and allergies can be catered for - please just request on your passenger info form.
What is the accommodation like?
Mostar
You'll stay in a 3-star hotel in an en-suite twin room with a TV, fridge and free Wi-Fi.
Boracko Lake or Neretva River
Depending on availability, you'll either stay in an apartment with an en-suite bathroom, balcony and free Wi-Fi at the shore of Boracko lake (30 minute drive to activities), or in private cabins made of stone and wood, with en-suite bathrooms and green lawns right next to Neretva River.
Ilia was a great guy, very knowledgeable and easy to chat to. Good experience overall, although the water rapid was pretty mild, would prefer to go in May when the water is higher.
Excellent trip, with our guide Hamza leading us through the Bosnian mountains and rivers. Accommodations and food was excellent and Hamza is very flexible with timing and variety of activities depending on weather and the wishes of the group.
Fantastic trip!
Great trip great guide great driver! Everything that was asked from us done no hassle a credit to hamza best guide evere
A SENSATIONAL trip I’d recommend to anyone!! The scenery was incredible with unreal colours, and hiking or rafting/canoeing down the river was an epic way to see it. Our guide Iliya handled our group of 12 cackling women superbly and was a hilarious, kind and knowledgeable host. The rafting and canoeing was amazing fun and I’d say suitable for everyone. One thing to note is that there are two hikes. One to a mountain top, and one to a monastery just outside of Mostar. The mountain hike was TOUGH. Because we didn’t start until about 5pm we had to race the sun because the top section involved scrambling and too dangerous to do after dark. As such, it was a race to the summit which not everyone was able to keep up with, which was disappointing. If it was done first thing in the morning before canoeing it would have been better so we weren’t as limited on time. The monastery walk was much easier and suitable for everyone. The other hosts (accommodation and water sports) were also all lovely. They were welcoming and friendly (esp our accommodation hosts as they joined in our impromptu karaoke/guitar/dancing night!). I cannot describe how much we loved it – a must-book! Our second MBA trip and it certainly won’t be our last! THANK YOU.
Great adventure trip in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Great mix of activity with rafting, kayaking and local culture. Would highly recommend.
Overall an amazing trip, fabulous local guide and instructors, beautiful country and great activities. I was disappointed however, due to the last minute change of activity from canyoning to canoeing.
Excellent adventure. Amazing views and a great location for the adventure that provided a glimpse into the Bosnian landscape. The rafting and canoeing were such good fun and allowed one to experience a wonderful experience. The walks through the local town and the delicious local cuisine gave a great insight into the local cultures.
Excellent adventure, great to do something in a totally different location and culture. Everyone very friendly, stunning scenery. The hike is more strenuous than the website description makes out, but well worth it. Really accommodating, food was great even for vegan and vegetarian, nothing was too much trouble. Will be booking along the same lines again.
This was a fun trip, we had a great group and the places we visited were very pretty. The accommodation was good. It wasn’t however a particularly active trip. Days started in quite a leisurely fashion with no activities getting going until mid morning. On the first day we did rafting which proved to be quite gentle (but fun). On the second day the canyoning was unfortunately cancelled as the water level was too high and we ended up visiting a nuclear bunker which some people in the group wanted to do. The host said we could do this and also fit in a decent hike but in the end there wasn’t sufficient time for the hike. So overall I found the trip a bit disappointing as I had booked on it for the activities. I felt we could have got more out of the trip had the days started a bit earlier and our time had been better organised. There was no reason for instance why we couldn’t have done a proper hike on the second day and it would have been nice to see more of the countryside.
Lovely trip, the accommodation where you set off rafting was beautiful. Food tasty and plentiful. Guide was very experienced and knowledgeable. Rafting was lots of fun and would definitely do again.
Bosnia is a stunning country. The rafting was a lot of fun (pretty chilled, 4 x 2 minute rapids sections in a 17km raft) with some fun opportunities for cliff jumps. The hiking is tough, especially in the heat (!) but worth it for the views. The canyoning was much harder than described on the website (a 90 minute very steep hike to the canyon and 3+ kms upstream canyoning/swimming) so I was unfortunately not able to do that activity. Accommodation and (vegan) food options were much better than expected. Bring headphones/a book for the long drives.
Fantastic adventure, doing something new in a place I’d never been before. Not often I would say this but I would go back and do it all over again!
A fun enjoyable trip with a couple of challenging parts.