
Trek the Via Dinarica Trail from Croatia to Bosnia
Explore the mountains and Mediterranean coastline that lie along the under-visited Via Dinarica trail
Trip Ref #9634
Trek the Via Dinarica Trail from Croatia to Bosnia
Explore the mountains and Mediterranean coastline that lie along the under-visited Via Dinarica trail
DURATION
7 nights
LOCATION
Bosnia and Herzegovina
ANNUAL LEAVE
6 days off work
SEASON
June-Sept
GROUP SIZE
Up to 15 people
MEETING POINT
Split Airport, Croatia
ACCOMMODATION
Classic
Hotel · Mountain hut · Guesthouse
DIFFICULTY
Challenging
You'll need a good level of physical fitness, some previous hiking experience and the ability to walk for six to seven hours a day.
Spend an unforgettable week in an area rated as one of National Geographic’s best destinations - for a good reason
Explore the ancient crossroad civilisations of Mostar and Sarajevo and discover the brilliant blues of the Adriatic Sea
Hike into the untouched and under-visited Dinaric Alps and experience the history, culture and hospitality of Bosnia and Croatia.
Day 1
The Dinara Massif
Travel to Skradin, a quaint town nestled at the foot of the Dinara Massif. You’ll spend two nights here, so settle in and explore the area before sitting down for dinner with the rest of your team.
Day 2
Hike the canyons of the Krupa River
Hiking
3-4hrs · 9km · 590m up · 690m down
Explore the beautiful blue and green waters of the Krupa river as it snakes its way through the Dinaric karst valley. Hike along the canyon, have a picnic by the river and then return to Skradin in time for dinner.
Day 3
Badanj Peak (1,281m)
Hiking
6-7hrs · 11km · 525m up · 275m down
Hike to Badanj Peak (1,281m), known for its rocky outcrops and quiet, limestone landscape. Bask in the sweeping views, the descend to the Brezovac, a mountain hut on the western slopes, where you’ll spend the night.
Day 4
Sinjal peak (1,831m)
Hiking
5-6hrs · 14km · 800m up · 1300m down
Begin your ascent of the Dinara mountain’s highest peak, Sinjal (1,831m). Stop for lunch overlooking the valley and then head to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, home of the famous Stari Most (Old Bridge).
Day 5
Blidinje Nature Park
Hiking
4-5hrs · 10km · 770m up · 300m down
Enter the beautiful Blidinje Nature Park and walk through the beech forest to Čvrsnica mountain, delightfully dubbed ‘the sleepy giant.’ Climb to the summit of Vilinac (2,118 m) where you’ll stay in a mountain hut just 15 minutes from the peak.
Day 6
Diva Grabovica Valley
Hiking
4-5hrs · 12km · 350m up · 1900m down
Wake up with the sunrise, then head east to Drinaca Peak (2,038 m) and Hajdučka Vrata - a natural arch over four metres wide that's home to some of the most special views of the entire trek. Descend 1,500m into the valley of Diva Grabovica and then drive to Umoljani village where you’ll rest up and enjoy a local, homemade dinner.
Day 7
Highland villages
Hiking
6-7hrs · 15km · 1000m up · 1000m down
Explore the Bjelašnica Massif and Lukomir - Bosnia and Herzegovina’s highest village (1,469 m), a place that's seemingly frozen in time. Follow the long flat valley of Studeni Fields to the Cascades of Studeni Potok and then village hop from town to town before being driven back to Sarajevo for your final night.
Day 8
Head for home
Enjoy a final breakfast with your guides and fellow explorers and then head back to the airport in time for your journey home.
Want to continue the Via Dinarica Trail through Bosnia and into Montenegro? Let us know when booking.
Included
Guides
Experienced, English speaking guides
Accommodation
6 nights in mountain huts and local guesthouses
Meals
Munch on tasty food throughout
Transfers
To and from the airport and everything in-between
Permits
All National Park entrance fees and access to the Omis fortress
Luggage Transfers
So just hike with a daypack of essentials
Not Included
Flights to and from the meeting point
Travel insurance
Day 1
Hotel · Twin share
Day 2
Hotel · Twin share
Day 3
Mountain hut · Mixed dorm
Day 4
Guesthouse · Twin share
Day 5
Mountain hut · Mixed dorm
Day 6 – Day 7
Guesthouse · Twin share
Day 8
Departure day
What is the food like?
Lunches will consist of picnic-style treats, like bread, cheeses, meats and sausages, pate, salad, chocolate bars, cookies, trail mix and coffee/tea. Dinners meanwhile will mostly be taken in restaurants known for their tasty, local delicacies. Umoljani village especially will give you a chance to sample a variety of the region’s traditional dishes. When you’re in the mountain huts, your guides will prepare your food. Vegetarians, vegans and other dietary requirements and allergies can be catered for - please just request on your passenger info form and note that options are limited throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
What is the accommodation like?
Skradin
On the first and second night you’ll stay in a three-star hotel called Hotel Skradinski that’s tucked away from the crowds and surrounded by pine trees.
Brezovac and Vilinac Mountain Huts
While on the trail, days 3 and 5 will be spent in remote mountain huts. These are all clean, heaated and have a dining room, shared facilities and dorm style rooms. You will stay in Brezovac Hut on Day 3 and Vilinac Hut on 5. When you wake up and step outside to panoramic mountain views, you’ll feel like you’re in paradise.
Mostar and Sarajevo Guesthouses
On Day 4 you'll stay in Mostar and on Day 7 in Sarajevo. You’ll stay in newly built, but traditional, family-run guesthouses. All rooms are air-conditioned, with TV and private facilities.
The Bosnian Mountains
On Day 6, you'll stay in a local guesthouse in Umoljani Village called the Pension Umoljani.
Upgrades
For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room this can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price . Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability). This is available on days 1, 2, 4 & 7 of the itinerary only, and subject to availability.
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Split Airport
15:00
Ends
Sarajevo Airport
Anytime on Day 8
Transfers
There will be an airport transfer on Day 1 at 15:00. If you arrive early/are already in Split you can meet the group in the town centre at 17:00 for a transfer to the hotel.
The trip ends on the morning of Day 8. After breakfast your host will drop you at Sarajevo Airport.
Travel options
There are regular flights to Split and from Sarajevo airports across the UK and Europe.
Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear
In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.
What's available to hire?
- Sleeping bag (10 EUR)- see Optional Extras
What do I need to bring?
Bags
- Daypack (30 – 40 litres)
Clothes
- Hiking boots
- Waterproofs (trousers, jacket, warm hat and gloves)
- Shorts, tee-shirts, general summer wear
Sleeping
- Sleeping bag and liner for overnight stays in the mountain refuges
Other
- Refillable water bottle
- Sun protection including sunglasses, sun hat (or cap) and sunscreen
- Flashlight and small pocket knife
- Toiletries
Single Room in Skradin
Payable Before Departure
Single Room in Skradin
… Per Night
Twin/Double Room in Skradin
Payable Before Departure
Twin/Double Room in Skradin
… Per Night
Single Room in Sarajevo
Payable Before Departure
Single Room in Sarajevo
… Per Night
Twin/Double Room in Sarajevo
Payable Before Departure
Twin/Double Room in Sarajevo
… Per Night
Optional Private Room Upgrade
Payable Before Departure
Optional Private Room Upgrade
…
Airport Transfer Sarajevo centre to airport
Payable Before Departure
Airport Transfer Sarajevo centre to airport
…
Airport Transfer Split to Skradin (start)
Payable Before Departure
Airport Transfer Split to Skradin (start)
…
Just returned from this incredible trip. Would recommend highly. Go explore this amazing part of the world. Learn about the history from people who experienced it. Make some amazing memories. Our guide was incredible, taught us so much and the hiking is beautiful.
Guide was excellent, very knowledgeable and fun, was the highlight of the trip. Would enjoy more hiking from mountain hut to mountain hut if possible on the route, bus transfers were long some days
Iva, our tour leader was amazing. She was knowledgeable, fun, offered practical advice and I felt in safe hands the whole time. She carried lots of provisions to make sure we always ate well and went above and beyond to ensure we were looked after in all ways. Our mountain guide Keenan was also really good and the two made an excellent duo. I would happily go on another trip run by them. The scenery was stunning and it was a really special trip.
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 304kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
You'll need a good level of physical fitness with some previous hiking experience and the ability to walk for six to seven hours a day. Your bags will be transported for you each night so you will just need to carry a daypack with the essentials.
Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Like much of central Europe, Croatia and Bosnia enjoy hot summers, cool springs and autumns, and cold winters with a fair amount of snow. You’ll visit during the summer, so expect temperatures above 30 degrees.
The temperature is lower in the mountains due to the altitude and there may be the occasional thunderstorm. Cvrsnica and Bjelasnica, in particular, can be unpredictable, so pack for all weathers.
You will need to take everything with you as the tour starts and ends in different countries, however, you do not need to carry it all with you during the hiking.
The distances between accommodations are too long to hike every day so there will be some small transfers for the group. They are all under an hour and enable you to see the best bits of the route.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our adventures. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure.
Your insurance policy should also include specific Covid-19 cover, including cancellation and curtailment cover if you, your travel companion or a close relative are diagnosed with Covid-19.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.
Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.
Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.
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