- By train from Mostar
- About 2 hours
- Trains from Mostar (checked October 2026)
- 06:33 and 17:09
- Last train back from Sarajevo that day
- 16:46
Why Sarajevo follows Mostar
Mostar is a small town built around one bridge. Sarajevo is the capital, set in a valley, and it feels like a different country: bigger, busier, with a long Ottoman core and the marks of the twentieth century on the same streets. Most travellers who go on from Mostar head here, and the two cities are linked by the train line down the Neretva valley.
This page helps you decide between a day trip and an overnight stay. For how to travel, the Sarajevo to Mostar page has the train, bus and tour options in full.
What a day trip gives you
The official ŽFBH timetable (checked October 2026) lists two trains each way. From Mostar the trains leave at 06:33 and 17:09, arriving in Sarajevo at 08:35 and 19:07. From Sarajevo the trains leave at 07:15 and 16:46, arriving in Mostar at 09:13 and 18:48.
For a day trip from Mostar, that means:
- Take the 06:33 from Mostar and arrive in Sarajevo at 08:35.
- Take the 16:46 from Sarajevo and arrive in Mostar at 18:48.
- You have roughly eight hours in the city, minus the walk to the station.
The 17:09 from Mostar is the evening train towards Sarajevo, not the one for a day trip. Seat61, a secondary source, says it does not run Friday to Sunday from June to September, so check the date on zfbh.ba. There is only one train back in the afternoon, so do not leave it to chance. If you miss the 16:46, your options are a bus or a night in the city.
The journey is about two hours each way. A day trip therefore means 4 hours on the train for 8 in the city, which is a good trade only if you are happy to see the main sights and nothing else.
The main sights
Baščaršija. This is the historic commercial and cultural district, founded when Isa-Beg Ishaković established the town. It is the area most visitors mean when they say the old town, and the photo at the top of this page shows its stone-paved lanes. Allow an hour or two to wander it.
Sebilj. A pseudo-Ottoman wooden fountain on Baščaršija square. The original, from 1753, burned down in 1852, and the current one is a reconstruction from 1891 (Wikivoyage). It is free and always open.
Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque. Named for the Ottoman governor associated with it. Wikivoyage lists no separate fee. The Gazi Husrev-beg Library Museum costs 5 KM and includes the mosque.
Latin Bridge. The site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914.
Tunnel of Hope. A museum in Butmir, on the outskirts, that shows about 20 m of a tunnel roughly 800 m long including trenches. Entry is 15 KM, or 5 KM for students, and Wikivoyage gives April to October as 09:00 to 17:00 daily and November to March as 09:00 to 16:00. To get there, take tram 3 to Ilidža and then bus 32a, or a taxi for about 20 KM. These figures come from an undated secondary source, so check them. The tunnel belongs to the story told on our war history page, and it needs more time than the other sights, which makes it hard to fit into a day that also includes the old town.
Trebević cable car. Rebuilt in 2017 and reopened on 6 April 2018, running from Bistrik station to Vidikovac (Wikipedia). We have no verified fare.
When to stay the night
Choose a night if any of these apply:
- You want the Tunnel of Hope as well as the old town.
- You would rather arrive from Mostar on the afternoon train than get up before 06:33.
- You want to eat dinner in Baščaršija without watching the clock for the 16:46.
- You are flying out of Sarajevo and do not need to return to Mostar.
Stay in Mostar instead if your time is short. The town’s own sights, plus Blagaj and Kravice, fill two days easily, and our Mostar itinerary shows how. If you have only one day for Sarajevo and a good deal of Mostar still to see, the city is usually better kept for the end of the trip.
For where to sleep in Mostar, see where to stay.
Tours between the two cities
If you would rather not manage trains, guided day trips run between Sarajevo and Mostar, covering stops such as Konjic, Blagaj and Kravice on the way. They are long, 12 hours each in the two listed below, and they spend most of the day in the valley and in Mostar, not in Sarajevo. They suit travellers heading to Sarajevo who want the stops on the way. They do not suit anyone who wants a day in the capital. See also day tours.
Going by road
Wikivoyage gives the bus from Mostar to Sarajevo as about 2 hours 30 minutes via Konjic and Jablanica, at 14 KM and hourly. The route passes the towns on our Konjic and Jablanica page. We have no verified road distance, and none for the drive. If you hire a car, read car hire and driving first.
