Experience · Bosnia and Herzegovina

Swimming the Kravica waterfalls

An hour from Mostar, the Trebižat river fans out over a 120-metre arc of travertine cliffs and drops twenty-five metres into a broad green pool — and unlike at many of the Balkans' celebrity cascades, here you can actually swim.

Best forAdventure seekers · Families · Photographers
In October21°C · 10 rainy days
Ideal stayHalf a day from Mostar
Approx. flying time~13h from Los Angeles

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Swimming the Kravica waterfalls, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Happens around Kravica waterfalls, Bosnia and Herzegovina — nearest airport Dubrovnik (DBV), about 85km away.

CurrencyBAMConvertible mark
LanguageBosnian, Croatian and Serbian
Local time12:351h ahead of the UK
PlugsType C / FBring an adapter
Drive on theRightOpposite to the UK
Dialling code+387

The experience

The Trebižat river spills over a broad travertine amphitheatre and drops around twenty-five metres into a wide green pool, and unusually for the region, swimming is allowed. Water is cold and clear, spray reaches most of the pool, and the curved cliff keeps the noise in. A path and a shuttle run down from the car park; the walk back up is the only real effort involved.

It sits under an hour from Mostar, which makes an easy half day, though many people fold it into a loop with Blagaj and Počitelj. Flow is at its fullest in late spring, while August brings the warmest water and the thinnest curtains. Coach parties from Dubrovnik and Split arrive in the middle of the day, so come before ten or after five and bring cash for the gate.

Ideal stay: Half a day from Mostar
The vibe: Cool, green, loud with water

From our guides

Paddle right up to the spray, or hire a kayak to wobble beneath the curtains. June brings the fullest flow; late summer the warmest water. Come early or stay past five, when the day-trip buses retreat towards Dubrovnik.

Featured in Ten wild swimming and water adventures across Europe

Make a trip of it

Swimming beneath the falls

The pool is broad and deep in the centre, shallow at the edges, and you can swim close enough to the main curtain to be soaked by spray.
Kayaking under the curtains

Boats and kayaks are hired at the water's edge and let you wobble right beneath the smaller falls at the far end of the arc.
Blagaj Tekke

A Dervish house built against a cliff where the Buna river emerges from a cave, twenty minutes from Mostar. Serene, and pairs naturally with the falls.
Počitelj's Ottoman hillside

A stepped stone village stacked up a slope above the Neretva, with a mosque, a tower and a climb that repays itself in views over the valley.
Mostar's old bridge

The rebuilt sixteenth-century arch over the Neretva, with divers leaping from it in summer. Half an hour from the falls and the region's obvious base.

Getting there

Fly to
Dubrovnik (DBV)

Nearest airport to Kravica waterfalls, about 85km away as the crow flies.
Then
To Mostar

Mostar (OMO) has very few scheduled flights, so most visitors fly to Dubrovnik or Split and drive two to three hours inland to Mostar.
On the ground
Getting around

The falls are about 40 minutes south west of Mostar near Ljubuški. From the car park a shuttle train or a steep path drops down to the pool, where there are changing facilities and cafés.

Public transport: Nothing regular serves the falls, so it is a hire car, a taxi or a day tour out of Mostar.

Flights

Los Angeles Kravica waterfalls, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Flying from

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Roughly 13h in the air from Los Angeles (LAX), estimated from the distance — check for a direct route. Pick a month to see every available flight with live prices.

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Pick your departure date, then your return.

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Flight times are estimates; prices open on Google Flights.

When to go

Daytime highs run from about 10°C in January to 33°C in July. Driest in July; wettest in December, with rain on about 14 days.

The year at a glance — pick a month for detail

October21° · rain 10 daysMild with rain most weeks.

Monthly figures averaged from daily records for 2020–2024 at this location (ERA5 reanalysis).

Where to base yourself

Family guesthouses and apartments are the norm, with a few boutique hotels in Mostar's old town. Rates are low, and breakfast is usually generous and included.

Best base overall
Mostar

An hour from the falls, with the widest choice of rooms, the old bridge and proper restaurants. Old town guesthouses are atmospheric but the bridge crowds start early and the lanes are loud.
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Closest to the sights
Ljubuški

The nearest town to Kravica, a working Herzegovinian place with apartments and a few small hotels a short drive from the water. Little for visitors beyond convenience.
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Quietest
Blagaj

A village south of Mostar where the Buna river bursts from a cliff beside a dervish house, with guesthouses on the water. Calmer nights and a short drive into the city.
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Best value
Čapljina and Počitelj

Down the valley towards the coast, with cheap rooms, the Ottoman hill town of Počitelj and easy road access to the falls. You will need a car.
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Worth knowing before you book: There is no public transport to Kravica, so budget for a car or a tour, and the site charges entry with a shuttle or a steep path down from the car park.

Search everything else in Mostar by budget. These are indicative budget bands in GBP per night for two people, not live quotes or guarantees of hotel type. Check your dates, guests, taxes and final price on Booking.com.

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Good to know

Timing: Tour buses arrive late morning and leave by late afternoon. Before ten or after five you may have most of the amphitheatre to yourself.
Cash: There is an entrance fee, usually payable in convertible marks and best carried in cash. Card acceptance at the gate is not reliable.
Footwear: Travertine is slick underfoot and the shallow edges are uneven. Water shoes make swimming in and getting out considerably less undignified.
Water temperature: The river is cold even in August, and colder still in spring when the flow is heaviest. Swimming is short and invigorating rather than lazy.
Getting there: About 40 kilometres from Mostar by road. A shuttle or a steep footpath connects the car park to the pool, and the return climb is the hard part.