Split to Sarajevo: All the Ways to Travel

Short answer: from Split, the bus is the usual way to Sarajevo, with roughly two to six departures a day, almost all in the morning, fares from about €30 to €50, and a ride of six to seven hours depending on the border. By car it’s a little quicker, about four and a half to five hours plus the crossing, and you gain the freedom to stop. Either way you cross the Croatia-Bosnia border once: EU, EEA and Schengen citizens can do it on a national ID card, while UK, US and other travellers need a passport. There is one wildcard worth knowing, the weekend train up the Neretva from the coast, which few guides bother to mention. This is the full run to the capital, not a Mostar day trip, so it is longer and further inland than the popular Split to Mostar hop that stops halfway.

Split to Sarajevo, or Split to Mostar?

Worth settling first, because they get muddled. Mostar is about 170 km from Split and makes a genuine day trip; the road up from the coast reaches it in three to three and a half hours by car. Sarajevo is another 130 km or so beyond Mostar, up the Neretva canyon and over the hills, which pushes the total to roughly 280 to 310 km and six to seven hours by bus. That extra leg changes everything: Split to Sarajevo is really an overnight or a one-way move, not a there-and-back in a day. If your heart is set on the Old Bridge and you want to be back on the coast for dinner, you want the Mostar guide, not this one. If Sarajevo is the goal, read on.

Currency changes at the border, too. Croatia is on the euro; Bosnia uses the convertible mark (KM / BAM), pegged at about 1.96 to the euro, and it doesn’t take euros everywhere. Carry a little cash in marks for a coffee, a taxi or a ticket once you cross.

The bus: the workhorse

For most people without a car, the bus is the answer, and it is a comfortable one. Between operators such as FlixBus, Globtour, Globus Turist and Centrotrans, you get around two to six departures a day, and here’s the catch nobody spells out: they’re bunched in the morning, roughly 07:30 to 13:30, with little or nothing in the afternoon. Miss the last mid-afternoon coach and you are waiting until tomorrow. Fastest services run near five and a quarter hours, but most land at six to seven once the coast road and the border are counted, and fares sit around €30 to €50, cheaper midweek and on Sundays if you book ahead.

Buses leave from Split’s central bus station, right by the ferry port and a few minutes’ walk from the old town and Diocletian’s Palace. At the far end, most arrive at Sarajevo’s main bus station on the Federation side, but check your ticket, because a few carriers use the separate East Sarajevo terminal in Republika Srpska, further out and a different taxi ride. Tickets are sold at the station or through Omio, GetByBus and Busbud.

The quiet upside of the coach is the ride. Because it follows the coast south past the Makarska riviera before turning inland near the Neretva delta, the first hour or more is a scenic drive under the Biokovo mountains, then it climbs the green Neretva valley through Mostar, Jablanica and Konjic. For a cheap intercity bus, the scenery is a genuine bonus. The one thing to plan around isn’t the price but the morning-only timetable.

The smart stop: break the journey in Mostar

Here is the move few travellers think of: Mostar is right on the route, so instead of a punishing single haul you can split the trip. Take a morning bus to Mostar, spend the afternoon and a night seeing the Old Bridge, Blagaj and the bazaar without the day-tripper crowds, then carry on to Sarajevo the next day. It costs no more than two separate short tickets, and it turns a long transport day into two easy half-days with the region’s headline sight in the middle. Our guide to things to do in Mostar helps you decide how long the town deserves, and from there the final leg is the one covered in our Sarajevo to Mostar guide, travelled in reverse up the canyon.

The wildcard: the weekend train up the Neretva

This one is niche, but it’s real and it’s lovely. For summer 2026 a seasonal train runs weekends between Sarajevo and Ploče, a Croatian port about 130 km down the coast from Split. Northbound toward Sarajevo, it leaves Ploče at 15:40 on Sundays (the Saturday return runs early, at 05:05), calling at Mostar on the way and reaching Sarajevo in the evening, all for 29.30 KM one-way. So a slow, scenic combination exists: take a bus or drive the short coast hop from Split down to Ploče, then ride the rails up the Neretva canyon to the capital.

Be honest with yourself about the trade-offs. It runs weekends only (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), the connection eats time, and it’s far slower than the through-bus. But if you love a train and the scenery, it is one of the best rail rides in the Balkans, and it skips the summer border queues on the coastal road. Just remember the timetable can shift, so recheck the current times and fares with the railway before you build a day around it.

Driving and private transfers

Driving is the move if you want to control your own timing or fold in stops. It’s quicker than the bus, about four and a half to five hours for the run plus the border, because you can leave the coast road sooner and keep moving up the inland route. It also opens up detours the coach can’t make: the falls at Kravice and the Ottoman village of Počitelj on the Bosnian side, both a short turn off the road up from the coast.

Two pieces of admin decide whether driving is smart. A car hired in Croatia taken into Bosnia usually needs the rental company’s written permission and a Green Card insurance extension, so flag the plan when you book and check it’s on the paperwork, because a car without the right cover can be turned back at the frontier. And since Split and Sarajevo are in different countries, a one-way hire carries a drop fee. If Bosnian roads are new to you, our guide to driving in Bosnia covers the two-lane highways.

If you would rather not drive and the morning bus times don’t suit, a private transfer runs door to door in about four and a half to five hours. It collects you at your Split accommodation, carries you across the border in one vehicle so there’s no unloading bags at the crossing, and most drivers will add a stop at Mostar, Kravice or Počitelj for an agreed price, which turns the run into a relaxed private day. It’s the priciest option, but for a family or a small group the per-head cost narrows against the bus, and since you end up in another country the fair comparison is a one-way rental with its drop fee.

The border, and summer 2026

There’s one border on this trip, and from the Split direction it’s usually a quieter inland crossing such as Kamensko or Bijača, away from the busy Dubrovnik corridor, so queues here are often shorter, though summer weekends can still back up. The document rule is the one to get right: Bosnia admits EU, EEA and Schengen nationals on a valid national ID card for up to 90 days in any 180, while travellers from outside that group, such as the UK, US, Canada or Australia, need a valid passport. Everyone needs a valid travel document, whether on the bus or in a car.

One update for this summer: the EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System is now live at Croatia’s borders, so a first registration takes longer than the old stamp and can add to peak-time queues, as our guide to the Bosnia to Croatia border crossing explains. Rules can change and depend on your nationality, so confirm the current position with the Bosnian Border Police before you travel (checked 2026-07-06).

Which to choose

Line it up against the trip you’re taking:

• No car, keeping it simple - the bus, booked a day or two ahead in summer. Just remember the departures are morning-only and check which Sarajevo terminal you arrive at.
• You want to see Mostar too - take a morning bus, break the journey there for a night, and continue to Sarajevo the next day. It is the most rewarding way to do it.
• A train lover with a weekend to spare - hop down to Ploče and ride the seasonal train up the Neretva; slow, scenic and unlike anything the coach offers.
• Door to door, or stopping at Kravice and Počitelj - a private transfer or your own car, with the Green Card sorted and the drop fee priced in.

Whichever you pick, Sarajevo is the real reward at the end of the line, and it’s a natural base for the rest of the country. Plan onward from our getting around Bosnia hub once you’ve arrived.