When you travel to Bosnia, the amazing Kravice waterfalls must be part of your itinerary. Kravice Falls is becoming incredibly popular with locals, tourists from Croatia and travelers road tripping in the Balkan countries. In the summer months more than 200.000 tourists and 50.000 locals visit Kravice Falls, which makes it one of the most popular tourist spot in Bosnia. In this travel guide I tell you everything you need to know before you travel to Kravice Falls.
1. Location Kravice Waterfalls
The most important thing to know about Kravice Falls is where it is and how to get there. This natural wonder is also called Kravice Falls Mostar and that is because the falls is just 43 kilometers south of Mostar. But it is not only tourists from within Bosnia that visit Kravice, also tourists from Croatia, especially Dubrovnik and Split come on a day tour.
2. How to get to Kravice waterfalls from Mostar?
That is a little tricky I have to admit! There is no public transport to the falls unfortunately. Tourists have three options: rent a car, rent a taxi or book a Kravice Falls tour. There are many places in Mostar where you can book this day trip. Your hotel will surely be able to help you out as well.
2.1 Drive yourself to Kravice from Mostar
Some parts of this trip are very scenic, but the 43 kilometers can take up to 1 hour. It is easy to drive yourself, just follow the road signs or simply use Google Maps. Driving in Bosnia is fairly easy as roads are not busy and no one really seems to be in a hurry. Renting a car I think is the best option.
2.2 Kravice Tours from Mostar
Expect to pay €35 - €40 for a 6-hour tour. These are mostly group tours, you pay more for private tours. Basically you get dropped at the falls, although the guide will be able to point out some points of interest. Kravice Falls entrance fee is not included in these tours. Tours from Mostar to Kravice usually don’t run in winter months.
I stayed in Zigana Apartments in Mostar and they charge only €25 for a day trip to Kravice Falls. I did not do it myself as I had my own car, but those people were lovely.
2.3 Taxi from Mostar to Kravice Falls
Expect to pay around €70 - €100 EUR for a full day in summer, but this comes down to your negotiation skills. There are still no taxi apps in Bosnia.
Budget and solo travelers
I have been one myself and loved money saving tips when I was backpacking around the world. So if you want to save money on a taxi you can take a bus from Mostar to Ljubuski or Citluk and then take a taxi to Kravice from these places.
2.4 Tour from Sarajevo to Kravice
Even from Sarajevo there are tours to visit Kravice and its beautiful surroundings. Click here to read more about the Meet Bosnia city tour from Sarajevo to Kravice, Mostar, Blagaj and Pocitelj. A great organization with many tours through Bosnia. Worth checking out!
2.5 From Dubrovnik to Kravice
From Dubrovnik to Kravice falls is about 130 kilometer and will take 2,5 hours. If you decide to take a day trip from Dubrovnik to visit Kravice then also check out the things to do around Kravice, like: paragliding, Pocitelj, Blagaj. More about this later…
3. Entrance fee Kravice Falls
Also handy to know are the entrance fees for Kravice waterfalls in 2023:
- October - May: 8 KM or €4 EUR
- June & September: 10 KM or €5 EUR
- July & August: 12 KM or €5.5 EUR
Parking at Kravice Falls is easy. There is a huge new parking lot and the parking fee is €1 only.
4. Opening times Kravice Falls
Believe it or not but there are no opening and closing times for visiting the falls, they are accessible 24 hours. Entrance fee will only be collected between 8.00 and 20.00. Before and after there is free entrance!
5. Best time to visit Kravice Waterfalls
Winters are completely different from summers. The temperature in summer can rise up to above 40 degrees and in winter it can cool down to below zero. Obviously summer months are the best to visit if you want to enjoy the waterfalls and go swimming. In July & August Kravice is the most popular tourist spot in Bosnia, so the best months to visit are the quiet months of June and September.
6. Swimming at Kravice Falls
In the dry summer months the water level is significantly lower than in winter. The difference can be up to 4 meters. It is too cold to swim in winter but from April to October swimming at Kravice is an amazing thing to do and water is calm enough for kids as well. The water temperature will never rise above 20 degrees because the spring of the Krebizat river is only 30 kilometers uphill from the waterfalls. Especially in summer the chill water is very welcome.
7. Forbidden to pray
At Kravice Falls it is forbidden to preform any religious rites. A couple years back it were actually the conservative catholic travelers from Italy, Ireland and Poland that made the local community put these measurements in place. According to them Kravice is a natural beauty were there is no place for religion.
A legendary quote from a local: Kravice Falls is a place where burkas meet bikinis without any problems!
8. What does Kravice mean?
Through a local I found out this funny story. I think that when I tell you that Kravice means little cow you raise your eyebrows. Anyway long before this place became a tourist spot in Bosnia there was a little cow that fell in the river uphill. They assumed it drowned but then they found the little cow back at the bottom of the waterfall.
That is why the locals started naming it Kravice. It is not a myth, it is a true story! How funny, right?
9. Mala Kravice
About 20 to 30 minutes on a trail down along the river there is another waterfall called Mala Kravice. Mala means little, which actually is funny again because Kravice already means little cow!
10. Summer season
In summers this place becomes an extremely popular spot. Tourists and locals travel to Kravice Falls and hang out here all day. There will be a temporary walking bridge constructed to get close to the falls without swimming. You are allowed to bring your own food.
Please bring back your own trash and help to keep Kravice Falls clean!
There are floodlights at the Kravice waterfalls and on summer evenings the restaurants and bars stay open till late at night. It is also nice to just come here for dinner. Remember that there is no entrance fee if you visit Kravice after 20.00! ;)
11. Restaurants at Kravice
In summer there are a couple restaurants, in winter there are none. The water level is too high in winter, but in high season there are 3 restaurants and a bar. What does food cost at Kravice falls? Have a look at the menu! Prices are in KM, for Euro's divide it by 2.
A pizza and a Coca Cola was 15 KM or €7,50!
Believe it or not but there is WiFi that actually works! Not sure if it would still be working in summer when there are a couple thousand people. :)
12. Boat trip
If you are up for a super laid-back boat trip to get close to the falls you can choose between a fancy boat or a rowing boat: €5 per person for 20 minutes. In peak season when the temporary bridge is connected the boat trips go down the river towards Little Kravice (smaller waterfall) and back. About 40 minutes for €10.
For more info about the boat trips contact Tom Vuksic: +38 763 323 868 or vuktom@ymail.com.
13. Eco friendly
The local community joined forces starting the Kravice Club in where they decide on future projects. One of their cornerstones for the future is eco tourism. Ideally they would love to ban plastic, which would be great. All construction is either made from metal or wood and constructing with plastic is not allowed. They also organise clean-ups to keep Kravice clean.
14. Future projects
There are plans for constructing a walking bridge to get to the top of the falls and to a viewing platform. The walking bridge will continue all the way towards Little Kravice and across the river again so that you can hike around when you visit Kravice.
15. Things to do around Kravice
15.1 Visit the old town of Pocitelj
This village is perched into the mountain on the side of the river about 25 minutes away from Kravice. Wander up the old staircases and buy souvenirs. This village is also famous for its fresh juices like pomegranate, strawberry and cherry.
15.2 Visit the Blagaj Monastery
A stunning place where an underground river flows out of a massive rock face. There are multiple restaurants around the river. A great place to have lunch, dinner or a coffee.
15.3 Paragliding
Since a couple years it is also possible to paraglide over the incredible area. It is not far from Kravice Falls. You can find them on Facebook: Paragliding Club Ljubuski.
16. Some interesting facts about Kravice Falls
- The Kravice waterfalls are 28 meters high.
- The water amphitheater is more than 120 meters across.
- Kravice Falls has been under protection since 1954.
- From the entrance there is walking trail down to the falls which takes about 5 minutes.
- It is an elevated walkway, no steps. Easy for taking a trolley down.
- There are changing rooms and basic toilet facilities down at the falls.
- At the entrance there are modern toilet facilities.
17. Where to stay at Kravice Falls
The local community is constructing some apartments around, have a look at these places with good rating:
- Apartment Kravica - Rating 9.7 from 150+ reviews - 0.5 km from Kravice Falls: €35
- Villa Zovko - Rating 9.8 from 20+ reviews - 5 km from Kravice Falls: €25
- Private Villa Guesthouse Kravica - Rating 10 from 10+ reviews - 1 km from Kravice Falls: €40
Hope this blog about Kravice Falls was helpful for you. Please help me in return and share it in a Facebook Group or leave me a comment, I would really appreciate it! Many thanks in advance.
Wanna see more of traveling in Bosnia? Click on the link to see the best places to visit in Bosnia.
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