Bosnia and Herzegovina has the shortest sea outlet in Europe — barely twenty kilometres of shoreline, all of it in one town. Neum has about five thousand inhabitants and the entire coastline of the state lies within its municipality.
Why the border looks like this
The anomaly is more than three centuries old. Under the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 the Republic of Dubrovnik ceded the strip at Neum to the Ottoman Empire in order to put foreign territory between itself and Venice. The border survived every later state, so today Croatia is split in two by this corridor, and anyone driving from Split to Dubrovnik crosses Bosnian control twice.
Beaches
The town beach is pebble, with concrete platforms, sunbeds and bars along the promenade. Klek bay to the south is quieter and less visited. Podaci cove is a small pebble beach with pines that give shade until noon. The coast is not as wild as the Croatian shore — Neum was built in the socialist period and it shows — but the sea is the same and the prices are markedly lower.
Prices and hotels
Accommodation runs thirty to forty per cent cheaper than on the Croatian side. Three and four-star hotels ask forty to a hundred euros a night, all-inclusive packages fifty to ninety euros per person per day, a restaurant meal eight to twenty euros and a bottle of local wine six to fifteen. Reliable addresses: Hotel Sunce, Grand Hotel Neum, Hotel Zenit and smaller family guesthouses in the upper town.
Trips from Neum
- Dubrovnik — thirty minutes. As a day trip it saves a hundred to three hundred euros on a night in Dubrovnik itself.
- Mostar with Blagaj and Kravica — an hour and a half, fits into one day.
- Trebinje — an hour, Ottoman architecture and wine cellars.
- The Neretva delta — an hour, boats through the channels and mandarins in season.
- Hutovo blato — half an hour, a wetland reserve with more than 240 bird species.
Practicalities
Bosnia is not in Schengen, so you cross with a valid document; in July and August control can take fifteen to thirty minutes. Your own car needs a green card. The swimming season runs June to September, with the sea warmest in August. Out of season most hotels stay open but the promenade is empty.
Who Neum suits
Families on a budget, and anyone who wants the Adriatic as a base for exploring Herzegovina and Dubrovnik. Those after untouched coves and pines down to the water will find them on the Croatian islands — and pay twice as much.