Raft, Hike and Canoe in Bosnia
Explore the Via Dinarica route through the rivers, mountains and canyons of Bosnia's beautiful Zupa Valley
What's Included?
Small Like-minded Groups
Solo-friendly by design, join our small n’ sociable groups of up to 12 like-minded, active and outdoorsy people…
…
What's it like?
Hike to the remote ruins of a mountaintop castle before rafting along the peaceful pools and rapids of the clear Neretva River
Clamber into a canoe and paddle along the unspoilt turquoise waters of this wild, narrow gorge
Explore the charming Balkan city of Mostar and the unique village of Blagaj, built around a Dervish monastery
Key Information
Day 1
Mostar
Driving
Fly into Dubrovnik in neighbouring Croatia and drive over the border and into the beautiful Zupa Valley, stopping to explore the charming city of Mostar, famous for its 16th Century bridge over the Neretva River. Explore the old town and then sit down for a traditional dinner in a local restaurant before continuing the drive for the final couple of hours to your accommodation by Boracko Lake beneath a starry sky.
Day 2
Raft the Neretva
Hiking
Rafting
Drive to the Upper Neretva Canyon and begin your challenging hike to the remote ruins of a 14th Century mountaintop castle. Head back to the Neretva River and raft through peaceful pools and down grade 2 to 3 rapids, taking plenty of breaks for swimming, cliff jumping, and snacks. You’ll finish your rafting right in the camp, where you can refuel, kick back and relax!
Day 3
Neretva river canoeing
Canoeing
Take a short drive to the Neretva River. Jump in your 2-3 person inflatable canoes and learn how to paddle independently and as a team as you drift through wild gorges. Afterwards, you’ll have the opportunity to dry off and change your clothes before heading to lunch. Then drive to Blagaj and explore a unique city built around a remarkable Dervish monastery, if time allows. Head on to Mostar and spend your last night in this charming and famously beautiful city.
Day 4
Departure
Enjoy a last, relaxed breakfast in Bosnia and Herzegovina and then drive back to Dubrovnik in time for your flight home.
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Dubrovnik Airport
13:30 on Day 1
Ends
Dubrovnik Airport
12:00 on Day 4
Transfers
Your adventure begins at Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) where you will meet your host and fellow adventurers in the arrivals area at 13:30. Please schedule your flight to arrive more than 30 minutes before this time.
At the end of the trip you will be dropped back at Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) at 12:00, so you're free to catch any flight departing after 14:00. Alternatively, you can always stay on and explore Dubrovnik further. There are regular airport shuttle buses to and from Dubrovnik Airport and the city centre for those that are arriving early or staying on after the trip.
If you are unable to get the group transfer from the airport, you'll need to either hire a car or book a taxi to get to the start point in Mostar (2.5 hour drive). Your host is unable to arrange a private transfer to the start point of the trip.
Travel options
There are regular flights to Dubrovnik from airports across the UK and Europe.
Day 1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 3
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 4
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
Bosnian food is fresh, home-cooked and hearty. Common food items include local cheeses and other dairy products, dried meats, fish, freshly baked bread and pastries, and local fruits and veggies.
Vegetarians, vegans and other dietary requirements and allergies can be catered for - please just request on your passenger info form.
What is the accommodation like?
Mostar
You'll stay in a 3-star hotel in an en-suite twin room with a TV, fridge and free Wi-Fi.
Boracko Lake or Neretva River
Depending on availability, you'll either stay in an apartment with an en-suite bathroom, balcony and free Wi-Fi at the shore of Boracko lake (30 minute drive to activities), or in private cabins made of stone and wood, with en-suite bathrooms and green lawns right next to Neretva River.
Ilia was a great guy, very knowledgeable and easy to chat to. Good experience overall, although the water rapid was pretty mild, would prefer to go in May when the water is higher.
Excellent trip, with our guide Hamza leading us through the Bosnian mountains and rivers. Accommodations and food was excellent and Hamza is very flexible with timing and variety of activities depending on weather and the wishes of the group.
Fantastic trip!
Great trip great guide great driver! Everything that was asked from us done no hassle a credit to hamza best guide evere
A SENSATIONAL trip I’d recommend to anyone!! The scenery was incredible with unreal colours, and hiking or rafting/canoeing down the river was an epic way to see it. Our guide Iliya handled our group of 12 cackling women superbly and was a hilarious, kind and knowledgeable host. The rafting and canoeing was amazing fun and I’d say suitable for everyone. One thing to note is that there are two hikes. One to a mountain top, and one to a monastery just outside of Mostar. The mountain hike was TOUGH. Because we didn’t start until about 5pm we had to race the sun because the top section involved scrambling and too dangerous to do after dark. As such, it was a race to the summit which not everyone was able to keep up with, which was disappointing. If it was done first thing in the morning before canoeing it would have been better so we weren’t as limited on time. The monastery walk was much easier and suitable for everyone. The other hosts (accommodation and water sports) were also all lovely. They were welcoming and friendly (esp our accommodation hosts as they joined in our impromptu karaoke/guitar/dancing night!). I cannot describe how much we loved it – a must-book! Our second MBA trip and it certainly won’t be our last! THANK YOU.
Great adventure trip in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Great mix of activity with rafting, kayaking and local culture. Would highly recommend.
Overall an amazing trip, fabulous local guide and instructors, beautiful country and great activities. I was disappointed however, due to the last minute change of activity from canyoning to canoeing.
Excellent adventure. Amazing views and a great location for the adventure that provided a glimpse into the Bosnian landscape. The rafting and canoeing were such good fun and allowed one to experience a wonderful experience. The walks through the local town and the delicious local cuisine gave a great insight into the local cultures.
Excellent adventure, great to do something in a totally different location and culture. Everyone very friendly, stunning scenery. The hike is more strenuous than the website description makes out, but well worth it. Really accommodating, food was great even for vegan and vegetarian, nothing was too much trouble. Will be booking along the same lines again.
This was a fun trip, we had a great group and the places we visited were very pretty. The accommodation was good. It wasn’t however a particularly active trip. Days started in quite a leisurely fashion with no activities getting going until mid morning. On the first day we did rafting which proved to be quite gentle (but fun). On the second day the canyoning was unfortunately cancelled as the water level was too high and we ended up visiting a nuclear bunker which some people in the group wanted to do. The host said we could do this and also fit in a decent hike but in the end there wasn’t sufficient time for the hike. So overall I found the trip a bit disappointing as I had booked on it for the activities. I felt we could have got more out of the trip had the days started a bit earlier and our time had been better organised. There was no reason for instance why we couldn’t have done a proper hike on the second day and it would have been nice to see more of the countryside.
Lovely trip, the accommodation where you set off rafting was beautiful. Food tasty and plentiful. Guide was very experienced and knowledgeable. Rafting was lots of fun and would definitely do again.
Bosnia is a stunning country. The rafting was a lot of fun (pretty chilled, 4 x 2 minute rapids sections in a 17km raft) with some fun opportunities for cliff jumps. The hiking is tough, especially in the heat (!) but worth it for the views. The canyoning was much harder than described on the website (a 90 minute very steep hike to the canyon and 3+ kms upstream canyoning/swimming) so I was unfortunately not able to do that activity. Accommodation and (vegan) food options were much better than expected. Bring headphones/a book for the long drives.
Fantastic adventure, doing something new in a place I’d never been before. Not often I would say this but I would go back and do it all over again!
A fun enjoyable trip with a couple of challenging parts.
Very nice trip. Good guide make sure to book the right time a year because it has a big influence on your experience!! May is best for canyoning and rafting.
What an amazing trip. We booked a private group of 6 women for my friend's big birthday. We were definitely challenged by the hike to and from the canyoning, but it was worth it as the recent rainfall and river flow took us all outside our comfort zones. The white water rafting was incredible, and our instructor was unflappable when one of our party went overboard during the trickiest rapid. The food throughout was really tasty and loads of it, inlcuding snacks. Petar, our guide, was brilliant at making us feel supported the whole time. We are already planning our next MBA trip
Just go - you wont regret it!
Overall a great trip, we were a private group of 10, and had the most memorable time, the beauty of Bosnia is breathtaking, until the next time.
Overall a good trip. Bosnia and Herzegovina is such a beautiful country, and I'm very pleased to have visited it. Our guide Hamza was excellent, and the food was great.
However, I didn't feel it was particularly active, as we didn't do much, if any; proper hiking in my opinion. The rafting was pretty gentle even though the river was really high and there had been a lot of rainfall, so don't expect it to be challenging.
This trip fulfilled our hopes for an adrenaline filled experience. The scenery is spectacular, the complex next to the river was beautiful the people we met were very friendly and the instructors were very professional. Not sure how we’ll top this trip next year.
I highly recommend this trip - great fun in incredible scenery.
This trip was a great way to see some of Bosnia, and excellent value for money.
The highlight was the canyoning, in stunning landscape with really high quality gear.
The food was local, decent and plentiful, and accommodation was comfortable and clean.
I'd highly recommend!
Fantastic. This was a great few days away. Canyoning was the highlight of the trip and something I'd never done before. All equipment was supplied. Damir and the other guides were brilliant. Definitely recommend it.
This trip was amazing. The guides and hosts were brilliant, their knowledge and expertise fantastic and the friendliest bunch of people you could want or meet. For me I leave this trip feeling like it was a great trial for bigger and better next time. A stay over in Dubrovnik before or after is a must, what a fantastic ‘city’.
Would highly recommend this tour, great having the three activities to do. The meals are lovely and you are definitely well fed throughout the trip. The tour guide Damir is so friendly and very knowledgeable with the area. We didn't know what to expect for the canyoning and this turned out to be the highlight of the trip for us. Would definitely book again through MBA. For everything we got its great value for money
Had a brilliant few days in Bosnia! Great company, a good mix of activities, gorgeous scenery, and Damir was an extremely knowledgable and helpful guide. The hosts at the accommodation and at the rafting centre were also excellent. A few parts were tough going, but overall had a really enjoyable trip and would definitely do something similar again. Highly recommend an extra day in Dubrovnik to enjoy the old town (and get some well earned rest!) before heading home.
A fantastic mixed adventure with excellent food, guides, and lots of cats! The rafting and canyoning were brilliant fun, and the location is absolutely stunning.
The trip exceeded my expectations. The group itself were like-minded and we all got along really well exchanging laughs and supporting one another during the activities. The guides were friendly and knowledgeable and spoke good English. I enjoyed the food and liked that we experienced the local cuisine rather than standard Western favourites. BIH was stunning and the locations where we visited were wonderful despite the heavy rain. Overall the activities were well-judged and didn't feel like too much or too little leaving me feeling tired but fulfilled by the end of the trip.
Bosnia is beautiful! River rafting was so much fun, but the canyoning was touch and go. I would definitely come back though.
Was very nervous to book my first solo trip but I was amazed at how the service was run. Everything was taken care of from bags to transport to food from the minute the trip started which took all the stress out of travel. The exceptional food and accommodation were on another level than what I expected and the guides were incredibly knowledgable and well experienced. The group dynamic works so well as you go on adventures with like-minded people and get to experience places like never before. Many thanks to my guide Peter and the rest of my group for making my trip so special!
Guides
Professional, English-speaking guide
Accommodation
1 night in Mostar and 2 nights by Boracko Lake or the Neretva River (depending on availability)
Meals
Munch on tasty food throughout
Transfers
To and from the airport and everything in-between
Equipment
All your rafting and canoeing equipment
Our trips are hassle-free by design. We include all the activities and equipment, as well as many of the meals, so you can simply rock up with your rucksack and share the adventure with your new pals.
Personal Expenses
You know your own spending habits best, so please budget an appropriate amount for things like optional meals and drinks, shopping, optional activities, and laundry.
Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear
In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.
What's included?
- All technical equipment will be provided (including a neoprene wetsuit, neoprene boots, helmet and vest).
What do I need to bring?
- Hiking shoes and trousers
- Breathable, quick-drying sports clothes
- Sandals
- A swimsuit and towel
- Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sun block)
- Warm layers for the evenings
- A small backpack to carry personal items throughout the day (water, snacks, shirts to use during activities).
- Shorts
- Energy/protein bars
- Walking poles (optional)
Optional Private Room Upgrade
Payable Before Departure
Optional Private Room Upgrade
… Per Person
Pre/post-trip accommodation in Mostar (Double/Twin)
Payable Before Departure
Pre/post-trip accommodation in Mostar (Double/Twin)
… Per Night
Pre/post-trip accommodation in Mostar (Single)
Payable Before Departure
Pre/post-trip accommodation in Mostar (Single)
… Per Night
We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 167kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
Any excess luggage can be safely left in your daily transfer vehicle or at your accommodation during this trip.
On this trip, you will be rafting through level 2 and 3 rapids on the Neretva River. There will be 4 sections of whitewater rafting. There are also a couple of milder level 1 and level 2 white water rating sections on the canoeing activity, although you'll mostly be paddling gently downstream during this activity.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.
Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers are familiar with the practical information provided on the Government’s FCDO website, where current travel advice can be found by searching for the applicable destination(s).
For customers joining this trip from other international destinations – please also read the official travel advice applicable to your country of residence/origin, as this may differ.
We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're always in good company on one of our adventures.
Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.
Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.
It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.
Don't just take our word for it:
- 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
- 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
- 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends
See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.
Interested in a more exclusive experience? Opt for a 'Private Group' through the dates and prices tab to book this adventure for just you and your chosen companions.
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