This section is dedicated to take away all your "I wish someone had told me that before I went!" experiences. This way, you can spend less time settling in, and more time making new friends in your chosen hostel.
Mostar, despite being the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovnia, is easily accessible on foot. Those arriving at the train and bus station on their way to hostels in Mostar will easily find their way to the old city and the famous Old Bridge without even needing a map. Guidebook depictions and travel stories as well as tour operators bring plenty of travelers to this city. Visitors watch the youth jumping into the river from the bridge and enjoy Turkish coffee or a water pipe while in the small cafes of the old town. Outside the center the city feels much more like a small city than a town.
Most tourists don't venture from Mostar hostels out of the center much, so don't be surprised if you are greeted with interest from local residents if you do. Here you can see life progress, or perhaps for some neighborhoods, stand still, and take in the strange mix of the old and the not-so-old communist Yugoslavian developments. This city is unique in the region for its ethnic and religious diversity, although the groups tend to live segregated, you can visit assorted neighborhoods to try and gain a deeper understanding of the complex Balkan Region.
Hostels in Mostar are typically small but plentiful -- finding a bed is normally easy -- and most are located right in or adjacent to the old city, which indeed serves as a very good location in terms of closeness to the touristic sights and to restaurants and business where English is spoken fluently, and just in terms of being in a picturesque setting. You aren't guaranteed hot water just about anywhere, and this just seems to have to do with the less-than-perfect infrastructure of the city. Otherwise, most hostels have decent services, although the amount of character varies greatly from place to place.
Written by local expertz for Mostar
Carl
