Bosnia and Herzegovina train holidays

May to September is the best time to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the warmest weather for exploring Sarajevo and Mostar and rafting on the rivers. May, June and September offer a quieter, more affordable alternative to peak summer heat in July and August. December to March is the best time for skiing, with resorts at Bjelašnica and Jahorina. There are highlights year-round: the Sarajevo Film Festival brings international cinema to the capital every August, Mostar's Old Bridge Diving Festival sees divers leap into the Neretva River in a tradition dating back over 450 years, and Baščaršija Nights fills Sarajevo's old town with month-long open-air concerts and theatre every July.

The best things to do in Bosnia and Herzegovina include exploring Sarajevo's old town, crossing Mostar's Old Bridge, and rafting on the Neretva River.

• Exploring Sarajevo's Baščaršija old town and Ottoman-era architecture

• Crossing Mostar's UNESCO-listed Old Bridge and wandering the old town below it

• Rafting or swimming at the Kravica Waterfalls

• Skiing at Bjelašnica or Jahorina, both former 1984 Winter Olympics venues

• Hiking in the mountains around Sarajevo and the Neretva Valley

• Visiting Travnik, a well-preserved Ottoman-era town

• Touring Blagaj Tekke, a 16th-century Dervish monastery built into a cliff at the source of the turquoise Buna River

• Walking through the Tunnel of Hope, the hand-dug passage that kept Sarajevo connected to the outside world during the 1990s siege

Bosnia and Herzegovina has no year-round international rail connections; a seasonal weekend train runs between Sarajevo and Ploče on the Croatian coast from late June to September, but the rest of the country is reached by bus. Regular bus services connect Sarajevo and Mostar with Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia, as well as with destinations in Serbia. Within Bosnia and Herzegovina, a scenic train also runs between Sarajevo and Mostar.