Explore the Balkans: Self-Launched Budapest to Dubrovnik

Arrive at Ferenc Liszt Airport and take the 100E airport bus to Deák Ferenc tér (~HUF 2,200 / £5) rather than a taxi. Check into a hostel or guesthouse around District VII/VIII (ruin-bar district) or near Kálvin tér. Do the included-style orientation walk yourself: Pest-side Danube promenade past the Parliament and Shoes on the Danube memorial, cross Széchenyi Chain Bridge to Buda Castle, and ride the funicular or walk up Gellért Hill for sunset. Evening: cheap lángos or a bowl of goulash in the Jewish Quarter, then a look at the ruin bars (Szimpla Kert is the classic).

🚌100E airport bus ~£5; everything else on foot/tram (24h travelcard ~HUF 2,500 / £5.50)

🛏Hostel private twin or budget guesthouse, District VII/VIII (~£22 pp/night)

• →Self-guided Danube promenade & Parliament photo stop
• →Chain Bridge and Buda Castle exterior
• →Gellért Hill sunset viewpoint
• →Szimpla Kert ruin bar (free entry)

Long travel day. Take an early train or FlixBus from Budapest Keleti to Novi Sad (~5–6h, £12–20). Drop bags at left luggage and walk 20 minutes (or bus) across the Danube to Petrovaradin Fortress for the clock-tower views and the underground military galleries. Novi Sad's old town (Dunavska street, Liberty Square) is a quick 1.5h loop. Then continue by bus or train to Belgrade (~1.5h, £5–7), arriving early evening. Self-orientate with a stroll down Knez Mihailova to Kalemegdan Fortress and the confluence viewpoint, then dinner on Skadarska Street. Book the Novi Sad legs on FlixBus/Arriva in advance in summer.

🚌Budapest–Novi Sad bus/train ~£15; Novi Sad–Belgrade bus ~£6

🛏Hostel private twin near Republic Square / Dorćol (~£20 pp/night)

• →Petrovaradin Fortress & clock tower
• →Novi Sad old town walk
• →Kalemegdan Fortress and confluence viewpoint
• →Skadarska Street evening

A free day — the original leaves this open too. Morning at Nikola Tesla Museum (RSD 500, ~£4; guided demo every hour) and the Zeleni Venac market for cheap fruit and kajmak. Walk Kalemegdan's Military Museum exteriors and the Pobednik statue. Afternoon: swim or cycle at Ada Ciganlija beach (free, bus 51/55 from the centre, ~£1), or a Danube river cruise from the Kalemegdan quay (~£5). Evening: splavovi (floating river clubs) if you're in the mood, or a cheaper night in Skadarlija. Watch your belongings on crowded trams — Belgrade is generally fine but pickpockets work the centre.

🚌City buses/trams day ticket ~£2.50

🛏Hostel private twin near Republic Square (~£20 pp/night)

• →Nikola Tesla Museum (~£4)
• →Zeleni Venac market
• →Kalemegdan / Military Museum exterior
• →Ada Ciganlija beach or Danube cruise (~£5)

The longest travel day of the trip: direct bus Belgrade–Sarajevo with Arriva/Croatia Bus takes about 7–8 hours including the scenic Drina valley crossing (~£22–28). There's usually an early morning departure — book online a few days ahead. Arrive late afternoon, check into a guesthouse in Baščaršija or just across the Miljacka. Do your own orientation loop: Sebilj fountain, the bazaar lanes, Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque courtyard, the Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures line, and the Latin Bridge where Franz Ferdinand was shot. Dinner of bosanski ćevapi with somun bread and kajmak (~£6).

🚌Belgrade–Sarajevo direct bus ~£25

🛏Guesthouse/pension private room in Baščaršija (~£18 pp/night)

• →Baščaršija bazaar self-guided walk
• →Latin Bridge & Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures
• →Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque courtyard (free)
• →Ćevapi dinner

Do the history properly and independently. Book the Tunnel of Hope (War Tunnel) entry plus a guided visit via GetYourGuide or with a local provider (about €15–20 including transport, or take tram 3 to Ilidža then a 15-min walk/bus and pay the BAM 10 entry). Combine it with the History Museum of BiH (BAM 8) and, if you want context, the War Childhood Museum (BAM 10). Afternoon: tram to Ilidža for the spring park and Velika Aleja avenue (free), or the Yellow Fortress for the sunset call to prayer over the city. Optional evening: Pivnica HS brewery for a local beer. Reading 'The Cellist of Sarajevo' before the trip helps enormously.

🚌Tram 3 to Ilidža return ~£1.50; Tunnel of Hope transport included if booked as a tour

🛏Guesthouse/pension private room in Baščaršija (~£18 pp/night)

• →Tunnel of Hope / War Tunnel (GetYourGuide ~£15)
• →History Museum of Bosnia & Herzegovina (~£4)
• →Ilidža spring park & Velika Aleja
• →Yellow Fortress sunset

Morning train from Sarajevo to Mostar — one of Europe's great rail journeys through the Neretva canyon (~2h, BAM 14 / £6, two departures daily at roughly 07:15 and 17:00; check ZFBH timetables). Buses run more frequently (~2.5h, £7). Arrive, leave bags at your guesthouse in the old town, then walk Stari Most and the cobbled Kujundžiluk bazaar. Pay the small entry to climb the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque minaret (BAM 6, the best photo angle of the bridge). Catch the diving club's leap if the water's high enough, see the War Photo Exhibition (BAM 6), and stay for the evening when day-trippers leave. Herzegovina is hot in summer — go early.

🚌Sarajevo–Mostar train ~£6 (or bus ~£7)

🛏Old-town guesthouse private room (~£18 pp/night)

• →Neretva canyon train ride
• →Stari Most & Kujundžiluk bazaar
• →Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque minaret (~£3)
• →War Photo Exhibition (~£3)

Travel day with a border crossing. Take a bus from Mostar to Trebinje (~1.5h) and connect onward to Herceg Novi/Kotor, or take the direct Mostar–Kotor service if running (roughly 4.5–5.5h total, £18–25; check Busticket4.me and Arriva a few days ahead). Alternatively, a shared taxi/minivan from Trebinje is cheap if you find fellow travellers. Arrive in Kotor early evening, drop bags inside the old town or in Dobrota, and do the classic self-walk: Sea Gate, Arms Square (Trg od Oružja), St Tryphon Cathedral exterior, and the cafés along the walls. Sunset over the Bay of Kotor from the waterfront.

🚌Mostar–Trebinje–Kotor buses ~£22

🛏Old-town or Dobrota guesthouse private room (~£22 pp/night)

• →Self-guided Kotor old town walk
• →St Tryphon Cathedral & Arms Square
• →Bay of Kotor waterfront sunset

Start early (before 7:30 in summer) for the hike up to the Fortress of Sveti Ivan / San Giovanni — about 1,350 steps, 1–1.5h up, €3 entry paid at the bottom, and the best view in Montenegro over the fjord-like bay. Bring water; the stones are slippery after rain. Afternoon: either cool off with a swim at the free pebble beaches toward Dobrota, take the local bus to Budva for the old town and Mogren beach (€2–3 each way), or a bay boat trip to Our Lady of the Rocks and Perast (~€25–30, bookable at the waterfront or via Klook). Evening: cheap seafood or grilled fish in Dobrota.

🚌Local bus to Budva ~£5 return, or boat trip

🛏Old-town or Dobrota guesthouse private room (~£22 pp/night)

• →Sveti Ivan fortress hike (~£3 entry)
• →Dobrota beach swim
• →Budva old town (optional)
• →Our Lady of the Rocks boat trip (optional, ~£25)

Cross into Croatia by bus — Kotor to Dubrovnik takes about 2.5–3h with a border stop, ~€20–25 (Croatia Bus/Arriva, or a shared minivan transfer). Arrive late morning, check into a hostel or room in Lapad or outside the old town walls for better value. Do your own version of the orientation walk: Pile Gate, Stradun, the Rector's Palace and Orlando's Column exteriors, and Buža — the hole-in-the-wall bar on the seaward cliffs. Afternoon: walk the city walls (€35 in high season, or go after 4pm when it's cooler) or take the cheaper option of the free-ish hike up Mt Srđ for the classic rooftop panorama. Sunset from a rocky beach cove below the walls.

🚌Kotor–Dubrovnik bus ~£22

🛏Hostel private twin or soba in Lapad (~£30 pp/night)

• →Old town & Stradun self-guided walk
• →City walls walk (~£30) or Mt Srđ hike (free)
• →Buža cliff bar
• →Sunset at a cove below the walls

Morning ferry from the old town port to Lokrum Island (€27 return, 15 min; book at the kiosk or online) — botanical gardens, the Benedictine monastery, peacocks and the Dead Sea swimming spot. Alternatively do the War Photo Limited museum (€10) and the Franciscan Monastery cloister. Then take the airport shuttle bus from Pile Gate to Dubrovnik Airport (€10) or a shared transfer. If you have a late flight, leave bags at the bus station or a luggage locker in the old town (€5).

🚌Lokrum ferry ~£23; airport shuttle ~£9

🛏None (departure day)

• →Lokrum Island ferry and gardens (~£23)
• →War Photo Limited museum (~£9, optional)
• →Old town last wander