Neum Border Crossing (Not what I Expected) | Croatia to Bosnia Travel Vlog

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Have you found any aspects of travel different now as a result of Covid? 🤔 Let me know! 🇭🇷 Check out my previous video from Croatia if you haven't seen it already 👉kzbin.info/www/bejne/i32YiHmMgq-ie7s

[@BangkokJack858]

Great work Ella, that drive looked beautiful. Thats nice that you could pass through the border without any tests.

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Thanks Jack! Really glad you liked it. Yes, it was really handy. I didn't fancy taking double the amount of journey time and using the ferry route just to avoid a crossing!

[@NghiaPhamV84]

2021 was tough, couldn't travel abroad and was in a lockdown for such a long time. Everything is getting better now and let's hope for a great year of 2022. Raining during road trip is not so good ha. I usually check the weather forecast before I plan my trip. The landscape from your 3rd hour of driving looks spectacular. Thanks you for sharing.

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Fingers crossed to a better 2022 indeed. I was also in lockdown for most of last year. The weather forecast wasn't so reliable. It said it would be stormy every day for the week we were there! Thankfully it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it predicted 😅

[@LucasWorldTravel]

Dubrovnik was my my favorite. Our AirBNB was inside the old town. Wow! You drove! I was just there. That stretch of road is so beautiful with the water beside it. I think it is the same road we took but we were on a bus. We stopped in Bosnia it is wonderful also. 9 hours is a long drive.

[@EllaMcKendrick]

An Airbnb inside the old town?! How amazing! I didn't know they existed. You were so lucky to stop in Bosnia! Did you have to show PCR test results? Or maybe restrictions have eased slightly since I went in summer? Yes, driving was at times challenging. I can imagine taking the bus would have been more relaxing and allowed for us to enjoy the scenery more. We come from UK so are not used to driving on the right of the road, meaning we had to pay extra careful attention as our road positioning was so poor if we didn't!

[@GoTravelOnTheCheap]

Great job on the hook! We are now arguing about what kind of bug that was...some kind of grasshopper, right? We would love to eat a croissant in Croatia in that torrential weather! (Two or more hours would get a bit tedious though...) Wish we had known about those other walls when we were there. Wayne always thought they were pearl farms--good to know!! You already know we LOVED our time in B & H. Definitely want to go back! Cool bathroom mirror light. We so enjoy perusing at day or night markets!

[@EllaMcKendrick]

It looked like a grasshopper! It was surprisingly big 😅 Yes, there was something magical about eating the croissant in the midst of that storm. The main problem at the café was you had to go outside to reach the toilets and tea goes through me quite quickly which meant I got soaked! I'm pretty sure on other areas of Croatia there are pearl farms and oyster farms too :)

[@GoTravelOnTheCheap]

Aha, I (April) was right! I will have to point that out to Wayne, lol! Oh no, that would not be so fun...did you get chilled when you got soaked?

[@EllaMcKendrick]

@@GoTravelOnTheCheap Haha, you tell him! 🤣 Yes, it was cold! The rain was like being under an icy shower 🥶 We opened the boot of the car to get our waterproofs out before we walked to the café and directional rain pelted in and soaked EVERYTHING in there. Our cases were open and all the clothing got sodden. It was not ideal!

[@GoTravelOnTheCheap]

@@EllaMcKendrick Oh noooo!

[@lewissss37374]

Awesome video! The rainstorm looked crazy 😁

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Thank you! It was pretty chaotic 🤣

[@captainmacoy]

The advantage of road trip is that you can see the beautiful places along in the journey and that places you've been pass by looks beautiful! The 9 hours drove is pretty exhausting, but still you can managed to went to market unbelievable! Your AIRBNB looks awesome, I wonder how much per night on that apartment?

[@EllaMcKendrick]

That is so true - I love how you can just stop wherever you feel like it. Although frequent stops does really prolong the journey... like I found out 😂 Still, how a 4 hour drive ended up taking us 9 hours, I'll never quite understand! The Airbnb wasn't actually too bad price-wise. It was £83 per night which I thought was decent for how large it was (it was 2 bedrooms) and also the central location. It was much larger than our apartment in Dubrovnik but no where near as expensive (it was £120 per night for the 1 bed apartment in Dubrovnik).

[@Centraleuropebusiness]

That’s Croatian coast too, just part of Bosnia and Hercegovina now….The Dubrovnik Republic back in the day gave Neum to the Ottoman Empire to give them access to the sea. 99% of the people in neum are still Croats.

[@EllaMcKendrick]

That's really interesting to know - thank you for sharing! I just had a quick search and you are right that most people living in Neum are in fact Croats, which I had no idea of. Borders are such a strange thing really. It's all fascinating - such a small stretch of coastline with so much history!

[@Centraleuropebusiness]

@@EllaMcKendrick If you look at the current borders of Croatia 🇭🇷 you will notice the entire middle part is missing …that missing middle part is today Bosnia and Hercegovina 🇧🇦. The ottoman Turks invaded the area and the current Croatia- Bosnia and Hercegovina border is where the ottoman Turks were stopped. Today ethnic Croats make up only 10-14% of the BiH 🇧🇦 population , less than a 100 years ago that number was over 40%..

[@EllaMcKendrick]

@@Centraleuropebusiness Yes, it is true that Croatia is a very strange shape and I'd never really thought about why that was before. They did a good job at keeping hold of majority of the coastline. You are very knowledgable about Croatian history and I am really glad you have shared this extra context here 😁

[@northernstar4811]

"The Dubrovnik Republic back in the day gave Neum to the Ottoman Empire ..." I`ve always found this odd since the Ottoman Turkish Empire was kicked out of Bosnia in the 19th century by the Austrians, so that deal with Neum would be legally be void. The town of Neum was handed back to Croatia with the creation of the "Banovina of Croatia" ( an autonomous region of "Royal" Yugoslavia) before WW2. After WW2 the Yugoslav communist party decided to hand over Neum to Bosnia & Herzegovina but the other Bosnian sea outlet called Sutorina they gave to Montenegro. This despite the fact that Montenegro never owned Sutorina in its history. So some strange decisions there on the borders.

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Yes, that is really strange! Thank you for sharing all this. I find all this history so interesting.

[@ignacioacosta5345]

Hello again Ella. I hope that you, your boyfriend and your families are safe from COVID. Congratulations again, you've edited a fantastic video. Good music, good plans .... really very good. Perhaps the light did not accompany, but the truth is that it was logical, after seeing the days so gray that you found. I hope to see more videos, you know that I am one of your fans. Greetings and take care of yourselves.

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Lovely to hear from you again, Ignacio. I hope you have been well? I'm really glad you enjoyed this video! I am working very hard on the next one which should be up before the end of January 😁 Thanks for your continued support throughout my journey!

[@saqibali545]

Hi @Ella, thank you for the beautiful and informative video, May I know on average how long it takes to get to Mostar from Dubrovnik? As Google Maps are showing (2 hrs 40 mins) on average. Thank you in advance.

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Hey Saqib! I didn't actually travel to Mostar from Dubrovnik so I can't tell you with 100% certainty but my driving times always took a lot longer than what Google maps estimated. The roads can be quite bendy, weather can impact the drive and if you want to stop off along the way it can really add additional time. Definitely allow at least 3 hours for the drive, maybe more. I hope this helps!

[@saqibali545]

@@EllaMcKendrick Hey, thank you for the reply, will let you know if we go to Mostar and will update you about the journey time so it can be useful for your viewers. Cheers!

[@EllaMcKendrick]

@@saqibali545 That sounds great - thank you! I hope you have a great trip 😁

[@trendingtopics7626]

What a beautiful drive, really amazing place to explore

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Yes, the drive was absolutely gorgeous!

[@dzonikg]

Was call Jadranska magistrala during Yugoslavija ..it run from Albania border to Italian border...almost all driving near the Adriatic sea..and was always crowded during summer but still beautiful to drive ...now stupid borders that ruin the experience

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Yes, that would have been a gorgeous drive! Borders do indeed break-up the experience with lengthy queues at each border checkpoint. And now Covid restrictions make it even harder! Thank you for sharing this information - I find it so interesting!

[@dzonikg]

@@EllaMcKendrick My father really love to drive on it..we would put car on overnight train Belgrade -Bar..and then in morning drive from Bar to Istria via that road even it was not closest route..but there was so many places to visit on that road

[@EllaMcKendrick]

@@dzonikg That sounds lovely. I agree it's better to take the scenic than more direct route. It's all about they journey after all. Did you have a favourite place to visit on the road?

[@dzonikg]

@@EllaMcKendrick Zadar,Sibenik

[@yuzumomo-lab]

So beautiful Movie💕 Amazing🌼 Have a nice day♪🌈

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Thank you very much for watching! I am glad you enjoyed. Have a wonderful weekend!

[@lilithmartin4171]

Well, pity you felt uneasy in Ploce,... it is a beautiful place.

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Yeah, it's likely a case of the wrong part of town at the wrong time. I appreciate your insight to the area :)

[@JustinPlusLauren]

Being in Canada, I haven't done much travel since the start of Covid. Hopefully will be able to soon. The drive looks super beautiful, I love road trips. Sorry about the rain though, I'm glad things cleared up!

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Covid really has thrown a spanner in the works for travel the past few years. This trip to Croatia was my first trip abroad for 2021. Hopefully we'll all be able to travel more soon!

[@jmw0368]

If leaving Dubrovnik and travelling to Split you’d be travelling “UP” (North), not down.

[@romanandfizah]

Hello Ella! What a beautiful Croatia. Perhaps we can travel there soon . I love the beach view . Full supporting from us ,hope your day is wonderful dear. New subscribers from us fizah and roman 😊

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Hello! Thank you so much for your lovely comment and I am pleased you have discovered my channel. Do you have any plans to visit Croatia yet? Thank you very much for your support!

[@IamaDutch-Kiwi]

I guess it wasn't only the time but also the added Covid-19 extras that made for a tiring journey. I think that is one of the biggest influencers at the moment for traveling. Are we well prepared, do we know all we need to know? What's up ahead? Great journey though. Lovely scenery along the way. Loved the apartment. Spacious and clean. Happy days. 👍 🇳🇿 🙋‍♀️ 🇳🇱

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Yes, it is exhausting thinking about Covid requirements and worrying about whether or not we would have trouble at the borders. Lots of people I have spoken to just aren't travelling at the moment as it's too much of a headache and the testing makes the trips more expensive.

[@IamaDutch-Kiwi]

@@EllaMcKendrick I'm one of those people. And to be fair, I don't NEED to travel over the border. It's a case of taking each day ( and new variety) at a time. We had a great summer just within our border. I do understand though, the feeing and sense of frustration. I think we all just want this nightmare to end. Stay safe- happy travels. 👍 🇳🇿 🙋‍♀️ 🇳🇱

[@EllaMcKendrick]

@@IamaDutch-Kiwi Yes, I do think that one positive to come out of the pandemic is that it has forced us to explore our own countries more and realise beauty and places we may not have noticed otherwise. It's definitely good that you have been doing that and really enjoying it. I did have fun seeing more of the UK last summer, I just wish the weather was a little warmer, haha! I hope you have an even better summer this year!

[@goransvraka3171]

Elis this is Yugoslavia!

[@caprilpardopicui4449]

17👍bom dia amigo parabéns pelo vídeo acompanho o seu canal do Brasil 🇧🇷

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Obrigado por assistir. E obrigado pelo seu apoio!

[@catholicdad]

Now you can drive & avoid BiH on new bridge.

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Thanks for the info! It's good to know that the bridge is now operational - it was under construction when I visited

[@catholicdad]

@@EllaMcKendrick I heard you mentioned it later in the video. The Croats are upset because they really want to anschluss Hercegovina into Croatia & this bridge they fear is "giving up" on that dream. Life in the Balkans . . . 🙄

[@DrErikEvrard]

Just take the bridge...

[@EllaMcKendrick]

The bridge is open now but at the time of recording it was still under construction. It's definitely a much easier journey now! :)

[@DrErikEvrard]

@@EllaMcKendrick But it will still be busy in the busy summertime (the road is narrow). At least you'll have two options now!

[@Ado_odabij]

Hi from BiH

[@Snezanah]

Go to Medjugorje.......

[@EllaMcKendrick]

Thanks for the recommendation! I definitely want to see more of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Looks like a fantastic country!

[@Snezanah]

Yes...don't wait...otherwise..look for some examples...Tom Costa Brava on KZbin...people who he interviews..don't wait it's a joyfull for your soul..for children grownups ..

[@EllaMcKendrick]

@@Snezanah Thank you for your recommendations!

[@Snezanah]

I hoped you let us see the boarders......the crap about documents....vaccine.....

[@EllaMcKendrick]

I'm sorry my video disappointed you. I probably should have sat my camera on my knee and filmed the border crossing discreetly - feedback taken on board for future videos. In this case, the border passing was so fast and straight-forward that there wasn't actually much to see but I understand you'd rather see that for yourself. "Show don't tell" right? 😅

[@kirksdva8310]

Somebody else gave Croatian Territory to somebody else . Venetian gave to Turkey otoman Empire for no attack Venetian .Haaaa Croatian Territory .