Older guidebooks still warn about the two border checks at Neum. Since July 2022 the drive to Dubrovnik can stay inside Croatia. Here is how the road works and when you still need a passport.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a short stretch of the Adriatic coast at Neum, about 9 km of road that cuts the Dubrovnik area off from the rest of Croatia. For decades the coast road crossed two borders here. The Pelješac bridge, opened on 26 July 2022, changed that: traffic can now go around Neum without leaving Croatia.
The bridge in numbers
- Length: about 2.4 km, from Komarna on the mainland to Brijesta on the Pelješac peninsula.
- Toll: none.
- Connecting road: from Brijesta across Pelješac to Ston, where it rejoins the main coast road to Dubrovnik.
- Border checks on this route: none. You stay in Croatia the whole way.
Which way should you drive?
From the Neretva valley, follow the signs for Pelješac and Dubrovnik at the Komarna junction and cross the bridge. Check your navigation before you set off, because some apps still suggest the old road through Neum when it looks a few minutes shorter. In summer those few minutes can turn into a queue at the border.
Our transfers between the Neretva valley and Dubrovnik use the bridge, so there is no border to plan for. Metković to Dubrovnik Airport takes about 2 hours 10 minutes.
When you still need a passport
- If you choose to drive through Neum or stop there. Neum is a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, so it means two crossings.
- On the way to Mostar, Medjugorje or Sarajevo, which are in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- On the way to Kotor and Budva, which are in Montenegro.
On the bridge route, carry ID as you would anywhere in Croatia. Nobody checks it at a border, because there is none.
Is Neum worth a stop?
People stop in Neum mostly for prices: fuel and shopping have traditionally been cheaper there than in Croatia, and it has hotels on the beach. If you are simply passing through, the bridge route is calmer. With time to spare, Ston is the better stop: the long medieval walls, the salt pans and the oysters of Mali Ston are all right on the road.
What changed for non-EU visitors
Croatia has been in Schengen since 2023, so Neum is now an external border. Since April 2026 the EU's Entry/Exit System has registered non-EU travellers with a photo and fingerprints when they leave and re-enter Schengen, instead of stamping passports. The first registration takes a little longer, one more reason to take the bridge when you do not need Neum.
Metković to Dubrovnik Airport, 230 € →