A group of 5-8 can collect one 6-9 seat van directly in Mostar. Local operators keep them, but the fleet is small, often one or two vans per agency, so a van for late July or August must be booked months ahead. Confirmed local vans: CityRent (rent.ba, Husnije Repca 9 plus Mostar Airport) runs a Renault Trafic 8+1 manual diesel from EUR 62 per day and a Mercedes Vito / V-Class 7+1 automatic from EUR 65, plus a 7-seat Renault Espace automatic from EUR 43 for light luggage. UniRent (Kneza Viseslava bb) runs a 2019 Opel Vivaro 8+1 manual at 150 KM per day, about EUR 77. Artic Trade (Alekse Santica 2) runs an Opel Vivaro from EUR 87 with a published EUR 400 deposit. Carwiz takes Mostar bookings at the airport and Trg Ivana Krndelja 4 but bases its van fleet in Sarajevo. EG Rent a Car runs an Opel Vivaro 8+1. Automatic vans are rare; the CityRent Vito is the main local automatic. Booking lead time: for a specific 7-9 seater in July or August 2026 book 4-6 months ahead. The common two-month rule applies to ordinary cars; KAYAK's own guidance for specialty vehicles is 2-3 months. In the shoulder season, April to May and September to October, one to two months is realistic and rates are lower. Summer is tight because of overlapping events: Mladifest, the Medjugorje International Youth Festival, runs 1-6 August 2026 in its 37th edition and draws 40,000-50,000 participants and over 500 priests, 25 km from Mostar; the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series at Stari Most runs 31 July to 1 August 2026 with around 25,000 spectators; Mostar Summer Fest runs 2-4 July 2026 at Kantarevac; and the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August brings a second pilgrimage surge. One van versus two economy cars for a party of six on the loop Mostar to Blagaj 12 km, Pocitelj 28 km, Kravice 19 km, Medjugorje 25 km and back 25 km, roughly 110 km: two economy cars are cheaper on the headline daily rate, but one van means a single deposit hold instead of two on two different drivers' cards, one cross-border fee and one Green Card instead of two because both are issued per vehicle, one parking space, and slightly less fuel. A van at 9-10 litres per 100 km uses about 10-11 litres over the loop, roughly 33-37 KM at the Mostar-area diesel price of about 3.05 KM per litre, against about 13 litres and roughly 40 KM for two small cars. Deposits: Artic Trade publishes EUR 400 for its Opel Vivaro. Reported van-class holds elsewhere range from several hundred euros to EUR 2,000 or more at international chains, and extra excess cover typically lowers the hold; quoted figures for the same agency disagree between sources, so confirm in writing. Most agencies expect a physical credit card in the main driver's own name; a minority accept debit. Virtual cards such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, prepaid cards and cards belonging to someone not travelling are refused across the board. The Bosnian age baseline is around 21, the required licence-held period quoted varies between one and two years, and some agencies raise the minimum to 25 for the van class. Parking: the Stari Grad core around the Old Bridge is fully pedestrian, including Kujundziluk and Onescukova. JP Mostar Parking d.o.o. charges Zone I (red) 1.50 KM per hour with a 20 KM day ticket and a 2-hour maximum on an hourly ticket, and Zone II (yellow) 1.00 KM per hour with a 15 KM day ticket and a 4-hour maximum. The open surface lots Ciro, Stadion, Federalna and Katedrala charge 10 KM per day for a car, 20 KM per day for trucks up to 7.5 t and minibuses, and 25 KM per day above 7.5 t or for buses; whether a 9-seat van is charged the car or minibus rate is decided at the barrier. Sundays and public holidays are free. In the tourist streets paid parking applies every day from 1 June to 30 September. Street bays can be paid by SMS, 0838801 for Zone I and 0838802 for Zone II, via the GoParking app or at a terminal. The price list was last revised in February 2024. Zone I bays run about 4.8 m, so a van over 5 m protrudes into the traffic lane. Traffic fines: camera citations enter the central IDDEEA register, which the Bosnian Border Police can check on exit, so unpaid fines can be flagged when leaving the country. Because the vehicle is registered to the rental agency, the agency is notified, identifies the driver from the rental agreement and charges the card on file. Paying within 8 days gives a 50 percent discount under Article 234 of the Law on Basics of Road Traffic Safety, and the agency adds an administrative processing fee typically in the region of EUR 25-50. Where the vehicle actually sits matters as much as the rate. Local agencies keep their vans in Mostar itself, while the international chains base van stock at Sarajevo Airport and dispatch to Mostar on request, so a late booking can mean an out-of-city delivery charge or starting the rental in Sarajevo instead. Sarajevo is about 130 km north of Mostar on the M17. The Opel Vivaro is the workhorse of the local fleet, run by three separate agencies. Europcar and Enterprise both have a Mostar presence, but whether their vans physically sit in the city is not confirmed and should be asked directly. UniRent offers city delivery and a driver option. Two economy cars also carry a hidden requirement: two separate rental agreements need two qualified drivers, each with their own card for the deposit hold, whereas a van needs one driver and an optional second. On card rules, most agencies expect a physical credit card in the main driver's own name for the hold and a minority accept a debit card, so it is worth asking that specific question rather than assuming either way. Young-driver surcharges apply to drivers in their early twenties and the exact cut-off differs by agency. A second driver is usually charged, though at least one operator gives the first additional driver free. In the city itself the Stari Grad core around the Old Bridge is fully pedestrian: Kujundziluk, Onescukova and the streets immediately approaching Stari Most are closed to vehicles entirely. Riverside streets nearby, including Rade Bitange and parts of Marsala Tita, are narrow with tight turns and pedestrians routinely in the roadway, and scraping bodywork on a van there triggers both a repair charge and an administrative handling fee from the agency. The practical approach is to park at a peripheral open lot and walk the five to ten minutes in. Ciro sits behind the HNK theatre and has no height barrier; Katedrala is by the cathedral and is easy to manoeuvre into. Timing compounds the problem: the Red Bull Cliff Diving weekend and Mostar Summer Fest tighten parking and fleet availability at the same time, so booking and parking both get harder in the same days. Outside summer, in April to May and September to October, van availability loosens, one to two months ahead is realistic and rates are lower.