Neretva Valley Harvests: Orchard Adventures around Čapljina

The Neretva Valley is Herzegovina's fruit basket, a ribbon of green wedged between karst hills where citrus and stone fruit ripen under near-constant sun. Drive ten minutes outside Čapljina and orchards stretch to the horizon, each tree heavy with color. Come in the right season and local farmers invite you beneath the branches to taste, pick, and picnic like you own the place.

• Late April to May – Strawberries and the first sweet cherries. Bees hum, blossoms drift, and baskets fill fast.
• June to July – Peaches, nectarines, and early figs. The air smells like jam waiting to happen.
• August – Melons, watermelons, and late figs. Farmers cool sliced melon in irrigation channels so every bite snaps cold.
• September – Grapes, apples, and Bartlett pears. Pressed on the spot for cloudy juice or the first cider of the year.
• October – Pomegranates and mandarins paint the valley red and orange. Kids race to pop seeds faster than their cousins.

Start with a short drive from Sommerhagene Resort. Within fifteen minutes, olive groves give way to tidy fruit rows. Many family farms post handwritten signs: Otvoreno za branje – open for picking. Pull over, grab a woven basket, and follow the owner into the shade. Every third step brings a sample. Bite a peach still warm from the branch, let juice run down your wrist, and understand why supermarket fruit always feels a bit tired.

Most farms combine picking with a rustic meal. Out comes a plank table, fresh bread, sheep cheese, grilled vegetables, and fruit chutney straight from yesterday's boil. Someone pours Žilavka white wine or a mild pear rakija. Conversations jump between weather, football scores, and which tree variety tastes best for jam. Kids climb low fig branches while adults argue politely about the right time to prune.

1. Wear old sneakers. Orchard dust stains heroically.
2. Bring cash. Rural card machines like to nap.
3. Visit early morning or late afternoon for cooler air and better photos.
4. Ask before picking extra. Farmers often insist you take more.
5. May through October is harvest season, but spring bloom and winter citrus pruning tours are worth the stroll, too.

Before heading back, stop at a roadside stall. Jars of honey, fig jam, and pomegranate molasses line rough-cut shelves. Each label carries a surname and a phone number, nothing more. Buy a jar, thank the owner with a hearty Hvala, and you have edible proof that good things grow where rivers run and sunshine rarely takes a day off.

In the Neretva Valley, fruit is not just produce. It is family history, village pride, and weekend tradition rolled into one. Spend an afternoon under peach leaves and you will feel the rhythm that guides life here: prune, bloom, pick, rejoice. Back at the resort, your trunk smells like an orchard, and your pockets hide a few extra figs. That is the valley saying come back soon – the next harvest is already on its way.