As a seaside getaway for Herzegovinians and a gripe so big for Croatians that they are willing to move the earth to work around it, Neum is an anomaly. This is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s only resort – in fact, the only settlement – along the 24 kilometers of littoral awarded to the country as part of the post-war Dayton Agreement of 1995. High-rise tourist hotels and bulk-buy supermarkets, where welcome Croatian currency stretches further than it would on either side of the border, typify this town.

This small settlement of a couple of thousand people has been attracting undiscerning holidaymakers in communal lodging for decades. Neum’s location in a sheltered bay helps. Warm, shallow waters and the occasional sandy beach bolster the experience. These days, you simply get more kicks for your KM than you would for your kunas in Croatia. Take the three-star Hotel Neum, for example. A room with a sea-facing balcony and two meals a day costs you 80KM per person in high season.

For that you also get a seawater pool, mini golf, sundry outdoor activities, and games for the kids. The Hotel Zenit, a 340-bed behemoth nearby, is cheaper still. It offers any number of water sports to complement its tennis courts, sauna, and indoor seawater pool. Bigger still and slightly pricier, the 400-bed Hotel Sunce numbers jet skis and flat-bottom canoes among its standard array of attractions. A little classier and less cluttered is the Hotel Villa Nova, with a dozen doubles and its own beach.

Restaurants are invariably attached to hotels and nearly all rates quoted will be half-board. This is not the destination for the intrepid individual traveler. Cafés, bars, and discos all operate within the concrete surroundings of seasonal hotels – here you won’t find the kind of gastronomic gem or underground offshoot that has changed the nature of tourism on the Croatian coast. But if you’re just after the magic of the Adriatic and simple holiday pleasures at affordable prices, this is the spot.