Sarajevo Total Siege Tour guided by a local survivor is by far the most interesting half day tour you can take when visiting Sarajevo. It will take you to the War Tunnel Museum, Jewish Cemetery, Olympic mountain Trebević (with its most famous symbol – Olympic Bobsled track), and other locations crucial for better understanding of modern World longest siege – Siege of Sarajevo.
This 4 hour experience will ensure easy understanding, reasons and facts behind the breakup and death of Yugoslavia, Siege of Sarajevo, Genocide in Srebrenica and overall story of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the same time, ideas we share are totally unbiased, fact based and first-hand experiences.
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Departure Times Twice a day: March – October 9 AM / 2 PM, November – February 9 AM / 1 PM.
Pickup Locations If you are staying in the old town of Sarajevo, meet us at our office. Please let us know if you are a bit away from us, and we can organize advance pickup.
Activity Note: The tour is adapted to all ages and is not physically demanding. Due to the distance of the locations, we use vehicles during the tour, but most of the tour is done on foot.
The day’s first stop is the Ex Hotel Holiday Inn a story about the infamous Sarajevo Sniper Alley. Built for the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics, today called Hotel Holiday, during the Siege, was home to various foreign journalists and reporters reporting on the Bosnian war and the Siege of Sarajevo. A short walk along the infamous Sniper Alley and a few exciting stories related to this place are planned.
We pass by:
The next stop of the day will be the War Tunnel Museum – Tunnel of Hope, which was the major “blood vessel” for the heavily sieged and destroyed city. At the Tunnel, we shall see a short movie about the War in Sarajevo and Tunnel, followed by going through the Tunnel itself.
At the exhibition part of the museum, we will have the opportunity to see many interesting exhibits directly connected with the Siege of Sarajevo.
The trip to and inside the tunnel is covered with an authentic first-person experience of a classy guide, a survivor of the Siege of Sarajevo, who is always willing to answer questions (no matter what they are). We will learn about the origins of the War on the Balkans and the Death of Yugoslavia, the dreams Serbian leaders had, and how they succeeded in seducing a large number of Serbian nationalists throughout the whole Balkans and making them go to war.
We pass by:
Read more about the Sarajevo War Tunnel: A Crude 1,000-Yard Tunnel Is Sarajevo’s Secret Lifeline (NY Times)
After the Tunnel, we head toward the mountain Trebević, which, by the vast majority of its length, was a first line during the Siege and place of many battles on many battlefields.
We can see where the actual destruction appeared at the site, such as Zlatište, Osmice, Trebević Vidikovac, and many other destroyed facilities and sites.
Moreover, we will see the remains of bunkers, minefields, military tank caterpillar traces, tranches, bullets and grenade shrapnels, and many, many other exciting sites of destruction, which today, at present, haven’t yet been repaired or restored. They stand there like two decades later; the war hasn’t ended yet.
Sarajevo Bobsleigh, initially built for the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, is one of the main highlights of the tour. Once there, we can admire the Yugoslavian brutalist architecture and learn more about the unfortunate events that took place at this location during the Siege of Sarajevo since it used to stand on one of the main front lines. However, Bobsled is today featured at the top of the world’s most beautiful abandoned places lists. It holds a fantastic amount of graffiti by artists from around the World, and you have a chance to see them all.
We pass by:
The 33 Most Beautiful Abandoned Places In The World
The tour is enriched with fantastic panorama views, especially from the top of Trebević mountain. There, you will get the natural feeling of how the great mice and cats game had been played and how the Republic of Srpska forces (VRS), with such a great advantage, never got the real chance to take over Sarajevo city.
Upon return to the city, the day’s last stop will be the Jewish Cemetery, known for its historical importance as it is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe. However, during the Siege of Sarajevo, it was the Republic of Srpska army’s main front line and sniper nest, overlooking the infamous Sniper Alley.
We pass by:
What you will learn during the Sarajevo Siege Tour?
What Do I Need to Bring?
1. Does this tour itinerary includes visit to Sarajevo War Tunnel Museum?
Yes, our Sarajevo Siege tour does include a visit to Sarajevo War Tunnel Museum.
2. Does this tour include Sarajevo War Tunnel Museum entrance fee?
Yes it does.
3. How can I pay this tour?
You can pay this tour either in cash (EUR, BAM, USD, GBP) or by credit card (VISA and MasterCard).
4. Can this tour be combined with Sarajevo airport pickup or drop off?
This tour is the best way to combine Sarajevo airport pickup or drop off, and save the costs. Our tour departs at 9 AM and 2 PM every day. If your arrival flight is around 12 or 1 PM, it is ideal that we pick you up at 2 PM at the airport and go straight for the tour. The first stop of the tour is the Tunnel Museum, and being under the airport it is ideal. If your flight is leaving Sarajevo at 3 PM or later 7 PM or so, you can join our tour with you luggage and at the end of tour we drop you off at the airport.
In this way you only pay the costs of the tour and get transfer for free.
5. What time does Sarajevo War Tunnel open and close?
Opening times of the Sarajevo War Tunnel Museum are:
1st April – 31st October
09:00 – 17:00 (last entrance 16:30)
1st November – 31st March
09:00 – 16:00 (last entrance 15:30)
6. How do I get to the War Tunnel Museum on my own?
The best way to get to the Sarajevo War Tunnel on your own is to take Tram number three from Sarajevo city centre to Ilidza (last station). Once off the train you have three options:
1) Take a TAXI (price around 6 BAM – cca.3 EUR)
2) Take a bus #32A which leaves from Ilidza bus station to Donji Kotorac
3) Take a 30-40 min walk to address Tuneli 1 at Donji Kotorac
Additional option is to use trolley bus #103 from Sarajevo city centre – Trg Austrije to Dobrinja. Once you get out on the last station at Dobrinja, find your way with Google Maps for another 25-30 min walk to the Sarajevo War Tunnel Museum.
7. Do I need to book in advance my visit to Sarajevo War Tunnel Museum?
Our Sarajevo War Tunnel tour is limited to maximum 8 travelers and two daily departures, meaning if you are traveling in the peak of the season from May to October, it might happen that tour is booked out on certain dates, so that is why we recommend booking War Tunnel Tour in advance if possible. Also make use of Funky Tours 24hrs free of charge cancellation and cancel tour anytime.
8. How far is Sarajevo War Tunnel from Sarajevo city centre?
Depending on the road you take, Sarajevo War Tunnel is between 11.5 and 13.5 km far away from the Sarajevo old town Bascarsija. Driving time is around 25 minutes.
The available routes to get to Sarajevo War Tunnel are via Ilidza or East Sarajevo – Lukavica.
9. Can children visit Sarajevo War Tunnel museum?
The story narrative, video and photo material at the Sarajevo War Tunnel is adjusted to any age and even young kids can visit without a fear that the story is too strong for them.
10. Is the Sarajevo War Tunnel wheelchair friendly to visit?
Sarajevo War Tunnel most of the open space video and photo exhibition is “relatively” wheelchair friendly. However you need to have someone to assist you.
The actual part of the tunnel, museum part in the house and basement part of the exhibition are not wheelchair or accessible friendly.
For more information please contact the Tunnel management directly at: info@tunelspasa.ba.
Well worth an afternoon
Went on this tour with Mustafa. What an interesting man and what an informative tour it was. Definitely recommended. And great value for money too.
We learned a lot about Sarajevo and the Bosnian war
We learned a lot about the siege of Sarajevo and the Bosnian war in this tour. Almir was a great guide and we recommend this tour!
A m a z i n g
It was a very personal tour, which we loved. Mustafá was a great guide. He was informative, passionate and took you back in time. 4hrs was short for us and we could’ve spent all day on tour – that’s how enjoyable it was.
Do not miss this!!! This is a must!
A thought provoking tour
Mustafá picked us up promptly from our hotel, He was warm and friendly and we really enjoyed out tour with him.
We learnt so much about the conflict and the way he described all the general issues faced during the war, it was made more real because of his personal experiences. He answered all my questions very thoughtfully and I learnt so much.
We only had a few hours in Sarajevo but this tour made perfect use of our limited time.
Brilliant tour
Absolutely fantastic tour – easy booking and transport. Our guide was exceptional – very friendly and pitched the stories (both personal and general history) at just the right level and very friendly too!
