Sarajevo Siege: Unforgettable Veteran's Story Tour

This was not just a tour. We had the privilege of being guided by an extraordinary person: a war veteran who lived through the siege of Sarajevo himself. Walking through the places where these events actually happened while listening to someone who experienced them firsthand is something that truly stays with you. He took us to the key locations connected to the war, including the facilities built for the 1984 Winter Olympics, which were later turned into military positions, and the famous Tunnel of Hope, the underground tunnel built during the siege to bring food, medicine, weapons, and humanitarian aid into the completely surrounded city. Listening to these stories from someone who lived through them gives a completely different perspective compared to reading about history in books. Our guide was incredibly kind, attentive, and genuinely happy to answer our questions. You can immediately feel that this is not just a job for him it is a way to share the truth and make sure people understand what really happened here. Some parts of the story were deeply moving and difficult to hear, especially when learning about civilians being targeted by snipers during the siege. It makes you reflect on the immense suffering that so many innocent people endured. This tour is not just informative it is a living testimony of history. I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to meet someone like him and to hear his story directly. I recommend this guide 1000% to anyone visiting Sarajevo. This is not just a tour it is a powerful lesson about history, humanity, and memory. I sincerely wish him all the best and hope his work continues to grow, because people like him help the world remember.

We were not really sure what to expect with this tour, but Enes the tour guide was fantastic. He shared his personal experience of growing up in 1990s Sarajevo which was fascinating (and at times very sad) to hear about. The tour had official stops at the war tunnels, 1984 Winter Olympics bobsleigh track and Jewish cemetery. However, Enes pointed out a number of interesting features on route including the Holiday Inn where all the journalists were holed up during the siege - which is now symbolically painted in yellow. We had lots of questions about the political system in Bosnia (given that the way Bosnia is governed is very complicated). Enes took the time to answer all of our questions. He also showed us some extremely harrowing photos from the siege - not for the faint hearted but it really painted a picture of how difficult life was for residents living in the city at the time. The tour lasted around 4 hours. Everything was clearly explained when we met at the Funky Tours office, and Enes even arranged to stop at a petrol station so we could stock up on water and snacks for the tour. Overall, this is was an illuminating, if not dark tour led by an extremely generous and knowledgeable guide. If you want a very enjoyable afternoon learning about Sarajevo’s recent history, I would look no further than this tour.

This is a great tour with one of the friendliest and most knowledge guides I have encountered.

Informative and emotive. I learned so much and was given plenty of time to take in each place. Guide was professional and friendly.

This tour provided an important and informative look at life in Sarajevo during the siege. Visiting the Tunnel of Hope was especially meaningful, and hearing the history directly from a veteran added depth and authenticity to the experience that you simply don’t get from reading or exhibits alone. My guide was professional, knowledgeable, and thoughtful in how he presented the history. The tour moved beyond the tunnel itself and included several sites around Sarajevo, which helped contextualize what daily life was like during the siege and how the city endured it. Overall, this was a meaningful and informative experience that added important context to Sarajevo’s history. Seeing the tunnel and hearing personal stories made the siege feel much more real, and the additional stops around the city helped bring that period into focus. I’m glad I took this tour and would recommend it to anyone wanting a deeper understanding of Sarajevo.

My guide Salem was the veteran that brought me around the city. He shared a lot of incidents and stories about him as well as the city. I learned a lot from this tour, and I would not have done so if I didn’t join the tour. The weather was not so great during the tour with heavy snow, but Salem is a great driver and still brought me to the spots. Great tour overall, would highly recommend.

If you want an in-depth understanding the Yugoslav wars, this is definitely the experience. I walked away with a clear understanding of a very popular conflict that I previously did not understand. Going to the places of the war helped give a real understanding of the situation. The guide is very nice and intelligent. If you are in Sarajevo, you must go on this tour.

There were a bunch of different options to choose from in terms of war tours and I'm so glad we went with this one. The small group made it possible for our guide to answer all our many, many questions -- he was super informative about the locations we were visiting as well as geopolitical details we wanted to know about. I would definitely recommend this particular tour for anyone looking for a more education trip with a really great guide.

Fantastic morning war tour of Sarajevo. We were lucky enough to have Enes as our tour guide, who had so much knowledge to share. He made everything fascinating, with his passion and humour. Ended the tour with a shared beer with our guide and brief friend. 😀

The tour was very interesting and informative. Our veteran guide shared powerful stories about the war, the Olympic Games, and his own personal experiences. We visited key locations of the attacks. I recommend it to everybody.