Sarajevo War & City Tour: Tunnel of Hope with Siege Survivor

Walk the Tunnel of Hope with someone who escaped through it

Roses of Sarajevo is a small-group war and city tour of Sarajevo led by guides who survived the siege, visiting the Tunnel of Hope, war museums, sniper zones and key sites across the city. The tour runs roughly four hours in an air-conditioned minivan with a maximum of eight travelers per guide, and includes transport and a live English-speaking guide. Children from age 3 are welcome when accompanied by an adult.

Step-by-step itinerary

Sarajevo war and city tour

• See 20+ monuments en route
• Visit War house (Kolar family)
• Watch 17-minute war movie
• View minefields
• Explore Sarajevo War Museum
• See War room and journal spot
• Walk through Tunnel of Hope
• Enjoy 10-15 minutes free time
• Brief Sacred Heart Cathedral explanation
• Learn about Sarajevo ‘Little Yugoslavia’
• See largest Rose of Sarajevo
• Hear 1994-1995 victim numbers
• Introduction to Yugoslavia
• View WWII liberation monument
• See Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Learn current political system
• Pass main Sniper Alley
• Hear story of Holiday Inn hotel
• Pass National Museum and Sarajevo Haghada
• View Historical Museum on Sniper Alley
• See Satellite Hill and Bosnian army zone
• Explore middle Sarajevo siege area
• Learn UN grenade statistics
• Visit 1984 Olympic village
• See Communist-Yugoslavian architecture
• Learn about 'Oslobodenje' journal
• Visit survival path and Free Bosnian territory
• Hear survivor’s childhood story
• See current War Murals in East Sarajevo
• Tour East Sarajevo and ethnic diversity
• Visit Trebević Mountain panorama
• See I and II sniper zones
• Pass ‘Bosnian Disneyland’ SunnyLand
• Visit 1984 Olympic Bobsleigh track
• Explore hilly Sarajevo neighborhood
• Enjoy best Sniper Alley viewpoint
• Visit 16th century monuments
• Learn about Sarajevo 'European Jerusalem'
• See WWII Jewish victims monument
• Visit Jewish Synagogue
• Visit Vrbanja bridge both sides
• Hear Sarajevo Romeo and Juliet story
• Pass frontline and 1984 Olympic hall
• View Austro-Hungarian Neo-gothic architecture
• Learn about Ashkenazi Jewish society
• See Ashkenazi Synagogue
• Hear story at At Mejdan Park
• Pass Latin Bridge and Hotel Saray
• Learn about City Hall (National Library)
• Enjoy best panorama and sunset spot
• Presentation of Ottoman history

The Experience

What makes this tour different is the guides themselves. Every one of them lived through the 1992–95 siege—some escaped via the Tunnel of Hope, others through the last convoys or as refugees in their own city. They're not reciting history; they're walking you through the places where they survived it. The tour moves through Sarajevo by minivan, stopping at roughly 20 monuments spanning Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav periods, then heads to the Tunnel of Hope Museum, where you'll watch a 17-minute film, see the war house where families sheltered, walk through the actual tunnel, and have 10–15 minutes to stand in the space that kept the city alive during the siege.

The route then circles back through the city itself. You'll pass Sniper Alley—the deadliest stretch during the war—and see the bullet holes still marking the buildings where people ran for cover. The guide will show you the Holiday Inn, where journalists stayed and soldiers were exchanged; the Sarajevo Olympic bobsled track from 1984, now a monument to a different era; Trebević Mountain and the sniper zones that ringed the city; and the Vrbanja Bridge, where the first victim of the war fell. You'll also see the Latin Bridge, where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914, and the City Hall, which burned twice in the city's history. The tour includes stops at the National Museum and passes through East Sarajevo to show how the country's two entities and ethnic communities are organized today.

One stop stands apart: the guide will take you to the street where he was born, on one of the main frontlines, and tell you what it was like to grow up before, during and after the war in that neighborhood. It's the kind of detail a textbook can't hold. Transport is by air-conditioned minivan with a safe driver, and groups stay small—no more than eight people per guide. The tour runs about four hours and is suitable for all fitness levels; children from age 3 can join if an adult is with them.

What’s included

• Air-conditioned minivan transport.
• live English-speaking guide who survived the siege.
• entry to the Tunnel of Hope Museum with the 17-minute film and war house.
• walk through the tunnel itself.
• visits to 20+ war and city monuments including Sniper Alley, the Latin Bridge, the Sarajevo Olympic bobsled track, Trebević Mountain sniper zones, the Vrbanja Bridge, the National Museum, and the City Hall.

Good to know

Easy physical level

Operated by Art and Tours Sarajevo

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you want to hear the siege explained by people who lived through it, not by a guide reading from notes. The guides' firsthand accounts—and the moment when your guide takes you to his own street on the frontline—are what set this apart from other war tours in the city.

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Top questions

What is the Tunnel of Hope and why is it the main stop on this tour?

The Tunnel of Hope is a 800-meter passage dug under Sarajevo during the siege to connect the city to free territory and supply routes. It's now a museum and the most symbolic site of the war in Sarajevo. The guides on this tour are people who used it to escape or who lived through the siege, so they can explain what it meant to the city and walk you through it with firsthand knowledge.

Will I actually walk inside the Tunnel of Hope, or just see it from outside?

You walk through the Tunnel of Hope itself. After watching the museum film and seeing the war house, you'll enter the tunnel and move through it as part of the tour, then have 10–15 minutes of free time to take photos or stand in the space.

How long does the tour take and what's included in the price?

The tour runs about four hours and includes transport by air-conditioned minivan and a live English-speaking guide. The guide is someone who survived the siege, so the narration is based on lived experience rather than a script.

Is this tour suitable for children, and what's the age limit?

Children are welcome from age 3 when accompanied by an adult. The tour is suitable for all fitness levels, though it does involve walking through the tunnel and some standing at outdoor sites.

How many people are on a typical tour?

Groups are kept small, with a maximum of eight travelers per guide. This keeps the experience personal and allows the guide to answer questions and share details without rushing.

What's the difference between this tour and other war tours in Sarajevo?

Every guide on Roses of Sarajevo survived the siege themselves—some escaped through the Tunnel of Hope, others through convoys or as refugees in the city. They're registered, certified and licensed, and they're telling their own stories, not a standard script. The tour also includes a stop where the guide takes you to the street where he was born on the frontline and shares his childhood before, during and after the war.