Sarajevo Total Siege Tour

Read what our customers say about our tour(s), so you get the best possible opininon before you book.

If you are in Sarajevo and you really want to visit Bosnia, you should take at least one of the Funky Tour's trips. I took the Mostar day trip and it was absolutely amazing! I thought we would only visit Mostar and go back to Sarajevo, but we also visited Plocitelj and Blagaj, two amazing towns that cannot be missed. The guide, Skender, is simply the best...he knows the places to visit, he is really well informed and the best guide u can have there, because he knows all the bad and good things that happened there and he's willing to answer any questions you might have.

I also took the Total Siege tour and I loved it even more, because we could not only visit and see the places where historical facts took place, but also because we had a guide that was a witness to it. During those two trips I've learned a lot from Skender and even if I was travelling alone, he managed to creat such a great atmosphere that all the group ended up having lunch and dinner together, just like we have been friends for a long time! I strongly recommend you to get to know real Bosnia through Sarajevo Funky Tours.

One more thing: as I was travelling solo, I was afraid of not being able to take those tours, but I sent an e-mail one month before my arrival and Skender replied to it (and some other ones I had sent after that one) and because of that I was able to join the groups.

Reviewed by: Nathan Pezzolo Malinverni, 16.10.2011

Nuestra visita a Sarajevo no habria sido completa sin este tour. Skender nos explicó su experiencia durante la guerra desde 1992-1995 y como se originó y terminó el conflicto. Nos llevó al túnel del aeropuerto y a unos cuantos sitios mas desde donde Sarajevo fue atacada. Si tenéis suficiente tiempo en Sarajevo para ello, recomiendo que contactéis con Skender para conocer la historia reciente de la ciudad. 

Reviewed by: Deinon, 22.11.2011

We traveled to Sarajevo in November, 2011, and based on the reviews here, contacted Sarajevo Funky Tours to set up a couple of tours. Our trip was a bit last minute, but Skender was very accommodating, and we ended up joining another small group on the Total Siege Tour on one day, and then doing the Old Town tour the second day. 

The Siege tour was amazing, with access to locations and sites that we never would have visited on our own. But more importantly, we would not have understood the significance of the sites or put them in context without Skender's remarkable narrative of the war. In general, we aren't big fans of tours, preferring to go places on our own, but in this case, it really was more like touring with someone we already knew, and who happened to be an expert in the local history. Skender is bright, personable, and very engaging, and we enjoyed the tour tremendously.

The next day, we went on a second tour - just the three of us, to see the Sarajevo Old Town (Baščaršija) by foot. We had already walked through the town on our own, but going through with Skender was a whole different experience, as he showed us many things we missed and took us to places we had walked by, but not really "seen" or understood. The library was a real highlight - I never would have thought to go inside to see the exhibits there. We also enjoyed visiting the Imperial Mosque and learning more about the Islamic faith. Sarajevo is remarkable that it has so many different religions represented in a small area, and one of the highlights of this tour was visiting the worship spaces of each of them - an Islamic mosque, a Catholic cathedral, an Orthodox church and a Jewish synagogue. Despite it's bloody history, Sarajevo has been very tolerant of religious differences, and this was one of the themes of the tour.

I know it will take me a long time to absorb all I learned and saw on this tour - it was a remarkable experience, and would not be the same without Skender's expertise. Highly recommended! 

Reviewed by: Elizabeth H, 21.11.2011

I am so happy I found this tour. I travelled solo and they really made an effort to fit me into one of the tours he had scheduled. I participated in the Siege Tour and it was incredibly interesting and informative. Skender was more than happy to share his experience and answer any question we had and this created a really special opportunity to see Sarajevo from a different prespective. So great. I would highly recommend.
Thanks, Skender! 

Reviewed by: bearriecarrie, 24.10.2011

We booked a Sarajevo tunnel tour with Funky Tours at the last minute and were helpfully attached to another group. Funky Tours were prompt with replying to our emails and very helpful. 

The tour was about 4 hours long, we were driven to major sites around Sarajevo by a guy called Skender who was about 8 when the siege started and narrated our tour for us. He was excellent - he gave a comprehensive and objective history of the events in the Balkans leading up to the siege that really helped put the pieces together. He gave us a good tour of the tunnel museum in a very tasteful and sensitive way, and then showed us some places higher up in the mountains. For example, we visited one of the locations used by the Serbs to snipe on the famous Sniper Alley that you so often see in news footage of those times. 

Skender gave us a lot of detail and perspective that you just can't get by looking at the major historical events - he was there as a child/young teenager and it was a really interesting and really unique kind of tour. Next time we go back to Sarajevo we will definitely do one of his tours again, maybe one to Srebrenica. 

Reviewed by: Comette85, 23.10.2011

If you do one thing in Sarajevo, you must do the "Siege of Sarajevo" tour! The tour guide, Skender, gives you an inside look at life during the Bosnian War in the early 1990s. He takes you through city and more importantly to key sights outside the city you can't access without a car.

Moreover, Skender is personable, knowledgeable and thorough. I can't recommend this tour enough! It really gave character and depth to the city in a way that most tourists never get to see. 

Reviewed by: arlene527, 10.10.2010

Skender was an excellent guide. We first did the total siege tour, which gave us lots of information about what happened in the Sarajevo siege. We liked Skender tour so much we decided to stay in Sarajevo one more night and do the Srebrenica tour. 
Both tours are very personal and give you great insight into the conflict in Bosnia. 

Reviewed by: LeeLee83_10, 28.09.2011

We (couple late twenties) went for this after reading all the reviews. 

We did 9am till noonish (maybe longer), covering the Tunnel Museum and the siege tour. We went with just another couple. Skender, the guide, drove us out to the Tunnel museum, the whole way detailing the start of the war - giving the political and economic background (he has a Masters in Economics). 

The Tunnel Museum was fantastic, and Skender was able to give us a real insight into the lives of Sarajevans who lived through the siege - made all the more relevant to me hearing it from someone two years my junior. He was able to recant both witty and interesting anecdotes, as well as pouring mountains of fascinating facts, figures and other details onto us, giving the full history of the tunnel (which itself is really cool to walk through).

We were then taken to a nearby mountain-top overlooking Sarajevo, and walk around a semi-destroyed building used by the Serbs to house tanks and soldiers. Really good place for photos.

On our way back Skender dropped us off on the 1984 Olympics Toboggan run - we spent 10 minutes walking down to the bottom where Skender was waiting to pick us up.

We were charged 20 Euros each, but gave a ten Euro tip because it was so brilliant.

It's a truly worthwhile way to spend some time in Sarajevo, and to learn about pre-siege, siege, and post-siege life, politics and society. I would strongly recommend this tour to anyone who goes.

Reviewed by: pooyousir, 06.09.2011