Sarajevo Travel Guide

From Wikitravel

Sarajevo [1], the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a lively city of 400,000 people, nestled in a valley, mainly within the Bosniak(Muslim)-Croat Federation, but with parts in the Republika Srpska.

Understand

The bridge in Sarajevo where Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand was killed by a Serbian assassin setting off WWI

Sarajevo is one of the most historically interesting cities in Europe. It is the place where the Eastern Orthodox east, the Ottoman south and Continental Europe met up. For this reason it has had something of a turbulent past but also has at times been a great example of multi-cultural integration.

Today the city has physically recovered from most of the war damage. Sarajevo is a cosmopolitan European capital that is a delight to visit. The people are very friendly, be they Serb, Croat or Bosniak. There is very little crime, not nearly as many tourists as on the Dalmatian coast and a wealth of architecture (not to mention history) to see.

Getting there and back

By plane

Sarajevo Airport is connected with major European cities by a number of airlines.

• Belgrade with JAT Yugoslav Airlines
• Budapest with MALEV
• Copenhagen with SAS Snowflake
• Istanbul with Turkish Airlines
• Ljubljana with Adria
• Milan Malpensa with Alitalia
• Munich with Lufthansa
• Prague with Czech Airlines
• Vienna Schwechat with Austrian Airlines
• Zagreb with Croatia Airlines

By train

Interrailnet (official Interrail website) has a good map of the Bosnian rail network

From/To Hungary

A train leaves Budapest (Deli pu. station) daily at 17.40, arriving in Sarajevo at 05.30. The return ticket costs 11,600 forint + 750 forint compulsory reservation. Note that this is cheaper than a single ticket. There is no sleeper carriage, but the reclining seats are comfortable. You will be bothered four times for your passport, and around four times for your ticket.

The return train departs at 20.20 every evening for Budapest, via Osijek, in Croatia. It arrives at Deli pu. station at 09.03.

From/To Croatia

A train leaves Zagreb daily at 08:57, arriving in Sarajevo at 18:24. The return train to Zagreb, via Zenica, Doboj and Banja Luka, departs at 10.41. It arrives in Banja Luka at 15.34. A return ticket to Banja Luka costs 35KM.

See below for trains to/from Ploče.

From/to Ploče via Mostar

There is another train route from Ploče in Croatia to Sarajevo via Mostar. It's apparently a very beautiful route.

Trains depart Ploče daily:

• 06:40, arriving in Sarajevo at 10:18, via Mostar at 08:04
• 16:20, arriving in Sarajevo at 20:10, via Mostar at 17:56

Trains from Sarajevo to the south:

• 06:25, arriving in Ploče at 10:22, via Mostar at 08:50
• 18:18, arriving in Ploče at 22:06, via Mostar at 20:40

Single tickets from Sarajevo to Mostar cost 9.90KM. Holders of an ISIC student card can get a 30% discount.

See Croatian Railways website for more information.

By car

By bus

There are two bus stations in Sarajevo, the main bus station ('autobusna stanica', by the train station) serving Croatia and destinations within the Bosnian Federation. There is also another bus station in Serbian Sarajevo on the outskirts of the city serving the Republika Srpska and destinations in both Serbia and Montenegro. To get to this bus station (called 'Lukavica') it is probably easiest to book/order a taxi (cost from the Turkish Quarter was around 15KM in September 2005). Be warned that in this bus station Cyrillic script is prevalent so you should probably check the spelling of your destination.

From the main bus station, there are several buses a day to/from Mostar. These leave at 6, 7, 7:35, 8, 8:15, 9, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 14:30, 15:30 and up to 18, and journey time is approximately two and a half hours). Single tickets cost 13.50KM, return tickets are 19KM. There are also buses to Split and Dubrovnik (5-6 hours).

There are several buses a day from the main bus station to Banja Luka. These leave at 5:00, 07:55, 09:15, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30. Journey time is approximately 5 hours.

The bus ride to Podgorica in Montenegro takes about 6 hours but is an absolutely amazing ride through some wonderful countryside (mostly through Republika Srpska).

Buses to Tuzla leave from the main bus station approximately every hour every day. The journey takes approximately 3 hours, and costs around 11KM (June 2006).

There is a daily bus to Graz and Vienna, leaving from the main bus station at 08:00, reaching Graz at 19:45 and Vienna around 2 hours later. A single youth ticket (under-26) is 77KM, including compulsory reservation. You will have to pay the driver 2KM to transport luggage. There are frequent stops on the way, including for food and toilets.

The journey to Belgrade takes about 7-9 hours and was 28KM (bought from the bus driver) in September 2005. The bus departs from Lukovica bus station. There are several buses a day.

There are many bus lines linking most towns and cities in Bosnia and Hercegovina. See Centrotrans for details (in Bosnian only). Check the transport sections of other destinations for more information.

Get around

'New Sarajevo' at dusk as seen from a hill overlooking the old town

The center of Sarajevo is served by two tram lines and a number of bus lines. Tickets should be purchased in advance from kiosks on the street or from the driver, where they cost slightly more (around 1.80KM). Tickets should be validated upon boarding the vehicle and are valid for a one way trip only. Changing tram or bus means validating a new ticket. Please note that inspectors board public transport very frequently.

See

Sarajevo Square in Turkish Area

• At the heart of Sarajevo is the city's Turkish Quarter. The cobbled streets, mosques and Oriental style shops are a world away from Europe, and when the call-to-prayer music starts, one could be forgiven for thinking that they were actually in the Middle East.

• The Sarajevo Film Festival is held annually, during August. http://www.sff.ba/

• The Sarajevo Tunnel Museum shows the tunnel which was used to ferry supplies into the besieged city during the conflict and is next to the airport. Taxi from the centre costs around 17KM one way. Entrance to the museum is 5KM. It is open 7 days a week from 9 to 5. Get the number three (3) tram to the end of the line from the city centre. Then get a taxi to the tunnel museum and walk back to the tram station if it's a nice day (takes about half an hour). The tunnel itself is in the garden of a house so don't be worried if you think you're headed into suburbia!

Do

A minaret and the hills of Sarajevo.

• Walk along the roads up one of Sarajevo's surrounding hills for fantastic views over the city, but be very careful becuase mines from the war are still around in some places, especially on the hills.

There is now a walking guide to Bosnia's 2000m peaks. It is called Forgotten Beauty and is available from the 'Buy Book' book shop in the centre of Sarajevo (In English and Bosnian).

• Go to famous Olympic Stadium and follow a match of Sarajevo Football Club.Though football quality is very poor it is interesting to follow a match in a stadium which hosted the opening ceremony of 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games peacefully just a few years before civil war broke up.

• Visit one of the many cemeteries located within city limits.With white marble grave stones for those who gave their lives at their 20s during civil war these cemeteiries are quite visit worthy.

• See Markale market place,very close to Bascarcija,which marked the start of NATO intervention and thereby end of the civil war after a Serbian bombing which took the life of some 40, including Croats and Serbs as well.Markale was bombed two times, first in Feb 1994 and second in Aug 1995.First is important in terms of casualties and second is important in terms of initiating NATO military intervention.

• Though it is not situated within Sarajevo city limits but in a somehow remote place, some 150 kms from Sarajevo, visiting Srebrenica which has witnessed one of the world's deadliest massacres in July 1995 is quite important for those who are interested in recent history. Buses for Srebrenica depart both from main bus station at 07.10 (take a taxi or tram 1) and Serbian Sarajevo station at 08:40 (take trolleybus 103). Both busses take four hours to Srebrenica.

Please note the memorial (mezar) for the massacre is not in Srebrenica but in a nearby village called Potocari. Tell to driver and his asistant to let you off at Potacari. After seeing the memorial you can take a taxi (cost 3 KM) to go to Srebrenica which still looks like a dead city. Returns to Sarajevo are at 14:30 for Serbian Sarajevo and 16:30 for main bus station.

Events

• Sarajevo Film Festival - 16-26.08.2006

Eat

Budget

Sarajevo has countless shops selling burek (meat pie, sold in layers by weight), cevapi and pizza stores. Pita is a filo pasty pie coming in several varieties - cheese (sirnica), cheese and spinach (zelenica), pumpkin (tikvinica), and spicy potato (krompirusa). It is normally eaten with yoghurt sauce.

Mid-range

• Inat Kuca, Veliki Alifakovac 1, Bascarsija. An old Turkish house by the river converted to a lovely restaurant selling hearty stew-like meals.
• Park Princeva, Iza Hrida br. 7 (+387 61 222 708). Slightly more expensive than Inat Kuca, also serving Bosnian food. Located on one of the hills of the city, you have a beautiful view, especially around sunset, when you can hear the prayers from the mosques around the valley.

• Capucino, Grbavica, Sarajevo, Excellent Restaurant serving old traditional Bosnian and Italian food. You can try delicious bosnian meals and the best pasta and pizza in the region. Capucino Restaurant is near river Miljacka in green area.

• The Hacienda, Bazardzani 3, Sarajevo, Mexican food, cocktails and late licience[2]

Drink

Sleep

Budget

There are numerous houses around town offering accommodation in rooms for as little as 3KM per night (around 1 euro), although they can be hard to find. Best bet is to go to one of the accommodation bureaus near the old town and find somewhere for a night (at their prices, with their 500% markup), then arrange with the landlord/lady to stay on for their own rate.

One of the options is local hostel named SARTOUR. Their web page is: www.sartour-hostel-sarajevo.ba . They work in price range from 10 to 15 euros per person per bed per night for accommodation and can also recommend alternative accommodations.

One useful apartment is Skend, located about 15 minutes walk from the centre, but with comfortable, large rooms and breakfast available. Around 30KM. Tel: +387 61537775, or, for English, +387 912523834

Mid-range

• Pansion Cobanija charges 100KM (€50) per person per night, for a room with a private bathroom and satellite television. The rooms are clean and well-kept, and a continental breakfast is provided.
• Hotel Michele [3] This small paradise has a pool in the penthouse apartment and also features private parking with direct elevator acces to the room floors and wireless high speed internet.

Stay safe

The former parliament building in the center of Sarajevo

There are still many minefields and unexploded ordinances in the Sarajevo and its surrounding suburbs. Never go into damaged buildings and always stick to paved surfaces. Areas that are not cleared are marked by yellow tape or signs, but still not all minefields are identified.