We highly recommend the Times of Misfortune Tour with Info Bosnia Tours. Our guide, Bakir was knowledgeable about current events as well as the recent history of Bosnia and the siege on Sarajevo. He was lacking information on older history, like the time of the Ottoman then Austro-Hungarian empires, but that was no big deal. It was especially interesting to hear his perspective on the war as well as life now in Sarajevo. We really enjoyed the small size of the tour, my husband and I, another couple and the guide. We all fit comfortably in one car. In a car we were able to see all the main sights around greater-Sarajevo including the Tunnel of Hope Museum, the Olympic Bobsled track, a couple of amazing viewpoints and more. We would definitely do another tour with Info Bosnia Tours again if we ever return to Sarajevo.
Due to the very good reviews, but also because of the proximity to our hotel, we have been informed at InfoBosnia on a half-day tour for the Tunnel of War, which is also carried out by many other providers, on site. The friendly agent, who will also be our guide later on, was able to convince us of the so-called "Times of Misfortune Tour". In addition to the visit of the War Tunnel, this package includes further beautiful spots directly related to the siege of Sarajevo, such as the bobsleigh track of the Olympiaparc, the yellow and white fortress, all offering incomparable panoramic views. These highlights definitely shouldn't be missing in any Sarajevo stay. Back to the tour: Asim, as the name of our guide, is a young, competent end-twentieth, who, and that's very clear after a few minutes, is doing his his job with passion and conviction. On the way to the museum - which is located directly beyond the airport grounds - the rush hour is good for us, so that we can already take a look at all the information about what is to be seen around the main traffic route. The Tunnel of War speaks for itself - totally breathtaking. Even if one were to assume that these impressions should lead to a mood of thoughtfulness and a little more humility towards his fellow human beings, I and my wife were more than shocked by the behavior of an italian tour attendant. For no apparent reason (even we asked him several times for what was happening), he was completely offending our guide; wanted to document his name and address and brought such a provocative and aggressive mood into our group, wihich "unfortunately" consisted of only five 5 people (including our guide), so that it was no longer to be thought of a continuation of the tour under those circumstances for us. Should history not have learned us how to deal with conflicts and its fellow human beings? Luckily, Asim remained incomprehensibly professional despite these strange situation. He even offered the Italian guest a complete refund & tried again and again to calm down in an objectively way. After we brought the unintended colleague back to the old town, we were fortunately still able to fully enjoy the remaining great viewpoints. The panorama of Trebevic Mountain is one of the best views we have ever had on our travels. Our personal story outside: we have already seen quite a bit of the world, but Sarajevo and above all the tour with Asim will remain a long time in good memory. At this point, I would like to mention briefly that our guide was so unpleasant about the previously described circumstances that he organized a transport to the airport for our return flight, which took place very early in the morning. So this willingness to help and, last but not least, the cohesion are those big elements that fascinated us most in Sarajevo. Something that was also made clear by this tour.
We took three different tours with the company, all with Bakir as our driver and guide. All of them private tours. The first, a Sarajevo tour called "The Times of Misfortune". The second, a full day tour, "Jajce/Travnik" and the third, another full day tour was "Srebrenica". We came away after the three days with a greater understanding of the country, the war and the people. Bakir was an excellent guide. So good that we requested him for tour numbers two and three. His knowledge of the war was so good, that we could ask almost any question and he could answer it. He was a very safe driver. We travelled in a safe and comfortable car. We travelled mostly on the back roads. His sense of humour, his respect of us and his willingness to go out of his way at all times was exemplary.
We sincerely recommend the company and in particular Bakir.
I did the Times of Misfortune Tour with Bakir. We covered a lot of ground, Bakir explained all the sties we visited in detail, he answered all of my questions, and he did not rush anything at all. The tour lasted longer than I expected (for the same price), and we stopped for a coffee high up on the mountain to enjoy the wonderful view of Sarajevo. I can highly recommend this tour if you are looking for something special.
We did the two mentioned tours on one day. The Sarajevo Grand Tour is a walking tour through the city centre, we did it with Asim. The Times of misfortune tour is a tour by car to different sights around Sarajevo, we did it with Bakir.
Both tours have been very interesting, Asim as well as Bakir are very nice and capable guides. I learned a lot about Sarajevo, its surroundings and its history. And it has been a very nice time. I recommend both tours.
linnea527