Sarajevo: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 49 - 128 Hotel Octagon
 Hotel Octagon is an exclusive business hotel, located only 100 metres away from Sarajevo International Airport.
Our hotel is a perfect place for a g… MoreEUR 50 - 82 Hotel Safir
 This modern hotel enjoys a central, yet quiet location in Bascarsija, Sarajevo´s historical area. It provides free Wi-Fi in the entire property … MoreEUR 65 - 115 Hotel Sarajevo
 Situated in a newer part of Sarajevo, 5 minutes´ drive from the International Airport, this elegant hotel features a restaurant with traditional… MoreEUR 40 - 75 Hotel Suljovic
 Situated in a lush, peaceful area of Sarajevo, Hotel Suljovic offers comfortable rooms with cable TV and free internet. Sarajevo International Airport… MoreEUR 75 - 150 Hotel Michele
 The sophisticated and charming Hotel Michele is located in the old part of Sarajevo´s town centre, offering extensive rooms and apartments with … MoreEUR 43 - 65 Hotel Merona
 Experience the atmosphere of a traditional Bosnian house at Hotel Merona, which is contemporarily equipped with special attention paid to the needs of… MoreEUR 80 - 100 Hotel Hecco Deluxe
 The Hecco Deluxe hotel is located right in the heart of Sarajevo, on the 4 top floors of a high-rise building, offering superb views over the entire c… MoreEUR 25 - 75 Hotel Herc
 Featuring accommodation with free Wi-Fi and hydro-massage showers, Hotel Herc is located in Sarajevo’s Old Town, a 5-minute walk to Baščaršija. A… MoreEUR 52 - 73 Hotel Kovaci
 Set in Bascarsija, Sarajevo´s old town, Kovaci Hotel is an interesting blend of traditional style with modern interior and amenities such as fre… MoreEUR 50 - 90 Hotel Latinski Most
 The Latinski Most is located in a historic building in the heart of Sarajevo. It offers air-conditioned rooms with free Wi-Fi and free private parking… MoreEUR 35 - 60 Hotel Telal
 Located only minutes away from Sarajevo´s famous Baščaršija Street close to the Kovači Square in the old town, the small and charming Hotel … MoreEUR 80 - 100 Hotel Unica
 Situated 100 metres from Miljacka River in Sarajevo´s centre, Hotel Unica offers modern, air-conditioned rooms with plasma cable TV and free Wi-… MoreEUR 20 - 50 Pansion Sebilj
 The Pansion Sebilj, located in the centre of the old part of Sarajevo, is the right place for those who want to spend a pleasant holiday there.
The … MoreEUR 70 - 250 Radon Plaza
 It is our pleasure to present you the Radon Plaza Hotel, the most luxurious Hotel in Bosnia and Herzegovina that was opened in September 2006. The Hot… MoreEUR 50 - 70 Skend Guesthouse
 Decorated in traditional Bosnian style, the family-owned Skend Guesthouse benefits from a central location only 10 minutes by foot to Bascarsija, the … MoreEUR 40 - 91 Villa Orient
 Just 100 metres away from the wooden Moorish-style Sebilj Fountain on Bascarscija Square, this hotel is located in Sarajevo´s old town. It featu… MoreEUR 30 - 85 Pansion Harmony
 The family-run Pansion Harmony is located in Vraca, one of the most beautiful and quiet parts of Sarajevo, boasting magnificent views of the city.
Ho… MoreEUR 45 - 100 Omega Ambasador Hotel
 Just a 10-minute walk from the centre of Sarajevo, this modern hotel features a restaurant, a bar, and a 24-hour reception. Wi-Fi and private secured … MoreEUR 76 - 106 Hotel Union
 Located close to the central business district of Sarajevo, the boutique Hotel Union is within walking distance to bus and train stations and features… MoreEUR 30 - 100 Motel Seher
 The newly opened Motel Seher is located in an older part of Sarajevo, approximately 200 metres from the fascinating main street Baščaršija.
The ho… MoreEUR 32 - 48 Motel Sokak
 Motel Sokak is located in the Old Town of Sarajevo, close to Gazi-Husrev-Beg mosque. It offers rooms with flat-screen TVs, private bathrooms and free … MoreEUR 46 - 85 Hotel Hecco
 Set in a modern building, just a 5-minute walk from Sarajevo’s cultural centre, Hotel Hecco provides air-conditioned rooms with free Wi-Fi. It offer… MoreEUR 28 - 80 Hotel Hayat
 This 4-star hotel is situated in Sarajevo´s old town close to the Bascarsija area. Hotel Hayat offers modernly appointed rooms and free Wi-Fi.
… MoreEUR 40 - 70 Garni Hotel Konak
 Situated within 200 metres from the Husrefbegova Gazi Mosque and the Old Orthodox Church in Sarajevo´s historical part Bascarsija, Hotel Garni K… MoreEUR 40 - 80 Guesthouse Kandilj
 The newly built Guesthouse Kandilj is situated in the heart of the bazaar Bascarsija in the oldest part of Sarajevo, combining traditional Bosnian atm… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sarajevo: Guide
Sarajevo , 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
Sarajevo is one of the most historically interesting cities in Europe. It is the place where the Eastern Orthodox east, the Ottoman south, Continental Europe and Jewish culture 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 Bosniak, Serb, or Croat. 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
is connected with major European cities by a number of airlines.
Banja Luka with
Belgrade with
Budapest with
Cologne with
Copenhagen with
Frankfurt with
Istanbul with &
Ljubljana with
Milan Malpensa with
Mostar with &
Munich with
Prague with
Stuttgart with
Vienna Schwechat with
Zagreb with &
Zurich with
By train
Interrailnet (official Interrail website) has a good map of the
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 at least four times for your passport, and around four times for your ticket, and once by very nosy and insistent EU customs staff. There is no food or drink available on the train, so come prepared. There also might be an unexpected and confusing change of train in the middle of the night.
The return train departs at 20.32 every evening for Budapest, via Osijek, in Croatia. It arrives at Deli pu. station at 09.40.
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 a very beautiful route through lakes and mountains with lots of tunnels and switchbacks.
Trains depart Ploče daily:
Trains from Sarajevo to the south:
Single tickets from Sarajevo to Mostar cost 9.90KM. Holders of an ISIC student card can get a 30% discount.
See website for more information.
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 Eastern (Serb-dominated) 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' or 'Istochno Sarajevo') it is probably easiest to book/order a taxi (cost from the Turkish Quarter was around 15KM in September 2005). If you are prefer a city transport, use 104 and 107 bus/trolleybus and ask people how to get to Lukavica bus station. Be warned that Lukavica is the name of neighbour but not exact district to bus station in Sarajevo.
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 7 hours but is an absolutely amazing ride through some wonderful countryside (mostly through Republika Srpska). One of bus goes at 14:00. Cost is 27 KM or 14 Euro, Euro is acceptable (Oct 2006).
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 Lukavica bus station in Eastern Sarajevo. There are several buses a day.
There are many bus lines linking most towns and cities in Bosnia and Hercegovina. See for details (in Bosnian only). Check the transport sections of other destinations for more information. From Germany you can go by Euroliner (Centrotrans is part of it), have a look on .
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.
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!
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 out.
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.
- 16-26.08.2006
- Held during first week of Novemeber since 1997
- The first festival was held in 1984 during the Olympic Games in Sarajevo. Since then, it is being held regularily each year and brings into the city various artists from around the world. Interesting thing about the festival is that it has not stopped even during the war.
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 (zeljanica), pumpkin (tikvinica), and spicy potato (krompirusa). It is normally eaten with yoghurt sauce.
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
Karuzo, Mehmeda Spahe bb, Sarajevo, While it doesn't serve traditional Bosnian food, this restaurant features a vegetarian/fish based menu, with a mostly Italian influence (although Sushi is also available). The pasta dishes are also highly recommended. Its a very intimate restaurant seating only 18 at a time, the chef takes your order prepares the food and serves it himself.
There are numerous houses around town offering accommodation in rooms for as little as 3KM per night (around 1,5 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.
When you tire of being bundled in cars by various agencies to look at various far-flung and grotty rooms, nip one door down from Sartour's office on Mula Mustafe Bašeskije. Down a passage is an internet cafe with a big sign saying ROOMS - virtually the only one which does actually have rooms right there. They're cheap (30 euros for a twin room) and cosy and clean enough, you get a little terrace and the staff are very friendly. Can be a bit noisy from the cafe and aircon though, but the location, virtually opposite the central square and right near the tram stop, is perfect.
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
The first address for an overview of budget accommodation of any kind is still 'Sarajevo Accommodation' run by Mersad Bronja, better known as 'Miki'. He arranges overnight stays in privat rooms as well as hostels, pensions and hotels in Sarajevo and its surroundings. Contact http://www.sarajevo-accommodation.com for further information.
One of the best value hotels (many approach UK prices) is Motel Sokak, Mula Mustafe Bašeskije 24 Tel:+387 (0)33 570 355 / +387 (0)33 446 344 e-mail: contact@sokak-motel.com. It's small clean, quiet, friendly and comfortable, in an old building but modern inside. Top marks for location, just down the road from the old town central square and the tram stop. Double is 68 euros for the room.
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.
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Sarajevo". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.
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
06:25, arriving in Ploče at 10:22, via Mostar at 08:50
18:18, arriving in Ploče at 22:06, via Mostar at 20:40By car
By bus
Be warned that in this bus station Cyrillic script is prevalent so you should probably check the spelling of your destination.Get around
See
Do
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.
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 Eastern 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 Potocari. 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 Eastern Sarajevo and 16:30 for main bus station.Events
Eat
Budget
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.Drink
Sleep
Budget
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 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.Splurge
Stay safe
Get out