North Macedonia country guide

Things To Do In North Macedonia

One of the oldest lakes on earth, a capital covered in statues nobody asked for, and prices that undercut every neighbour. The most overlooked country in the Balkans.

Pick a city What it costs

€10

Dorm bed, from

Years old: Lake Ohrid

€1.50

A beer

365

Churches once claimed in Ohrid

A lake, a strange capital and mountains between

Lake Ohrid is the point. It is one of the oldest and deepest lakes in the world, about 1.4 million years old, with a UNESCO-listed town on its shore that was one of the cradles of Slavic literacy, and where a monastery sits on a cliff over water clear enough to see ten metres down. It is the best thing in the southern Balkans and hardly anyone outside the region has heard of it.

Skopje is the other half and it is genuinely odd. A government project called Skopje 2014, carried out over most of the 2010s, filled the centre with enormous neoclassical statues, fountains and facades, built over and around Brutalist post-earthquake architecture, and the result divides Macedonians sharply. It is worth seeing precisely because it is so strange, and the old bazaar behind it is one of the best-preserved Ottoman quarters in Europe.

Between them are mountains — Mavrovo, Pelister, Šar — with hiking, a couple of ski areas and almost no visitors.

Where to go

The country is small and buses are cheap. Skopje to Ohrid is three hours.

Skopje

16 hostels · dorms from €7

Ottoman bazaar, Brutalist concrete and hundreds of new statues. Unlike any other capital.

I stayed four nights in Skopje.It was a pleasant surprise for me. An organized city that combines tradition with modernity.A river runs through the city and on both sides there are large parks,comfortable sidewalks and bike paths.By walking or by bike you can move comfortably and safely and explore the entire city.
A traveller, on Hostelworld

The Skopje guide

Ohrid

14 hostels · dorms from €6

A UNESCO town on one of the oldest lakes in the world, with churches, a fortress and clear water.

Nice city. Came there efor 2 night but stayed 4. Really peaceful. People on the street and drivers are respectful. A lot of food options. A bit expensive compared to Skopje.
A traveller, on Hostelworld

The Ohrid guide

Bitola

1 hostel · dorms from €9

Southern, elegant and Ottoman-Habsburg, with the Roman ruins of Heraclea on its edge.

The Bitola guide

What kind of trip is this?

North Macedonia is a lake country, a mountain country and one of the cheapest places in Europe.

Beach in North Macedonia

Lake Ohrid, which behaves like a sea and is warmer.

What to do

Swim off the rocks below Kaneo
Boat to Sveti Naum
A lakeside evening in Ohrid

Spots to visit

Ohrid
Struga
Sveti Naum

Best cities for it

Ohrid
Struga

Things to do

Things to do in North Macedonia

Ohrid is the country's case for itself. The old town climbs from the water to a fortress, Sveti Jovan Kaneo sits on a cliff above the lake in the photograph everyone has seen, and boats run along the shore to the Sveti Naum monastery near the Albanian border. The water is clear, swimmable from June, and the lake is old enough to hold species found nowhere else.

Skopje takes a day. The old bazaar is genuinely excellent — Ottoman streets, mosques, hammams and cheap food — and the statue-filled centre across the Stone Bridge is a spectacle, whatever you make of it. Matka Canyon, half an hour out, has kayaks and caves.

Beyond those, Bitola has Roman Heraclea on its edge, the Painted Mosque in Tetovo is an easy half day from Skopje, and the mountains have the High Scardus Trail running through three countries with barely another walker on it.

Food and drink

Eating in North Macedonia

Macedonian food is Balkan with strong Ottoman and Mediterranean threads. Tavče gravče — beans baked in a clay pot — is the national dish and costs €3 to €5. Ajvar, the roasted red pepper relish, is made at home every autumn and appears with everything.

Grilled meat is everywhere and cheap, and lake trout in Ohrid is the local speciality, though the endemic Ohrid trout is protected and what you are served is usually farmed.

Wine is the underrated part. Tikveš and the Povardarie region produce a great deal of it, most of it drunk domestically or exported unbranded, and a good bottle in a restaurant costs €6 to €12.

Nightlife

Going out in North Macedonia

Skopje's nightlife is in Debar Maalo, a neighbourhood of small bars and kafanas west of the centre, and it is cheap and unpretentious — a beer is €1.50 to €2.50 and nobody hurries.

Ohrid in summer is the other scene: lakeside terraces and bars along the waterfront, busy from June to September with Macedonians, Albanians and Serbs rather than western visitors.

Bitola has Širok Sokak, a long pedestrian street of cafés that fills every evening, and a student population that keeps it going through term time.

Getting around

Getting around North Macedonia

Buses do everything. Skopje to Ohrid takes about three hours and costs €8 to €12, and buses also run to Sofia, Belgrade, Tirana and Pristina in four to six hours, which makes the country an easy link in a Balkan route.

Trains exist but are slow and limited, and not worth planning around except as an experience.

Taxis are cheap in Skopje and metered; agree the fare in advance elsewhere. A car helps for the mountains and the smaller lake villages, and roads on main routes are decent.

Costs

What North Macedonia costs

This is among the cheapest countries in Europe. Dorms start around €10, a full meal is €5 to €9, a beer is €1.50 to €2.50, and a cross-country bus costs about €10.

Ohrid in July and August is the exception, when the lake fills with visitors from across the region and prices rise, though never to Adriatic levels.

The denar is the currency. Cash is still used widely, exchange offices are common and give reasonable rates, and cards work in Skopje and Ohrid but less reliably in small towns.

Safety

Staying safe in North Macedonia

North Macedonia is safe for travellers with low crime, and Skopje and Ohrid are comfortable to walk around at night.

Taxi overcharging around the Skopje bus station and airport is the usual nuisance; metered city taxis are cheap and honest, and agreeing a price in advance elsewhere solves it.

Hiking in the mountains means limited waymarking, patchy phone coverage and slower rescue than in western Europe. Stray dogs are common in rural areas and around Skopje's outskirts, and are best given space rather than attention.

Entry and documents

North Macedonia is not in the EU or Schengen, so time here does not count against the 90-day Schengen allowance.

EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens enter visa-free for 90 days in a 180-day period. Passports should be valid for the length of the stay.

The country changed its name from Macedonia to North Macedonia in 2019 following an agreement with Greece, so older guidebooks, signs and tickets use both. Land borders with Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania are all straightforward.

When to go

Lake Ohrid is swimmable from June to September and the mountains work from May to October. Skopje in July and August is very hot.

5°

Jan

Cold, with skiing at Mavrovo and Popova Šapka

8°

Feb

Quiet and cheap. Ski season continues

13°

Mar

Thawing. Very few visitors

18°

Apr

Spring. Green and quiet, lake still cold

23°

May

Excellent. Everything open, nothing crowded

28°

Jun

The best month. Lake warm enough to swim

31°

Jul

Hot. Ohrid fills with regional visitors

31°

Aug

Peak, and Skopje is uncomfortably hot

26°

Sep

Superb. Warm lake, thinning crowds

20°

Oct

Great value. Autumn colour in the mountains

12°

Nov

Wet and very cheap

6°

Dec

Cold, with ski season starting

Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets: quiet busy peak

Average highs for Skopje, which sits in a basin and traps heat in summer and smog in winter. Ohrid at 700m is a few degrees cooler.

What your trip will cost

Pick how you travel and how long for. Per night, for one person, outside Ohrid in August.

Prices are in denar locally; these are euro equivalents. Cross-country buses are €8–12.

Nights 7

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Beds—
Food and drink—
Getting around—
Doing things—

What's on

What is on while you are there

The summer festivals in Ohrid and Skopje are the two worth timing a trip around.

International Music & Folk Dance Festival: Autumn Festival

Staff pick

22–25 October

International Music & Folk Dance Festival: Autumn Festival

Ohrid

The International Music & Folk Dance Festival: Autumn Festival in Ohrid, Macedonia, brings together folk dance groups, choirs, vocal ensembles, majorette teams, brass bands,…

Staff pick

22 Dec – 6 Jan

Skopje Christmas Market

Skopje

Set against the striking mix of Ottoman-era bazaar and neoclassical architecture, the Skopje Christmas Market transforms Macedonia Square into a festive wonderland each winter.…

3 October

North Macedonia vs. Scotland

Skopje

A Nations League football match where North Macedonia faces Scotland at the Todor Proeski National Arena in Skopje. The event includes entry gates opening…

16 November

Macedonia vs Slovenia UEFA Nations League

Skopje

A UEFA Nations League match between Macedonia and Slovenia is scheduled at the Tose Proeski Arena in Skopje. The game kicks off on November…

17 November

North Macedonia vs. Slovenia

Skopje

North Macedonia and Slovenia face off in a UEFA Nations League Group B1 clash at the 33,011-capacity Todor Proeski National Arena in Skopje, the…

27 November

Next Time

Skopje

Next Time is an evening designed to bring together all generations, celebrating both past and present. The event honors the love of music and…

1–5 October

Festival Days

Ohrid

Folk groups, choral ensembles, orchestras, and majorette teams from around the world gather in Ohrid for this international festival celebrating performance and culture. The…

1–5 October

Kostoski International Festival

Ohrid

Held annually in Ohrid, Macedonia, the Kostoski International Festival draws participants from all over the world to perform folklore, majorettes, orchestras, choirs, and modern…

All events in North Macedonia

Hostels

Where to stay in North Macedonia

The highest-rated hostels in the country, live from Hostelworld. Skopje and Ohrid have almost all of them, and prices are among the lowest in Europe.

9.4 444

North Macedonia travel questions

The ones we get asked most.

How many days do you need in North Macedonia?

Four days covers Skopje and Ohrid, which are the two things most people come for. A week lets you add Bitola, Matka Canyon and a few days in the mountains, where you will see almost nobody.

Is Lake Ohrid worth visiting?

Yes, and it is the best thing in the country. About 1.4 million years old, one of the deepest in Europe, with a UNESCO old town, a clifftop church and water clear enough to swim in from June to September.

Is North Macedonia cheap?

Among the cheapest countries in Europe. Dorms from €10, a full meal at €5 to €9, a beer for €1.50, and a day around €25 to €35.

Why is Skopje full of statues?

The Skopje 2014 project, carried out over most of the 2010s, filled the centre with neoclassical statues, fountains and facades, built over the Brutalist architecture that followed the 1963 earthquake. Macedonians are sharply divided about it, and it is genuinely worth seeing.

Is it Macedonia or North Macedonia?

North Macedonia, officially, since a 2019 agreement with Greece resolved a long dispute over the name. Older guidebooks, signs and bus tickets still use both.

Does time here count towards Schengen?

No. North Macedonia is outside the EU and Schengen, so it is another useful place to spend time while the 90-day clock is paused.

How do I get there from the rest of the Balkans?

Buses connect Skopje with Sofia, Belgrade, Tirana and Pristina in four to six hours, which makes it an easy link in a wider Balkan route rather than a destination you have to plan around.

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Things To Do In North Macedonia

A lake, a strange capital and mountains between

Where to go

Skopje

Ohrid

Bitola

What kind of trip is this?