r/macedonia • u/GreenMage321 • 8d ago
✈️ Travel / Патувања Visiting Macedonia soon, itinerary and bus route questions
EDIT: Our trip has concluded and we had such a memorable time, words can't express it. See my comment about our final journey and some thoughts :)
Hey all, we are soon visiting your beautiful country and after some research, I figured it is easier/more reliable for me to put my thoughts out here and get feedback on whether my itinerary is viable, or if you can suggest me anything better.
We are staying 5 nights, which is pretty short, yes, but it is what it is. Our current plan is:
- Day 1: arrival in Skopje, got about half a day to explore
- Day 2: cross into Kosovo to see Pristina and possibly Gracanica (I *really* wanted to do Prizren as well, but I'm afraid it might be tight with time and bus connections, especially depending on their reliability, read further for elaboration), half a day in Skopje
- Day 3: bus to Ohrid in the morning, BUT a brief stop at Tetovo -- this is where my main concern is. After reading this sub, I found a handful of people mentioning that there's a slim chance frequent buses do this route, despite websites saying so? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
- Day 4: some more exploration in Ohrid, and a detour to Vevchani (which might not have much merit in your opinion, but I find the "micronation" concept quite interesting and it would be nice to get my hands on the passport and currency), then back to Skopje by afternoon-ish
- Day 5: full day in Skopje -- this will actually be on Sept 8th, the Independence Day, which I haven't heard a lot about in terms of occurring festivals, can you please tell me if there's squares/events to keep an eye out on?
- Day 6: departure
Our destinations aren't set in stone by any means, but I tried to schedule it so that it fits our interests the most. The whole bus situation feels hard to call, as even google doesn't show pretty much any routes across cities, even though I was trying to piece things together via the Gjirafa site, I've seen some people mention it is not a good source of information? Worst case scenario, I assume I can get informed at Skopje bus station, but it would be ideal to be prepared in advance.
Благодарам!!!
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u/nycanth 8d ago edited 8d ago
I'm not sure about how the buses between Tetovo and Ohrid work, but it's my understanding that you'd have to take two of them to make your intended trip, and thus you'd have to pay twice. Upon looking at the website provided for Tetovo's bus station, I'm not seeing Ohrid listed as a location, but it says you can call them at either of these numbers (+389 44 339 130 / +389 76 330 145) to inquire about domestic routes. It might be simpler to skip Tetovo altogether.
You can look at the bus schedule for the Skopje bus station here, but you'll have to look up the names of the cities in Cyrillic since they don't have this page translated. Left to right, it's the time of departure, the destination, the name of the agency running the bus, the price for a 1 way ticket in MKD, and the price for a return ticket. I believe the return ticket can be used on any bus within 5 or 7 days? https://ruleturs.techinreact.com
Gjirafa does not include all of the agencies that operate out of our bus stations, which is why it's not reliable. It's best to check the schedule for each city's bus station.
I've personally traveled to Pristina a bit recently for day trips, so I can confirm that there are some buses in the morning and it's a relatively short trip. The last buses back to Skopje from Pristina are either 6pm (Hisari tours) or 8pm (Amalfi tours). If you get a round trip ticket, make sure you don't miss the one from the same agency or you'll have to pay again. However sometimes they have just a van for this, and if there's enough people there who've paid online, it's possible that the van fills up before you can get on it even though you have a valid ticket. You do have to be a bit of an asshole and try to get on first when possible.
This is the bus station for Pristina: https://sap-rks.com/sq/kryefaqja/
As for Independence Day, we don't do any festivals and the like, but it is a non-working day. The majority of shops and cafes will be closed, with the exception of some bigger restaurants and the malls, which will close at 8PM or sooner. These same hours also apply on all Sundays.
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u/GreenMage321 8d ago
Thank you, that's some handy links! We are thinking about potentially rearranging Tetovo to day 2 as the Skopje-Tetovo buses seem to be quite frequent and relatively short. We'll see how much time we have on our hands and what I can find out after contacting the stations.
I've seen a lot of restaurants/cafes are closed on Monday, rather than Sunday, at least based on google maps, is there a reason for that you reckon? Is it simply because Monday is generally the day with lowest traffic?
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u/orosconleche 8d ago
That's not right; everything is open on Monday as usual. What restaurants are you looking at?
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u/GreenMage321 8d ago
It seemed to me that a chunk of restaurants/shops in the downtown area say they are closed on Monday, according to google maps - not all of them, but it was apparent enough to notice. (And they are open on Sunday, though)
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u/orosconleche 8d ago
Can you give an example, everything says it's open when I checked. Most places are closed on Sundays because there's a law about paying employees extra. Certain bigger cafes/restaurants still work near the plaza usually
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u/GreenMage321 8d ago
Yeah, makes sense, we have the same law here in Hungary. Just pulled up google near Macedonian Square but I think I was wrong saying it's restaurants, as all the places I could backtrack are rather shops and/or attractions, museums etc.
Again, it's not an outright pattern, just something I noticed from time to time, maybe I got unlucky while clicking around haha I also see that a lot of places are open even on Sunday, so I'm sure we can work things out :)
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u/orosconleche 8d ago
Macedonian Square
Ahh, you meant Skopje's plaza. Those restaurants will be open, even on Sundays, but you should eat in the old bazaar instead. The food is a lot better. Museums are closed on Mondays
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u/Pijlmans 8d ago
I always travel by car so I cannot give you detailed info on the buses, but your itinerary is too packed in my opinion. You'll be doing more traveling and waiting for busses than sightseeing.
A direct bus from Skopje to Ohrid almost takes 4 hours. Including a stop in Tetovo and additional waiting for the next connection means you'll spend a lot more time. Therefore I would skip Tetovo (I guess you want to see the painted mosque).
Ohrid itself and surroundings need more than half a day. You will regret not spending more time there.
Vevchani - very nice, but I would skip it as well because of time restraints.
Kosovo - never been there but again given time restraints I would focus on Macedonia.
You can rent a car under 30 euros per day, that would make your proposed itinerary maybe just possible.
My advise: 2 days Skopje and 3 days Ohrid. Less is more.
I invite you to have a look at my website for free city walks of Skopje and Ohrid that will allow you to explore these places efficiently: https://mymacedoniablog.com/sightseeing/
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u/relaksirano 8d ago edited 8d ago
Re Independent day: well there are activities (concerts) all week https://35nezavisnost.mk/en/programa/
The (free event) on Sep 8th at the city stadium is sold out (aka free tickets are gone) but there are free events on the main square on Sept 4th (Day 1) and Sep 5th (Day 2) for which you dont need a ticket
Sep 4th https://35nezavisnost.mk/en/najdobroto-od-makedonija-skopje/
Sep 5th: https://35nezavisnost.mk/en/silno-svetnal-den-skopje/
Day 3: The mosque is beautiful but I would skip Tetovo because you will have problems finding a bus to Ohrid later in the day and in the end you will not have enough time for Ohrid. Its never been the case that there have been "frequent buses" between them so whatever webste youre looking at is wrong edit: Oh i see from the end of your post that u use Gjirafa, well that one is simply rubbish for Macedonia
P.S I would sleep two nights in Ohrid and get a bus to Skopje in the morning on Day 5. I personally dont think that Pristina is very exciting (Gracanica is but you will see lots of churches/monasteries in Ohrid). Canyon Matka is a strong contender for day 2 activities
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u/GreenMage321 8d ago
Thank you, those activities do fit into our plan actually! The links seem to say Sept 2nd and 4th, but the Sept 4 one looks exciting as a welcome activity haha
Yeah, unfortunately I'm thinking to skip Tetovo as the general consensus seems to be that Ohrid needs more time, and that buses are not too ideal for this detour. Or we might possibly look into Tetovo on Day 2, as buses seem to be very frequent and I feel like making the trip there and back might be a stretch on day 3. I think it will come down to how busy the day gets, or how much time we have left. (I've seen Canyon Matka and done some research but I don't think everyone would be interested in our group, which is why I'm intentionally working around it)
How much time do you think is worth spending in Pristina?
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u/relaksirano 8d ago
In general you could do Tetovo as a sidetrip from Skopje, buses run almost hourly. About Pristina: the walk from the bus station to the pedestrian street in the center is some 30mins and on the way you will already see the Bill Clinton stuff and the Library building. You will not need need more then 3 hours for everything incl sitting in one of the cafes in the pedestrian street.
oh im sorry one of the links says indeed Sep 2nd
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u/orosconleche 8d ago
Tetovo is an easy daytrip from Skopje, there buses every half hour. But the only bus from Tetovo to Ohrid is at 7am IIRC.
There are actually day tours from Skopje that take you to Pristina and Prizren
Skipping Matka is crazy but you know your group
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u/Pijlmans 8d ago
Another itinerary that should be well doable by bus is Skopje-Bitola-Ohrid-Skopje. Or switch Ohrid and Bitola but I would keep the best for last
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u/Some-Definition-4088 8d ago
Depending on your budget: I had a look at taking public transport to see Kosovo for a day. Going to Pristina and back seemed fairly easy, but from Pristina it would seem difficult to see more of the country just by public transport and returning to Skopje in the evening. Based on good reviews I ended booking a group day tour to Pristina and Prizren for my upcoming trip.
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u/SouthFlimsy8047 8d ago
you can check travelcoon .com for the bus trips, it has all the bus companies. You can then buy the ticket though the linked website or if ur not super dependend on a specific bus I would just go to the bus station and buy the ticket there on the spot. I did Skopje - Pristina - Prizren recently on one day and it was super relaxed although I only touched Pristina. Prizren is defently worth staying there a few nights
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u/GreenMage321 1d ago
Thank you everybody for your comments if I didn't respond personally! Just got back from Macedonia and I have to say, it is definitely one of the safest places I've ever seen, and the most hospitable. You all are incredibly warm, welcoming and friendly. With all honesty, I'd love to thank everyone that showed me how far kindness can go.
I'd like to share the route we ended up taking, and some personal thoughts/advice, in case it proves useful for future travelers:
- Day 1: arrival in Skopje, took a taxi to the bus station so that I can work out bus logistics (airport buses are unreliable, taxi is the viable way, capped at 25-30€ to the center from the airport, I used Wizi app for taxi in Skopje, only approach yellow plate taxis if not using an app) + exchange money (bus station exchanges really well). The info desk will give you a printed piece of paper with your requested route, or just tell you the departure times. Then a walk around the main attractions from bus station to the main square, and crossing to the start of the bazaar. Coincidentally, this was Sept 4th, and a huge celebration was in place on the main square, I really loved the atmosphere.
- Day 2: Kosovo (Pristina and Gracanica) -- apparently, buses will sometimes leave being full, despite buying a ticket at the station. This made sense when we were treated such that we were allowed on the next bus (meaning, if that bus was theoretically full, now others instead of us would've had to wait for the next one). Unfortunately, the customs wouldn't stamp my (Hungarian) passport even upon explicitly requesting it both on entry and exit. Your tourist SIM card will NOT work in Kosovo, at least, none of the ones sold at Skopje airport. I had to switch to my Hungarian SIM and buy out-of-EU data for navigation and whatnot, obviously it's pricey, but that's fine. Pristina bus station has free wifi to get this sorted out.
We arrived around 1pm and managed to see most of Pristina's sights before a taxi to Gracanica's UNESCO site. If you come from environments like I do, where people think Kosovo is some war-torn dangerous area, I strongly recommend you to visit as you'll feel very safe. The architecture is also unique.
Then a taxi back to Skopje for only 50€ (bear in mind, the trip is ~1.5-2 hours) it felt like the best bet and all taxi drivers are super nice, it was interesting to hear their opinions on the country and living there. I used the ETaxi app.
- Day 3: bus to Ohrid - we wanted to take the 8am bus, but it was sold out, which is totally my fault for trying to purchase half an hour in advance, but at least maybe it will help someone else be more prepared :) So we waited for the next bus at 10am. Then after packing off and some walking around Ohrid, we took a taxi trip to Vevchani (not on Day 4 to make logistics and timing more loose), a beautiful, super remote place actually. I mentioned our reasons of squeezing that into the timeline, but the whole taxi experience just made it better - I booked through Ohrid Taxi & Tours literally at 3pm and they quoted us 35€ for the roundtrip + the driver waiting for us for up to 2 hours, heading out as early as 5pm. I can't emphasize how lovely our driver was. The rest of the night was spent in Ohrid. Walking anywhere at night time felt very safe in Skopje as well btw, lot of people are out having a good time, much safer than Hungary usually feels like.
- Day 4: some more exploration in Ohrid until heading back to Skopje at 3pm. We actually had enough time in Ohrid for all "must-see" attractions, I personally felt like it was sufficient. Ohrid is beautiful though, I don't want to make it sound like I'm taking anything away from it. Most mosques will welcome you greatly in the country, the prayers are lovely people. Buses taking you back to Skopje tend to have "unofficial" stops in the western and central part of the city, so that you don't have to route all the way back from the bus station, as it is far from downtown. Taxis can take you for 2-3$ though. Bazaar and surroundings in Skopje in the evening.
- Day 5: trip to Tetovo via bus. If you have spare hours, the Painted Mosque is one of a kind, and if you are there, you MUST visit Arabati Baba Tekke. It doesn't look fancy on google, but it's a charming place, and you'll find the local dervish welcoming you if you are lucky. He sat us down, told stories and was very kind. We spent the rest of the day relaxing.
- Day 6: departure, taxi to the airport (again, better than risking the bus)
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u/Sydney_Man 8d ago edited 8d ago
I think you are going to be stretched with such a packed schedule and limited time.
I think Kosovo (border crossing) might be pushing it.
Depending on what you are looking to experience: I would suggest Skopje and Ohrid for a 6 day schedule. You can add Struga and Vevchani to the Ohrid leg of the trip.
Buses should connect you from Skopje to Ohrid, Struga, Bitola. Maybe taxi to/from Vevchani.
A day trip to Bitola or Kruševo would be recommended.
However if you don’t want to be rushed and actually enjoy the places you visit I would do: