The ultimate travel itinerary for North Macedonia
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If you’re planning a trip to North Macedonia, make sure to rent a car and fit these three places into your itinerary: Skopje, Mavrovo National Park and Ohrid. If you have the time, include a visit to Kosovo as well. It’s such a beautiful place
Skopje, the starting point of your trip
I recommend flying to Skopje, which is the capitol of North Macedonia and a great starting point for exploring this beautiful country. My “Skopje” blog post includes my top ten recommendation for what to do and see while you’re there.
After you’ve spent a couple of days in the capitol, pick up your rental.
Tips:
- To book your flight, I recommend using a search engine, such as Momondo or Skyscanner
- To book a rental car, I recommend either Expedia or DiscoverCars
- To book hotels, I recommend using Booking.com or Hotels.com
Day 3: Kosovo
After you’ve spent a couple of days in Skopje, pick up your rental and start driving to Mavrovo National Park. However, I recommend driving through Kosovo on the way and spend the night in Prizren before continuing the drive. We drove from Skopje via E65 (A4) and crossed the boarder at Hani i Elezit. The roads were really nice and the traffic was good. Hardly any queue at the check point area and we got our passports stamped with a smile from the border guard.
Our first top was:
Gračanica Monastery – This I would say is a must. It’s a Serbian Orthodox monastery and it’s on the UNESCO World Heritage site. If you are there in the summer, remember to dress appropriate. I must admit, European summer is too hot for me, so I had to get some more clothes from the car.
Then we spent a couple of hours in Pristina
Pristina – It’s quite easy to see that Kosovo loves the Clintons. In Pristina you’ll find Bill Clinton Boulevard, a Bill Clinton statue and you’ll also find the Hillary store. One other thing you’ll find here is the National Library, which has been called one of the “ugliest building in the world”. I’ll admit, it looks more like a prison than a library, but I will call it unique.
Spent the night in:
Prizren – Pay a visit to the fortress and you can enjoy an amazing view. It is also a must to visit the Bogorodica Ljeviska Cathedral or Our Lady of Ljevis, even though it’s not possible to enter. It’s on the UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger as part of the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo.
Day 4: Drive to Mavrovo through Albania
Continue the drive to Mavrovo, through Albania. We passed the border at Morine-Vermice border crossing and made a quick stop in Kukes before continuing to Peshkopi. We drove the SH6 and crossed the boarder back to North Macedonia again at the Blato (Bllate) boarder crossing.
While driving through Albania, you get a sense of the country and maybe you get a memory for life? I know I did. While driving in the Albanian mountains, we decided to stop and take some pictures. Simply to just enjoy the view for a bit. All of a sudden an elderly fellow came riding up the hill on his donkey. He smiled and spoke Albanian while we answered with a mix of English and German. That’s just something I’ll never forget.
After crossing the boarder and arriving in Mavrovo, we stayed at this wonderful place called The House of the Miyaks. It’s also a couple of beautiful hotels closer to Mavrovo Lake if you’d like to stay closer to the lake.
Day 5: Mavrovo National Park
Time to explore Mavrovo National Park! Here are my top recommendations:
Old Mavrovo Church – Dedicated to St. Nicholas, submerged by the waters of Mavrovo Lake.
Church of Saint John the Baptist – Originally constructed in the 11th century, the church is set high in the hills.
Eat at The House of the Miyaks – If you didn’t have your dinner here on day 4, I recommend this on day 5. This place has amazing food, truly the best food we had in North Macedonia. The House of Miyaks has been built in the style of the miyak construction tradition.
Also, if you’re visiting during the winter, you should check out the ski resort!
After spending some time in Mavrovo, exploring the national park, we started our drive to Ohrid but we decided to spend the night in Struga before continuing the drive. Struga hasn´t that much to offer, our main reason for staying there was to enjoy the beach for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so I would rather recommend spending the night in Lin, Albania. Lin was just a spontaneous stop for us, but we loved it. Such a beautiful place, I would have loved to spend the night there.
Day 6: Ohrid
Depending on where you spend the night, either wake up in Lin or drive to Lin. Lin is a small village by the lake, and I totally fell in love with the place. We parked the car and just wandered about for an hour or two. Thinking about it, I think I need to go back.
Monastery of Saint Naum – We stopped by this place on our way to Ohrid, but it’s possible to skip it, drive directly to Ohrid after Lin and do a day trip here on day 7 instead. It’s quite the area, so make sure to have enough time to explore. It’s also possible to spend the night here, so if that’s of any interest to you, check it out.
Day 7 and 8: Ohrid
Here are my top recommendations:
Church of St. John at Kaneo – One of North Macedonia’s most magnificent churches, stands on a cliff rising up from Lake Ohrid. Built at the end of 13th century. To me, this was the highlight of our trip. It was just something special about it. We were here both in the morning and in the evening. Truly a stunning church.
If you didn’t visit on day 6: Monastery of Saint Naum – First built in 905 by St Naum, rebuilt in the 16th century. This is one of North Macedonia’s most popular tourist destinations. It has wonderful surroundings where you can enjoy the nature and the religious heritage. Make sure to get some pictures of the peacocks!
Tsar Samuels Fortress – Was once one of the most invulnerable fortresses in the Balkans, walls with at the length of 3 km.
Church of St. Sophia – Located in the city and houses architecture and art from the Middle Ages.
Church of St Clement and Panteleimon – Its located close to the fortress and its quite large, so you’ll have no problem spotting in from the fortress.
Holy Mary Perybleptos – One of the oldest churches in Ohrid, built in 1295. It has a beautiful location with a stunning view.
Ancient Theatre of Ohrid – Built in 200 BC. Its unclear how many people it used to seat, since its only the lower section that still exists.
Last, but not least: If you’re there in the summer, enjoy a sunny day by the lake. Go for a swim! Ohrid is perfect in the summer
Day 9: Back to Skopje Airport
Head back to Skopje to catch your flight home
