Schweppes Bitter Lemon, mountain hikes above 2,000 metres, and some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met – our trip to North Macedonia was full of surprises.
We spent two weeks travelling across North Macedonia, mostly by bus (with the occasional taxi), exploring three national parks – Mavrovo, Pelister, and Galičica. Our route took us from lively Skopje to the tranquil shores of Lake Ohrid, with plenty of stops for history, nature, and the little everyday details that made the journey so memorable.
In this post, we share what travelling in North Macedonia is really like: the highlights, the challenges, and the surprises that stood out along the way.
Friendly encounters while travelling in North Macedonia
In our experience, most people in most countries are friendly. There are only a few exceptions – for example, we’ve written about some difficult moments in Djibouti. That said, we were especially impressed by the kindness we encountered during our stay in North Macedonia. Many people went out of their way to help us.
One morning, for instance, we were planning to change busses in Debar on our way to Struga at the shores of Lake Ohrid. Assuming there were frequent onward connections, we told the first bus driver we would grab breakfast before continuing. After he had dropped us at a small restaurant, we realised that there wouldn’t be another bus for two hours. A passer-by who spoke German walked us back to the bus station, but by then the Struga bus had already departed. Just as we were resigning ourselves to waiting, another driver phoned ahead and arranged for the Struga bus to wait for us at the next stop – even giving us a lift to catch it. In the end, three people made considerable efforts to fix a problem that was entirely our own fault.
Throughout our time travelling in North Macedonia, we never met anyone who tried to take advantage of us for being foreigners or not knowing the language. Even taxi drivers were straightforward: Instead of haggling, they simply consulted a list and quoted the standard price for any given route.
Where are the tourists?
Arriving in Skopje, we were surprised to see rather few tourists. Skopje is a small and walkable capital, with a picturesque Old Town, charming restaurant quarters, several museums and sightseeing spots. And yet there were only very few individual tourists. We spotted several Turkish, Chinese, and South Korean tourist groups, but they mainly stuck to the Old Town.
Moving on to Tetovo and Mavrovo, even those few tourist sightings ceased. North Macedonia began to feel like a country without tourists. We would point out the rare non-locals to each other: “That might be a fellow traveller!” While hiking in the mountains, we met “outsiders” – some city people from Skopje.
And then suddenly, all the tourists in North Macedonia appeared along the shores of Lake Ohrid. In Struga and Ohrid, the atmosphere was completely different – international summer holidaymakers flocked to beach bars, ice cream parlours, and pedestrian zones. It was a lively bustling contrast to the quiet towns and mountains we had just explored.
Public transport in North Macedonia
One part of travelling in North Macedonia was figuring out how to get from one place to another. Transport here has its own rhythm, and if you’re used to precise schedules and real-time updates on your phone, you might need to adjust a little.
We did find some bus timetables online – mostly for the larger long-distance coaches connecting bigger cities. But once we ventured into smaller towns and the countryside, things became more unpredictable. Minibuses were rarely listed anywhere, but they did seem to have a schedule and often left towns exactly at the full or half hour.
Even with the large buses we were never sure and preferred to ask at the bus station beforehand. That worked well – until we reached Gradsko. Unlike other towns, Gradsko didn’t have a bus station. On a quiet Sunday afternoon, nobody in the village seemed entirely sure when (or if) the next bus would arrive. After a few confusing conversations and shrugging shoulders, we decided to embrace the uncertainty and stay the night. Mind you, the next day was our departure back to Germany from Skopje!
In the end, it was our landlady who saved the ride. She assured us there would be a morning bus, and though we weren’t entirely convinced, we trusted her local knowledge. Sure enough, her information turned out to be spot on.
Vegetarian food in North Macedonia
During our travels in North Macedonia, we had very tasty vegetarian food. Like in other Balkan countries such as Serbia, vegetarian options were quite good, despite the country’s reputation for meat dishes. We particularly enjoyed the great salads with fresh and tasty local vegetables.
Of course we tried some local dishes, such as Turli tava, a stew with okra and aubergines, and Tavče Gravče, a classic bean dish (we had a similar one in Serbia). While tasty, these were familiar flavours. A more unusual experience for the taste buds was Topeno Sirenye, a speciality of Bitola. Topeno Sirenye means “melted cheese”, and it was indeed akin to Swiss fondue – soft warm cheese of different varieties served with bread.
As for drinks, we explored the North Macedonian wines. We did not like them all, but some were interesting and some quite tasty. Tap water was always good to drink, and public drinking fountains in the streets were common.
We also found a signature soft drink that accompanied our travels: Schweppes Bitter Lemon. It was surprisingly popular. For example: Fayrouz lemonade in Egypt. Avocado and mango juice in Ethiopia. A cocoa drink in Sri Lanka. Or a non-alcoholic beer-and-lemonade mix in Romania.
Do you ever find yourself drinking a certain product in a travel country that you wouldn’t normally drink?
Sightseeing in North Macedonia: Highlights and surprises
North Macedonia is a small country, and while its sightseeing options may not rival Europe’s top destinations, we did spend blissful hours sightseeing. In Skopje, there were a few tourist sites in the Old Town. However, our main interest was the Brutalist architecture in Skopje, which fully lived up to our expectations. We were also surprised by the good collection and presentation of the Modern Art Museum in Skopje.
In Ohrid, we visited some fantastic churches, and the monastery of Jovan Bigorski near Lake Mavrovo with its impressive architecture and surroundings was a delight.
As you would expect from its name, North Macedonia has some archaeological treasure dating back to the times of the Macedonian kings Philipp and Alexander the Great, as well as from Greek and Roman rule. We had been looking forward to visiting Herakleia near Bitola. It is North Macedonia’s most famous and most visited ancient site. While Herakleia offered some nice mosaics and a few recognizable houses and streets, it did, however, disappoint a bit. Admittedly, we have seen numerous Greek and Roman sites, including dozens of amphitheatres, whole cities such as Jerash in Jordan or Leptis Magna in Libya, and breathtaking ancient mosaics in Ravenna or Tunisia.
By comparison, the lesser-known site of Stobi near Gradsko impressed us far more. We found streets, bathhouses and remains of some grand palaces. The highlight was the large early Christian church next to the amphitheatre. The church as well as some of the houses had well-preserved mosaics. If you have time for just one of the ancient sites, we recommend Stobi. With your own transport, it is conveniently located next to the highway. But beware if you arrive by bus (see above)!
Hiking in the National Parks
North Macedonia has beautiful mountain ranges with the tree line starting as low as 1500 m. We had brought our hiking boots and poles and enjoyed some great day hikes in three of the country’s National Parks: in Shar Planina Park near Tetovo, in Mavrovo National Park, and in the Pelister National Park.
None of them had much discernible tourist infrastructure or information. Proper hiking trails were rare. Most paths seemed to exist simply because others had walked them before.
In Mavrovo, the National Park office recommended to download the official gpx. But these were outdated and showed unmaintained trails. Bringing our own maps and (recent) gpx files was crucial. Occasionally there would be trail signs or colour markings, but not enough to rely on them for pathfinding.
Nevertheless, we had a great time hiking in the North Macedonian mountains. We greatly enjoyed the views, the landscape, and the unspoiled nature. Since we had not really expected to hike to above 2000 m, we had somewhat underestimated the need for warm clothing. After all, in the valleys the temperatures were often nearing 40 °C, with no rain, while we met with some hail and storms in the mountains.
Later that summer, we read about seaonal bans on entering forests in the North Macedonian National Parks due to high risk of forest fires. In early July, the forests still felt fresh and green, but this danger may be typical for the hotter months.
It’s definitely worth keeping this in mind when planning a hiking trip in North Macedonia.
Should you plan a trip to North Macedonia?
Definitely yes. We had a wonderful time, and one of the biggest surprises was how much less touristy it felt compared to neighbouring Croatia or Albania – apart from Lake Ohrid, of course. There was nothing we didn’t like about the country. Many travellers seem to come only for a week, or focus just on Skopje and Lake Ohrid, but North Macedonia has so much more to offer. We could easily have spent another week exploring its mountains, towns, and quiet corners. Next time, we’d love to spend a night in one of the mountain huts – another adventure to look forward to when travelling in North Macedonia.
Have you been to North Macedonia? Tell us about your impressions!
NB: We were not sponsored in any way for this trip or to write this blog post. We paid all expenses ourselves.
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