North Macedonia is a country in Southeast Europe, in the Balkans region. Its bordering countries are Albania, Greece, Kosovo, Serbia, and Bulgaria. North Macedonia, compared to the neighboring countries, is rather a small country but full of wonderful places to visit and has such a vibrant and fascinating culture. 

We spent a week and a half exploring North Macedonia but definitely left with a feeling that we should return one day and explore so much more. During this time we gathered some things that could be helpful for anyone traveling to North Macedonia. So let’s dive into the 8 things to know before exploring this exciting country!

Disclaimer: These tips don’t necessarily cover all areas of travel as we traveled with a motorhome and didn’t encounter public transport between towns and experienced only one stay at an accommodation in Skopje. But I hope that these tips will be helpful regardless if you are a vanlifer or any other type of traveler.

Green Card

Let’s start with the most important thing to know – if you are driving with your vehicle, make sure that your insurance covers North Macedonia. If it’s not included in your insurance, you will need to pay 50 Euros for the Green Card at the border crossing which will last for 15 days. Unfortunately, our insurance company couldn’t make the Green Card over the Internet or by phone call, therefore we needed to pay for the Green Card on the spot.

Toll roads

Driving on the toll roads is pretty cheap compared to Greece where the toll is calculated by size, in North Macedonia it is by weight. Most tolls cost only a few Euros and the roads were almost empty, only getting crowded near Skopje, the capital. The roads themselves were of good quality, in some places a bit bumpy but still, in our opinion, fairly well maintained.

Public transport

Public transport in Skopje can be very unpredictable. Compared to Bosnia and Herzegovina or Albania, the routes at least can be found on Google Maps but the buses can get delayed or don’t arrive at all. But I guess things get a little bit more complicated if you want to get outside the city from the bus station.

We were looking forward to getting to the Millenium Cross, located on top of the Vodno Mountain, which looks over the city and is about a 40-minute drive by bus or a 15-minute drive by car. But when getting to the bus station, no one knows the time that the bus arrives and when walking around asking questions, a man who looked like a security guy showed us some strange schedule for the bus which couldn’t be found nor online, nor at the bus stop. So in the end we drove with our motorhome to the Millenium Cross since we couldn’t crack the public transport code there. 🙂

Affordable to travel

North Macedonia is such an affordable country – gas is way cheaper than in the rest of that part of Europe, food is delicious and also cheap, and accommodations are very inexpensive. We decided to spend one night in a rented apartment in Skopje due to low temperatures (it even got to minus 10 degrees Celsius) and in a motorhome, which wasn’t prepared for that cold, it was pretty miserable. The one night that we spent in the apartment cost us about 25 Euros and we got two rooms, a fully equipped kitchen, and even a washing machine.

Pollution

As we found with most of the Balkan countries, unfortunately, the areas can get very polluted and North Macedonia wasn’t an exception. Mostly the problem was more acute in the cities but also while driving, on the side of the road. Waste management issues are pretty common in many countries and it is very sad to see our dear planet be buried under so much waste.

Water

We were visiting North Macedonia in wintertime, therefore, we couldn’t find any place where to fill up our motorhome’s water tank so I would recommend finding some campsites where it could be possible since anywhere else it wasn’t an option. We found this a problem in many countries actually and to deal with the water, we usually buy 5 liters or, if it’s possible to purchase, 10-liter bottles at grocery stores and fill up that way. It can get a bit pricey rather than filling at a gas station but it was the best solution for us.

Internet

For the internet connection, we used a Telecom prepaid SIM card which cost about 2 Euros and 21 Euros for 20 GB of data and the connection was pretty fast. We bought the SIM card at the first gas station we could find arriving from Greece and the locals were very nice and helpful to get the card started up and explaining all the data plans that they had.

Parking

A lot of places to park for free for staying overnight which for us, budget travelers with a motorhome, was a heaven upon earth. Even in Skopje, we found a cozy parking spot but our best one goes to Ohrid where we could park right by Lake Ohrid and experience the most beautiful sunset, at the same time being close to the town’s center. For safety reasons, I of course recommend finding campsites or parking spots that are overlooked by security but if you are looking for free and wonderful spots, North Macedonia has them.

I hope that in the future North Macedonia will become much more visited by tourists as it deserves more attention and appreciation. I truly believe that everyone should visit this amazing country at least once in their lives, try their delicious baklava, as well as other types of traditional foods and learn about the culture and country’s history.

Check out my other blog posts about the 6 places to visit in North Macedonia and 9 places to visit in Skopje, the vibrant capital!

If you are planning a trip to Albania as well, make sure to check out this blog post about the 5 unmissable places to visit and about the 10 things to know before traveling there.

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