With winding streets lined with classic Ottoman-style houses and the iconic red-brick church at Kaneo, the lakeside city of Ohrid is a must-visit for anyone travelling in the Balkans. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to reach Ohrid from Skopje, the eclectic capital of North Macedonia.
There is currently no direct train route between Skopje and Ohrid, so the best way to make the journey is by bus. In our experience, the bus between Skopje and Ohrid was punctual, comfortable and had stunning views along the way. From buying tickets to checking the timetables, here is our guide for how to travel from Skopje to Ohrid by bus.
The bus route between Skopje and Ohrid
The normal route from Skopje to Ohrid involves 170 kilometres of driving. You leave Skopje and head west, towards the city of Tetovo, which makes for a great day trip from Skopje if you have time in your travel plans.
Your bus probably won’t go into the centre of Tetovo. Instead, it will skirt around the edges of the city and head south along the E-65. The bus heads towards Gostivar before heading over the mountains to Kičevo. This is a spectacular leg of the route with brilliant mountain views.
Eventually, you leave the mountains behind and await your first glimpse of the sparkling waters of Lake Ohrid. You may be able to spot it far, far in the distance.
As you approach the city, keep an eye out for Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle airport on your right. This is a sure sign that you are about to arrive in Ohrid and complete your journey.
How long does the bus journey from Skopje to Ohrid take?
The standard bus route between Skopje and Ohrid takes around 3 hours. This includes a brief stop at the halfway point.
You should avoid the buses which go via Bitola, since these take significantly longer – around 5.5 hours.
The all-important timetable
The buses between Skopje and Ohrid run multiple times a day. When checking timetables for buses in the Balkans, we usually use aggregator sites such as Balkanviator. However, these were not as accurate for buses in North Macedonia compared to other countries. In fact, the original bus we were planning on getting – based on our research on Balkanviator – did not actually exist.
After completing quite a number of North Macedonian bus journeys on our recent travels, we concluded that the best source for an up-to-date bus timetable is the specific bus station website.
Checking the timetable for buses from Skopje to Ohrid
For Skopje, the bus station website redirects to the RuleTurs timetable. RuleTurs is a bus operator that offers a multitude of services from Skopje bus station. Their website also shows buses operated by other companies.
As the website is for Skopje bus station, it only shows departures from Skopje. To check the timetable, in the ‘Место’ (‘Destination’) box select ‘Охрид’ (‘Ohrid’) and the date of travel. There are usually several buses a day.
When viewing the timetable, note that “цена” is the price for a single ticket in Macedonian Denar. “повратна” is the price for a return ticket.
For Ohrid, the bus company website – Galeb – is still under construction. The best place to check the timetable for buses from Ohrid to Skopje is, therefore, the Facebook group for Galeb (yes, really). Unsurprisingly, the Facebook group is very active with lots of enquiries about bus times.
When we visited, there were four buses on the timetable from Ohrid to Skopje operated by Galeb each day: 05:30, 10:45, 15:00 and 19:00.
There is no bus timetable displayed at either Skopje or Ohrid bus station. If you need assistance, the staff at the ticket and information counters generally speak good English and are able to help.
How to buy tickets for the bus between Skopje and Ohrid
Skopje: The easiest way to buy tickets is from the counters inside the bus station building. We tried to buy tickets using our very basic Macedonian skills, but the staff spoke enough English. We paid for our tickets in cash.
Ohrid: There are two options for buying tickets. Firstly, there are offices for each of the bus companies opposite the bus station. Note, if you buy tickets from here you will then need to pay a tax to the counter in the bus station.
Secondly, you can buy the tickets from the counter inside the bus station, where you will pay the tax and ticket price in one go.
Ticket prices
We paid 850 MKD each for a single ticket from Skopje to Ohrid. This is roughly £12 or $15. A return would have cost 1200 MKD (£16.80 / $21.30)
Different bus companies charge different prices. We travelled with “Classic Company” (класик компани) and travelled on a small but comfortable minibus.
Meanwhile, Galeb Ohrid (галеб охрид) charges 890 MKD (£12.50 / $15.80) for a single ticket and 1240 MKD (£17.40 / $22) for a return. Galeb operate big, full-sized coaches.
Skopje Bus Station Guide
Location: Skopje Bus Station is just outside the city centre, about a 20-minute walk from Macedonia Square. Our preferred route from central Skopje was to walk along the Vardar River and then head past the Vero Shopping Centre into the bus station.
Eating and drinking: There is a kiosk in the bus station that sells the usual selection of crisps, sweets, fizzy drinks and water. The prices were fine (60 MKD for a croissant). There are also a couple of cafes in the bus station that serve ice cream, coffee and tea, and baked goods such as burek. For a wider selection, we recommend the Vero Shopping Centre. It has an excellent supermarket and is conveniently located on the way to the bus station.
Facilities: There are toilets in the Skopje Bus Station which cost 20 MKD. You have to pay the attendant before entering. In our experience, the toilets were pretty grim. There was, however, running water and soap in both the men’s and women’s. Alternatively, there are free toilets in the Vero Shopping Centre. These were not amazing, but much, much better.
ATMs: There are a handful of ATMs in the bus station building. We used the Stopanska Banka ATM (the pink one) as we noticed it had a bit of a queue of locals, despite there being other ATMs available. Neither of us had any issues.
Seating: There is a small seating area with the usual metal chairs to wait for your bus.
Ohrid Bus Station Guide
Location: Unfortunately, Ohrid Bus Station is in a poor location for anyone visiting the old town. It is about a half-hour walk from the lakeshore. Unlike the walk into Skopje city centre, which goes along the river, the walk into Ohrid is fairly dull. The route mostly takes you along one dusty road. We were unable to identify any public transport between the city centre and the bus station. The easiest way is to get a taxi, a lift from your accommodation or to walk.
Eating and drinking: There is a quiet cafe inside the bus station building and a couple of places to get food and drink outside the bus station.
Facilities: There is a toilet in the bus station which is locked. If you want to use the bathroom, you must get the key (and pay) at the ticket desk.
ATM: There is an ATM in the building at Ohrid Bus Station.
Seating: The bus station itself is clearly quite new and has a nice seating area and air-con, so it’s a nice place to wait for the bus.
Our experience of the bus
We travelled from Skopje to Ohrid by bus as part of a journey through North Macedonia in October 2023.
We bought our tickets the day before we travelled, as we were in the bus station anyway and it seemed like a good idea to be organised. The tickets were 850 MKD, which included the bus station tax. As it turned out, we didn’t need to be that organised – there was plenty of space on the bus when we arrived for the journey.
Before boarding the bus, we had a quick browse of the kiosk. We purchased the customary packets of 7Days Croissants and Bake Rolls and headed towards the buses. Next, we showed our tickets to access the platforms and then showed them again to get onto the bus.
We had opted for a bus operated by Classic Company as the time worked best for us – they offered a couple of departures around lunchtime. The bus was, in fact, a minibus and, whilst it was not particularly luxurious, we felt perfectly safe throughout the journey.
The bus left at 12:30 on the dot. Along the way, the scenery was incredible – we spent the majority of the journey watching the forested hillsides and deep valleys pass by.
As we arrived in Ohrid, the bus stopped to let people off before it reached the bus station. This drop-off point was much closer into the city centre than the bus station is, so we hopped off and made our way to our accommodation.
Our bus arrived around 15 minutes later than scheduled, which seemed to be because of roadworks on the main road into Ohrid.
Read next: Our guide to the best sunrise spot in Ohrid, North Macedonia
Skopje to Ohrid by bus: Our final thoughts
If you are travelling around North Macedonia, Ohrid is easily accessible from Skopje by public transport and is well worth the journey. In fact, we met some people who had arrived into Skopje airport and headed straight to Ohrid without visiting the capital. We think that is a slight overkill since there are plenty of things to see and do in Skopje, but we do understand the appeal – Ohrid is beautiful.
Since there is no Skopje to Ohrid train, the bus is your only option. Given the frequency of services and the relatively low cost of travel – £12 for a three-hour bus is quite reasonable – we would highly recommend taking the bus. It was comfortable, clean and the halfway stop was a nice excuse to stretch our legs.
Whether you engross yourself in a book or stay glued to the window, the journey will fly by.
Last updated: January 2024.