North Macedonia

Understand

The country officially changed its name from the Republic of Macedonia (Macedonian: Македонија, Makedonija) to the Republic of North Macedonia in February 2019 in order to settle a dispute over its name with Greece. However, hardly any Macedonian refers to their country as "North Macedonia"; instead, they continue to use "Macedonia" and find "North" to be offensive. It was also known as "the former Yugolav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)" prior to the official name change. North Macedonia is a diverse country with several ethnic minorities. The majority of the population is ethnic Macedonian and Orthodox Christian, but there is also a significant Albanian Muslim minority. Across the country's north and west (the region stretching approximately from Kumanovo to Struga), Macedonians and Albanians live side by side, if somewhat uneasily.

Climate North Macedonia has warm, dry summers and autumns, and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall.

Terrain About 85% of North Macedonia is considered mountain area, making it one of the most mountainous countries in the world. There are three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line, and the country is bisected by the Vardar River. The Dinaric Alps stretch down to here. North Macedonia is blessed with outstanding natural beauty. Do not miss a trip to one of the large lakes, Pelister Mountains, Shar Planina in the west, and the rolling hills and mountains of the east with their rice fields.

History Kingdoms, empires, and the socialist workers' state In ancient times the Kingdom of Macedonia ruled a vast area that included what is now North Macedonia. Its most famous king was Alexander the Great, who despite what today's Macedonians may tell you between rakija shots, probably spoke something close to Greek. Eventually, S

Getting there

Entry requirements Citizens of the European Union and of the countries signatories to the Schengen Agreement can enter with just a valid officially issued ID card or a passport. Visas are not required by nationals from the following countries: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The period of stay is regulated under the issued visa, but is no longer than 90 days. The visa free stay is 90 days, with the exception of Turkey, Japan and Montenegro where the visa free stay is 60 days. Any foreign national possessing a valid multiple entry short stay Schengen type C visa (valid for the entire territory of the Schengen zone) may enter and stay in North Macedonia up to 15 days without having to possess a Macedonian visa. Visit this page for more details. Border guards may not be aware of this information, and they might tell you that you require a visa to enter North Macedonia. Stay calm and politely ask them to recheck their information. They will fill a form with your passport and car registration information which can take up to 1 hour!

Getting around

By car In this mountainous developing country, the roads are often narrow and not very well maintained, with warning signs for the quite frequent sharp turns rarely provided, and the safety barriers between your tires and high cliffs often rusty, or sometimes completely absent. In the north, there is a short network of motorways with separated directions and a posted speed limit of 120 km/h, linking Skopje with Tetovo and Gostivar in the west, and with the Alexander the Great Airport and Kumanovo in the east, but the surface quality is hardly better than the rest of the roads. The toll collection on the motorways depends on a system of toll stations (PEAGE) every 20 km or so (typically after leaving and on approaching major towns, which means you will pay twice for the route, say, between Skopje and Tetovo, two neighbouring cities), where all through traffic comes to a complete halt (as opposed to only those leaving and entering the motorway) and pay according to the type of the vehicle (for motorcycles and cars, which is often 20 or 30 denar). Always make sure your tires are good enough. Especially in spring and autumn, weather in the mountains (Ohrid, Bitola) can differ significantly from the weather in the area you're coming from. All directional signs in the country show the town names in Macedonian Cyrillic and their Roman transliterations, sometimes accompanied by a second local language, which is often Albanian. Renting a car is cheap. Check Google Maps including their ratings, or ask at your accommodation.

By train

Small yellow stations with brown roofs dot the Macedonian landscape, visited by short