Macedonia

You might want to check out the Lonely Planet thorntree forum as there is a lot more activity on this country than on here.

You should be able to get a bus from Thessaloniki towards Lake Ohrid in Macedonia - from where it is another 2 hrs on a bus to Skopje.

Not really sure where in Macedonia you are headed since you didn't say? Two years ago we were in this part of the world but traveled from Tirana, Albania to Lake Ohrid and then onwards to Skopje. I know that the Greek border is only about an hour+ south of Ohrid.

It also looks like there is a train between Thessaloniki and Skopje taking 4.5 hours. Check out the following website that has the details
http://balkanology.com/macedonia/faq.html

Also, definitely check out lonely planet's thorn tree for more info.

My husband and I were at Lake Ohrid last April. We came by furgon from Tirana, after visiting friends. This is not the easiest way to go and I think coming in from Greece would be easier.
Macedonia and its people are truly wonderful and welcoming. Lake Ohrid is beautiful. I hope you enjoy this small country as much as we did.
We plan to return and explore more of the country.
Donna

Hi Chris -

My daughter is also in the PC in Macedonia and my husband and I plan to go visit in September. She is a PC 13 volunteer (Jaime King) placed in Krusevo. When are you planning your trip? It would be great to share ideas as to best ways to get around -- we are thinking of flying into Budapest and renting a car and traveling south to see our daughter. We have 3 weeks to travel and hope to see as much of Eastern Europe as we can while there.

Suzanne Hedrick, Windsor, Colorado

Just a little bit of advice. Spend as much time around Lake Ohrid and as little time around Skopje as possible. Skopje, in my opinion, just barely beats Chisinau, Bucharest and Belgrade as the worst capital city in Europe.

I agree with Tom. I'm from Macedonia and I never go to Skopje when I visit relatives. I concentrate on visiting Lake Ohrid and the mountains.

Depending on which city you're visiting, Thessaloniki is a good option and then renting a car, or taking the train or bus to Macedonia is an option. If you're renting, it's better to rent in Greece than Macedonia, as it's a lot cheaper and you can get a better selection of cars. If you want to visit more of Eastern Europe then I don't suggest you rent in Budapest and drive south. You won't see much other than Serbia.

I'd be happy to answer any questions if you want to write me.

We spent a wonderful week in Stip, Macedonia about 5 years ago. We met our daughter-in-law's family who lived there. We went for their "formal church wedding" and it was one of the greatest experiences of our lives. The people of Stip, and in fact everywhere else we went to in Macedonia, from Skopje to Lake Ohrid and everywhere in between, could not have been more helpful and charming. The history of the region was exciting. It is not an affluent country by any means but any modern convenience one could want is readily available. The major highways were teriffic and worked to connect one to every major part of the country. The back roads, like many other countries, left a lot to be desired - partly due to the mountainous terrain and also due to the need for repairs. Lake Ohrid is an absolute "must see" if one is anywhere near, and there were several other very charming, welcoming towns and villages along the way. What amazed me the most was the ease we had with communication. So many spoke English, and many, many signs (particularly road signs) were in both English and Macedonian. Very visitor friendly. Both my husband and I are planning to return as soon as possible for another visit. Cannot compare with much of Western Europe but the quaint, historical nature of the country and the true graciousness of the people make it a place to visit before it becomes too "touristry" .

When we visited we flew Malev Airlines (from Hungary) and went out of JFK in NYC to Budapest, Hungary and from there flew directly into Skopje, Macedonia. Unfortunately the Macedonian Airlines that made our connection is no longer flying. My son's family have since flown to Macedonia and always fly Lufthansa into Frankfort and then make a connection to Sophia, Bulgaria. His in-laws always meet them there for the ride to Stip. Alexander the Great Airport in Skopje is not equipped to receive the larger planes that generally fly through Europe so no direct flight could be available. I know Lufthansa now flies from Houston to Frankfort directly, then to Vienna, Austria and then to Skopje. Few airlines fly into Macedonia directly. I also saw that Turkish Airlines has a 1 stop flight from Houston to Istambul to Skopje.

The airport in Skopje is not huge but decent enough I would fly there.

Look at the dates of Chris's orignal post. I'm pretty certain Chris's trip is long over and the daughter's tenure in the Peace Corps has ended...