Useful addresses to prepare your trip Northern Macedonia

This border post (Граничен Премин Стење-Горица/Graničen Premin Stenje-Gorica, Vendkalimi Kufitar Goricë-Stenjë) allows you to cross into Albania. The first village crossed by SH 79 is Dolna Gorica (Долна Горица, Dollna Gorica). Situated on the shores of Lake Prespa, it is part of the municipality of Pustec (Пустец, Liqenas), which has around 3,000 inhabitants, 97% of whom are Macedonians. It is home to the Prespa National Park information center (prespanationalpark.gov.al).

This border crossing is located between the village of Pelince/Пелинце (140 inhabitants), in Northern Macedonia, and the monastery of Prohor Pčinjski/Прохор Пчињски, in Serbia. It is in less frequented than the Tabanovce-Preševo one, on the highway near Kumanovo. But since there are fewer customs officers here, there can be a wait quickly. Running along the Pčinja River, the road passes through beautiful countryside and connects to the Serbian town of Vranje/Врање, 35 km to the northwest.

Located on the E-75 highway, it is the main passage for cars and trucks between Northern Macedonia and Serbia. It lies between the Macedonian village of Tabanovce/Табановце and the Serbian municipality of Preševo/Прешево. The latter has a population of about 59,000, 90% of which are Albanians. Tabanovce, on the other hand, has about 800 inhabitants, of which 36% are Serbs, 29% Macedonians and 26% Albanians. The village has a beautiful abandoned mosque from the late ^sixteenth century.

This border post (Граничен Премин Ќафасан/Graničen Premin Ḱafasan, Vendkalimi Kufitar Qafë Thanë) is the main crossing point between North Macedonia and Albania. We don't recommend using it, as Albanian customs officers are overzealous here. Some cases of theft and corruption have been reported. It's best to cross to the other side of Lake Ohrid, at the Saint-Naum-Tushemisht border crossing, between the Saint-Naum monastery and the town of Pogradec.

Since 2006, the Basse-Normandie region has been involved in the development of the Republic of Macedonia. A cooperation office with bilingual staff was opened in Skopje in order to meet the needs of actors interested in cooperation.

This border crossing is located between the village of Pelince/Пелинце (140 inhabitants), in Northern Macedonia, and the monastery of Prohor Pčinjski/Прохор Пчињски, in Serbia. It's less busy than the Tabanovce-Preševo crossing on the freeway near Kumanovo. But as there are fewer customs officers here, it can quickly become a waiting game. Following the Pčinja river, the road passes through beautiful countryside and connects with the Serbian town of Vranje/Врање, 35 km to the northwest.

About € 45 for a 500 g package to Western Europe.

About € 45 for a 500 g package to Western Europe.

This is the main crossing for cars and trucks between Northern Macedonia and Serbia. It lies between the Macedonian village of Tabanovce/Табановце and the Serbian municipality of Preševo/Прешево. The latter has a population of around 59,000, 90% of whom are Albanian. Tabanovce has a population of around 800, 36% Serbian, 29% Macedonian and 26% Albanian. The village is home to a beautiful abandoned mosque dating from the late ^16th century.

The French Embassy (Амбасадата на Франција во Северна Македонија/Ambasadata na Francija vo Severna Makedonija) is located in Skopje, in the Vodno district below Mount Vodno. There is also an honorary consulate in Bitola, the Institut français de Skopje (700 m southwest of Macedonia Square, ifs.mk) and the École française internationale de Skopje (Karpoš IV district, 4 km west of the city center, efis.mk), which is part of the private Odyssey network.

This border crossing between Macedonia and Greece (Граничен Премин Меџитлија-Ники/Graničen Premin Medžitlija-Niki, Τελωνείο Νίκης-Μετζίτλια/Telonio Nikis-Metzitlia) is little used, but amazing with its peacocks passing between stationary cars. On the Greek side, we pick up the Egnatia Odos freeway at Florina/Φλώρινα (Lerin/Лерин in Macedonian), a pleasant, very multi-ethnic town of 20,000 inhabitants (Macedonians, Greeks, Roma, Albanians and Aromanians).

This consulate (Француски Конзулат/Francuski Konzulat) reports to the embassy in Skopje. It is headed by Honorary Consul Kaliopa Stilinoviḱ, a Macedonian and French-speaking volunteer with few powers. The consulate was established in 1854 and closed in 1941. It was reopened in 1996, inaugurated by Philippe Séguin, former mayor of Épinal, with which Bitola is twinned. Bitola is also home to the Alliance française, at 39, rue Pece-Maticevski (facebook.com/alliancebitola).

Closed since 1967, this border post with Greece (Граничен Премин Маркова Нога-Лемос/Graničen Premin Markova Noga-Lemos, Διέλευση Λαιμού-Μάρκοβα Νόγκα/Dielefsi Laimou-Markova Noga) was due to reopen in 2023 or 2024. It will finally enable a complete tour of the Prespa Lakes via Albania. The post in Northern Macedonia owes its name Markova Noga ("Marko's leg") to a stone that appears to bear a footprint attributed to the Serbian prince Marko (^14th century).

Created in 2020, this border crossing is located between the village of Jažince/Јажинце (approx. 900 inhabitants, almost all Albanian), or Jazhincë/Jazhinca in Albanian, in Northern Macedonia, and that of Glloboçicë/Glloboçica (approx. 800 inhabitants, almost all Albanian), or Globočica/Глобочица in Serbian, in Kosovo. It is the only road link between the Šar Mountains National Park in Northern Macedonia and the Šar Mountains National Park in Kosovo.

It is one of the three crossing points between Northern Macedonia and Bulgaria. It is 11 km from the Bulgarian village of Logodaj/Логодаж (population approx. 300). Few vehicles pass through here, and formalities are generally swift. 26 km east of the border, Blagoevgrad/Благоевград (population 29,000) is the capital of Pirin Macedonia, home to the Rila National Park (810 ^km2) and the Pirin National Park (403 ^km2), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This border crossing (Граничен Премин Блато/Graničen Premin Blato, Vendkalimi Kufitar Bllato) isn't really interesting, as, on the Albanian side, the roads are in very poor condition, both to Peshkopi, under the western slope of Mount Korab, 19 km to the north, and to Tirana, the capital, 90 km to the southwest. Bus companies and most motorists prefer to use the Kafasan-Qafa border crossing near Struga, on the shores of Lake Ohrid. That said, a roadworks project is planned on the SH 6 road linking Tirana.

This border crossing (Граничен Премин Свети Наум/Graničen Premin Sveti Naum, Vendkalimi Kufitar Tushemisht) is located between the Saint Naum monastery and the village of Tushemisht (population 300), in Albania. It provides a link to the town of Pogradec on Lake Ohrid, 8 km to the west. From here, you can reach the pleasant town of Korça (41 km to the south), visit Prespa National Park (50 km to the southeast) or head back towards Tirana (126 km to the northwest via Elbasan).

This is North Macedonia's busiest border crossing, between Bogorodica/Богородица and Evzoni/Ευζώνων, in Greece. Hundreds of trucks pass here every day to or from the major port of Thessaloniki. Controls have become stricter due to the large number of illegal migrants. As a result, customs officers can take up to 1 hour to check just fifteen vehicles. And then there's the ugly sight of Gevgelija's first casinos as soon as you cross the border.