Guided tours Northern Macedonia

This agency offers tours and excursions by electric bicycle. It's well done with an English-speaking guide, but rather expensive: from 8,600 MKD/person (€140). The downtown tour (2h-2h30) includes visits to Stara Čaršija, Skopje Fortress and the Mother Teresa Memorial House. In the surrounding area, tours are organized to Mount Vodno (3h30-4h) and Matka Canyon (4h-5h). Multi-day excursions are also available to Ohrid and Prespa lakes and the country's four national parks.

This association (Здружението за Туристички Водичи и Придружници на Македонија/Združenieto za Turistički Vodiči i Pridružnici na Makedonija) brings together certified professional guides offering tours in North Macedonia. But it's not very responsive and its website needs updating (list of guides inaccessible, no rates displayed). Allow around 3,700/6,100 MKD (60/100 €) for a guided tour of Skopje for 1-4 people.

Located on the shore of Matka Lake and at the entrance to the canyon, near the St. Andrew's Church, this area has been home to canoe and other watercraft rental companies and companies offering boat trips to the Vrelo Cave since the 1990s. There is also a hotel-restaurant Canyon Matka and an agency Rock Climbing Canyon Matka (facebook.com/oliverpetreskirockclimbing) which organizes climbing sessions on the cliffs of the canyon under the supervision of an experienced guide.

This mountain guide agency organizes excursions in Pelister National Park and other regions. Its team is certified by the Union of International Mountain Leader Associations (UIMLA). They offer hikes to the Great Lake and Mount Pelister (10h hike), tours of the First World War trenches in the park, and winter activities with skis, crampons and snowshoes in the Šar Mountains and Mavrovo National Park, via Albania and Kosovo.

This agency is an offshoot of the Haemus association (haemus.org.mk), which brings together historians, anthropologists and archaeologists. They lead tours throughout the country. In Skopje, several themed tours are offered: Brutalist architecture, Ottoman heritage, Roma culture in Šuto Orizari, love stories in Stara Čaršija, etc. Prices according to number of participants: around €100 for 1-4 people and down to €5-7 for 20 or more. Buses: 3, 3a, 3b, 5, 15, 15a, 23, 27, 35 or 44, "TTs Biser" stop.