Means of transport Skopje

This bus station (Скопска Автобуска Станица/Skopska Avtobuska Stanica) has numerous connections to all towns in the country (Ohrid, Bitola, Tetovo, Prilep, Kruševo, Strumica..) and also to Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Zurich and Bern in Switzerland, Istanbul in Turkey and Thessalonica (Солун/Solun) in Greece. Timetables and fares on the website. On site: ticket offices, toilets, lockers, waiting room, cafés-restaurants and shopping arcade.

This agency organizes mountain bike tours in the Skopje region (downtown, Matka Canyon and Mount Vodno) and in the rest of the country, including Mount Jakupica in the central part of the country. It also offers mountain bike rentals. Alternatively, Rent a Bike Skopje (rentabikesk.mk) can deliver a city bike or mountain bike directly to your hotel. Other bike rental companies in Skopje: BikeStop (bikestop.com.mk), MS Energy (rentabikeskopje.business.site) and Outdoor Adventure Macedonia (oa.mk).

Suspended above the city, this huge concrete station (Железничка Станица Скопје/Železnička Stanica Skopje) was the focal point when the city was rebuilt after the 1963 earthquake. It is little used today. Two small national lines run from here to Gevgelija (Greek border) via Veles, Negotino and Demir Kapija and to Kičevo via Tetovo and Gostivar. Timetables and fares on the national railway website (mzt.mk).

The North Macedonian Railway Company (Македонски Железници, Hekurudhat e Maqedonisë së Veriut) operates four passenger train lines: 1) between Skopje and Gevgelija (Greek border) via Veles, Gradsko, Negotino and Demir Kapija; 2) between Veles and Kočani via Štip; 3) between Veles and Bitola via Prilep, between Skopje and Tabanovci (Serbian border) via Kumanovo; 4) between Skopje and Kičevo via Tetovo and Gostivar. International connections with Thessaloniki (Greece), Pristina (Kosovo) and Belgrade (Serbia) are currently suspended.

ЈСП/JSP, the Skopje Public Transport Company (Јавно Сообраќајно Претпријатие Скопје/Javno Soobraḱajno Pretprijatie Skopje), operates most of the city's bus routes, including Chinese-made double-decker buses. Tickets can be purchased at JSP kiosks or via the "Skopska" app for smartphones on Google Play and App Store. The network is extensive, with frequent buses and night routes, but the signage is not necessarily well designed for tourists. See also "Macedonia Square bus stop".

This organization (Ј.П. Градски Паркинг) is in charge of parking in Skopje. There are four pricing zones: it's more expensive in the city center, and rates drop the further you go towards the suburbs. Payment is made by SMS to 144 144, sending the zone code and license plate number. Example: A3___FV343VV. Payment is made by credit card and the letter S must be texted at the end of the parking period. JP Gradski Parking also manages several closed parking lots and offers bicycles for hire.

Rule Turs/Руле Турс is the largest private bus company in North Macedonia. It has a website (sas.com.mk) with national and international bus connections to and from the Skopje bus station, all companies combined. This page is in Macedonian only, but quite practical. There is an English-language interface for ticket reservations (ruleturs.mk/tickets), but it doesn't work very well. The website sas.com.mk also provides telephone numbers for the country's main bus stations.

Since 2023, the Turkish company BinBin has been operating around 500 blue electric scooters spread across Skopje, either self-service or at twenty stations. To rent one, you need to download the "BinBin" app on Google Play or "BinBin Scooters" on App Store. This allows you to locate available scooters, as well as to purchase recharge credits by credit card. Activation and deactivation are by QR code, and you need to send a photo of the scooter at the end of use.

The bus stop "Плоштад Македонија/Ploštad Makedonjia" is served by about half of the bus lines in the settlement. For example, line No. 3 provides access to the central bus/rail station; lines^No. 4, 8 or 15, to the neighborhood of Debar Maalo, where the best restaurants are located; line No. 21, to the archaeological site of Scupi in Zlokukjani; line No. 25, to the Millennium Cross gondola on Mount Vodno, etc.

This international airport (Меѓународен Аеродром Скопје/Meǵunaroden Aerodrom Skopje) is small and modern, with cafés, fast-food outlets, ATMs, currency exchange, car rental and cabs. There is a bus service to the city center, but only 6-8 connections a day (fare MKD 200, timetables on the airport website). Buses depart from/arrive at the Holiday Inn hotel (downtown) and stop at the bus/rail station. Few air links with France: see "Getting there" in "Planning your trip".

There are no Uber, Lyft or Bolt services in North Macedonia. There are around twenty cab companies in Skopje, including Classic Taxi (+389 70 27 91 67), Teniks (+389 71 20 91 94) and Global Taxi Skopje (+389 70 51 51 80). From the center, count MKD 170 (less than €3, MKD 230 at night) for the bus/rail station, MKD 500 (approx. €8) for Matka Canyon, MKD 1,200 (€20) for the airport and MKD 6,000 (€100) for Ohrid. Check that the meter is running and, for longer distances, agree on a price before departure.