Beaches in Ohrid

Pick the beach by how you will get there, because the lake is much the same everywhere. Visibility reaches 22 metres and the shores are mostly pebbles. Swimming runs from June to September, the water reaches 24 to 25 °C in July and August, and the beach bars open around the first of June. Nobody charges for the beach itself. You pay for the sunbed, the drink and the parking.

The town beach and Kaneo: no car needed

The town beach has lifeguards in July and August and asks for nothing more than a towel, which makes it the quickest way into the water between the old town and dinner. In high summer go early, because the shore fills long before the evening walk along the promenade begins.

Kaneo is a pebble cove below the church of St John, with fish terraces along the water and a crowd in July and August that comes for the view as much as for the swim. You walk there on the wooden path that starts at the end of Ilindenska Street and passes the Potpeš cove, or you take the boat taxi from the harbour. Swim from the rocks under the church, then take a table on the pebbles.

Lagadin lies about 8 km south of Ohrid and suits families best. The shore is sand and gravel, with sunbeds, bars, a large car park and lifeguards in July and August. You reach it by bus or car. It is the safest choice for a first beach day outside town, because everything you forget to bring can be bought within a few steps of the water.

Peštani, about 13 km from Ohrid, shares its shore with the Bay of Bones. This shallow and sheltered cove is where the Museum on Water has rebuilt a pile-dwelling settlement from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age. A swim and a museum fit into one stop. Remember that the museum is shut on Mondays, while the water is open every day of the week.

Gradište, 15 to 20 km out, mixes pebbles with sand and keeps its bars busy with music, so it is the beach for company rather than silence. Come with a group and expect the volume to rise with the afternoon.

Trpejca, about 17 km from Ohrid, is a fishing village with a small cove and swimming from the rocks. It carries the nickname Macedonian Saint-Tropez, which is a lot to ask of a cove. In July and August arrive early, because a place this small has only so much shore to share. For quiet it is the better answer than Gradište, and the one that rewards the longer drive.

Sveti Naum and Ljubaništa: sand

Sveti Naum and neighbouring Ljubaništa lie 29 to 30 km from Ohrid and offer what the other beaches rarely do on this part of the lake, which is sand. A small fee applies. The beach works best as one part of a full day that also takes in the monastery and the springs of the Black Drim. The Albanian border is 1.2 km from the monastery. Give it an afternoon and do not hurry back.

Distances are estimates along the lakeshore road and differ by a few kilometres between sources.

When and what to bring

Plan the swim for June to September, and treat September as the calmest month of the lot. Water shoes make the pebbles bearable. Shade is scarce on the open stretches of the south shore, so bring your own cover and expect to pay for parking where the beach is busy. For a first visit the plan is simple: Kaneo for the view and Lagadin for the afternoon.

Getting aroundThe page on getting around lists the minibus to Sveti Naum and the other routes out of town.Getting around Ohrid →

Where to stayIf you want to wake up beside the water, the page on where to stay compares Kaneo, the promenade and the south shore.Where to stay in Ohrid →

Day tripsSveti Naum, Struga, Galičica and Bitola, with times and fares, are covered on the page about day trips.Day trips from Ohrid →

When to goThe climate month by month, and what winter does to the shore, is on the page about when to go.The best time to visit Ohrid →

BudgetThe budget page shows where a beach day gets expensive and where it stays free.What Ohrid costs →

3 daysThe three-day itinerary fits a swim at Kaneo into the first afternoon and the boat to Sveti Naum into the second day.Ohrid in 3 days →

FoodAfter the swim, the food page names the terraces at Kaneo and what to order on them.What to eat in Ohrid →

MistakesThe page on mistakes explains why a Monday plan built around museums falls apart, and how to spend the day by the lake instead.Mistakes everyone makes in Ohrid →