What Skopje costs

Skopje is cheap on everything bought on foot and dear on the first step out of the airport. A hostel bed costs €6–16 (dorm bed), a burek for breakfast €1.30–2.43 and a city bus ride €0.57 (card, app). The bill only moves when you step into a taxi, book a tour or order a drink in the centre, so the table below gives the basic prices and the rest of the page says where money leaves for no reason and where it need not be spent at all.

Everything per person, in euros.

Where the bill grows

Skopje is cheap until a taxi gets involved. The first big line is the airport, which sits at Petrovec about 22 km from the centre, and a taxi from there costs €20–35. The airport bus is the alternative, at €3.23 one way. Two people with a suitcase will want the taxi at an agreed price, while a solo traveller with a rucksack saves most by taking the bus.

The second line is Matka Canyon, which is where most visitors are tempted by a tour. Bus 60 from the Transport Centre costs €1.14–1.62 return, entry to the canyon is free, and the boat to the Vrelo cave is priced separately: €8.11. A private tour saves only time, so unless the day is tight the bus and the boat are the better deal. Take cash in denars, because cards are unreliable at the pier.

The third line is a drink in the centre, and a beer there runs to €2.27–4.87. The Archaeological Museum costs €6.49, with the guided tour included.

A three-star hotel has no reliable price here, because it depends on the date and aggregators give only a room average, not a price per person. So look at accommodation once you know when you are travelling, and choose the district by where you want to spend the evenings.

Day tripsWhat each day trip costs by bus, and what a tour adds on top of it.Day trips from Skopje →

Where Skopje is almost free

The best of Skopje is outdoors, and the outdoors is open. The Stone Bridge needs no ticket, the streets of the Old Bazaar are open round the clock, and the entry to the plateau of Kale has no published price list, with visitors reporting that it is free. Mother Teresa's memorial house on Macedonia Street charges nothing for entry or for the guided visit. The canyon at Matka has no entrance fee either, and the trail to the Millennium Cross on Vodno costs only the effort of the climb, since the cable car is closed.

That climb deserves a word, because it replaces the one paid ride in town. Trail 2 starts from Srednje Vodno, near the steps beside the restaurant 6 Češmi, and covers 2.1 km in about an hour with a rise of roughly 490 m to the cross at 1,066 m. There is no spring on the way, so carry water up from the city. Bus 25 from the Transport Centre takes about 40 minutes to reach Srednje Vodno, and the fare is the same €0.57 (card, app) as on any other city bus.

Even the museum bends once a month. The Archaeological Museum is free for everyone on the first Saturday of the month, and students pay nothing on Thursdays. Around those visits a whole day can be built from a bus ride at €0.57 (card, app) and a burek from a bakery, which comes to €1.30–2.43. The sums stay small until the evening, so the bill depends mostly on where you sit down to eat.

FoodBurek, kebapi and tavče gravče, with the places that serve them in the bazaar and Debar Maalo.What to eat in Skopje →

Where to stayWhich district fits which budget, from hostels near the bus station to the hotels on the square.Where to stay in Skopje →

3 daysThree days arranged so that the free sights and the paid ones do not collide with a Monday.Skopje in 3 days →

Getting aroundCity buses, taxi meters and parking, with the fares in one table.Getting around Skopje →

When to goWhich months are cold, hot or smoggy, and what that does to a plan.The best time to visit Skopje →

Hidden gemsThree places away from the usual route, none of which needs a large budget.Skopje off the usual route: Nerezi, Debar Maalo and the clock stuck at 5:17 →

MistakesThe expensive mistakes first-time visitors make, and how to avoid each one.Mistakes everyone makes in Skopje →