Traveling to Kosovo via Skopje, Macedonia

So you want to go to Kosovo. Then I highly recommend doing so via Skopje, Macedonia. Traveling between Skopje and Pristina or Skopje and Prizren by bus is extremely easy, cheap, and pretty comfortable.

From Skopje’s main bus station there are buses leaving every 20-30 minutes for Pristina. The ride usually takes around 2 hours – could be a little more or a little less depending on how long it takes to cross the border or traffic – and it costs 5 euros. The border is mellow but just keep in mind that once you get a Kosovo stamp in your passport, Serbia may look down on you a little. Perhaps even draw a line through it shall you ever attempt to enter after the fact. This is only what I’ve heard, I’ve yet to find out for myself though I hope to in the not so distant future.

Once you arrive in Pristina, you should know the main bus station is about a  15-20 minute walk from the center. A taxi shouldn’t cost more than 3 or 4 euros.

From Pristina buses are going back to Skopje every hour or so for the same price and taking the same amount of time. Getting to Prizren from Pristina is also easy – it takes about 2 hours, costs 5 euros, and they are going every 30 minutes.

Between Prizren and Skopje (Shkup) your options are a bit more limited.

Currently the only buses from Prizren to Skopje leave at 5:30 am and 9 am, and the only buses from Skopje to Prizren leave at 11:30 am and 4pm. That journey takes about 3 1/2 hours and let me tell you, the scenery gets BEAUTIFUL.

The good news is that if you miss any of these (which wouldn’t be hard to do, especially from Prizren), you can always go back through Pristina to get one of the more frequent buses. Obviously it will take a bit longer but in the end it all costs the same – 9 euros.

All these times and prices are of course subject to change – you are in the Balkans after all – but from what I’ve seen on the internet, they haven’t changed all that much in the past couple of years. The most important thing is to know that it is super easy and there’s absolutely nothing to be worried about, even if you are a lone female traveler such as myself. You hear that, Mom?!

Happy travels! <3