Skopje: Lake Ohrid Day Trip & UNESCO Old Town Walking Tour｜North Macedonia

Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest and deepest lakes in Europe and it sits on the border between North Macedonia and Albania. The town above it has been continuously lived in for thousands of years, and UNESCO lists the region for its culture and its nature at once, which only a handful of places in Europe manage.

Getting there is the honest part of this day. Ohrid is about three hours from Skopje on the highway, each way, so this is a full day that starts at 08:30 and gets back in the evening. We say so up front because it is the fact that decides whether this trip is for you.

Once you are there your guide takes the old town on foot. The ancient theatre, cut into the hillside and still in use. Plaošnik, where the churches were rebuilt on their own foundations. The lanes where the houses lean out over the street. The walls of Samuel's Fortress on the ridge above everything. Then down the boardwalk that hangs over the water and around the headland to the church of St John at Kaneo, the small stone church on the cliff that half this country's postcards are photographs of.

The afternoon is intentionally left without additional activities so you can peacefully enjoy the most beautiful Macedonian city. Swim between June and September, take a table on the lakefront, walk back up for the fortress, or sit and do nothing for three hours. Entry tickets and meals stay in your hands, which keeps the base price honest and the day unhurried. Evening return to Skopje.

If you would rather have an hour of it planned, the second option adds a boat from the harbour out under Kaneo with a swim stop off the boat, weather and season permitting. The free afternoon is still there either way.

Groups start from 2 people.