Quick Get way ~ 7th September - 10th September 2022
Airline - Accommodation - Transport - Telecommunication - Local currency
Airline
We must admit that this was the worst flights we had bought going to North Macedonia and coming back. We booked with Wizzair, an airline which we had previously used without a problem and the tickets only cost us 109 Euros for both of us back and forth, non priority, paid seats and no checked in luggage.
When we were on our way to our getaway, we ended up with a delay of 2 hours, thanks to Malta International airport. A person managed to board the plane with an expired ticket, when he had to go through 3 security gate, one of which was the police (since we were heading to an Non-EU country). The crew only realized, when the person was on the plane and they could not figure out who it was. They wanted to know how many people are on the plane and instead of taking the capacity of the plane and deducting the empty seat, they counted each and every person for God knows how many time with no success. We ended up needing to show the boarding pass and passport again one by one. Not to mention that the list of passengers that they had was not in order according the rows, but according to names! All this while we were stuck in confined space on the plane and not even allowed to use the restroom!
Coming back we also experienced almost a 3 hour delay (at least we were at the airport not on the plane). The only drawback was that the place where our gate was ( Gate 106), there was no wifi available, and mind you the airport is very small so.... Eventually we had to change gates to board, only to be given random seats, when we had paid for our seats and to be near each other) all because they had a fault in the plane. They got one from Bulgaria which is smaller and some people ended up started due to this. Please note that staff were not understanding at all. When I complained about the seats and that I wanted to stay near my husband, the answer was that if the person next to my husband agrees then we will change.... what kind of answer is that? This makes me question if it is even worth it to pay for the seats in the first place.
Accommodation
We got our accommodation through airbnb. For 3 nights 80.49 ( € 63.00 for the nights, € 6.00 cleaning fee and € 11.49 service fee)
Located in an old building in the heart of Skopje. It is a studio apartment so perfect for a couple.
The location is great as it is walking distance from almost everything but keep in mind that sine it is the city center there were a lot of events every night. For example; when we arrived there was the beer fest which lasted for a long time and in the morning you can hear noses as well thus need to keep in mind that it is not a quite location. In addition, since there were no shutters you automatically wake up because of the light.
One other good thing about the place was that we got a discount from a specific restaurant for Staying at Jovan's Apartment.
Regarding the host, he was very friendly and understanding. Our flight was delayed by 2 hours and instead of arriving at 5.45 we ended up arriving at 9pm, we were communicating with Jovan contentiously with no problems. He also gave us some tips about locations we should visit and food that we should try.
Address: 11th October Street No.2-4/2, Skopje, Skopje 1000, North Macedonia
https://www.airbnb.com.mt/rooms/20013736?source_impression_id=p3_1662844772_6tw%2F5qhIrqrVgklH
Overall the accommodation is value for money. But if you ar looking for something more high end in Skopje and not at much in the city center, Jovan has another apartment a bit further away. You can follow the link below to check it out.
https://www.airbnb.com.mt/rooms/586985175319669846?source_impression_id=p3_1662845459_SQrMNTD1CpxX62aq
Transport
Public Transport was something that we could not understand at all there. It was all over the place. It started from the time that we landed. A bus at 8.30pm was supposed to arrive to take us to the city center, but it never came. Thank God we randomly made friends with another couple who also traveled from Malta and we share a Taxi. Keep in mind that the Taxi fairs at the airport are regulated and costs 25Euro.
To go back to the airport you shall wait at the bus stop right across holiday inn hotel (as in the photo) website says that tickets are 199 but actually 200 and they accept both cash and card but they only accept cash. My Husband had to pay with Euros (although first the driver did not accept) but instead of paying 3.33 for the ticket he payed 4 euro. In addition, the website says you will have wifi but you don't. On the bright side, the bus to the airport was on time.
We had planned that on the 08/09/2022 we will go get some bus tickets and explore the area, but it happened to be a public holiday and everything was closed. For bus tickets we had to walk it to the Bus Station. Hardly anyone spoke English, but a cleaning lady noticed that we were lost and explained to us in German (husband actually understands German so we were saved). During the public holiday it seemed that public transport was free as when we boarded each bus, the driver told us it is free. You need to be informed that there is no wifi at the bus station and bus stops.
It is very difficult to identify if a ticket is validated. Reason being is that all you do is scan the ticket but you will have nothing written on it (the date and time the ticket has been validated. To continue with this, the day tickets are valid from 5am till midnight not 24hours from the time you validate the ticket.
Some things which we found difficult along the way were:
Buses were on service but going around without a number
Google Maps was not very reliable as it is missing a lot of information
Bus stops were not all Marked (somebus stops look like the photo below or a pole with the bus number on it as shown). Plus, there is nothing showing which buses go through that bus stop. There was an LED screen but most of them did not work.
The Bus Time table was all over the place, if you actually get to see the time table that is, as it is not written at the bus station or the bus stops.
On buses, nothing shows the next stop.
something very important to take note of is that if you are planning to go to Matka Cannyon, the bus does not go to the last stage, thus when going back to Skopje Center, it is better to walk up to where the bus stops you.
Telecommunication
The rates from Malta are sky high (as per the photo below). To add to this there was no public wifi in most of places, if there was it was difficult to connect to.
Unfortunately, we were unable to get a tourist sim card as we arrived late and the following day was a public holiday, although the couple we met got their simcard from the Bazar but we are not sure from which shop exactly.
Local curency
We used Revolut as it worked and had a great exchange rate. We were advised to not withdraw a lot of cash as a lot of places accept card but do have some on you as some won't accept anything expetcash. For example: stalls in the Bazar, the bus to the airport and the Matka Canyon Boat Ticket.Cash can be withdrawn from an ATM which, but limited to withraw in denomidations of 500 Denars.
Approx exchange rate at the time of our stay was 1 euro = 62MKD from the revolut card.
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