Having spent a wonderful 4 nights in the Bay of Kotor, our next stop was to be Skopje in Macedonia. Whilst both countries are in the former Yugoslavia, the Kotor to Skopje route is not altogether a common one. The Kotor to Skopje road trip by car requires 3 border crossings and passes through 4 countries. We had opted to drive to provide us with a ‘travel day’. It was an opportunity to enjoy travelling through four countries, and to avoid the sometimes onerous airport experience. That, and we love a good road trip! Google Maps will tell you the Kotor to Skopje journey should take around 6 hours and 30 minutes. In this part of the world though, Google has a bit of work to do!
Our driver, Dragan was from Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital. He’d already had his own journey today, which he told us took some 4 hours. The severe lack of dual carriageways in the Balkans can take its toll on traffic, that’s for sure.
We commenced the journey in the rain. After nothing but sunshine since arrival, we’d timed our exit perfectly. We headed south via Budva, the popular beach resort town. Budva is a lot busier than Kotor which is protected by UNESCO. Most visitors come via cruise ship which dock almost daily during peak season.
From Budva we continued down the coast, past the exclusive resort of Sveti Stefan. David Beckham and his family spent 2 weeks holidaying here recently, so now has some notoriety. The drive is a nice one, winding along the coast in something reminiscent of the Amalfi coast. High, winding roads with nothing but glimmering seas and mountainous drops.
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Hello Albania
Our first border control was a breeze. The Montenegrin side was a quick stamp and we were off. The Albanian border patrol was non-existent. A shame for us, missing out on an Albanian passport stamp.
I had heard many stories about Albania. Whilst we didn’t get to the capital or see a whole lot of the country, I was impressed with what we saw. We stopped for lunch in a town called Shkoder, some 20-30 minutes from the border. We spent lunch overlooking Razafa Castle. It was a beautiful spot, and the accompanying restaurant prices were equally pleasing. Large pasta dishes for $AU4 and drinks for 50c-$1. I had to check they charged us for everything when I got the bill!
A surprising drive through Albania
With a full belly, we continued the drive through Albania. There is a mix of barren landscapes and some stunning mountain ranges. We were in shock once more travelling via the A1 highway. Up to four lanes in parts, this highway cut through some of the mountain ranges with wide, smooth roads. It was only finished in 2009, serving to connect Albania and Kosovo better. Its existence was a massive plus for us, as without it, who knows how long the journey would take.
Our final pit stop in Albania was a small road side shop. The shop had a long walkway, blanketed with flowers. The owner was finishing his on the minute mopping of the floor. The shop was immaculate and his bathroom as clean as you’d see in any top restaurant. The owner took so much pride in his shop, garden and backyard. He encouraged us to head outside and enjoy the mountain views. It might have only been a roadside convenience store, but it’s great to see investment grow wonderful businesses at the same time.
Europe’s newest nation – Kosovo
It was nearing 6pm when we hit the Kosovo border. This was also an intriguing place for us to visit. I grew up with Kosovo a regular backdrop on the evening news. As one of the world’s newest nations, I wanted to see how Kosovo had rebuilt, even if only on a drive through. We got more than we bargained for.
We passed through customs, and Dragan had some issues with his passport. For reasons unknown to us or him, he needed to pay a €15 entry into Kosovo. He could come and go as much as he liked for 60 days post. For us Australians, there was no fee. After many hours in the car together, this was the point that Dragan shared his news. He’d never been to Kosovo. We’d mostly arranged a driver for Kotor to Skopje in the hope the driver would be familiar with the route.
He assured us he knew where he was going. This despite his lack of GPS, a street directory or phone service. I was naively positive that we’d find it easy enough to find our way to Skopje.
Heading into Kosovo from the border, there are a lot of new roads. New buildings too, with many still under construction. The KFC is new and shiny and appeared to be major drawcard for the locals with a line out the door. Say what you want about fast food. It is a symbol of growth and confidence in small nations like this and clearly was already a hit in Kosovo.
I think we’re lost…
For a country with so many new roads, it was like someone forgot to also install accompanying road signs. There were sparse signs, except for the odd sign to the capital, Pristina. We didn’t have any mobile service, but had pre-loaded the trip onto Google Maps. That route took us via freeway to the edge of Pristina. It was the long way around, but it looked an easier trip given it was a high quality motorway.
Dragan started enquiring with us whether he thought we were on the right track. Google Maps had us going in the right direction, so we were still somewhat confident. We then hit a fork in the road and this is where the real fun began.
We veered off our trusty Google Maps pre-load. We let Dragan know and he enquired at the next service station. Lots of animated exchanges and outreached arms, led Dragan to a new found confidence. And so we drove.
No Pristina, Suva Reka!
Once again, we appear to be veering in an odd direction. We let Dragan know we needed to head towards Pristina. “No Pristina, Suva Reka! Not Pristina”. If you’ve ever watched the movie Eurotrip with the main character trying to hitch hike to Berlin, the confusion levels were on par save for the extreme storytelling! It became evident he’d received some advice. It was very much to avoid Pristina and to cut through the Kosovar mountains. I’ve mentioned the lack of signs. I didn’t hold much hope through the mountains for any directions.
Over the next hour, we drove through villages as the sun went down in a stunning sunset. Kids played football in the streets and men sat around chatting outside homes. We stopped at a roadside fruit stand. Another petrol station. A guy on the side of the road. It was all quite comical. And whilst I don’t speak Serbian, I was sure there was conflicting advice!
We pushed on through the mountains and we seemed to be slowly, surely, but not very directly heading towards Skopje. It was kind of like when Google Maps has you in the wrong place and it floats back towards where you are!
We hit another major town at this point where Saturday evening was being enjoyed by many on the street. Finally, our long sought after motorway looked only a short distance away. At a roundabout somewhere though we ended up down a goat track. So we began the dalliance with another 2 service stations and another guy on the side of the road. I’m disappointed not to be able to have heard or understood the conversations!
And finally, we meet our motorway which takes us to the Macedonian border. We then hit maximum confidence – a road sign with Skopje on it! We head onwards to Skopje and the relief that lost had became found was palpable.
Macedonia – so close you can smell it!
Dragan asked for the address of the hotel which we gave him. We were staying right on Macedonia Square. Some context. If you were in New York, this would be Times Square or in London, Piccadilly Circus. It is a central landmark that is hard to miss!
We needed a little help from one last person. This time we accosted a taxi driver from a taxi stand. He was kind enough to play escort and take us right to the door. We must have had 15 people provide some sort of direction throughout the hilarious trip.
Throughout, Dragan kept laughing. We did too, except for the time we thought we were driving in circles. The road trip ended up taking 11 hours in total. We did get to see a lot more of Kosovo than we’d intended. It was a much more eventful trip than we could have planned for a transfer. And surely not the most direct Kotor to Skopje route you’ll find. Big ups to Dragan for getting us to Skopje in the end. I can only hope his drive back to Podgorica was a bit easier!
It’s cliche to suggest it’s about the journey and not the destination, but in this case, it turned out to be very accurate! If you’re planning to get from Kotor to Skopje, we might recommend a more direct route. But if you want a story, jump in the back with Dragan. What a road trip!