02/06/2026
I wasn’t prepared for North Macedonia to be so quietly stunning.
We visited Prespa Lake (the sister lake to next-door Ohrid), which is surrounded by forests and snow-capped mountains, tucked into the borders with Albania and Greece.
A local fisherman in chest-high waders took us out to an uninhabited island, home to pelicans, cormorants, a surprisingly fast-moving tortoise and a 14th century church quietly perched on the hill, with no one else in sight.
Back on dry land, we were welcomed onto an apple farm bursting with pink blossom and treated to a pastry making demonstration - and, more importantly, tasting - with a talented group of local women using traditional recipes and ovens. We star-gazed, walked on empty beaches, admired bright red poppies and ventured into mountain villages.
Beyond Prespa, there were delicious vine leaf-wrapped meats paired with local wine, Skopje’s architecture and red double-decker buses, Ohrid’s lakeside churches, delicate wood carvings and Turkish coffee sipped in a mountain monastery, and the turquoise waters of Matka Canyon.
If you get the chance to visit North Macedonia, I can’t recommend it enough.
~ Nicola, Responsible Travel
Explore it with us here: www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/macedonia
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