What a visitor's money does in North Macedonia: every guide rated from very cheap to very expensive, cheapest first, then the things that cost travellers money without buying anything — the ATM, the taxi, the SIM.
Macedonian Denar (MKD) · 1 EUR = 61.5 MKD · 1 USD = 54.7 MKD
Pay in denars. The denar is managed against the euro and barely moves, and many guesthouses quote in euros; paying the euro price is usually fair, but change comes back in denars. Exchange offices (menuvačnica) in the old town and on Bulevar Turistička give a fair rate with no commission. The denar is hard to sell outside the country.
Avoid: machines offering to charge you in your own currency
Use: Komercijalna Banka, Stopanska Banka, NLB, Halkbank
Many places quote in euros and will take them; change comes back in denars. Boatmen and small restaurants want cash.
Lake fish, but know what you are getting: Ohrid trout has been protected by a fishing ban for years, so what is on the menu is farmed or a different trout. Tavče gravče — beans baked in a clay dish — and a shopska salad are the standing order, with Macedonian wine from Tikveš. Eat a street back from the lakefront.
Tavče gravče, ajvar, pastrmajlija — a meat-topped flatbread from Štip — and grilled kebapi in the bazaar. A kafana lunch with a shopska salad and a Skopsko is cheap anywhere. Debar Maalo is where Skopje eats in the evening, and better value than the restaurants on the square.
The cost rating is this site's own, for a visitor, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in. The general rules — the conversion prompt, shoulder season, the airport taxi — are in budget travel tips.
