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Skopje · North Macedonia

Car hire and driving in Skopje

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

OverviewFlightsHotelsTrainsBusesCar rentalTours

In North Macedonia traffic drives on the right. Picking up at SKP means 16 km (10 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1061257 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648834 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648835.

Drives from Skopje

Car rental from Skopje: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Skopje to ElbasanAlbania149 km (93 mi)about 2 h 17 min
Skopje to NišSerbia153 km (95 mi)about 2 h 20 min
Skopje to TiranaAlbania153 km (95 mi)about 2 h 20 min
Skopje to SofiaBulgaria174 km (108 mi)about 2 h 39 min
Skopje to DurrësAlbania180 km (112 mi)about 2 h 45 min
Skopje to PodgoricaMontenegro185 km (115 mi)about 2 h 50 min
Skopje to ThessaloníkiGreece196 km (122 mi)about 3 h
Skopje to ČačakSerbia228 km (142 mi)about 3 h 29 min
Skopje to KragujevacSerbia229 km (142 mi)about 3 h 29 min
Skopje to VlorëAlbania235 km (146 mi)about 3 h 35 min
Skopje to PlovdivBulgaria274 km (171 mi)about 4 h 11 min
Skopje to LárisaGreece276 km (172 mi)about 4 h 13 min
Skopje to IstanbulTurkey635 km (395 mi)about 9 h 41 min
Skopje to AnkaraTurkey986 km (613 mi)about 15 h 2 min
Skopje to BerlinGermany1,316 km (818 mi)about 20 h 4 min
Skopje to BursaTurkey670 km (416 mi)about 10 h 13 min
Skopje to KyivUkraine1,170 km (727 mi)about 17 h 51 min
Skopje to İzmirTurkey627 km (390 mi)about 9 h 34 min
Skopje to RomeItaly738 km (458 mi)about 11 h 15 min
Skopje to GaziantepTurkey1,471 km (914 mi)about 22 h 26 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Auto EuropeA broker specialising in Europe, often with clearer all-in pricing for US renters.Get European rates on Auto Europe (opens www.autoeurope.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Skopje?

The right, as everywhere in North Macedonia.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.