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Costs & Money

After ditching the Yugoslav dinar in 1992, Macedonia has used the denar (coded MKD and abbreviated as ‘den’ and subdivided in 100 deni) as its official currency. The currency is stable and, at time of writing is easily remembered as being about 100den to £1. Macedonia is mostly a cash society, and although debit and credit cards are on their way, at the moment only some hotels and restaurants accept them. There are plenty of banks and exchange offices for exchanging cash, but ATMs are widespread and generally the best way to get denars as the interbank rate is better than those for cash transactions. Macedonian banks do not charge for ATM transactions, but check if your home bank does. Macedonia’s great clunky coins have animal pictures. A 50 deni has seagulls, one denar a Shar Planina shepherd dog, two denars an Ohrid trout and five denars a lynx. The colourful banknotes may seem a little garish at first, but look again for a pocket history lesson.

10den
The statue of the Egyptian Goddess Isida, and the Stobi Basilica mosaic of a peacock.

50den
A copper coin from 498AD, a stucco arch in St Pantelejmon church and an 1191 fresco from St Ghiorghi church.

100den
A wooden ceiling rosette of an Albanian house in Debar, and a 16th-century Dutch engraving of Skopje.

500den
A 6th-century BC golden death mask and a poppy.

1,000den
The 14th century icon of the Madonna in St Vrachi-Mali church, and the exterior of St Sofia in Ohrid.

5,000den
The Tetovo Maenad bronze figurine, and the Heraklea basilique mosaic.

Macedonia remains an absurdly cheap destination for travellers from the West, with the slightly inflated prices of Skopje compared to the rest of the country barely noticeable. A recommended daily budget depends entirely on the lifestyle you’re thinking of emulating whilst in the country. Five-star living can get fairly expensive, although it’s still much cheaper than the equivalent lifestyle in the likes of cities such as London, Paris or Milan. At the other end of the spectrum, staying in the cheapest accommodation and eating from supermarkets can be done on less than €15/day.