andrewboehmer4918

We are looking to visit several countries in the Balkans. I am looking at transportation between perhaps Skopje in North Macedonia to Sarajevo Bosnia/Herzagovina. Not necessarily non-stop but what modes of transport do people expect. I am not particular to driving myself and would take a bus if they have amenities. But wondering if people have had luck with tour guides acting as transportation during the tour. We had this often in Romania where the guides were happy to drive you for extra money.

thursdaysd

I have done considerable travel in the Balkans, using exclusively buses. You may need to do some planning, one of the buses I wanted to take only ran on the weekend and I wound up revisiting Dubrovnik, which was not in my original plan.
From Skopje I went south to Ohrid and then west to Albania before going north and traveling from Dubrovnik to Mostar and then Sarajevo by bus.

Rome2Rio says that there are a couple of (lengthy) bus routes between Skopje and Sarajevo, although I would want to find information from the bus companies (probably by finding a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide for the Balkans). For info on my trip from Skopje see (links at the top of the page): https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...sed-by-skopje/

andrewboehmer4918

Thank you very much for the reply and extra thanks for the link. If you get time can you describe your bus journey? What type of amenities they have and the condition of the bus? I've only done busses in Mexico and those have been only really nice ones.

thursdaysd

I would not describe any of them as really nice. If the buses in Mexico are anything like those in Chile, say, we are talking a different animal altogether, unless things have really changed recently. There is some difference between countries, as I remember Macedonian buses were nicer than Albanian, but they are just basic transport. I don't remember whether they had toilets on board, but I do remember a stop for food and facilities on a longer trip. If you have concerns about comfort I wouldn't plan for more than, say, three hours at a time.

There are some companies, like Flixbus, that specialize in longer trips in western Europe, but I don't know whether they have made it to the Balkans. I was riding local buses. Again, I would recommend checking Lonely Planet or Rough Guide for up-to-date info.

andrewboehmer4918

Thank you again!