Underrated Country to Visit 2025: Expert Slow Travel Guide

Five travel experts agree on the most underrated country to visit in 2025. Our slow travel guide covers where to stay, eat, and go in North Macedonia.

The road from Skopje to Lake Ohrid takes about three hours if you do not stop. We stopped four times. Once for a roadside stand selling ajvar in jars the color of brick dust, once because a shepherd waved us down to ask where we were from, once for a monastery built in 1107 that charges no entry fee and asks only that you cover your shoulders, and once because the light coming off the water through the poplars was doing something we could not explain and did not want to drive past. That was the trip that made us stop trusting the usual lists. This year, five travel experts were each asked to name the most underrated country to visit, and they landed on the same answer without coordinating: North Macedonia. Not the Greek region, not a typo, the small landlocked country of about 1.8 million people wedged between Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece. It gets roughly a third of the tourism that neighboring Croatia does, which is either a tragedy or the entire point, depending on what you want out of a trip. ## Why the experts keep landing here The pattern in expert travel recommendations is usually disagreement. Ask five people for the best underrated travel destination and you get five answers, each defended with a personal anecdote. This time the consensus was almost suspicious. Part of it is geography. North Macedonia sits at a crossroads that has been walked for three thousand years, which means you get Roman ruins, Byzantine churches, Ottoman bazaars, and Yugoslav modernist architecture within a two hour drive. Part of it is cost. A double room in a restored Ottoman guesthouse in Ohrid still runs under 60 euros in shoulder season, and dinner for two with wine rarely breaks 30. But the deeper reason is pace. This is a country that has not yet optimized itself for visitors. Buses run when they run. Restaurant owners sit down at your table to ask what you thought. The lake, which is one of Europe's oldest and deepest, is still mostly ringed by fishing villages rather than resorts. That is a fragile thing. It will not last. ## The slow travel guide to North Macedonia ### Getting there and around Flights land at Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, with direct connections from most European hubs and a growing number from Istanbul and Dubai. From Skopje, the country is small enough that you can base yourself in two places and see most of it without rushing. Trains exist but are slow and infrequent. Buses are better. Renting a car is best if you are comfortable with mountain roads that occasionally turn to gravel without warning. We used a local agency in Ohrid rather than an international brand and paid about 25 euros a day. ### Where to actually stay | Base | Why | Nights we suggest | |---|---|---| | Ohrid | The lake, the churches, the walking | 4 to 5 | | Skopje | Bazaar, museums, day trips | 2 to 3 | | Bitola | Consul history, Pelister National Park | 1 to 2 | | Tikves wine region | Vineyards, quiet, very few tourists | 1 to 2 | Ohrid deserves the bulk of your time. The old town climbs a hill above the water, and every second doorway seems to open onto a courtyard with a fig tree and a cat. Stay inside the old town walls if you can, not in the newer hotel strip along the shore. ### What to eat, and how to eat it slowly Macedonian food is not delicate. It is generous, oily, salty, and built for long tables. Order the shopska salad, the tavce gravce (baked beans in a clay pot), and anything with peppers. The peppers here are a religion. A few things worth seeking out: - Ajvar, roasted red pepper relish, made in autumn and jarred for winter. Buy it from a roadside stand, not a supermarket. - Tavce gravce, traditionally eaten on Fridays, best in a village konoba with no menu. - Tikves wine, especially the Vranec grape, which is dark, tannic, and almost unknown outside the Balkans. - Rakija, the national brandy. Accept the first glass. Decline the fourth. Eat lunch at 2pm and dinner at 9pm. That is when the kitchens are actually ready for you. ## Our take: what we recommend We are not neutral about this. If you go, go in late September or early October. The lake is still warm enough to swim, the crowds have thinned to almost nothing, and the grape harvest is on. August is hot, packed, and full of diaspora families returning home, which is its own experience but not a quiet one. For lodging, Villa Sofija in Ohrid's old town is a small stone house with four rooms and a host who will draw you a map of her grandmother's favorite swimming spots. In Skopje, stay near the Old Bazaar rather than in the new centar; the bazaar at 7am, when the bakers are pulling bread from wood ovens, is the best hour in the city. Book a guided walk with a local historian in Ohrid rather than a generic city tour. The church of St. Sophia alone has 11th century frescoes that deserve someone who can explain what you are looking at. Expect to pay around 40 euros for two hours, and tip. Skip the [boat](https://www.boat-lifestyle.com/) tours that circle the lake in three hours. Instead, take a local fishing boat from the village of Trpejca to the springs at St. Naum, early, before the tour buses arrive at 10. ## The ethical case for going now Slow travel is not just about moving slowly. It is about spending money where it stays. In North Macedonia, a euro spent at a family guesthouse or a village winery circulates locally in a way it does not in a resort owned by an international chain. The country is also navigating a delicate identity. It changed its name in 2019 to settle a decades long dispute with Greece, and it is still building the tourism infrastructure that will define what kind of destination it becomes. The choices made in the next five years, about whether to court mass tourism or protect the lake's fragile ecosystem, will matter. Visiting now, respectfully, with local guides and local stays, is a way of voting for the version of the country you want to see in ten years. ## FAQ ### Is North Macedonia safe for solo travelers? Yes. Violent crime is rare, and solo travelers, including women traveling alone, consistently report feeling safe. The usual precautions apply in Skopje's nightlife areas, and you should register your stay with the police within 24 hours if you are not in a hotel, which your host will usually handle. ### What is the best time of year to visit? Late September through mid October is ideal. May and June are also good. July and August are hot and crowded, especially around Ohrid. Winter is quiet and cold, with skiing at Mavrovo and Popova Sapka. ### How much does a slow trip cost per day? Budget travelers can manage 40 to 50 euros a day. Mid range, with private rooms and restaurant meals, runs 80 to 110. That includes lodging, food, transport, and the occasional guided experience. It is one of the last places in Europe where that number still works.

Underrated Country to Visit 2025: Expert Slow Travel Guide

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