Bulgaria North Macedonia
Bulgaria 
North MacedoniaLast reviewed July 2026
Crossing the border
Bulgaria and North Macedonia share a land border you can cross by car. Keep your passport, national driving licence and International Driving Permit together, and check opening hours and any toll or vignette requirements before you travel.
Driving rules in North Macedonia
- Headlights on at all times.
- Reflective vest and triangle required.
- 0.05% alcohol limit; zero for new drivers.
- Toll motorways between major cities.
What to see when you arrive in North Macedonia
- Lake Ohrid and its lakeside churches
- the old bazaar of Skopje
- the Matka Canyon
- the monastery of Sveti Jovan Kaneo
- Mavrovo National Park
Once you're driving in North Macedonia
Destination-specific detail sourced from national road authorities, motoring clubs and rental policies — the things that catch cross-border drivers out.
Driving on a foreign licence
A foreign licence in Latin script is accepted for short tourist stays; if it is in a non-Latin script (e.g. Cyrillic, Arabic) an International Driving Permit is mandatory alongside it. Rental firms generally require the licence to have been held for at least a year.
Tolls & road charges
There is no vignette; motorways (A1 Skopje-Greece, A2 toward Albania) use staffed toll booths charging roughly 0.70-1.60 EUR per section by vehicle class. Pay in Macedonian denars, euros or by card at the booth.
Parking in the cities
Skopje has paid blue/green zone street parking with kiosks and SMS payment; illegally parked cars in zone areas are wheel-clamped or towed. Always park in the direction of traffic.
Fines & camera enforcement
Police issue on-the-spot fines (payable in cash) for speeding, no seatbelt and phone use; headlights must be on day and night or you risk a fine. Rental companies pass camera/speed fines to the renter's card plus an admin fee.
If you have an accident
Dial the single European number 112 (or police 192). For any injury or damage that cannot be settled amicably you must call the police and obtain a report; do not move the vehicles until police authorise it.
Driving in the capital
In central Skopje the paid parking zones around the main square and Macedonia Street are tightly enforced, and the chaotic roundabouts plus aggressive lane-changing around the Stone Bridge area catch out visitors.
Sources: rac.co.uk · vintrica.com · fuel-prices.eu · travel.state.gov