Planning your trip to Macedonia? This post will cover all you need to know about Macedonia currency, so you can be better prepared for your trip than I was!
Macedonia is a SEVERELY underrated travel destination! Filled with beautiful nature, gorgeous cafes, abundant shopping, and plenty of tourism opportunities, you won’t want to miss this place!
Not to mention that Macedonia will be much kinder to your wallet than other countries in Europe, such as Italy or France, are.
So what currency is used in Macedonia? How do you get prepared? Here are my tips!
Macedonia Currency: The Lowdown
Macedonia currently has its’ own currency: the Macedonian Denar (MKD). When I traveled to Macedonia (August 2023), the rate was more than 50 denar to 1 US dollar.
Again, in August 2023, $1 USD = 50 MKD. So that means a LOT of bills.
However, I arrived in Macedonia without local Macedonian currency. All I had was euros!
Silly me didn’t do any research, and since it was my first time in Europe EVER, I assumed that Macedonia would be using euros. And I wasn’t totally wrong!
When I arrived, we learned that some folks were willing to accept euros (including taxis).
However, some places (museums and shops) ONLY accepted denar. The first time we encountered this was at a museum in Skopje. We were told to exchange money at the bazaar, which was nearby.
Exchanging from Euros to Macedonia Currency (Denar)
At the bazaar, we asked around and were directed to an exchange shop where we were able to exchange our euros for a very fair rate. I took a photo of the shop below, in case you find yourself at the bazaar.
The man at the exchange shop was also very friendly. He gave us some 1000 denar bills, and when I asked for 500’s, he handed me a whole wad of them and then winked when I looked surprised.
Obviously I didn’t keep the whole wad, and he just exchanged my 1000’s to 500’s. But it was still funny to encounter such a relaxed behavior over so much money.
At my bank in the US, I exchanged $250 USD to euros. In four days, we spent 150 of that (our hotels were already paid for online). We usually exchanged 50 euros at a time, and that worked well for us!
Summary
When going to Macedonia, it’s best to have some Macedonia currency on hand before you travel. However, if you’re able to get euros, it’s very easy to convert from euros to Denar once in Macedonia.
I’m sure it’s possible to convert USD and other currencies, as well, but it may be harder to find vendors who accept less widely used currencies.
Part of the reason that euros are easily accepted in Macedonia is because it’s a European country, so locals have ways of using euros in their everyday lives.
That being said, if I showed up with my Chinese RMB, I’d probably have a harder time getting it exchanged.
However you go about it, just make sure to check exchange rates online, so you can be sure that you’re getting a fair rate!
So that’s the scoop on the currency situation in Macedonia! Still have questions? Drop them in the comments, I’d love to answer them!
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