Content:
Travelling by Car
Travelling by Bus
Travelling by Plane
Notes on travelling through Serbia
By car:
Prishtina is easily accessible by car, that is if you don’t mind driving. Roads are fairly good, and there are no toll tolls within Kosova, even on highways.
Suggested roads and border crossings:
If you are travelling from or through the geographies of Slovenia, Northern Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, and Rumania:
We suggest you travel through Serbia, past the city of Kuršumlija, towards the border crossing of Merdarë (Merdare). From then on in Kosova, past the city of Podujevë using road M25 towards Prishtina. As an alternative crossing point, we advise the Mutivodë (Mutivoda) crossing, then towards Prishtina using the road 125.
We highly advise against crossing the border at the points of Jarinjë (Rudnica) and Bërnjak (Tabalije) as they tend to close anytime there is some political shitstorm brewing.
Note that June is a season when diaspora tends to come to the Balkans, meaning that there will be considerably more cars on the road and possible congestion in the border crossings, not only in Kosova, but also in borders between Serbia and Croatia and Hungary, therefore plan your trip accordingly. You can find the real time information on border crossing waiting times on the internet.
Also note that when you input Prishtina in the google maps, it shows you the route through Macedonia. In order to fix that, search the crossing of Merdarë or Mutivodë, then when you cross navigate towards Prishtina. In order to understand why google maps shows you a long route, read the part below “Note on travelling through Serbia”
Some estimates of km and time towards Prishtina
Niš: 120 km – 3h
Belgrade: 351 km – 5h
Novi Sad: 447 km – 6h
Sarajevo: 451 km – 8h
Timișoara: 460 km – 7h
Bucharest: 697 km – 10h
Zagreb: 747 km – 9h
Rijeka: 905 km – 10h
Maribor: 859 km – 9h30’
Ljubljana: 883 km – 10h
If you are travelling from or through geographies of Southern Croatia, Montenegro, Albania:
We suggest to travel through Albania, through the city of Milot (E851), towards the crossing point of Morinë (Vërmicë). From then on use the highway R7 towards Prishtina.
Although it’s a turistic season and tens of thousands of people cross between Kosova and Albania daily during summer months, there is usually no waiting time.
Some estimates of km and time towards Prishtina
Tirana – 260 km – 4h
Podgorica: 257 km – 4h30’
Mostar: 532 km – 8h
Split: 663 km – 9h30’
If you are travelling from or through geographies of Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey:
We suggest to travel through Macedonia, past the city of Veles (A1), towards the crossing point of Hani i Elezit (Bllacë). From then on, use the highway R6 towards Prishtina.
Some estimates of km and time towards Prishtina
Skopje: 91 km – 1h30’
Ohrid: 254 km – 3h30’
Sofia: 333 km – 5h
Thessaloniki: 320 km – 4h
Kavala: 456 km – 5h’30
Plovdiv: 489 km – 6h
Ioannina: 542 km – 6h
Athens: 790 km – 9h
Istanbul: 900 km – 12h
By Bus
If you plan to travel by bus, there are some direct lines with cities around the Balkans. Furthermore, there are regular lines with some cities in europe (For ex. Brussels, Vienna, Stuttgart), and some of them pass by some bigger Balkan cities. Below you will find some basic information.
In this site, you may find information regarding bus lines (note always try to double check the information as the sites may have some inaccurate information): https://travel.gjirafa.com/en
Direct bus lines (most of them daily):
To and from Tirana
To and from Skopje
To and from Podgorica
To and from Niš
To and from Belgrade
To and from Novi Sad
To and from Zagreb
To and from Ljubjana
Connecting bus lines:
If you are travelling from Bosnia and Rumania: Connect through the bus line that goes from Belgrade. Buses often will stop at some designated point in the highway (like gas pump or entry to a city), taken that you coordinate with the bus company where to pick you up.
If you are travelling from Bulgaria and Greece: Connect through Skopje.
If you are travelling from the EU: check the bus lines that may be passing through or close to your city.
By Plane
If you plan to come by plane, Prishtina Airport is the most suitable one. Alternatively, Skopje airport and Tirana airport are a bit further away but are much better connected with flights, so consider both those airports as alternatives.
Prishtina Airport:
Distance and time: 30km – 30’
How to come from the airport
Bus line a1:
Every hour from 7am – 12 am. See the timetable at https://trafikurban-pr.com/orari-dhe-linjat
Price: 1.5 Euros (one way)
Taxi:
We propose that you call a radio taxi from Prishitna and not use airport taxis as they tend to overcharge (especially if you are a foreigner). You can arrange a radio taxi beforehand to pick you up at the airport (usually reachable through viber and WhatsApp).
Price: appx. 15 Euros
Some RadioTaxi numbers (also you can find others online):
Tesla taxi: +38344501501 / +38349501501
Golden taxi: +38344300300 / +38349300300
Urban taxi: +38344151515 / +38344151515
Skopje Airport:
Distance and time: 112 km – 2h
How to come from the airport
Buses:
There is no direct bus line from the Skopje airport to Prishtina. One way to do it is use the airport shuttle to Skopje and then take a bus to Prishtina. Note that the the buses from and to Skopje from Prishtina, start from appx 6am – 6pm, so, depending on the time of your flight, buses may not be suitable.
Bus from Skopje airport to Skopje:
Price usually about 3.20 Euro (one way).
Pay in cash only in local currency MKD, or with card
timetable: https://www.wtransporter.com/#timetable
Bus from Skopje to Prishtina
Price usually about 8.5 Euros (one way).
Pay in cash only in the bus (MKD or EUR), or buy a ticket at the bus station (only in MKD or card)
Timetable: can be found here https://travel.gjirafa.com/en
Taxi:
There is a possibility to take a direct taxi from Skopje Airpot to Prishitna. As the airport is often used, the taxis from Prishtina have some good prices overall (the taxis from Skopje or Skopje Airport are much more expensive), especially if you are coming as a group. Just make sure you contact the company beforehand to arrange to pick you up.
Price: appx. 50 Euros – 70 Euros (in July expect the higher price)
Some RadioTaxi numbers (also you can find others online):
Tesla taxi (cheapest offer): +38344501501 / +38349501501
Golden taxi: +38344300300 / +38349300300
Urban taxi: +38344151515 / +38344151515
Tirana Airport:
Distance and time: 240 km – 3h30’
How to come from the airport
Buses:
Buses that travel between Tirana and Prishtina pass by Tirana airport, so you may use those buses for travel to Prishtina. Note that buses start their shift from appx. 6am – 8 pm.
Timetable: can be found here https://travel.gjirafa.com/en
Price: usually 15 euros (one way)
Taxi:
There is a possibility to take a direct taxi from Tirana Airport to Prishtina. With this said, taxis from Prishtina are not that cheap, but still do the trick, especially if you are a group. Just make sure you contact the company beforehand to arrange to pick you up.
Price: appx. 110 – 140 Euros
Some RadioTaxi numbers (also you can find others online):
Tesla taxi: +38344501501 / +38349501501
Golden taxi: +38344300300 / +38349300300
Urban taxi: +38344151515 / +38344151515
Note on travelling from and to Serbia
As you know, we live in nationalist clusterfuck that makes everything more complicated. There is this curious problem that one may face, depending on the route, if you plan to travel in between Kosova and Serbia. This may seem complex but it’s fairly straightforward. So we will explain in bullet points and wider explanation below:
If you enter Kosova from Serbia: No problem
If you enter Kosova from Serbia and then go back through Serbia: No problem
If you want to enter Kosova from Serbia and continue your journey anywhere else but Serbia: No Problem.
If you enter Kosova from Albania, Macedonia or Montenegro, and after you want to continue to go to Serbia: Problem. You have to go through Macedonia or Montenegro.
So in short, as Serbia does not recognize Kosova, coming from Serbia to Kosova and going back presents no problem as it considers it the same territory. But if you enter Kosova from any other border and wish to continue towards Serbia (for example: you come from thessaloniki to BAB in Prishtina and want to continue to Buchurest), you cannot enter through the crossings between Kosova and Serbia, as Serbia considers that you have entered illegally to its territory. Then the only way is to go out of Kosova and enter through any other border. People usually go from Prishtina to Skopje then onward through Serbia.