Working remotely in Lake Ohrid, the Balkans’ Secret Riviera
Glassy waters, classy pearls, friendly smiles, ancient history, sunset vibes… Not what comes to mind when you think of the Balkans. Yet, Lake Ohrid is exactly that. Its historical heritage rivaling Dubrovnik sans the cruise ships, the vibe is positively Lake Como — from the curvy coastline dotted with cypress trees to the beauties in flowy dresses arriving by boat at the beach restaurant to be seen at, to kids playing in the shallows with that effervescent quality of a carefree childhood, to men and women of undetermined age splitting the cool waters off the broken down pier by the port with their leathery bodies.
Lake Ohrid is a centuries old town on the Macedonian part of the Lake. Today, the town is a friendly mix of Macedonian, Albanian, and Turkish cultures with everyone seemingly coexisting peacefully and happily.
Tourism here is predominantly local, with some notable exceptions: the foreigners I have met are immigrants or descendants of immigrants to Sweden, the US, UK, and other affluent nations who come back to visit family and enjoy a relaxing week or two. The other group are Dutch expats or tourists who have apparently been quite active at investing in property here.
There are no big hotel chains, McDonald’s, H&M, or any big box stores or international brands … And it feels just so wonderful to be in a place that is unmistakably its own. Everything is local — the kebaps, the multiple kinds of crepes with a gazillion fillings, the food specialties ranging from trout to liver and the local wine, which is actually quite good (disclaimer: I’m writing this on my third glass of Rose).
Basing yourself at the bottom of the old town is the perfect position to experience everything. Runners would be happy here as the promenade extends for miles along the coast so morning runs are a delight.
I don’t run but do my little yoga practice in the morning sunshine in my garden. After my workout, I make my way to İstanbul cayci caytore — a Turkish coffee shop with the best coffee this side of Aegean Sea.
The view of the lake unveils itself to me every time I step out of my flat, brightly painted boats bobbing up on its surface behind leafy trees, the fishermen setting up their rods, mommies with strollers, joggers and cyclists passing leisurely up and down the boardwalk. It’s a lovely commute 😎
The best breakfast in town is hands down at the Chocoworld Ohrid — a Chocolate everything kind of place — as the name suggests. The surprising part is that they also serve a killer Turkish breakfast, and if you’ve ever had one you know the special experience you’re in for. It’s officially for two but if you hang around there long enough with the laptop, you’ll work up the appetite and finish the sweet stuff eventually. Ok so the big question: WiFi. The wifi there is good for working but not really for video calls. Also, it’s better upstairs, where it is also more quiet and you have a lovely view of the old market street below.
After the extended breakfast and a few work hours, it is time for a dip in those refreshing UNESCO protected waters. There are naturally some beaches in town itself but as you imagine, they are packed with people laying on top of each other. Not my kind of beach. So, two options:
A 20-minute walk/10 minute bike ride out of town there are several semi wild beaches. By semi-wild I mean that the banks of the lake are encased in stone making it easy to get in and out and that the shore itself is a pleasant grass meadow where you can just throw your towel down under a tree and enjoy the day. There used to be two nice looking beach bars there — and their shells are still standing — but legend has it UNESCO had them shut down. Too bad because they looked quite cosy and fun. So, this means that there really aren’t bathroom facilities or any place to buy water or food, so you’ll have to bring your own (you can pick it all up on the way there, in a quiosque right before the bridge).
The other beach option is located in the town itself and is a bit of a fabulous life hack. So remember those overcrowded town beaches I mentioned? If you keep walking past them, eventually you’ll hit a restaurant called Kaneo. It’s the best place in town AND it happens to have a little beach of its own. Because it’s separated from the other ones by a few turns and twists of the coastline, the crowd doesn’t get to it, so it is almost like your own private beach. The time to go there is early afternoon, because it is shielded by a cliff from the setting sun, so you’ll lose the sunshine there a little earlier than in other locations but then what you do is migrate to the restaurant where you can sit on their pier with your glass of wine enjoying the last rays of sunshine. You’re welcome 😉.
Now that you know where to swim and eat, what about the people? In my experience, I found the local people relaxed, friendly, and welcoming. None of the roughness of Bulgarians, it’s a pleasant blend of relaxed kind people who are genuinely curious, approachable, and friendly. As a solo female traveler, I feel completely safe here. It’s a family vibe, with everyone out day and night — all generations happily frolicking in the lake, tanning on the shores, or eating and drinking the night away. Miniskirts and headscarves coexist without making it a “thing.”
The only negative I have experienced so far is smoking — everyone smokes every****where. This is not the EU so European laws don’t apply here. People can and do smoke inside restaurants, which is jarring coming from the US or the EU where this has been outlawed for years. Luckily, you can sit outdoors and breathe the other way 😏
Nomad Life
This is a fantastic place to come to recharge after one of the intensely social experiences like Bansko NomadFest or any of the Nomad conferences or retreats/events. While there seems to be a small nomad/expat community here it is quite nascent and definitely not as active socially as Lisbon, Bali, Bansko… So this is your place to come back to yourself, relax, process, recharge.
Time zone
Lake Ohrid is in CET — Central European time — so you’re on the same time zone as most of Western Europe (Germany, Switzerland, etc)
You’re one hour ahead of Lisbon and London and one hour late of Sofia/Bansko.
If your clients/employer are in EST, they are 6 hours behind, so they’ll be online when it’s 15:00 for you.
This time difference is perfect for my biological rhythm because I like to have my mornings to myself — for having chill breakfasts, writing and aimless wondering, or meetings and work on the Coliving stuff.
Midterm accommodation
My apartment was €45/night rented for 10 days, I estimate you can get a monthly rental for around €600-€800 in high season and much lower in low season. Booking.com seems to have better inventory and prices than Airbnb here.
It’s quite common here to pay in cash at the property. ATMs will give you wads of cash so it’s not a problem (you’ll feel rich with so many thousands flying out of the machine 🤑).
Coworking
There are two coworks in town, both of them seem to be quite far from the lake, which is why I never got around to checking them out. I’ll leave their info here for you anyway.
Otherwise, most coffee shops have good WiFi. IMPORTANT: the WiFi in most cafes is only strong enough for working — emails, shared docs, etc — not calls and definitely not video calls. And, when the cafes are busy, WiFi has been spotty. So, for important calls or meetings with screen share, you’d have to go to the coworking or your accommodation.
The fabulous Roastery cafe is a gorgeous little spot right on the blue waters with beautiful furniture and plants, nice breakfast and WiFi.
The Food situation
Overall, the food in Ohrid is very good — you’ll find a wide variety of salads, cheeses, millions of dips and of course grilled meat and fresh fish. The fish from the lake is more than safe to eat as the lake is protected and is home to an abundant bird and fish population. It’s absolutely worth the relative splurge! Speaking of prices, typically main dishes run between €5-€15 with fresh fish being the most pricey, still coming in under €20. Food is good pretty much everywhere. I haven’t yet had a bad meal and I’m extremely picky.
There is a number of small food shops, two supermarkets, and a proper bazaar in the historical center. The bazaar is open daily and operates until around 13:00. It’s got fruit and vegetables, honey, preserves, and some local canned specialties like cheese stuffed peppers, etc. In front of the bazaar you have a local cheese shop and a fishery.
Transportation
You can get around the town walking — it won’t take more than a 25–30 minute walk from end to end along the coast. Taxis are pretty inexpensive, you can get from the center to the outskirts of the old town for €2–4. There is a taxi stand on theain street next to the market.
But… If you’re a bawler, you’ll travel by water taxi. €5 will get you from the center to Kaneo so you arrive in style and not sweaty. Pick up a water taxi at the promenade in the center.
Things to do around
Renting a car would allow you to check out the beautiful beach towns dotting the coast long between here to Albania.
Trpejca is a tiny village about a 25 minute drive from Ohrid. It’s got a handful of guest houses, two fish restaurants, a couple of cafes and a small but cosy beach. Your dream of spending an afternoon eating fish right at the beach will come true here, without crowds and at a reasonable price (an entire trout was €20). The one where we ate was Ribar and it was everything I wanted.
I highly recommend taking one of the river boat excursions foca full day’s experience sailing along the coast. The boat stops on a few historical places such as ancient churches and an archeological site with an ancient settlement, which was very cool, finishing at the Port of St. Naum — a monastery and a beach place at the Albanian border.
You have 2,5 hours there for beach and lunch. There are two restaurants there — the very picturesque Ostrovo situated between the beach and some canals and Cuba Libre. I ate at the former and whole the atmosphere was lovely, the food was quite disappointing.
As I near the end of my stay here — after the relaxing two weeks, new adventure is calling my nomadic soul — the feeling I’m left with is that of quiet beauty and tranquility. The silky waters and soft sunshine did their magic and I am fully recharged for my next move.
