I’m writing this post for everyone who googles this question and would otherwise have to spend hours researching how to do this journey, like I did yesterday! So here you go guys…
Ohrid is in the south of Macedonia, and Meteora is in the north of Greece – pretty easy, huh? Nope. If you’re driving, it’s only about 250km, just cross the Macedonian/Greek border and head south, but public transport is a whole different story. So if you want to go from Ohrid to Meteora, these are your options:
A) Ohrid -> Albania -> Meteora (approx.. 10 hours and 35 Euro)
From Ohrid, take the 6.15am bus to the Albanian border (45 minutes/$3).
Walk across the border, then on the Albanian side, take a taxi to Pogradec (15 minutes/$7 – ripoff, but nothing you can do).
In Pogradec, get the taxi to drop you at Alvavel bus/tourist company (Rrruga Rwia road). They run countless buses to Greece.
Alvavel run a bus from Pogradec to Athens which stops at Larissa, quite near to Kalambaka, which is close to Meteora. There’s a bus from Pogradec to Larissa at 8.30am, 12.30 and 15.30, and the cost is an extortionate 20 Euro ($25). It arrives in Larissa around 3pm.
From the bus station in Larissa you have to connect to another bus station in the city, then take a bus to Kalambaka and base yourself there, day trip it the 7km to Meteora the next day. Bam! Success! This was my choice.
B) Ohrid -> Skopje -> Thessaloniki -> Meteora (20 hours, 35 Euro)
From Ohrid, head back to Skopje around 5pm the night before you take the bus to Thessaloniki.
There are buses from Skopje to Thessaloniki each morning around 6.30-8.00. They take around 4 hours. (The train no longer runs, due to Greece’s economic crisis)/
From Thessaloniki you can take a bus to Kalambaka, it takes around 3 hours and costs around 14 Euro ($17). Base yourself there, day trip it the 15km to Meteora the next day. Done.
C) Ohrid -> Bitola -> Florina -> Thessaloniki -> Meteora
Take the bus from Ohrid to Bitola (one hour, $3)
From Bitola take a taxi to the Greek border ($6, 20 minutes)
From the Greek border take a taxi to Florina ($30, 45 minutes)
From Florina you can connect to Thessaloniki ($10, 90 minutes)
From Thessaloniki you can take a bus to Kalambaka, it takes around 3 hours and costs around 14 Euro ($17). Base yourself there, day trip it the 15km to Meteora the next day. Done.
I choose option A, in my opinion the best option. Certainly the most direct. Good luck and happy travels!
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