LOTUS EATERS TRAVEL

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10 BEST BEACHES IN OHRID: WHERE TO SWIM + RELAX AROUND THE LAKE.

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We spent around one month in North Macedonia, a large chunk of that time was around Lake Ohrid. As a devout beach lover, I was on a mission to find the best swimming spots around the lake.

Ohrid lake is a vast and wonderful place to swim, but not all beaches around it are created equally. In fact, each spot that I found offers a different perspective, water quality and facilities. Here are the 10 best beaches in Ohrid to explore.

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Ohrid Guide Book

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10 best beaches in Ohrid: A map

You can find a map of the 10 best beaches around Lake Ohrid below.

1/ Mizo City Beach – best for a hike

After catching a glimpse of Mizo City Beach from the Church of Saint John, we couldn’t resist hiking over the hill to investigate.

There are actually three beaches, but we are using “Mizo City Beach” as shorthand to refer to this sandy stretch of beach to the west of Ohrid town.

Here you can find a much quieter and laid back area, far away from the crowds of Ohrid. You won’t find umbrellas or sunbeds for rent, but for us it was an ideal place to drop towel for a few hours.

There is a handful of cafes offering frappes, cold drinks and ice creams. Otherwise, it’s just you, families from the local area and clear water of the lake. Incidentally, the water here seemed much colder than elsewhere – a quick dip was certainly invigorating!

The hike is a little steep, but once you’re at the Church, it’s downhill from there. Just save some energy for the climb back to Ohrid!

2/ Kaneo Beach – best for a full day with sun loungers

Kaneo Beach is in Ohrid Old Town, but as it is the last beach you can reach on foot (without climbing the hill up and over), it tends to be quieter than others.

To get there, continue walking after Potpesh Beach, follow the footpath behind Kaneo Restaurant and you’ll find the beach.

This is an ideal spot if you want to hire sun loungers for the day and buy drinks from the beach bar. The water here is lovely and there’s a proper marked off swimming area.

3/ Potpesh Beach – best for lively atmosphere

Potpesh Beach is found in the Old Town of Ohrid, along the board walk. It is the most popular beach in Ohrid and has a fun and lively atmosphere.

There’s a bar offering drinks, and you can rent sun loungers for the day. You can also sometimes find a spot to place a towel too. But do note, the beach gets busy on the weekends and you’ll really have to battle to find a space.

4/ Old Swimming Court – best for an impromtu dip

The Old Swimming Court (as it translates), was previously a more formal area for swimming. Today, it is somewhat of an improvised beach.

This isn’t the best place to swim owing to mossy steps around the platform, but it tends to be a quieter spot where you can find space for a towel.

Incidentally, this was also one of our most beloved perches for impromptu sunset drinks of an evening.

You can also always take advantage of any chance to take a dip along the promenade. There are lots of steps to allow you to lower down into the water. You’ll notice that many Ohrid residents come out for a swim in the early evening.

5/ Sveti Stefan Beach – an easy stroll from Ohrid

We spotted Sveti Stefan Beach when we took a boat tour to St Naum and decided to head back on a day trip from Ohrid. The walk to Sveti Stefan is around 4km, but an easy stroll as the ground is so flat. It took us around 40 minutes.

Sveti Stefan is quiet, but for a handful of beachfront hotels, bars and restaurants. It offers the chance to see the lake from a totally different perspective. Of an afternoon, the water seems to sparkle in the light. Later, the sunset from Sveti Stefan is quite special, as hues of gold dance around the lake like disco lights.

There are sun loungers to rent, or you can place a towel anywhere. The beach is not private. That said, we also enjoyed spending time under the shade of comfortable terraces with ice cold beers.

6/ St Naum Beach – most spectacular

St Naum is a small town abutting the Albanian border on Lake Ohrid. It is most well known for the monastery of the same name. But there are also two marvelous beaches here. Our favourite was the quieter of the two, found to the East of the Monastery (over the hill and back down again).

The bars along the beach leave something to be desired, so take supplies with you. The water here is quite incredible and the beach is also one of the only with sand around the lake. You can look back from the water to the quite spectacular view of the monastery.

You can only reach St Naum by boat – either taxi boat or join one of the daily tours from Ohrid, which will drop you in St Naum for a few hours.

7/ Peshtani – best for a day trip out of Ohrid

Peshtani is a quiet village around the lake from Ohrid. You can reach here either by water taxi or by local bus.

This is a relaxed place to visit for the day, with a few restaurants and bars along the shore.

8/ Labino Beach – best for getting away from it all

We found Labino Beach when we went out paddle boarding around Lake Ohrid. This beach is totally hidden meaning it feels like a wonderful secret.

You can reach it by water, boat, kayak or paddle board. But you can also get here by foot via a small footpath. If you put directions into Google Maps, it will take you there. The walk is around 15 minutes from the old town.

There are no facilities on this beach, it is just a small area of rocky shore. You’ll find that it gets busier towards the end of the day as it offers a great vantage point to watch the sunset.

We loved this beach as there are lots of trees offering shade from the heat of the day. And, it has a low key vibe.

9/ Voena Plazha – best for views of Ohrid

This beach, close to Cuba Libre Bar, is found further East around the lake from Ohrid. Follow the water around past the reeds and it is one of the first beaches that you’ll get to.

We almost didn’t visit here because the reviews on Google aren’t great, but I’m really glad we did. This is a quiet spot for sunbathing and most notably has an amazing view of Ohrid town. There’s something really special about looking across the expanse of water to the terracotta buildings carved into the hill in Ohrid.

There are loungers to rent, but we preferred finding shade under the canopy of a beautiful tree.

10/ Saraiste Beach – closest to town

Saraiste Beach quickly became our “go to” spot when we wanted an hour or so laid out on the beach with a book, but didn’t want to go too far. It is one of the closest spots to town to take a dip and relax on the shore of the lake.

There’s a small stony beach, as well a concrete platform and one or two rocky areas where you can pop a towel.

We loved the atmosphere here in early evening, when families appear and kids play in the water. One afternoon we were joined by a lolloping labrador retriever, a highlight.

There are bars on the front offering drinks, as well as a few (slightly pricey) beach bars with terraces overlooking the water. But we quite enjoyed bringing a cold drink from a nearby shop to sustain us.

Ohrid beaches FAQs

Got questions about Lake Ohrid beaches? You can find answers to some of the most commonly asked questions below.

Can you swim in Lake Ohrid?

Yes, you can swim in Lake Ohrid. Swimming in the lake is a wonderful, sometimes quite literally breathtaking experience. The water tends to be calm, although it can get a little choppy. Many people swim in Lake Ohrid each day.

Are there any creatures in the water?

Lake Ohrid is a fresh water lake and there’s plenty of nature living in the lake. You can often see fish swimming about near to the shore. We also saw frogs and crabs.

Thankfully we didn’t observe this firsthand, but apparently there are eels in the lake. And, you’ll also see a few local dogs paddling (delightful!)

Is the water in Lake Ohrid cold?

The temperature of the lake changes all year round, in the summer it can be around 20 degrees centigrade.

Let’s just say a swim is the fastest way to cool you down from the midday sun! The water is pleasant, but a touch more invigorating than a swim in the Mediterranean sea.

I can normally bob around in the sea for hours at a time, but in Lake Ohrid I was straight in and straight out within minutes.

How much do sun loungers cost to rent in Ohrid?

Sun Loungers are available to rent at many of the best beaches around Lake Ohrid. The average price that we were quoted for two sun loungers with an umbrella was 400 to 800 MKD – that’s around 7 to 14 Euros as of time of writing.

We had hoped that some of the bars might offer free use of sun loungers when you purchase drinks, but unfortunately that is not the case for anywhere we found in Ohrid.

Written by Emma

Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.

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