After my more “contained” trips, the ones that do not take months to complete, I try my best to write a report on the everyday costs of such journeys to better inform my dear readers. While words like “cheap” or “expensive” are relative, exact costs of items are not. After all, what makes a destination “cheap” depends on whom you ask. Someone who makes millions a month may find anywhere to be cheap, and someone who lives in a particularly cheap city may find any destination prohibitively expensive. Therefore, I believe it is best to give as many factual details as possible when one wants to discuss the financial part of planning a trip. Below, after some general remarks, you can find a day-by-day breakdown of all the costs incurred during a seven-night trip that was part of my mother’s longer birthday and retirement celebration during the July of 2024. As usual, I did not add any information on flights to the region and the accommodation we stayed in. Those depend on where you are coming from, with whom you are traveling with and so on.
General Itinerary Notes
- Kosovo is tiny. Given the distances involved, even the slowest bus makes the longest journey in around two hours. That is why, it is very feasible to just pick one of the larger cities as your “hub” destination and explore the area from there through day trips. Pristina seems to be perfect for this, given its better connections, but in all honesty, Prizren and Peja likely would have worked as well. Still, Pristina has more to eat and perhaps a bit more to see due to its size alone, so consider staying there for the duration of your trip like we did.
- Now, I will tell something that completely goes against what I just wrote. If you can drive, and want to drive, then it is best not to stay in any one place for longer than a night or two in Kosovo. The thing is, while its buses work on time and certainly do the job for the aforementioned day trips, you will not be able to visit some of the more off the beaten path spots by using buses alone. Kosovo’s countryside is home to a plethora of gorgeous natural sites to see, and Serbian-Orthodox monasteries to visit. This is just to name a few things you cannot easily visit with public transportation. After all, this is not the most touristic country out there, so do not expect much infrastructure for travellers. Therefore, despite it being very uncharacteristic of me, I must say that, ideally a caravan or a car, but even a motorcycle would mean that you will make the most out of your stay in Kosovo.
- Let us now talk about time and timing. First of all, for most people, a week will be enough to explore what Kosovo has to offer. Almost all cities except Pristina and perhaps Peja can be explored fully in one day. Pristina offers a lot more modern amenities and a gorgeous park, whereas Peja has the Serbian Patriarchate and its surrounding mountains. However, frankly, even these two cities can be explored satisfactorily in a single day, especially if you have a car or something similar. This means that a week is rather sufficient to see what Kosovo has to offer. Now, when it comes to the timing of that week, do not repeat my mistake. Do not go there on July… It was at times above 40 degrees Celsius, and at nighttime it could get noticeably cold. In fact, at some point, both I and my mother felt quite sick due to getting sun stroked at day and freezing a bit at night. I have been told that any other time is better, but preferably, Spring and Fall are the best seasons to visit Kosovo.
- Do know that due to the political situation in the region, entry to Kosovo is subject to change. When we visited Kosovo, we could simply fly in from Istanbul. We could also leave and re-enter through the Macedonian border. Connections with Albania seem to work well as well. The same cannot be said for those with Belgrade. They depend on the political climate. It goes without saying that you should, ideally, visit Serbia proper first. If you have an indication of visiting Kosovo on your passport without going to Serbia before, as I have heard, you may have an issue at the Serbian border. It is best to be safe than sorry, so I would just stick to visiting Belgrade and perhaps a few other Serbian cities first, and then eventually making your way down to Kosovo, perhaps not in the same trip for good measure.
General Budgetary Notes
- While I did say that words like “cheap” or “expensive” are rather meaningless given the fact that they may mean drastically different things for different people, I will go ahead and say that Kosovo is a rather cheap destination for many if not all travellers coming that way. At times, it felt cheaper than Uzbekistan, the country most YouTubers use as the poster child for all “cheap destinations” out there. With this out of the way, let me now try and give you some more useful tips and tricks about budgeting a trip to Kosovo.
- Firstly, me being with my mother on this trip certainly increased the costs, but it did not double it. She does not enjoy museums and the like and prefers resting at the apartment every now and then. So, while the numbers you will find below are too much for one person, they are not necessarily enough for two equally active travellers.
- More on that note, while you can probably halve the money we spent on food to find out what a single traveller would spend on eating out in a similar trip, that comes with some nuance. My mother was not present for all the meals I had in Kosovo, preferring to enjoy some fruits and vegetables back at the apartment instead, either because she was tired, or because she wanted to eat something healthier. However, this does mean that most of the spending on groceries went towards such healthier snacks for her. So, I suppose, if you add the money spent on groceries and meals together, and divide it by two, you should get a more realistic amount for what one person may spend on eating in Kosovo in about eight days.
- There was no hidden taxes or fees when eating out in Kosovo. You can tip as you like, and we often rounded up the bill to the next Euro, or added one more on top if we really liked the service. The prices below include these tips. These were almost always around 10% of the bill or even less, but it is important to point it out for clarity. The exact prices for each item can be found on my Instagram account dedicated solely to food, the Voracious Voyager!
- It costs 50 cents to take the bus in Pristina, and that cost should be somewhat similar in other cities in the region as well. Since we both love walking, frankly, we did not spend as much on transportation as some others may. You can add 1-2 Euro per day for transportation to your own budget if you are not comfortable walking an average of 20 kilometres a day.
- While exploring the country via day trips from Pristina is comfortable, I have to admit that it adds a cost that can easily be avoided if you instead move around the country and change your lodgings every night. You see, a one-way bus ride from Pristina to most cities you will visit costs 5 Euros. For two people that is 10 Euros. For a return trip, that is 20 Euros. Let us now consider this. If you visit Peja from Pristina one day, and Prizren the next, you will spend 40 Euros for two people on buses alone. If you move from Pristina to Peja, spend the night there, and then move to Prizren, you will spend 20 Euros for two to see the same cities, and for a longer time as less time will be spent on the road. If you only have a backpack, this is the ideal way to go if you ask me. It may be tiresome, but it will significantly reduce your expenditure. Again, I have to add that while it is cheaper, this is also better for exploring the region. We never get to enjoy Peja or Prizren at night, and I am sure they are quite magical when it is nighttime as well.
My Kosovar Trip
03.07.2024 Wednesday
We arrived at Kosovo late at night and were picked up by our host from the airport.
Highly discounted private transfer from the airport to the apartment – 8 Euros
A very late-night snack at Burger King for two – 6.70 Euros
Total – 14.70 Euros
If you need to take the normal taxi, that will cost you somewhere from 20 to 25 Euros. The bus on the other hand, which departs every two hours, will cost only 3 Euros. Also, while we ended the night with some fast food, Pristina offers much more than that. You can find out more about the dining scene in town HERE.
04.07.2024 Thursday
Today was spent settling into the city and seeing most of its sights.
SIM card from IPKO with 6GB of data – 8 Euros
Cheese burek and yoghurt at Destan Burektore – 1.30 Euro
Two bureks and teas at Mama Mantia – 5 Euros
Water – 0.40 Euro
Two bus tickets to and back from Gërmia Park – 2 Euros
Two pizzas and a soft drink at Jana Napoletana Pizza – 15 Euros
Total – 31.70 Euros
To figure how to make the best out of your day in Pristina, check out my article on the city HERE.
05.07.2024 Friday
We took a daytrip to Mitrovica today.
Bus to Mitrovica and back for two – 6 Euros
Pizza, risotto, and two beers at Ura for lunch – 16.20 Euros
Three glasses of tea at Çaj Bahçe – 1.20 Euro
Burek as dinner for my mother – 1.20 Euro
Trying two (small) pizzas by myself at Proper Pizza – 7.50 Euros
Total – 32.10 Euros
You can find out all about this day trip to Mitrovica and what it entailed HERE.
06.07.2024 Saturday
On this day we went all the way to Gjakova for another day trip.
Bus to Gjakova and back for two – 20 Euros
WC at Gjakova Bus Station – 0.50 Euro
A pizza feast at Pizzeria Napoletana Mario for two – 15 Euros
Berries, fruits, and water for the apartment – 4.50 Euros
Kosovar dinner at Liburnia for two – 16 Euros
Total – 56 Euros
Gjakova is not for everyone, you can check out whether it is a fitting destination for you or not by reading THIS article of mine.
07.07.2024 Sunday
We visited Gračanica in the morning today, and I enjoyed the Gërmia Park later in the day again.
Elevator at the Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa for two for an excellent view of the city – 3 Euros
Bus to Gračanica and back for two – 3.20 Euros
Excellent lunch for two at Lily’s Pejton – 16 Euros
Bus to Gërmia Park for one – 0.50 Euro
An incredibly sweet “dinner” for two at Taste of America – 10.30 Euros
Total – 33 Euros
Gračanica is a must visit small town near Pristina, and to find out why you better click HERE!
08.07.2024 Monday
Today we explored what Peja had to offer to its visitors.
Bus to Peja and back for two – 20 Euros
Lunch at King’s Italian Restaurant – 12 Euros
Some sweets instead of dinner at Mama Mantia – 7 Euros
Groceries – 3.50 Euros
Total – 42.50 Euros
Peja is the top destination Kosovo has to offer, and I think I make a strong case for that in THIS article.
09.07.2024 Tuesday
On our last full day in Kosovo, we took yet another day trip, this time to Prizren.
Bus to Prizren and back for two – 20 Euros
Seafood feast at Fish House for two – 15 Euros
A coffee break for two at a riverside establishment – 5 Euros
A hat for my mother – 5 Euros
A Lebanese feast at Baba Ganoush Meze for two – 23 Euros
Three cookies and a litre of milk for tomorrow’s journey – 5 Euros
Total – 73 Euros
Prizren offers a lot to its many visitors as a rather touristic city. You can find out what to do over there by reading my article HERE.
10.07.2024 Wednesday
We left Pristina with an 8am bus departing for Skopje, to eventually make our way down to Ohrid on this day, finishing the Kosovar part of our trip.
Bus to Skopje for two – 17 Euros
Total – 17 Euros
In my humble opinion, Kosovo has an excellent public transportation network. You can find all about it HERE.
Grand Total: 300 Euros
Now is not that just great? 300 Euros for two people, for seven nights, including day trips taken to five unique destinations. That comes to 150 Euros per person. This can further be reduced to around 100 Euros if need be. Firstly, as I mentioned before, you can sort of make your way around the country in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, instead of staying in Pristina for seven nights. That will save quite a lot in transportation fees. Moreover, admittedly, we splurged a bit on food a few times. We ordered far more than we could (and should) eat from Baba Ganoush Meze, went crazy with two pizzas in most pizzerias only to have food coma later on, literally ordered three dishes in a few establishments just try them out, so on and so forth. Furthermore, while spots like Lily’s Pejton are excellent price for value if you keep global standards in mind, they are pretty expensive for Kosovo. Given how you can literally keep your eating out costs to as low as 5 Euros a day, by eating three types of bureks with three yoghurt or ayran on the side, you can easily bring down these costs to a level you are comfortable with. Kosovo is flexible like that; you can pay very little and still enjoy it thoroughly. No matter what you end up doing, I hope that my experience was somewhat useful to you in your own itinerary planning process!