This cache came to life because we missed a cache in Veles! There was nothing in the center, and this place was perfect for it.
Curious about how we (2 Dutch Girls) ended up in Veles from Skopje? And how we experienced traveling by train? Read our travel report below.
Travel Report:
Written on 27th September 2025.
Even though both the taxi driver and the tour guide said that the train in Macedonia was terrible and advised against traveling by train, my curiosity got the better of me. It couldn't be that bad, could it?
Judge for yourself after reading the story🙃.
The adventure began at the train station... or actually at home when I looked up the timetable. The first version I found was a kind of diagram; it was like a puzzle! Eventually, I found the right website and was able to find departure times. We had made plans yesterday and were going to take the 1:20 p.m. train to Veles, the first one after 8:00 a.m. (yes, there are about seven trains a day), and then we would have an hour to wander around and take the 3:24 p.m. train back. That was the plan...
We had already found the station, including the entrance and the ticket counter. There, the first surprise awaited us... the 1:20 p.m. train was not running. The next one was at 2:30 p.m., which was still 1.5 hours away... and what time would we be able to return from Veles? Veles wasn't exactly known for its many or interesting sights, so spending four hours there wasn't exactly desirable. We were torn. The 1:20 p.m. train was still listed on the board... but we decided to check the tracks anyway... no train. Okay, we were disappointed.
We weighed all our options and came up with a new plan: take the bus to Veles and the train back. That would give us about 45 minutes between the bus arrival and train departure. Let's go!
The bus left at 1:30 p.m., and with the high-speed driver we had (he really drove fast), we were in Veles in 40 minutes. During the ride, we had beautiful views of the mountain and occasionally saw a piece of track that we would (if all went well) take back by train.
All in all, it wasn't a punishment.
We arrived at the bus station on the east side of town and the train station was further west, so we had a nice leisurely walk through the city. There were no geocaches in Veles, so we just browsed some shops. Until we had the brilliant idea of placing a cache ourselves! (Of course, this isn't supposed to be done this way; you're supposed to maintain a cache as its owner, but hey, sometimes you have to color outside the lines).
Requirements: a good spot, a container, a logbook.
We found a good spot near the ❤️Veles sign, bought a plastic container of slime (we took the slime out) and got two white notepads from the exchange office😁. We dropped the container under the sign in a corner, quickly measured the coordinates and then had to run to the train station! We didn't want to miss the train because, even though we had enjoyed ourselves, four hours in this city was starting to feel like a bit of a punishment. In our haste, we forgot the umbrella we had borrowed from the hotel on a bench... oops! But that's what umbrellas are for, right? To be forgotten 😅.
We arrived at the station on time... and there were tracks, three platforms, and a station building. At the ticket counter, we bought two tickets for the train to Skopje, which, oddly enough, were cheaper than the bus ticket. €2 versus €3.20. We asked what time the train left, and the gentleman, who did not speak English, wrote 3:30 p.m. on a piece of paper. Okay, a 6-minute delay can happen... there were exactly 5 people waiting at the station for the train... which didn't arrive at 3:30 p.m... after ten minutes, we asked again... it would arrive at 4:00 p.m... you can feel it coming (the thought! Not the train), but at 4:00 p.m. there was still no train.
In the meantime, a freight train had arrived at the station, which could continue as soon as the train from Skopje had arrived. The route is all single track, so trains have to take turns.
The other people waiting sat quietly on the bench... apparently this is normal. One man exchanged a few irritated words with the station manager.
An older man sitting at the station told us that the train would arrive at 4:24 p.m. We remained hopeful, as the sun had come out, so waiting was not a punishment. Until 4:24 p.m. passed and there was still no train. But then something happened. The station manager walked toward a platform, which was the signal for the other people waiting to walk to the platform. And sure enough... at 4:29 p.m., the train arrived!
In 50 minutes we'll be back in Skopje! 🚂
Right...?!
On the train:
The train didn't look too bad on the outside. The inside, on the other hand... ugh, it was awful. We got on right next to the toilet, so we were “welcomed” by the smell of urine😷. But that wasn't all. It was dirty, with trash and spills everywhere. An average train on a Sunday morning (after transporting partygoers) in the Netherlands looked better. It was also boiling hot, stuffy, and none of the windows could be opened. Combine that with people who had been sitting on the train for who knows how many hours... yes, it didn't smell fresh!
Anyway, it would only be for 50 minutes, we expected beautiful views, so we decided to sit quietly, breathe, and look outside...
The man on the seat next to us turned out to be the conductor. He sat on his butt the whole way and got up once to check the tickets in our car and the next one. He was busy with paperwork, and you'd think that meant administration... but his paperwork consisted of folding a paper boat and putting it in front of the train window 😅. Oh, and occasionally chatting with the passengers and lending out his phone charger. Strange, I can't imagine having to earn my money that way.
We were surprised that the power outlet worked. The train squeaked and creaked, and according to the screen in the train, the train wasn't going anywhere; it remained empty and even the clock had stopped. It was a shabby mess.
Fortunately, we had the view outside! We drove along the Vadar River, between the mountains, and saw the bridges we had crossed by bus. It was beautiful. What we did notice (unfortunately) was the litter everywhere. Along the river, along the railroad tracks, between the mountains, and in the meadows. It was a sparsely populated area, but there was trash everywhere. Some of it must have been carried there by the river from the city, but how did it get into the mountains and meadows? Such a shame.
We had plenty of time to enjoy the view... the train sped away from Veles station, but soon slowed down and bumped along through the mountains at less than 50 km/h. Why? No idea, we could have gone faster. We couldn't ask anyone because no one spoke English. And of course, there was no information available. Our patience was put to the test, again.
The “stations” were sometimes more like platforms and sometimes nothing more than a curb. Sometimes there was an old station building, but often nothing more than a dilapidated waiting room.
We mainly passed through small mountain villages, and I use the word “village” to describe just a few houses and a dilapidated hut in the countryside😅.
So it's not surprising that the passengers all seemed to know each other. Every now and then, a little old lady would slide down the aisle, chat with someone, and go back again. Not surprising when you often use the train together with 25 other people.
We left Veles at 4:32 p.m. and arrived in Skopje at 6:25 p.m.! At moments like these, you are intensely grateful for the fresh air outside!
We enjoyed our 20-minute walk to the hotel... looking back on this special experience.
Should we have listened to the advice? No, because then my curiosity about the train in Macedonia would have remained unfulfilled. It was an experience and gave us a glimpse into local life here.
Conclusion: we understand that trains are rarely used in North Macedonia, but from what we have heard, the government has promised to improve the situation. I hope to return in a few years and enjoy a relaxed, reliable train journey, because North Macedonia is a beautiful country!