From Skopje, you’ll first need to take a bus to the city of Kumanovo (about 1 hour). Buses leave frequently around every half an hour.
Once at Kumanovo, there may be buses headed toward Kokino. Or there may not be.
Arriving at the station, I inquired about the next bus to Kokino, and the woman behind the counter informed me that the next bus would leave at 11:00. And so I hung out at the station for around an hour until departure time.
But once the bus pulled into the station, the driver informed everyone he wouldn’t be going to Kokino! Instead, he’d only be driving until a village shortly before it (Stepance, I believe). If I wanted to go to Kokino by bus, I’d need to wait until the late afternoon, he said. But there would be no return buses to Kumanovo.
Before explaining how I ended up making it, let’s say you get lucky and the morning bus actually does go to Kokino. It’s important to understand that the bus only goes to the village of Kokino, while the Kokino Observatory is about 40 minutes away on foot. But how are you supposed to get back to Kumanovo?
When I first got to the Kumanovo bus station, I asked the woman at the desk about this, and she said she would translate between the bus driver and I so that we could coordinate a pickup time for the return journey.
But, as mentioned, since the bus wasn’t going to Kokino that day, I had to find another option. (Looking back, I probably could’ve hitchhiked.) Fortunately, the helpful bus station staff told me she could help me arrange a taxi to go straight to the observatory.
I was expecting it to be very expensive, but I was surprised when the driver only quoted me 20 euro, including wait time. While obviously much more expensive than the bus, it was a great price considering that the observatory is about a 45-minute drive from Kumanovo.
The driver hardly spoke English but was very friendly. On the way back, he even insisted on stopping by a corner shop and buying me a beer.
A couple more passengers got in with us for the final leg of the journey, one of whom spoke fluent English. And he explained that it was his dream one day to open a guest house and restaurant at the base of the observatory, with special viewing parties for the solstice and equinox sunrises. Hopefully, that dream becomes a reality someday.
In addition to the magic of the Kokino Observatory itself, the day was made even more special by the friendly and helpful locals I met on the journey.
The woman at the bus station was especially helpful and patient with translating between me and various other people, trying her best to make sure I could get where I needed to go.