A Kosovo road trip, stage by stage

If I could suggest only one trip in Kosovo, it would be this. A loop of about 320 km by car, in six short stages, taking in the capital, Prizren, the two great monasteries of the west and the Rugova mountains. No leg runs over an hour and a half, which means you can drive in daylight throughout, exactly as gov.uk recommends.

Before you set off

Hire the car in Kosovo itself. Cars rented in Serbia are often barred from crossing, and the green card isn’t recognised, so you want Kosovan insurance already on the policy. Your UK photocard licence is accepted. What to ask at the desk is in car hire in Kosovo, and the road rules and warnings in driving in Kosovo.

Pristina to Prizren

I’d spend the first day on Pristina and Gračanica monastery, 10 km out, the most accessible of the four UNESCO-listed Medieval Monuments in Kosovo. Day two is motorway to Prizren, 84 km and a shade over seventy minutes. I’d stay two nights there, with a full day for the old town or a side trip to Dragash, 33 km away, or Brezovica, 39 km.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Peja for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

The west in a single day

Day four is my favourite. Prizren to Gjakova is 36 km, for the Grand Bazaar, protected by Kosovo’s heritage register since 1955. Gjakova to Deçan, 22 km, for Visoki Dečani, the first monument in Kosovo inscribed by UNESCO, in 2004. Then Deçan to Peja, 14 km more. That’s 72 km of driving and three stops that justify the whole trip.

Peja and Rugova

In Peja I’d give the morning to the Patriarchate of Peć, another UNESCO component, and the afternoon to driving up the Rugova Gorge to Bogë, 29 km away. This is the mountain stage, and the one where I’d treat the road with most respect after rain, given what gov.uk says about landslides. More in Rugova Canyon.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Peja on GetYourGuide.

Fuel and budget

At around 320 km in total, fuel barely registers. Petrol averaged €1.31 a litre in 2024 and diesel €1.30, by ASK’s numbers, which feels cheap after British forecourts. The big costs are the hire car and the nights, and there I have no official prices to give you. With gov.uk saying fuel quality is uneven, I’d top up at the larger stations in Pristina, Prizren or Peja before each mountain stage.

Back to base

Peja to Pristina is 85 km and an hour and twenty-three minutes, or go straight to the airport, 71 km. Short on days? See 5 days in Kosovo or 3 days in Kosovo, and if you’d rather not drive, the options are compared in transport in Kosovo.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Peja for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

What I’ve left out

The north. Gov.uk still warns of possible protests in the four northern spots (Zvečan, Zubin Potok, Leposavić and the north of Mitrovica), and I wouldn’t include it on a first trip. Nor have I included Gjeravica or the high-mountain trails, which call for a different kind of holiday.