Three crossings, three different pictures

On a Sunday evening, when half of Macedonia is driving back from the coast, the border into Greece does not look the same at all three crossings. At Bogorodica the cars are stacked up - two full lanes, brake lights all the way to the barrier. At Star Dojran the same, with lorries mixed in among the cars. At Medzitlija, at that exact moment, traffic is moving.

Which is why "what's the border like" is the wrong question. The border is not one place, it is three, and the gap between them within the same hour can be an hour and a half of driving.

When the waiting actually happens

The two slots that hurt most are predictable: Sunday afternoon heading home and Saturday morning heading to Greece. In both cases you realistically wait one to three hours. Not because the system has broken down, but because everyone leaves at once.

Rather than guessing, the cameras at all three crossings are public and stream live. Five seconds of looking before you get in the car is worth more than any piece of advice.

What has to be in the car

Green card, international driving permit, and the kit - fire extinguisher, warning triangle and first aid kit. These are not suggestions. No extinguisher is an 80 euro fine, no triangle 40 to 80 euros, and no international permit can run to 300 euros.

The international permit is where most people come unstuck. Greece is one of the few countries that requires Macedonian drivers to carry one, and without it your insurer can dispute a claim after an accident.

What the trip costs

Tolls from the border to Thessaloniki come to about 3 euros. To Athens, roughly 40 euros one way. Fuel in Greece runs about 1.97 euros a litre. These are numbers worth working out before you leave, not at the first petrol station.

The full guide - live cameras, waiting times, documents and costs - sits in one place and is kept current.