Boat to Sveti Naum

The boat to Sveti Naum, 29 km south at the Albanian border, is the standard day trip out of Ohrid. The journey takes about an hour and a half each way, hugging the eastern shore past pebble coves and pine-shaded villages. Boats run from the central harbour from late May through early October, with two or three departures a day in high season.

At Sveti Naum the boats stop for two or three hours — long enough for the monastery, the spring-fed grotto, lunch, and a swim from the small beach. Buy a return ticket or check the timetable: the road bus back to Ohrid is reliable, but irregular, and taxis are expensive.

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A story
The monastery of Sveti Naum sits beside springs that produce the cleanest water in the lake — clear enough that small wooden boats moored over the source appear to float on glass. The 10th-century monastery, built by Naum (a contemporary of Clement), is said to hold the saint's tomb; visitors can lay an ear against the stone and, the story goes, hear his heart beating.

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