HEALTH

Health Care

Foreign tourists do not pay for emergency health services if Macedonia and the tourist's country of origin have a health care agreement. If not, the tourist must pay for health care costs immediately. Hospitals and clinics are located in all major centers, while doctor's offices and pharmacies can be found in smaller tourist destinations.

Health Precautions

In spite of generally good health care system, it is best to take a few sensible precautions during your holiday. The most important is to avoid overexposure to the sun, wear hat and quality sunglasses, and use a high-factor suntan lotion, especially during the hottest part of the day (11 a.m. till 4 p.m.). Drink plenty of water to avoid exhaustion and dehydration. Tab water in Macedonia is generally safe to drink, but if you feel uncomfortable, bottled spring water is for sale throughout the country. Swimming after a full meal is not recommended for at least two hours.

IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Road Assistance:196

Information on phone numbers in Macedonia: 188

Weather Forecast: +389 (02) 3090 236

Road Conditions: +389 (02) 3181-181

POSTAL SERVICES, MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Post Offices

You can spot post offices in Macedonia from the yellow sign with the lettering MP. The offices in tourist centers are open from Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Telephoning can be done at the post office (with a telephone card as well), they also offer telegram and fax service, and money changing.

Postcards and stamps are available in post offices and on most kiosks. Paper and envelopes are available in all stationer's shops and post offices. Post boxes are yellow with MPT sign and they can always be found in front of post offices and elsewhere around the centre.

TELEPHONE, MOBILE PHONE AND FAX

Telephone network is administered by the Macedonian Telecommunication Company (Makedonski Telekomunikacii). There are telephone booths everywhere; telephone sets operate by means of magnetic cards bought in the post office or a kiosk. All post offices have fax service.

Calling from Macedonia, international access code is 00, after which you dial the country code. Calling Macedonia from abroad you should dial your exit code (00 or other) followed by Macedonia country code: 389.

MOBILE TELEPHONY

There are three GSM operators in Macedonia: T-MOBILE (070 / 071), COSMOFON (Cosmote) (075 / 076) and VIP (Mobil COM Austria – Vodafone) (077 / 078). All operators offer prepaid service packages and have signed roaming agreements with many foreign GSM operators. In announcement is new mobile operator that needs to start with work till the end of 2008.

For further information visit: www.t-mobile.com.mk; www.cosmofon.com.mk; www.vipoperator.com.mk