Travel Info Albania

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Travel Info Albania is your ultimate travel guide. It covers all the essential information, neatly organized, and easy to navigate.

In regards to the COVID-19, Albanian borders are open for international tourism (May 2021).

Table of contents:

• Why to visit / Why not to visit
• Facts / Religion / Language
• Brief history
• Climate
• National holidays
• Visa
• Topography (map)
• Get in
• Get around
• Popular tourist destinations
• Accommodation
• Health / Safety
• Food / Drink
• Other things to Keep in mind
• 10 Best Places to Visit (and their surrounding areas)

Why to visit

• It’s safe, cheap and friendly (the friendliest people in Europe!)
• Great for hiking, beaches, authentic villages, medieval castles & ruins
• No mass tourism, tourist-harassing
• Food is more natural, hence much better quality than in EU & US

Why not to visit

I really can’t think of any reason…

Facts

Climate

• Mediterranean (mild; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear summers; interior is cooler and wetter)
• The best time to go – October

coldest/hottest	Tirana (capital)	Vlore (coast)	Korce (mountains)
January	10°C / 50°F	10°C / 50°F	3°C / 37°F
August	32°C / 89°F	33°C / 91°F	27°C / 81°F

National holidays

• January 1: New Year’s Day
• March 7: Teacher’s Day
• March 14: Summer Festival
• Easter (moveable)
• Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (Islamic high holidays)
• October 19: Mother Teresa Day
• November 28: Independence Day
• November 29: Liberation Day
• December 8: Youth Day
• December 25: Christmas

Tourist visa info

• EU & Schengen – visa-free (up to 90 days)
• US – visa-free (up to 1 year)
• Israel – visa-free (up to 90 days)
• Canada – visa-free (up to 90 days)
• Australia – visa-free (up to 90 days)
• Japan – visa-free (up to 90 days)
• South Korea – visa-free (up to 90 days)
• Brasil – visa-free (up to 90 days)
• Argentina – visa-free (up to 90 days)

Here you can find more info about visa procedures.

Topography

Get in

1. By plane

• Mother Teresa International Airport, Tirana

Rinas Express is a bus that runs between the airport and the city center (Skanderbeg Square). It leaves every hour from 8:00-19:00. The trip lasts 30 min and costs only a few bucks.

Check out this useful post on How to save money on flights.

2. By bus

To Tirana from:

• Istanbul, Turkey (20h, €35 one-way)
• Athens, Greece (9h, €30-35)
• Sofia, Bulgaria (22h, €25)
• Tetovo, North Macedonia (6h, €15)
• Prishtina, Kosovo (4h, €10-15 )

To Korca by from:

• Istanbul, Turkey
• Thessaloniki, Greece
• Athens, Greece
• Larisa, Greece
• Ohrid, North Macedonia

To Skhoder from:

• Ulcinj, Montenegro (1.5h, €5)
• Podgorica, Montenegro

To Gjirokaster from:

• Ioannina, Greece
• Athens, Greece

3. By boat

• Durrës – Bari (9h, €50), high-speed (3h, €60)
• Durres – Ancona (19h, €70)
• Brindisi – Vlore 
• Corfu – Saranda
• Brindisi – Shengjin (twice a week in the summer)

4. By yacht

• Marina in Orikum, south of Vlore.
• ports of Sarande, Vlore, Durres, and Shengjin

5. By car

Nearby cities across the border:

• Podgorica, Montenegro
• Ohrid, North Macedonia
• Prizren, Kosovo
• Thessaloniki, Greece
• Ioannina, Greece

Documents required:

• International Motor Insurance Card (Green Card) valid for Albania (AL). If you don’t have one, you can buy it at the border.
• Vehicle Registration
• Power of Attorney from the owner (if the car is not yours).

Get around

1. By bus

Most people in Albania travel by public bus or private minivans, which depart quite frequently to destinations around Albania. Their timetable online is not quite reliable. It’s better to ask at the terminal.  The stations aren’t always in obvious locations, so you can ask around to find them, or keep an eye out for groups of white or red minivans gathered together. 

2. By train

Cheap tickets, long journeys, a unique atmosphere, and priceless scenery is what you can expect. The route Lezhë – Shkodër is particularly scenic.

3. By car

• Roads between important destinations are in good condition.
• There are no fees for using the highways.
• On minor roads, surfaces can be poor, deeply pitted, or non-existent, and sometimes a decent paving can suddenly disappear
• Highways have frequent changes in speed limit
• Police will often stop foreign cars, but let them go without too much hustle. They are usually going after the Albanians living abroad)
• Beware of horses, donkeys, cows, or sheep to cross highways or walk on them.
• Renting a car is relatively cheap
• Traffic in Tirana is terrible!
• Vlorë-Saranda road is very scenic!

4. By thumb

It is not very common, but it can be useful method in less populated areas.

Popular tourist destinations

Cities

• Tirana – the capital. A fun city with plenty of coffee shops. Popular daily trips: Mount Dajt, Kruje, Petrela & Pellumbas.
• Berat – “The city of 1000 windows” is a member of the UNESCO World Heritage. Famous for unique Albanian / Ottoman architecture.
• Gjirokastër – Another UNESCO city. This one is a bit less preserved but more rustic and organic.
• Korce – Famous for access to the Moravia mountain, beer festivals, bazaar, old rustic houses, and the village of Moscopole.
• Pogradec – City on the beautiful lake Ohrid.
• Sarandë – A city surrounded by nice landscape and beaches, especially Ksamil.
• Shkodra – Offers a little bit of everything: Lake, outdoors, nightlife, theater, castle, churches, mosques…
• Durres – The largest seaside city has an ancient amphitheater (the largest in the Balkans).
• Vlorë – A vibrant and modern seaside city with a ferry to Italy. Popular daily trip: St Mary’s Monastery.
• Erseke – A mountain city surrounded by beautiful nature and authentic villages.

Other destinations

• Albanian Alps — A mountain range on the border with Montenegro is known for sheep and bare rocks.
• Kruje – a daily getaway from Tirana. An old town with a castle, a bazaar with traditional craft, and a nice mountain hike.
• Dhërmi – Beautiful Greek-style beach town with scenic views.
• Himare – A laid back beach town surrounded by hills. Great base to explore nearby towns like Porto Palermo and Qeparo.
• Bylis – The second largest archaeological site from Roman-era Albania.
• Llogara National Park– A mountain park with sea views.
• Tomorr – A mountain ridge near Berat offers multi-day scenic hikes with panoramic views. Popular sites include Sotira waterfalls and Bektash monastery.
• Moscopole – A village near Korca has seven churches dating to the early 18th century.
• Ksamil – A beach town with three spectacular islands. Butrint, the largest archaeological site from Hellenic-era) is nearby.
• Librazhd – A small town, with beautiful countryside. The popular attraction, ‘The Red Mountains‘ is a UNESCO heritage. It’s surrounded by beautiful villages such as Stebleva.
• Shëngjin – A popular beach town in northern Albania.
• The Blue Eye – Turquoise deepwater park.

Accommodation

The abundance of hotels, hostels, guesthouses at low prices. Most of it is listed online. Camping in the mountains is common.

Health

No particular reason to be worried. A few things to mention:

• Mosquitos in the summer, especially on the coast
• Tap water in Tirana and some other cities is not recommended to drink.
• Beware of sea urchins (especially the southern coast)
• Tirana is a bit polluted because of the heavy traffic

Safety

• The country is super safe (no joke!).
• The biggest threat would be the unleashed dogs (if you like to wander in the countryside). In that case, all you gotta do is grab a rock, branch, or something from the ground and throw near them.

Food

• Albania has a strong influence from Turkish cuisine. In the cities, it’s easy to run across western-style restaurants as well.
• Make sure you check out the street markets. While they tend to be scarce in Europe, they’re still abundant in Albania. Try firm white cheese (cow or goat).
• Go to bakeries for byrek, or burek (pastry filled with cheese, spinach, or meat) or baklava (famous Turkish dessert).

Drink

• Boza is a popular sweet drink made from maize (corn) and wheat
• Raki is a traditional Balkan spirit made from fermented and distilled fruit. Usually, grapes, but also popular varieties are plum or pear. It can be bought in the shop, however, if you cruise around the country, sooner or later you will be offered a local version (people to make their own everywhere!)
• Red wine is another thing locals grow everywhere. Vranac is a varietal popular in Albania, as well as in the rest of the Balkans. It’s full-bodied, strong, and bold!

Other things to keep in mind

• The alternative name for Albania is Shqipëria
• Albanians tend to nod with their head like Indians (not as often though). You may hear from the other tourists: “In Albania head move up-down means NO, and side to side means YES” … but that is not true! Indian-style not is no up-down, or side to side. It is hard for me to explain, so watch this video explained by the Indians (they made it funny!). You can also check out my experience with the nod during my trip to India.

What’s next? Make sure you check out 10 Best Places to Visit and their surrounding areas!

Enjoy your trip!

References: Some Nomad Stories travel research, CIA World Fact Book, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, and Wikitravel, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (The list of the contributors is available in the original article).