Albania
Albania is a small, mountainous country located in Southeast Europe on the Balkan Peninsula. It borders Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. To the west, Albania has a long coastline along the Adriatic Sea, and to the southwest, it borders the Ionian Sea. My first impression is that Albania is a very laid back country, where timetables don’t really matter and slow life prevails.
How to get to Albania:
✈️ By air: Albania has one international airport located in it’s capital Tirana
🛥️ By boat: From Corfu (Greece)
🛣️ By land: From Montenegro, Greece, North Macedonia
Currency and entry conditions:
Albania is part of Europe but NOT part of the European Union. This means they use their own currency (lek) even though many places accepts the Euro. 1 euro = 100 lek
👉🏼 As a European citizen you can easily enter the country with your EU ID card. If you are using a passport, it must be valid for an extra 3 months upon arrival. For more information visit the Albanian Ministry for Europe and foreign affairs website here
Transportation:
🚌 Buses: Taking a bus in Albania is definitely an option, but you must not be in a rush. Delays are frequent too, but you always end up at your destination.
Common routes:
Tirana to Sarandë: 22 euros (2200 Lek) - Website here Beware that you have two routes, the bus taking the mainland route is faster (If you need to go to Sarandë to catch a ferry for Corfu, for example)
Sarandë to Gjirokaster - 4 euros (400 Lek)
Sarandë to Himarë - 10 euros (10000 Lek) / to Dhermi would be a bit more
Himarë/Dhermi to Tirana - 12 euros (1200 Lek)
You will have smaller buses that have their own price depending on the time of the year
🚗 Car: Renting a car (or a scooter)
👍🏼 Hitch-hike: Hitch-hiking is a common way of traveling in Albania
Cost of living in Albania:
It is generally cheap to travel across Albania. Food, petrol and bus fares are really affordable. Accommodation varies depending on where you are staying and also when (high or low season).
Quick sweet and savory highlights:
🧂: Stuffed peppers (peppers stuffed with rice, beef, parsley, onion and tomatoes), Börek (filled filo with either cheese, potatoes, meat or spinach), Okra in sauce
🍬: Baklava (can be with pistachio, nuts, etc)
👉🏼 Typical breakfast = Borëk OR omelette OR fried egg with either yoghurt OR tea
Where to go in Albania
🚨 N.B: The order is irrelevant
# Tirana - Capital of Albania
👉🏼 What to do: Tirana is a relatively big city which is still developing itself. It’s vibe resembles one of latine america. I would recommend you to walk around and get the vibe first. Some of the places you’d want to see may be the Pyramid of Tirana, the Skanderbeg Square, The Et’hem Bej Mosque, the Bunk’Art 1 & 2, walk around Rinia Park and Tirana park .
Albania is a cheap place to get yourself a nice body treatment, I recommend you’d go to Aja beauty Spa because the service is simply gorgeous and also quite inexpensive. Waxing - between 5 and 12 euros / facial massage ( 30 min. 25 euros) / Spa pedicure with nail polish 25 euros
👉🏼 Where to sleep 🗝️: Definitely stay at Red Goat hostel. It is run by a lovely lady passionate about her place and job. Breakfast is included, beds are really comfy and you get the privacy that you need. The place is SUPER clean and welcoming.
👉🏼 Where to eat 🍴 or have a coffee ☕️: Oda’s garden (serving typical Albanian food, where sitting with strangers at a table is a common thing), Mami’s meals (you’ll choose from a daily selection of Albanian dishes) Antigua speciality coffee (for coffee), past’el pastry & bakery (for a delish pastry - recommended pistachio baklava). If you want to cook for yourself they have this Italian supermarket called Conad which has everything that you need, although I recommend you’d get your fruit and vegetables from the street stales.
# Vuno (Himarë/Dhermi)
Most people will go to Himarë and Dhermi, that is why I chose Vuno. Vuno is a small stone village located in between the two bigger cities. It is small and very authentic with a lot of history. I recommend you’d stay there if you want peace and quite. There are daily buses running to and from Himarë/Dhermi or even Vlorë if you do not have a car.
👉🏼 What to do: Vuno will take you 30 minutes to visit. You can hike (or drive) to Gjipe beach (I recommend you download maps.me if walking, it will take you approximately 1h30 minutes - I recommend you hitch-hike the way back from the parking lot), to Jala, to Himarë or Dhermi if you want more action, hike to Vuno waterfall, or take some time to relax.
👉🏼 Where to sleep 🗝️: Shotgun hostel and guesthouse is where you’ll want to stay. The make delicious breakfast in the morning (on demand the night before). The view is beautiful and the team super chill. It is good to mention that everything is open meaning that if people decide to stay up late, it can be a bit noisy at times. Bring your earplugs and you’ll be good ☺️
👉🏼 Where to eat 🍴 or have a coffee ☕️: Mom’s food is the sweetest and nicest place. You can choose from a variety of dishes that she prepares everyday and everything i’ve tried was so comforting. I recommend you have the stuffed peppers, the greek salad, one of her homemade pastries + I’ve heard that the moussaka was good too. You also have Lula Bar which is located on the main square and serves traditional Börek and coffee.
# Gjirokaster
👉🏼 What to do: The village is made of beautiful stone houses, so already walking through it is beautiful. There is also a castle which is open all year round (April to September 09:00 to 19:00, October to March 09:00 to 17:00 ) which the entry costs 200 Lek. You have a Cold War tunnel you can walk through, the 2 houses (Zekate and Skënduli), the bazaar mosque (they give away free Quoran) .
👉🏼 Where to sleep 🗝️: Stone city hostel is where you’ll want to stay. Beautiful setting, incredible included breakfast, comfortable beds and a really nice vibe. It costs 20 euros/night
👉🏼 Where to eat 🍴 or have a coffee ☕️: Restaurant tradicional Odaja
# Sarandë
👉🏼 What to do: If you come from Corfu, you will arrive at Sarandë port. It is a beach town so you will definitely want to swim in the Adriatic sea. You can also go as far as Ksamil south from Sarandë (approximately 40 minutes by bus/car - but it can get very crowded during high season!). You can also make a trip to the blue eye (a crystal clear natural spring pool)
👉🏼 Where to sleep 🗝️: / but I’d recommend an airbnb over a hotel
👉🏼 Where to eat 🍴 or have a coffee ☕️: Definitely have a fredo Cappucino at Gold coffee Sarandë, it’s the best coffee I’ve had in a long time. If you want some traditional food you can try Oda e babës (and let me know how it was 🥲)
