Albania was our final stop in the Balkans (for now) and having had mixed feelings about Montenegro, but loving Bosnia & Herzegovina, we tried not to have any preconceptions for the country. It didn’t take us long to realise that Albania was, for us anyway, a very different country to Montenegro, and we loved it.
We spent a total of 24 days in Albania travelling from North to South. Knowing that our next stop was Greece, a Schengen country, we needed to make sure we had 'earned back' enough days in our Schengen allowance before we entered. This meant that we needed to spend longer in Albania than we had in other countries. Thankfully this was not difficult as we almost immediately felt like Albania was somewhere we would really enjoy.
History, geography, and general info
Albania has been inhabited by many different civilisations over the past centuries, such as the Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, and Ottomans. All of these different civilisations have left their mark on the country and Albania has a lot of interesting places to see. The country is bordered by Montenegro and Kosovo in the North, North Macedonia to the East and Greece in the south. The majority of the country (about three quarters) is mountainous and hilly, and the rest is costal or lowlands.
Albania was declared independent in 1912, but over the following year about half of it's territory was given to neighbouring states. After World War II Albania emerged as a communist state and almost all aspects of life were controlled by the ruling party. We read in a museum that even tourists were required to cut their hair and change their clothes before they were allowed to enter the country! The communist regime collapsed in 1989 and new social forces and democratic political parties have emerged.
Driving in Albania
Before we enter any country we always check the rules of the road (we once got fined in Bulgaria for not having a vignette, so we are very cautious now!). In Albania's case, it's not the rules of the road, it's the lack of!! We read that Albanian drivers are quite crazy and will overtake on blind corners, park/stop wherever they want (even on busy city streets, without any indication), and they will beep for everything. If you hear a car beeping it's horn they might be saying hello to someone near you, they might be angry with your slow driving, they might be thanking you for letting them past, or they might be warning you of something ahead. There is no way of actually knowing why they are beeping!
The other thing we read about was the poor road conditions. At this point we had visions of dirt/gravel roads throughout the country, as this is what we were led to believe, however we were pleasantly surprised to find that the roads were mostly ok. There were times when you would be driving down a tarmac road and suddenly the tarmac stops and a gravel road continues, but mostly they were in good condition. There has clearly been a lot of infrastructure investment over recent years as a lot of main roads seemed to be recently tarmacked.
Shkoder
Before arriving in Shkoder we had to negotiate the border crossing from Montenegro. We quickly experienced the Albanian way of driving! Albanian registered cars would randomly overtake and simply cut in line closer to the crossing. In a typical British fashion we quietly waited in line until our turn. Once we had entered Albania, we realised we didn't actually get our entry stamps in our passports. We needed to stop to get van insurance anyway, so Charlie ran back to border control to ask for a stamp. He was promptly told that we don’t need a stamp and "on exit everything will be ok" (luckily it was!).
Our UK van insurance doesn't cover Albania (maybe they have heard about the crazy drivers?!) so our only option was to get green card border insurance. There were about 10 shacks on the side of the road claiming to be insurance providers. All of which were open, with computers on, but nobody home. After getting to the last shack a man shouted at us from a café nearby and slowly made his way into one of the offices to get our insurance sorted. €65 later we had our green card insurance, and a weight had been lifted. We were quite worried about getting the insurance, but the whole time we were in the country, we were never asked for it, even at the border when we left the country.
Shkoder is the 4th largest city, and is one of the most important cities of Albania, being known as the centre of Albanian Catholicism, Culture and Harmony between different religions. We headed straight to the campsite, Camping Legjenda, and after enjoying the pool for the remainder of the afternoon we made our way to the campsite restaurant. This turned out to be one of the most highly rated restaurants in Shkoder (according to blogs, and trip advisor). The food was delicious and the tables were set in a very pretty courtyard filled with jasmine plants (Roxy's new favourite plant).
The next day Charlie cycled into the city centre to find a sim card (we do this so we can use the internet whilst we are out and about). This was certainly an experience. If we thought driving a car was bad, cycling on the busy city streets is something else entirely. There are bikes, cars, horse and carts and people using any lane in any direction. Stopping whenever they feel like it, and yet no one seems to get angry with each other or other road users (with the exception of the odd horn, which could have possibly just been someone saying hello!).
We chilled by the campsite pool for most of the day, still not used to the high temperatures, and headed back into Shkoder to have a wander round the old town and see some of the sights in the evening. For us, it wasn’t overly interesting. There is a great fortress (perhaps we are fortressed out), a statue of Mother Theresa, the Ebu Bekr Mosque, and a nice pedestrianised area full of shops, cafes and restaurants, but there didn’t seem to be much else to see. Many of the top things to do in Shkoder, are trips from the city to other parts of the country.
Theth
Our next stop was Theth, which, being in the mountains, we hoped would be a bit cooler. The road to Theth from Shkoder quickly turns from a two lane road to a single lane. Thankfully it is a tarmac road the whole way. The route is only 76km however the last 30km or so wind through the Albanian alps, with hairpin blind corners and steep up/down hills.
Theth is a national park in the North East of Albania and is very popular for hiking trips. We
did not do any of the multi day hikes, however we did hike from the centre of Theth to the Blue Eye. This turned out to be a 3 hour hike each way (maybe we are just very slow!). We had planned to do this when we thought there might be some rain, to help cool us down. Unfortunately, it didn't rain and the whole hike was in 30+ degree heat, and virtually no shade!
Halfway to the Blue Eye, at a junction in the path, we thankfully met a Belgian guy called Inias, who asked us which direction the Blue Eye was. It turns out we were about to take the wrong path so we turned around and walked with Inias for the remainder of the day.
The Blue Eye gets its name from the vibrant colour of the water when viewed from above. The water is also unbelievably cold. Charlie and Inias jumped in and only lasted about 5 seconds in the water. Charlie said that when he jumped in, his breath was immediately taken away and he had to climb out straight away. There is a restaurant and bar at the Blue Eye and a young girl selling cans/bottles of drinks by the water. To keep the drinks cold they are placed in a metal cage and submerged into the cold water. It works very well!
On the route to/from the Blue Eye there is also a very tall waterfall, that can be visited. Interestingly, at this waterfall an Albanian telephone company has installed not one, but two Wi-Fi routers that are powered via a small solar panel. We're not exactly sure why you would need WIFI there, maybe it is for lost hikers?
Tirana
The next day we headed back towards Shkoder to drop Inias off at his hostel, and then on to the capital, Tirana. It was at this point that Roxy flew back to the UK for a wedding, and so Charlie spent a few days in Durres with a friend, Adam. We did however return to Tirana after Roxy flew back.
The city centre of Tirana has a number of things to see and do, however there seemed to be a lot of construction work going on, so some of the sights we had hoped to see (incl. the Tirana Pyramid, the Sky Tower, and the Et'hem Bej Mosque) were blocked behind hoarding and scaffolding. There were still some sights we could see, which included the Tanners Bridge, Skanderbeg Square, Clock tower, and the Grand park of Tirana.
One highlight not mentioned above was Bunk'Art 2. This is a former cold war bunker attached to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Bunk'Art 2 reconstructs the history of the Albanian Ministry of Internal Affairs from 1912 to 1991 and reveals the secrets of “Sigurimi”, the political police that was the harsh persecution weapon used by the regime of Enver Hoxha.
This was a fascinating museum and well worth a visit. There is a huge amount of detailed information about the political police and you can even download an app to enjoy an AR experience throughout. Bunk'Art 2 is the second former cold war bunker to be turned into a museum and gallery, following Bunk'Art 1 on the outskirts of the city (we didn't have time to visit this one, but we have heard that it is the better one of the two). This gallery is dedicated to the history of the Albanian communist army and to the daily lives of Albanians during the regime.
It was at the campsite in Tirana that we met a lovely French couple Ele & Stan (@cap_inconnu), who we have since met up with again in Greece and spent a great couple of evenings with them, eating, drinking and playing games.
Durres
Duress is coastal city only half an hour from Tirana. It has a far reaching beach south of the city with lots of options for hiring sun beds and an umbrella, as well as many restaurants, bars and beach/snack shops. The city itself has a number of interesting sights to visit including the Duress Balcony (giving a panoramic view of the port city), the venetian towers, Town Square, the forum and Roman Baths, and the Amphitheatre of Duress. There is also a great promenade, newly built, that runs along the northern coast of the town. This has many bars and restaurants to enjoy, as well as a small arcade.
The beach itself, south of the city, is a fairly narrow sandy beach, with a very shallow sea depth for about 150m from the shore. This makes it quite difficult to actually go for a swim. The water here is also not particularly dirty, but also not clear at all. This is could be because Duress is a port city and therefore there is a lot of boat traffic throughout the day, churning up the shallow harbours and sending the sand down the coast.
Kruje
Once we had left Tirana, we headed to Kruje. The town of Kruje is North of Tirana and sits atop Mount Kruje. This town is a lovely spot for a night or two to enjoy the great sunsets, and the fascinating old town Bazaar. The bazaar is a super colourful shop-lined street with goods such as rugs, army helmets and everything in between. The prices, from what we have read, seem to be fairly high, but nonetheless it is a lovely place to visit.
We camped in a car park just below the castle and visited it in the morning. The castle grounds contain a Military Museum, and Ethnographic Museum, a couple of restaurants, the ruins of a Mosque, a guesthouse, and the Tekke of Dollme monument. The castle is free to enter, however each museum has its own ticket price.
From Kruje you can also reach the Sari Salltik, a shrine built into the mountain side. This is still an active place of worship for the Bektashi faith. There is a fantastic view of the Albanian coast line from the balcony here as well.
Apollina
Our next stop on our Albanian adventure was the ancient city of Apollina. Before arriving at Apollina we had been in search of a wild camping spot along the coast. This turned out to be our first real experience of the old Albanian road network, where the tarmac ended and the pot holes began. We travelled about 2km, which took over half an hour, meandering through the pot holed track, only to find that the route did not seem to be getting us anywhere near the planned wild camp spot. We quickly decided to turn around!
Thankfully we were able to sleep in the car park at Apollina, after offering the security guard
a couple of cans of beer (we were actually asked for them, rather than an offering, although we are not sure he would have told us to leave if we didn't have any beer). It was here that we met the first English couple we had seen for a while, Mark and Jackie (with their 4 cavapoos). We very much enjoyed their company (and their cute dogs!) and we ended up walking round the site with them the next day.
Apollina is a huge Archaeological site containing the remains of an ancient Greek trading colony, and later a bustling city. The grounds also contain a Monastery, the Church of St. Mary, and a museum showcasing the archaeological finds of the digs at Apollina. It was definitely one of the more interesting archaeological sites that we have visited by this point in the trip, and well worth a visit.
Berat
Berat is known as the city of a thousand windows. Either side of the river the hills are dominated by the old town buildings, and although we didn't count them, we are in no doubt that there are a thousand, or more, windows in view. Having read a lot about Berat we were looking forward to visiting, however we were not wowed by the town. When walking through the narrow and steep old town streets we were constantly met by construction works which were blocking the paths. This is not to say that the old town was not picturesque, but while we were there it just felt untidy and hard work to wander through.
Berat also has a great castle on top of the hill overlooking the valley. This castle is free to enter (or at least was when we were there) and there are some interesting ruins to visit in the castle grounds. The highlight of the castle was the panoramic view across the valley.
Vlore
Like so many places in Albania Vlore seemed to have a lot of construction work going on, and so there were a number of monuments etc. that were hidden behind scaffolding. Something we have started to become accustomed to whilst travelling through Albania. There is a very small Old Town that we briefly wandered through, but not much else!
We did find an amazing wild camping spot just outside the town where we could drive
through the pine woods to reach the sea, and park up only feet from the narrow beach. This was one of our favourite night spots in the whole country. The only issue with this spot, and again something we have come to realise is the norm in Albania, was the amount of rubbish that was just left behind. Charlie spent nearly an hour filling 6 bin bags with rubbish and barely cleared the space around the van. The pile included many plastic bottles, clothing, crisp packets, a polystyrene box and even the parcel shelf from a car. The shelf acted as the sledge for Charlie to then drag all the collected rubbish, nearly 1km to the nearest bin.
Dhermi
Following our night in Vlore we made our way towards Dhermi, where we planned to have a couple of days on the beach. The route to Dhermi takes you up through the mountains and along the Llagora Pass. The Llogara Pass is a high mountain pass within the Ceraunian Mountains along the Albanian Riviera and reaches 1,043m above sea level. Thankfully the road itself is very well maintained and the 180 degree bends were no issue at all.
Once we made it to the coast we set up for the night right on the beach between a couple of restaurants/hotel apartments. This meant that we also had the benefit of free beach showers after swimming in the sea and in the morning. Dhermi has a lovely promenade that stretches for over 1km, lined with lots of fancy bars, restaurants and cafes. We only had one night here in the end, but could have easily spent a week (even longer if we were in one of the fancy spa hotels!).
Gjirokaster
This was our favourite town/city in Albania. We camped in a parking bay on one of the main roads into town and, although not the most glamourous spot, it had an amazing view over the valley. Once we arrived and parked up, we immediately went for a walk, and within only a few minutes both of us said that we really liked it there. The old town, although touristy, was a lovely place to both wander around the shops and also sit at a café and people watch.
The next morning we visited the Castle of Gjirokaster which was fascinating to walk around. It even had signage that we found very amusing, asking you to keep off the grass as it was guarded by cannons and not to climb on the walls as the only way to exit the castle was by the gate, not by falling off! After wandering around the castle for a few hours we went off in search of food. We found a lovely traditional restaurant 'Urat' where we enjoyed far too much food! We were also offered local raki, dessert and coffee for free!
After lunch we plodded around looking for the Obelisk (which we found very tricky to locate. Turns out is it behind the Irish pub!) and we also looked around the Skenduli house. This is a house that was built in 1823 and has been owned by the same family since. A great, great grandchild of the original owners that showed us around the house. The most interesting room was labelled 'the most beautiful room' in the house and was used for wedding ceremonies. It was interesting to hear how the ceremonies took place, and how the unmarried women would watch the ceremony from behind a curtain on the upper balcony, so as not to be seen by the men attending.
Permet
Permet is a small town about an hour from Gjirokaster. We did not visit the town itself as we were there for the Benje thermal pools. The manmade pools are filled with the geothermal waters from the river near Permet. The temperature ranges from 22 - 28 degrees and is the perfect temperature, even in the warm weather, as it is still slightly cooling when 30+ degrees outside.
We were expecting a strong sulphur smell from the thermal waters however when we arrived
we thankfully did not notice any smell. We stayed near the pools for the night in a lovely spot under the trees for some shade. The biggest issue here were the number of flies. The buzzing and constant flinching, from the flies landing all over us, nearly sent Charlie over the edge. He tried multiple times to make a homemade fly trap, but to no avail. Thankfully after dark the flies did disappear, but they were back in full force first thing in the morning. We probably would have stayed another night in this spot if it was not for the flies!
On our way south we visited the southern and second Blue Eye of Albania. This was a beautiful spot in dense forest around a 1km walk from the car park. The area around the Blue Eye is very much a tourist destination and the infrastructure here shows that. Unlike the Blue Eye in Theth, there was a paved path for 99% of the route, there was a walkway and platform to get a birds eye view of the Eye, and there is fencing surrounding the spring. Nonetheless this was a spectacular spot and even though the water was freezing cold (warmer than the northern Blue Eye) we both jumped in for a swim.
Ksamil
Our final destination in Albania was Ksamil. We were here for 3 nights in a great campsite (Ksamil Caravan Camping) with the most friendly and welcoming hosts. On arrival we were offered a bottle of cold water and a homemade iced coffee, as well as a small plate of Albanian sweets. The hosts of a campsite always help to make it feel a much nicer place, and this always helps to make up for any negative points (although here the only negative was that it was busy when we arrived and therefore we could only park in the garden without shade!).
Ksamil itself is a very touristy beach town. There are multiple private beaches with paid sun loungers and umbrellas. Having bought our own beach umbrella and chairs, we headed to the beach and found a spot without any sun loungers on it, but we were quickly met by a lady claiming that the beach was in fact private, and we would need to pay 500lek (£3.57) to stay there for the day. We weren't 100% trusting of this lady, so we asked how much the sun loungers were and she told us they were 700lek (£5.02). We opted for the sun loungers!
There are many nice looking bars and restaurants along the seafront, many of which look to be very popular with both locals and tourists alike. In the end we never did find an easy to reach public beach, and so had to make do with paying for the beds and shade. The water here was crystal clear (in most bays), and a lovely temperature.
Not far from Ksamil is the Butrint National Park. This is a large olive-shaded archaeological site home to the Greek, Roman & medieval remains of the ancient city. The temperature was well over 30 degrees, so we decided against visiting, but we would certainly go in if the weather was cooler.
To exit the city you have to cross a bridge (or drive an hour out of your way to go the alternative route). This is not any old bridge, it was a floating bridge! We had to drive onto a very old looking wooden raft, which was connected by pulleys either side. We were then pulled across the water to the other side! With a 3.5 tonne van, it was a slightly nerve-wracking experience to say the least!
Summary
We absolutely loved Albania! There are so many things to see and do here and there is a great mix of countryside, coast and cities to visit that offer so much. The people are very friendly and the scenery is stunning. If this wasn't enough to tempt someone, it is also one of the cheapest countries we have visited (although fuel was quite expensive, but where isn't fuel expensive at the moment?!). We would love to spend more time in Albania, as we still have places that we would like to see, but maybe when the weather is a little cooler!
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