We were keeping a list in my phone at one point on our trip in Albania of all the silly things we’d noticed. Of course, we somehow lost the list, but I’ve been trying to recall some of the important things we noted while traveling through this country. You don’t really NEED to know any of these things, but some can be helpful, some can be interesting, and some are just honest. One thing that I know for sure is that you’ll likely find this to be an interesting read.
1. The Albanian People are INCREDIBLE
Hospitality in Albania is NEXT LEVEL! We have not found kinder and more helpful people anywhere in our travels. I can’t tell enough stories about the wonderful people here who helped us, served us dinners & lunches, welcomed us into hotels and guesthouses, picked us up off the side of the road in the rain, took us on tours, led us around, and treated us like we were their own family.
I literally do not have one bad experience to speak of and I feel that every single person went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and happy in the country. Let me just give a few examples of the kindness of complete strangers.
- We were stuck in a torrential mountain thunderstorm in Theth and were walking home along the road. This walk likely would have taken us about 2+ hours, but a young man pulled up with towels in the back seat of his car and offered to drive us back to our guesthouse. We chatted the whole way about Albania and his dreams for his newly opened guesthouse, he was actually on his way to pick up some guests of his own, who were also stuck in the rain. It was such a surprising and nice experience.
- The hosts of our hotel in Berat took us in and taught us all about the hotel and it’s history. They didn’t speak a ton of English, and we are terrible at Albanian, but we were able to make such a connection while learning about them, their hotel, and the effort they put into every little detail. They were rightfully proud of their establishment, and were so thoughtful.
- The hosts of our hotel in Himare were the most over the top family I think we’ve encountered! Every single time we came in and out, they asked us what we needed, offered us shots, offered kind words, and helped us with whatever we needed. Every single member of the family was BEYOND kind and helpful and it was such an enjoyable experience feeling like a part of their little world for a few days. We truly didn’t want to leave.
- Homemade Food Lili is an experience I can’t imagine having anywhere else. We basically ate in a locals backyard, I spoke to him on the phone prior to visiting to make our reservation. His wife cooks the most amazing traditional Albanian food while he serves and, more importantly, visits with you all night. He connects all of the different tables and gets everyone talking and visiting, he offers tons of shots and his fathers wine, and the experience is so unique you feel like you’ve stepped into a travel movie scene.
- At Kantina Enol, a winery outside Tirana, we told the employees were were from the United States and they started acting like we were celebrities. They were so excited and kept telling us how much they loved the US and they were going to treat us so well. It was so wonderful, we had the best experience tasting and learning about their wines at their beautiful location.
2. Driving in Albania can be wild
Before you visit Albania this can seem hard to understand. It’s challenging to properly describe roads in Albania. We drove the road to Theth, which was one of the most adventurous driving experiences I would say we’ve ever had. We also drove some nice, well maintained roads up and down the coast. At the same time, we drove some roads that I can’t even FATHOM how they are considered roads. We saw ALL KINDS of things ON the roads, from donkeys, to horses, to cows, to goats, to men with GIANT piles of grass on carts, to huge trucks coming towards us in the same lane, to insane vehicles that looked like the go karts made by the Little Rascals.
You MUST be ready for absolutely ANYTHING and everything when driving in Albania. You must be a confident driver, and you must have patience. I sincerely believe that anyone could drive here, but you have to be calm, cool, and collected as all kinds of things can happen on the roads.
There are almost NO traffic lights in the entire country. We drove for 9 days and saw 1 traffic light. The only time we truly saw them was when we made our way to the capital city of Tirana.
Google Maps worked well here for the most part, but it would be very beneficial to also download maps.me to have some access to offline maps just in case.
3. Be prepared to pay cash in Albania
When you visit Albania, you must have cash for anything and everything. It is very rare that we were able to use credit cards. We even had to pay for most of our hotel stays with cash.
The currency in Albania is called the LEK, and the best way to get it is by exchanging USD or Euros for LEK in exchange shops which can be found all over the country. You can also take cash out of the ATM, but can be charged a fee (which can be very large). Some places will also accept Euros as payment. There is one bank that is known to have no fee, and that bank is called “Credins”. There were no Credins banks to be found anywhere in the South, though, so that is something to keep in mind.
4. Meals are huge in Albania
We had some absolutely epic meals in Albania. More than once we had such a large lunch that we didn’t need dinner. This does NOT happen to us. The food here is amazing and it’s hard to say what is the best part, but I can say with certainty that you’ll never be hungry dining out in Albania.
5. Albania can be a bit rustic
Albania is not hugely built up yet like some other tourist destinations you may travel to. There are still dirt roads, there are still donkeys, cows, and goats wandering around towns. I have heard about many places where power outages are common and even one of our guest houses lost power while we were there in a summer storm. This definitely shouldn’t deter you, and many would consider it a positive! It’s just something to note when you plan to visit Albania.
6. Everyone will tell you to visit Ksamil, but we didn’t love it
Every place we traveled in Albania as we were driving from North to South kept telling us “just wait till you get to Ksamil”. I’d seen pictures of the impossibly blue water there, and it was being billed as the “Maldives of Europe”. I don’t know if it was just overhyped, but as soon as we pulled into town, I wanted to leave. Although, yes, the water was a blue of dreams, the rest of it left much to be desired. Ksamil is basically a town of hotels and beach clubs. If you’re going to spend time in the water you have to pay to be at some sort of club. While there are many “levels” to what this can look like, the bottom line is you’re paying. There is not an unspoiled place here where you can just throw down a towel and enjoy the water. We were coming from Himare, where we’d visited some of the most epic and special beaches we’ve ever seen, and this place just felt like a tourist trap. It felt like Las Vegas on the water to me. We managed to have a wonderful 2 days and make the best of it, and there are some nice things to do here. But if I was planning for you I’d say skip it!
- If you are going to to, reach out! We found some ways to beat the system and some things we really did love in Ksamil.
7. There are men everywhere in Albania
This isn’t a bad thing, just something we noticed. In every town we were in, there were men in the cafes, walking the streets, in all of the shops, and basically anywhere we went. It was noticeable that there were FAR less women around. The only place we didn’t see this was in Tirana. I didn’t feel any unease about this, but if I was traveling as a solo female, I might feel a little uncomfortable. Absolutely no-one ever did ANYTHING to make me feel uncomfortable, but a country full of men may be intimidating as a woman traveling alone. Again, this is just something to note when you’re planning to visit Albania.
8. The coolest thing about Albania: the Albanian Stroll
Every single evening that we were in Albania, no matter where we were, the Albanians would come out onto the streets after dinner and go for walks. Most times this was done on a promenade or a main drag in an area of town. Families and groups would come out to stroll together, and it felt like literally everyone was out and about, just walking around. It was such a special time and we came to love it so much. I found out when I got home and googled it that it actually has a name. It’s called “xhiro”, and just means it is time for a walk, stretch, and socializing. We saw this every night and we just thought it was an incredible vibe.
9. Albania has a trash problem
I hate to bring this to the negative, but honestly it seemed like trash is a huge problem. Everywhere we went, trash just wasn’t cleaned up properly. There were piles everywhere, trash was beside, over, under, and all around dumpsters. Cities themselves were fairly clean, but the waste just piled up around the trash bins.
10. Albania has GREAT wine!
You may not have thought that you would visit Albania for the wine! There are incredible wines being made all over Albania. When we visited Berat, we were able to visit multiple wineries and taste some incredible wines. We also visited a winery outside of Tirana, Albania’s capital. We had different types in the mountains and on the beaches as well. Although Albanian wine may not yet be huge around the world like wines from France or Italy, we were very impressed with many of the wines here and loved touring and trying them all out!
If you’re looking for more information about Theth in Albania check out my blog post : Guide to Visiting Theth, Albania
For more information about Himare check out this post: Visiting Himare, What you need to know
If you’re headed to Berat: A mini guide to Berat, Albania
If you’re on the hunt for accommodation: My favorite stays in Albania
And lastly if you’re into an itinerary for Albania & Puglia: this is the post for you
Planning for Albania | How to plan for Albania | Albania Travel | Know before you go | Visit Albania | Albania is amazing | How to visit Albania
Plan for me dani 