Albania is one of those countries that many people have heard of, but don’t consider as their next travel destination. This is changing now in recent years however and travelers are discovering this beautiful country in the Balkans. It’s quickly growing as a travel destination with more and more infrastructure becoming available for tourism and more tourists visiting. Gotten curious as well? In this ultimate travel guide to Albania, I will help you plan your route and to find things to do in Albania. The guide below follows a route from north to south, with the described places color coded as a must-visit, highly recommended, and if time permits.
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Table of Contents - The Ultimate Travel Guide to Albania
Traveling Albania - Tips & Tricks
Currency: The local currency is Lek, but Euros are widely excepted in accommodation, restaurants, and transport as well.
ATMs: I couldn’t find a free ATM to withdraw cash, just like in other Balkan countries. Note that many places don’t accept cards and if they do, they often charge a fee. ATMs charge a flat fee, so if you have a card that doesn’t charge you much to withdraw abroad (e.g. Wise or Revolut) I recommend withdrawing a larger amount and paying in cash.
Transport: Many Albanian cities and towns don’t have centralized bus terminals. We generally ended up in some random improvised ‘terminal’ from where we needed to catch another bus, or sometimes on a central square/roundabout which had been made into a terminal. If you need to change buses, just tell the driver. They will most likely know if your next bus is leaving from the same terminal, or find out for you. Unfortunately, there is no local platform that has reliable timetables for buses. busticket4.me has some options though and this blog post from Anita is also very helpful.
Food: Albanian food is a little different from the food in the rest of the Balkan peninsula. There is a lot of Greek influence. Along the coast, you’ll find plenty of fresh seafood dishes, and in the mountains many grilled meat options.
Shkoder
Shkoder lies right on Shkoder Lake, the biggest lake in the Balkans, shared between Montenegro and Albania. If you’re coming from Montenegro, this is most likely where you’ll start your Albanian adventure. I didn’t like Shkoder itself so much, I much preferred the small town of Shirokë. Unfortunately, there is no regular transport between the two, so if you want to stay in Shirokë and don’t have your own transport, you might need to take a taxi there. Unless you don’t have much luggage and are up for a 7k hike. Spend a day or two in Shkoder to hike up to Rozafa Castle for some great views of the lake and maybe a bike ride along the shore to Shirokë and/or Zogaj. For activities on the lake, I recommend the Montenegrin side, which I found more beautiful as it has many islands and lilies.
The Albanian Alps - Theth, Valbonë and Komani
If you like hiking and mountains, this part of Albania should definitely be on your itinerary. There is a really nice loop many travelers do, and see as one of the highlights of their trip to Albania: Start in Shkoder, travel to Theth, from here hike to Valbonë and from Valbonë travel via the beautiful Komani Lake back to Shkoder. The other way around is possible too.
If you’re not up for traveling the loop but still want to explore the mountains, I would recommend at least a few days in Theth and doing some hikes from here.
It’s really nice to do the loop though if you can. It makes more sense and is quicker than traveling to Theth, back to Shkoder, and then taking a day trip to Komani Lake (which is what we did, as we didn’t plan it right). For tips and itineraries, check out this guide to the Albanian Alps.
How to get from Shkoder to the Albanian Alps: There is no regular public transport between Shkoder and the Albanian Alps. There are cars once a day between Shkoder and Theth (I recommend Zef: +355682468693) and Berisha takes care of the route between Shkoder and Valbona.
Tirana
We didn’t spend any time here, as virtually all blogs and travel guides I read said the main things to see here were the crazy traffic and colorful houses. Well, the crazy traffic we got to experience for ourselves passing through on our way further down (it took us half an hour to just leave the busterminal because of the traffic jam on the road the bus needed to turn on) and the colorful houses weren’t enough reason for us to head deeper into Tirana. If you do want to spend some time here, there are some interesting musea as well like BunkArt. Do note that the terminal for buses from Shkoder is on the outskirts, so you’ll need to jump on another bus to get to the center.
How to get from the Albanian Alps to Tirana: There is no direct way to get to Tirana from the Albanian Alps by public transport, you’ll need to travel to Shkoder first. From there are regular buses to Tirana. They leave from the main roundabout “terminal”. If you’re doing the loop finishing with Komani Lake, it’s best to book transport with Berisha. According to my information, the last bus from Shkoder to Tirana is at 17.00, which is the same time you should arrive from Komani, so saver to just book with Berisha, and be sure to make your bus.
Berat
Berat is a beautiful historic town just 2 hours south of Tirana, nicknamed the city of a thousand windows. It’s a small city and one day is enough to explore its medieval streets and its main attraction: Berat Castle. Berat is divided by a river. The larger part of town, where the castle is also located, is the Ottoman part of the city. The smaller part on the other side of the river is the Christian part.
If you enter the castle through the main entrance, you likely need to pay for your entry (as we visited on a rainy day in low-season, there was nobody to charge but there was a ticket booth), but you can use the side entrance on Rruga Mihal Komena for free entry. This is where we headed up. There is also a zigzag trail heading up from Shën which didn’t seem to have a ticket booth either, so this is also an option. The stairs we took seemed an easier route though.
As Berat is so close to Tirana, you can choose to visit on a day trip if you’re spending a few nights there. If you want to stay in Berat itself, you won’t have trouble finding accommodation. For something different, try Hotel Castel Park. The owners are super interesting, and inspiring and have so much passion for their country. Also, the food at the restaurant is absolutely amazing, so you’ll be happy to know that prices on their website include meals (full board) ;).
How to get from Tirana to Berat: There are frequent direct buses leaving Tirana for Berat. Busses go roughly every half hour, from 5 am till 5 pm.
The Albanian Riviera
I’ve put the whole Riviera under one header as it’s hard for me to really say something individual about each town. We visited in November, so most places were close to deserted and we didn’t spend much time at the beach. We mainly spend our days walking and visiting castles. A visit in summer will be completely different.
Vlorë
Vlorë is a city, whereas the other places mentioned below are towns, so that’s the biggest difference. We didn’t spend any time here, as I was told the beaches aren’t as nice as further south. Driving through it in the bus, it did look like a really nice city and the beaches didn’t look bad at all. So it’s on our list for next time. 🙂
Himarë
Himarë seems to be the main beach town of the Riviera in summer. It’s centrally located on the coast, has a big beach and plenty of restaurants and bars. You can hike up to the castle (or take a bus heading towards Vlorë if you don’t feel like walking). It’s interesting to see how the ruins of the castle and the newer houses in the town are kind of integrated with each other.
Queparo
Queparo is a tiny little town just south of Himarë. From here we explored the old town up the hill (Queparo village) for some beautiful views and (surprise surprise) another castle: Porto Palermo. This castle is different compared to the other ones we visited though, as it’s not built on top of a hill but right at sea and it’s still in one piece! No ruins. The entrance is 300 Leke (about € 2,50) at the time of writing and if you’re in the area, it makes for a nice stop.
Sarandë
Sarandë is a little bigger than the other towns listed here, but not as big as Vlorë. We heard good things about it but didn’t care for it too much, to be honest. We liked Ksamil (just 30-40 minutes south by bus) a lot better.
Ksamil
Ksamil was our favorite spot here on the Albanian Riviera! It’s small, has beautiful beaches and the Butrint ruins are a must as well. If you had to pick just one spot on the Riviera I recommend Ksamil, hands down.
The Butrint ruins are located on a peninsula just south of Ksamil. The bus between Sarandë and Ksamil continues all the way there, so you can hop on that one, or walk there from town. They are some of the best preserved Roman ruins in Europe, and the location along the river and in the forest makes it extra special. Entrance is 1000 lek for foreigners at the time of writing. Be prepared to spend a few hours here as this place is awesome!
How to get from Berat to the Albanian Riviera: In order to travel from Berat to the Albanian Riviera, you’ll need to head back to Tirana first. There is no need to travel all the way back to Tirana itself, just tell the driver where you want to go and they will tell you where to change bus. It depends on the schedule of both buses which place is best for changing.
Other Places to Visit
We couldn’t visit everything during our stay, so this travel guide to Albania is missing some places. Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa on the border with Macedonia seem really nice for example. They are not as touristic as the coast, so if you are visiting in high season and are tired of the crowds, you might want to check these out. The town of Kruje is also very interesting, as it’s the town of Albania’s national hero Skanderbeg. It’s small though, but good for a 1-2 night stop when traveling south from the North, or as a day trip from Tirana since it’s close. Another place that’s on our list for next time is Giroklaster in the south. Here you’ll find many rivers and canyons and hiking opportunities.
Tip: If Giroklaster doesn’t fit your schedule, but you are visiting Berat, have a chat with the owners of Berat Castle Park. They run frequent tours in this area from Berat (in season).
This was The Ultimate Travel Guide to Albania
