"Touring Albania" Albania by SallyM

Albania Travel Guide: 2,068 reviews and 5,883 photos

Having long wanted to visit Albania, we finally got around to booking a tailor-made tour through Regent Holidays. We had a chauffeur-driven Mercedes and guide/interpreter at our disposal for a whole week, during which we visited Tirana, Kruje, Durres, Berat, Saranda and Gjirokaster.

Archaeological Remains

Apollonia

One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the ancient sites of Apollonia and Butrint. Apollonia was hard to get to - one of the roads was closed - but when we eventually found it, we had it to ourselves. My other half asked the caretaker of the small museum on the site (through our interpreter, Ilir) why so many statues were headless, thinking that maybe at some point they had been decapitated. The caretaker's response? "Because they have no heads".

It was almost a disappointment at Butrint to discover a group being given a guided tour - though it was hardly crowded by tourist standards.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Unspoilt
Cons:Litter, unreliable water and electricity supplies
In a nutshell:Mountains, sea and ruins without the crowds

Last visit to Albania: Jul 2003
Intro Updated Jul 31, 2006
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Reviews (12)

House building Local Customs (1)

We saw lots of partially-built houses. All were patriotically flying the Albanian flag. They also had a doll (or even a... more travel advice

Berat Things to Do (6)

Berat is an attractive town in an Italian style, with a river gorge running through it, and a pleasant park. We visited... more travel advice

Apollonia Things to Do (6)

We almost didn't make it to Apollonia, as the road was closed and we had to find another route, slaloming between rocks... more travel advice

Butrint Things to Do (6)

Butrint is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and some funding has clearly gone into it. There are signs at the entrance... more travel advice

Hotels (4)
See All Basic but comfortable

Transportation (1)
Getting around

Travelogues (1)

Written Aug 2, 2006

6 photos

Albanian Museums - turning off the lights

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Comments (9)

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IreneMcKay Oct 7, 2011 at 5:16 PM

Interested to hear you say albania was your best trip. Never been there, but it is on my very long to do list. Looks great from your tips. Irene
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nickandchris Jan 26, 2010 at 5:44 AM

Enjoyed this! I wonder if Albania copes better with tourists now? Who, indeed, could resist staying at the Hotel California??
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cachaseiro Apr 20, 2009 at 1:00 PM

albania is indeed a very interesting country. i have been there twice and will go back again in september.
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SLLiew Feb 8, 2009 at 5:07 AM

Wow...excellent page of a less travelled country Albania. Great writeups like the use of dolls and enemy plane. Cheers from Penang, SL :)
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y2ketan2007 Mar 15, 2008 at 8:44 AM

Tirana seems nice even though Albania is amongst the least developed European nations.
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Sininen Jun 30, 2007 at 9:04 PM

Hello Sally! I had similar experience in the museum in Kruje. I was alone and a man followed me and turned off the lights when I left a room. I thought it was funny. I loved Albania and Albanian people. Happy birthday from Finland!
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aaaarrgh Jan 16, 2007 at 4:33 PM

I know what you mean about other tourist groups, there is an edge of hostility between them in out of the way places :)
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barryg23 Nov 25, 2006 at 5:48 AM

Nice travelogue, I like your museum story. The fact that so few people visit Albania makes it all the more interesting I think.
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hindu1936 Sep 23, 2006 at 3:48 AM

Well Sally, that is funny. "Please Miss, may I have the key to the security locker so I can put other valuables with yours. I promise no one will take them." Tlhanks for the smile. joe