Guide
When to Visit Albania
June and September give you the coast without the July–August crush; May and October are the best value; the mountains have a much shorter season than the sea.
In plain language
This section helps you plan a trip: when to come, where to go, how to get around, and what the different parts of the country are like.
Guides
Guide
A First Trip to Albania
What to know before you book: how you get in, how you move around, what things cost, and what the country is not.
Guide
The Albanian Riviera: A Practical Guide
One road, roughly 120 km, and about twenty places to stop. What each of them is actually like.
Guide
Northern Albania
The Alps, the Koman ferry and the Shkodër lake country: the part of Albania least like the coast.
Guide
Southern Albania
Two stone cities, the country's best archaeology, a wild river, and the Riviera behind it.
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Driving Albania End to End
Shkodër to Sarandë is about 400 km. Done properly it takes two days; here is how the country splits up.
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Getting Around Albania
Furgons, intercity buses, a near-dormant railway, and why most visitors end up hiring a car.
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Driving in Albania
The roads are better than the reputation and the driving is worse. What that means in practice.
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Choosing a Beach in Albania
Sand in the north and centre, pebble in the south: the single most useful distinction on the coast.
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The Theth–Valbona Trek
Albania's best-known walk: roughly 17 km over a 1,795 m pass, six to eight hours, June to October.
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Archaeological Albania
Butrint, Apollonia, Byllis, Antigonea and Amantia: five sites that cover 2,500 years between them.
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Eating in Albania
What to order, where the regional differences are, and what a meal actually costs.
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Albanian Wine: A Visitor's Guide
Native grapes you cannot get elsewhere, in six regions, mostly at small family wineries.
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Albania with Children
Sand beaches in the centre and north, short drives, and a culture that is genuinely welcoming to children.
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Albania on a Budget
Still one of the cheapest countries in Europe, though the Riviera in August is no longer cheap.
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Getting to Albania
One main airport, four ferry corridors, and four land borders that all behave differently.