Albania is a country that has a little bit of everything; beautiful Adrian, a coastline, stunning mountain scenery, and really unique cities like Tirana and Berat. Despite the fact that this country has so much to offer a lot of tourists are still a little hesitant to visit Albania. It still hasn’t received the tourism buzz of nearby countries like Greece, Croatia, and Italy despite offering a lot of the same features. The main reason behind this hesitancy from tourists is that Albania is still only 30 years to moved from a very tumultuous political landscape. Up until 1991, it was actually very difficult to even enter albania’s tourist. Now obviously, over the last 3 decades, things have changed so much and Albania has really opened up. But when it comes to tourism, it’s still not on most people’s radar. Yet, if you are considering visiting Albania, these are 10 things that you should know before buying your ticket. We didn’t know much about Albania before we visited and these are 10 things that definitely would have a nice to know before getting there.
Easiest Visa in the world
Albania is like the easiest Visa country in the world. I remember them looking at my American passport, asking me no questions, stamping me in, and I was in the customs of the migration and Albania super easy. Also, Albania is one of the only countries in the world where Americans get not 6 months, not 9 months, but 1 year Visa-free.
So, if you find that Albania is like a good spot For You as a tourist or as a person like looking to live somewhere for 6 months or Whatever, yeah you can say they’re super Easily, and you can actually extend to a resident’s permit, I guess pretty easily. There’s a lot of jobs in Albania for people who are preassembling English teachers, and I had met a lot of English teachers while I was there. There are also job in Different infrastructure and Different for example, like EU-leaning Positions. So, it seems like there’s a lot of international influence kind of slowly going into Albania, which was one of the world’s most notoriously closed communists sort of societies for almost like 40 years and the 1900s.
So, there’s a lot to look forward to about Albania, and the good news is, as an American because there are a lot of Albanians living in the United States, it’s pretty easy to get in there, pretty easy to get in there pretty, easy to leave come back, stay for a job as long as you want.
When to visit
The next thing to know about Albania is when to visit. Its quarter June and September to October are the best times to go to Albania. You can avoid the extreme weather and enjoy walking, psychic water sports, and cycling at your own leisure.
Always have cash
Number 3 on the list, is that it’s very important to always have cash on hand, and this is a tricky one because I feel like most of Europe is going more towards credit cards now. In fact, I feel like in a lot of European countries, you’ll see places that don’t even accept cash at all. But Albania is not quite there yet; cash is still king in Albania. Now, if you’re in the capital city of Tirana, you’ll probably be fine with credit cards at most places. But if you go to smaller towns like Shkodra or Berat, it’s always important to have cash on hand. In Albania, they use the lek, and just as kind of a reference, 500 Albanian lek is about $4 US. It’s a big conversion and it definitely takes some getting used to, but you’ll find a lot of ATMs around. It’s not hard to get your hands on some cash, but it is important to have because not everyone’s gonna have a credit card, and if they are cash-only, you’re pretty much out of luck.
Google map is not working
Number 4 on the list, and this list is an interesting one because we never ran into this in any other country in Europe: Google Maps will not always work for you if you’re looking for public transit options. Now, in Tirana especially and other cities as well, they do have public buses available if you need to get a little bit outside the city or if you’re just looking for a more convenient way to get home. They do have buses, but for whatever reason, when you put in point A to point B in Google Maps, the transit option does not even show up. So, you have to actually look on the internet like, “How can I find tickets? Where are the bus stops?” Usually, all of that information is on Google Maps, and I’m not even entirely sure why this is the case, why that’s not on the Google Maps app specifically, but definitely something to know if you want to take a bus somewhere and you put in that route, the transit option just won’t show up.
Now, in Tirana specifically, the buses are very easy to navigate, and you can pay with cash on the bus, so it’s usually not much of an issue. But you also want to make sure you know where they’re going because the bus system actually spreads to all of the Tirana suburbs as well. So, you don’t want to be caught in a situation where you think you’re on the right bus and all of a sudden, you’re 4 or 5 miles out of the city.
No Ride-share
Number 5 on the list: there is no ride-share in the country. Whether it’s Tirana itself or whether it’s one of the other cities, you’re not going to be able to use Uber, Lyft, or any of those apps. They do have taxis, especially in Tirana. Taxis are not that hard to find if you’re looking for a way to get to the city from the airport or something like that, and a lot of times there are apps that you can use for the taxis. But it’s not going to be through Uber, Lyft, or anything like that. Uber has a large presence now in Europe, but Albania is just not one of those countries that has it yet. So, definitely something to keep in mind if you’re thinking of ways to get around: Uber and Lyft will not be available.
Limited Infrastructure
Number 6, and this is a big one: if you’re in the city of Tirana, which is where we spent most of our time, sometimes there are not sidewalks on the streets. The neighborhood that we were staying in, a lot of times we just had to walk right down the middle of the road, and you’d have to kind of listen if there were cars coming. And even though it was pretty tight and most of these were residential areas, you don’t think people would be flying through, people were flying through. A few people drove really fast, so just always be aware to make sure you’re as far over as you can be.
There’s not going to be a sidewalk, but you can at least be somewhat close to the parked cars. It can get really tight between the cars that are parked on the street and the cars that are flying down the street, so just always important to be aware when you’re in the smaller neighborhoods. Now, if you’re in the more pedestrian area on one of the main streets of Tirana, there are sidewalks. Especially if you’re near Skanderbeg Square or that whole area, you’re definitely going to have sidewalks. But in some of the neighborhoods, if you’re staying in an Airbnb or something like that, sometimes there are just not going to be sidewalks available, and that definitely took some getting used to.
Must try Albanian cuisine
Number 7 on the list; very important thing to know Albanian cuisine is absolutely delicious. Make sure that you don’t miss out on this. I know sometimes people get a little unsure if they’re not sure what the cuisine is like visiting a country, but Albania has amazing food. We went to this place at the Dajti Express, actually all the way app on mount Dajti, and the food was unbelievable. I got these hearty meatballs that were just sizzling in this vegetable stew; it was so good, all the spices going on. Also, if you like tzatziki in Greece, they have that, they have a version of that in Albania too; its basically the same thing, it’s called “tartor”. There’s just a really good use of spices, flavors, and quality food.
So, if you’re thinking about skipping out an Albanian cuisine, definitely don’t do that. Albanian food is absolutely delicious. In fact, we wish we could have tried a little bit more. We basically tried 2 or 3 different things. Next time we come to Albania we want to try some more on Albanian cuisine. We were dead If no accountable in a way by it because it was some of the best in the region, which I’d never would have thought those curry meatballs are I still dreaming about them.
Albania is actually safe
Number 8 on the list: This is one that people usually aren’t completely sure about, and it’s one of the reasons behind why people are a little hesitant to visit in the first place. Albania is a safe country; it’s just as safe as any other country in Europe. Are you going to run into some pick pocketers, some petty crime especially in the cities? Yeah, absolutely. Are you going to run into people that take advantage of tourists because they know they’re not from there, they don’t really know what’s going on? Yeah, you’re going to run into that every once in a while. But you’re also going to run into that in Paris, in Barcelona, in London, in any other part of Europe. That’s not something that’s unique to Albania; that’s just something that happens in big cities. It happens in the US too; we have crime in the US, whether that’s robberies on the subway or whatever. You’re going to have that.
But overall, Albania is a pretty safe country, and within the period of time that they were under the Communist regime, it wasn’t a very safe place to be, and there were definitely a lot of Albanian gangs that were, you know, weapons dealers and things like that. That’s Albany of the past, and it really has nothing to do with the new persona media. So, we never felt unsafe at all. We were in the capital of Tirana, and there’s a lot going on there, very busy streets and everything like that. We never felt unsafe, and it really didn’t feel, as far as safety level, any different than any other country in Europe. So, I think that’s a big misconception. There are far more dangerous places in the world than Albania, and yes, it’s not a reason not to go. If you’re used to big cities, if you’re used to petty crime in big cities, it’s nothing different in Albania.
And especially now that tourism is opened up, a lot more people in Albania are actually very welcoming. So, if you aren’t sure if people are going to be friendly, if you can ask people questions, people are definitely friendly, and there is not a big crime problem in Albania whatsoever. Now, that kind of leads us to our next point.
Albanian language is very hard to speak
Next on the list; number 9 so the Albanian language it’s a very complex language and it actually doesn’t really have roots in, you know, like the romance languages to Spanish Italian or even the dramatic languages term in English. There’s a different branch than Albanian comes from. So, it’s actually a very unique in that way. But it’s very hard to learn very hard to speak every time you go to a new contrary look app just you know “yes” “no” “please” “thank you” things like that, but even those words were very difficult to pronounce. The good news is that there’s a lot of English in Albania now that tourism is growing, and now that, you know the entire Balkan region in English is pretty good in general. Albania’s no exception. There’s a lot of English there, so if you’re going there and you don’t speak any Albanian in your little bit nervous about that, don’t be. You’re going to be able to get by just fine you may run innocent people that don’t speak any English, but they may still try to help you. They’re it’s usually, you know, a pretty friendly vibe within the cities and even the rural areas of Albania.
Where to visit
Last on the list number 10; Just know that the Albanian countryside is absolutely beautiful. They have natural parks; they have incredible mountain scenery. This is actually kind of ironic coming from us because we spent most of our time in Tirana, but it’s one of the reasons we want to go back to Albania. We figured we missed out a lot on the nature aspects, whether that’s the coastline of the Adriatic Sea or all of their national parks, particularly more in the north of the country. Just don’t miss out on the Albanian countryside if you have time.
The cities are great; Tirana’s really cool, it’s really unique, and there’s a lot to it, there’s a lot of vibrancy. But what Albania really excels in is just their beautiful landscapes, and again, it’s one of the reasons we want to go back. We feel like we really missed out on that aspect of it, but just by the plane ride in, everything we saw, and then just the research of seeing all these national parks, seeing pictures of all of the hiking trails, Albania is beautiful, the countryside is absolutely beautiful. If you get the chance to rent a car, that’s a good way to do it too. If you do want to stay mostly in Tirana, the thing about Albania, this kind of goes off on a tangent a little bit, but there aren’t as many trains and ways to get around. So, if you are in Shkodra, if you are in a different city apart from Tirana, it may be kind of hard to find a flight out of Albania. So, that’s why people like to kind of stay centralized in Tirana. But just make sure if you have the opportunity, if you have the time, don’t miss out on the Albanian countryside, it is absolutely jaw-dropping.
Thank you so much for checking out this blog, and I really hope it was helpful. If you have any additional questions, be sure to drop that in the comment section and we will definitely answer them for you. If you did find the blog helpful, useful, or enjoyable, thanks again, and have a wonderful time visiting Albania!
