For this year’s summer vacation, we chose Albania. This is the second time , and there are good reasons for this.
We are a family of three: father, mother and a three-year-old son.
Why we choose Albania
Reason No. 1: the most budget-friendly vacation in the region
I literally looked at every object in Europe on the coast. This year, it was extremely difficult not to spend less than €1,000 per month on housing alone, without driving into a dead end. There were few options, and we decided to go to Albania a second time.
Reason #2. Comfortable beach vacation with a child
The coast of Albania is divided into two parts: in the north there are more sandy beaches, in the south – pebbly, stony beaches. In Vlora, where we stayed, there is a very gentle beach – a natural frog pond. To find yourself in chest-deep water, you need to walk at least 50 meters. It can annoy an adult, but it is comfortable for a child.
Reason #3: I didn’t have time to see everything
The Albanian coast is a well for landscape painters. Small bays, rocky shores, turquoise water, gorges and canyons. I am not talking about the mountains that occupy ¾ of the territory – as if you are not on Earth, but somewhere on Mars.
Organization of a trip to Albania
But let’s talk about everything in order.
tickets
The only airport in operation is Rinas, which is located near Tirana. If there are no direct flights from your country, then you can use the Turkish hubs: Antalya or Istanbul. The cost depends on the season, but at least 150 euros one way.
At the same time, Tirana airport actively cooperates with budget carriers. Large low-cost airlines fly to Albania: Ryanair, Wizz Air, Turkish Pegasus. If you monitor tickets, you can fly from European cities for €10-20.
Don’t forget about the land borders either: the Montenegrin airport of Pidgorica is located relatively nearby. This summer we continued our vacation and traveled through North Macedonia: five days on Lake Ohrid, two in Skopje and flew Wizz Air for €8.
Dwelling
Over the past year, the cost of living has increased significantly. According to local residents, the demand is huge and the supply is small. Our experience is as follows: the apartment, which was rented last year for €400, was given by the landlord for €900. There was no justification for the increase other than “everyone does it now”. However, for three euros in an apartment complex on the first line, a free and relatively clean beach three minutes’ walk away, it is still very budget-friendly.
Visa
If you are not a citizen of the EU, Serbia, Turkey, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Ukraine, you need an Albanian visa or a Schengen multiple-entry visa.
The visa is issued on the website e-visa.al and costs from 30 euros per adult, is issued for up to a month, is not pasted in the passport, but is sent by e-mail.
To submit, you need to fill out a large questionnaire, add a photo on a white background, translated into English:
- employment guarantee;
- hotel reservation;
- round-trip tickets;
- bank statement with the movement of funds for the last year (in addition, the applicant must confirm the ability to pay for the stay of an adult at the rate of 44.5 euros per day and 22.2 euros per day for a child);
- consent for the trip of a minor.
Translations do not need to be certified, they can be done in Google Docs.
Payment of the visa must be confirmed by a bank document with the seal and signature of the employee. You cannot do this from your country, you can only ask someone in Albania or another country. We bypassed several foreign banks, all of them refused to provide such a document. As a result, we made a translation via SWIFT, and it was read. The services of assistants will cost about 15 € for one visa.
Insurance
Although it is necessary to indicate in the visa application the dates for which the insurance is issued, it is not required when entering Albania, and it remains on the conscience of the tourist. The insurance was issued through online services, used only once, but local doctors with the words Albania is free for everyone did not take money for an examination or even an X-ray.
A trip to Albania
Tirana Airport
Upon arrival, you will need to go through passport control. They can request return tickets and reservations or at least the address of the place of residence. You will also need to show a printout of your visa, a canceled Schengen visa or an ID with a residence permit in an EU country.
The airport nominally has Wi-Fi, but this summer it did not work (as well as the city Internet in Vlorë). Therefore, you can use the Internet to go to KFC literally opposite the exit and use the QR code at the cash register to connect.
You can exchange euros (the exchange rate is much more favorable than the lek/dollar pair) for the local currency — lek — at the money changer when leaving the baggage claim area. There are often counters selling SIM cards, but only a tourist tariff for 21 days can be purchased at the airport. I immediately postponed the purchase because I needed a month of Internet.
How to get to the sea
If you are looking for a seaside resort, you will have to get from Tirana to the coast. Travel time to the main resorts:
- to Durres – about 30 minutes;
- to Vlera – about three hours;
- to Saranda – from three to five hours, depending on the route.
You can order a car in advance, pick up a rental car at the airport, order a taxi via WhatsApp (best in advance, delivery time from 1 hour) or use transfers from the airport – this is a budget option.
We ordered a taxi from the airport several times. With bulky luggage, it is better to choose a taxi, it is cheaper than a transfer and more convenient. There are no networks like Uber here, each city has its own set of private companies. They chose Blue Taxi. All the cars are super modern, the drivers are English-speaking, neat. I do not recommend using the services of drivers who pick you up at the airport exit: overpayment by 2-3 times.
You will find the buses by walking along the offices that offer car rental. Don’t expect much from a Hermes transfer . These are minibuses without air conditioning, they run as if according to the schedule, but not always. Even if you write in advance and specify the time of departure, it may coincide with reality.
For example, my child and I boarded the bus 30 minutes before departure, and left in 1.5 hours. The locals explained it to us as follows: the driver said that there were not enough people and decided to postpone the start for an hour. This is Albania and the local mentality that you should be prepared for.
Rest in Vlora
It is a small but densely built-up city. There is the necessary minimum of entertainment for a child , but playgrounds and carousels are in a state of disrepair. The largest children’s playground in the port area has rebar sticking out of the sand, and the rides at the amusement park in the center of the city are covered in dust. The solution is to look for cafes with their own children’s areas. As far as I noticed, there are more and more of them.
Here is a gentle, safe Lungomare beach . The coastline stretches from Nartu Bay to the tunnel. You cannot swim in the port area and nearby, Narta Beach is wilder, although with its highlight – a coniferous forest adjacent to the shore. Therefore, I would advise you to settle in the Lungomari area – from the tunnel to the helipad in the water. However, there are 3-4 bus routes running through the city, so you can get to the beach from almost anywhere in the city.
Gippy Beach . The beach is located at the mouth of the gorge, surrounded by steep cliffs. You leave your car on the mountain and walk down to the coast. It takes about 30 minutes, the road is not easy, but my three-year-old son walked it in both directions. The beach is not wild, there is music, lots of sunbeds, a pier for boats. The view of the mountains is stunning. If you want more peace, you should move to the farthest corner from the descent: here you can find several furnaces, knocked out by water. The water is super clear, but the sea is rough. Without a good skill or at least circle or gauntlets – I do not advise.
Borsch . This is a village with a long coastline. So far, the village, because the construction of its Radisson complex has started here. It is expected to improve the infrastructure and increase the number of tourists per square meter. Now it is a wide strip of pebbly beach, the purest turquoise sea with almost no people. You can stay on the municipal beach or take a sunbed in one of the restaurants on the shore. Borsh is very beautiful due to its location: the village is surrounded by mountains, on one of which there is an ancient castle. And down in the valley there are houses and infrastructure for recreation.
Saranda and Ksamil. Saranda is the third largest resort in Albania, but we passed by because we were in a hurry to get to the hyped Ksamil. “Albanian Maldives” is exactly what Ksamil is called. But like all “Maldives” except the Maldives itself, this is, in my opinion, a very far-fetched definition. Now this place is revered by all travel bloggers, editors of travel magazines, it is written about in airline brochures. And tens of thousands of tourists come to this small village. Is it worth it? If you like to sit on each other’s head both in the sea and on the beach is possible. But I would be upset if I spent more than 1-2 nights here.
Ghirokastra is an ancient city founded before our era. It was part of the Roman Empire, then Byzantium, then five centuries under Ottoman rule, and a dramatic new history as the city changed hands. And in the end he stayed on the territory of Albania. There is a fortress in the center of the city. It is worth parking in one of the parking lots and passing through the Old Bazaar – it is a whole avenue of shops, stores, souvenirs and, of course, ice cream parlors. Since everyone goes to the fortress, it is impossible to pass. The Ghirokastra Fortress is a monumental building of the end of the 9th century. It is quite cool inside, which is a very pleasant surprise on a hot day.
After Gyrokastra, we went to the Benye thermal springs near the city of Peremet. The path goes through an incredibly beautiful track, and then through a sun-warmed valley. And it was here that our car boiled: the air conditioner cut off and barely rolled to the springs, where we successfully got stuck. The local mechanic could not start the car, and we had to spend half a day here without food. There is a cafe here, but you can only buy ice cream in it. Only in the evening the rental office sent a replacement car, we were able to stop in Peremet to have dinner and went to Vlorë.
But there are advantages. In Benye, there are several thermal baths of different composition and temperature. All of them are natural, lined with stones with algae growing on them. The Byzantine bridge of an unusual design attracts central attention. And bowls with thermal water are made around it, where most tourists gather. But, if you go further along the riverbed, you can get into the Langarica canyon and climb into a few more baths.
There are almost no people here, but the water flows are serious in some places, you need to wear comfortable shoes and be very careful: the stones are slippery.
Berat . After fixing the car, we drove from Vlera to Berat one day. Berat is called the city of a thousand windows. Thanks to the relief, it seems that one house is standing on top of another, it gives the impression of a huge multi-windowed cruise ship. As in the case of Girokastra, the castle stands on top of a mountain, the climb is very steep, and here it was not easy with a child. But the views from the hill open over the entire city from all sides, and they are simply magnificent.
We spent another evening visiting the closest attraction to Vlera — Zvirnets Island in the Nartu Lagoon. An ancient Orthodox monastery is located there, which is currently active. By the way, how the Ottomans handled the conquered cultures delicately… The monastery yard is very small. Children may enjoy the cage with animals, adults may visit the chapel. But the main entertainment is crossing the curved bridge. The best photos do everything here. After visiting the monastery, I advise you to bypass the lagoon and go to the coast. Another wild beach awaits you with absolutely crazy scenery, there is a nest with swallows’ nests, and you can take some incredible photos. But be more careful, a wave can easily wash away a person – grandfather, who fished here, warned us about it.
Is it scary in Albania?
This is the most popular question I have been asked after the trip. The country was closed to tourists for a long time. A whole generation has grown up that is prejudiced against Albanians. But for almost three months spent here in two years, I encountered only the friendliness of local residents.
We had no conflicts, my child played with their children, they always smiled at us, they often gave us chocolates and tangerines. Right on the beach. I never once felt uncomfortable, even as I walked through local non-touristy bazaars and sleepy neighborhoods. And the experience of interaction with local medicine showed that they will not leave me in case of problems.