Albania Guide - all you need to know

In this guide, I will show you different options and ways you can travel Albania. Depending on how much time you have and depending on if you travel by car or by bus. If you want a chilled holiday experience or to explore more of Albania's beauty, this guide is for you.

First of all I'm gonna give you a little guide to each city/village, what to do and where to stay and after that, multiple itinerary options you can choose from. Or you create your own one.

My partner and I stayed for a month here in Albania during March and April. We were lucky to be able to celebrate "the start of summer" festival on the 14th of march here in Albania, with open air stages and markets all over Tirana. I will also only give you information here about the best places we've been to (except Valbonë). I will warn you about some spots/scams. As it comes to hotels, we always only book hotels with breakfast included, so one less thing you have to worry about.

General information

Money + ATMs

Albania is not as far developed as many other countries when it comes to cashless payments. And sadly they don't have ATMs or money exchanges everywhere. Busses, lots of restaurants and even the hotels must be paid in cash, so better bring too much than not enough. One plus point, Albanians often don't mind taking Euros instead of Lek.

Tip: Bring cash and exchange your money at a shop. Always count the money right away when you get it, just to make sure you got the right amount. It'll saves you tons of fees on the ATMs. They start at 5€ and go op to 8€. And that adds up quickly.

Food