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Albania Albania Guide

The guide · 22 chapters

Albania Guide

From the Albanian Alps to the Ionian

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Chapter01 · 1 chapter

Introduction

The essential read that puts the country on the map before the journey begins.

01.01 · 8 minIntroduction to AlbaniaA small, young country newly reopened to the world — and why it's worth understanding before you travel it.Read the chapter↗

Chapter02 · 5 chapters

History

The essential moments that explain everything you will see afterwards.

0102.01 · 5 minIllyria, Rome and ByzantiumFrom the Illyrians to Byzantium: two millennia in which Albania learned to survive borders.Read→0202.02 · 6 minOttomans and SkanderbegFive Ottoman centuries, the hero Skanderbeg and the mark still visible in Berat and Gjirokastra.Locked→0302.03 · 4 minIndependence and interwar AlbaniaFrom the 1912 Vlorë declaration to Zog's kingdom and the Italian invasion of 1939.Locked→0402.04 · 5 minEnver Hoxha and total isolationForty years of Albanian communism: from anti-Nazi resistance to the only officially atheist country in the world.Locked→0502.05 · 5 min1997 and contemporary AlbaniaFrom the 1997 collapse of the state to EU candidacy: thirty years of unlikely reconstruction.Locked→

Chapter03 · 7 chapters

Cities

From west to east, the stops that shape the journey.

03.01 · 12 minTiranaA capital reinventing itself with colour, bunker-museums and the Blloku as the country's thermometer.Open city↗
02DurrësThe oldest port on the Adriatic: Greek Epidamnos, Roman Dyrrachium, today a seaside town 40 minutes from Tirana.8 min●↗03KrujëSkanderbeg's citadel — where Albanian national identity is manufactured.7 min●↗04ShkodraGateway to the Catholic north: Rozafa castle, the Balkans' largest lake, and the antechamber to the Albanian Alps.8 min●↗05Theth & ValbonaThe Albanian Alps and the trek everyone mentions — with the Koman ferry as an opening act.12 min●↗06BeratThe city of a thousand windows: Mangalem, Gorica, and a citadel where people still live.10 min●↗07GjirokastraKadare's stone city — and where Enver Hoxha was born. Two Albanias on a single hillside.10 min●↗

Chapter04 · 1 chapter

Coast

A considered selection for entering the destination with context.

04.01 · 15 minAlbanian RivieraThe SH8 north to south: Vlorë, Dhërmi, Himarë, Porto Palermo, Sarandë and Ksamil. The most transparent coast in the Mediterranean.→

Chapter05 · 5 chapters

Practical information

Clear answers for travelling with fewer doubts and more freedom.

4 minWhen to go to AlbaniaNorth and south run different calendars. May for the Riviera, July for the Alps — and August, hardly ever.●6 minTransport in AlbaniaCar, furgon, Bolt, the Koman ferry — which combination to use where, and when the rental car stops being optional.●5 minBudget and money in AlbaniaLek, euros, cards, ATMs and real prices — plus why the Albania-is-cheap rumour is no longer entirely true.●6 minSafety, health and daily life in AlbaniaReal safety, health, SIM and data, minimum language and local customs — plus the myth of dangerous Albania that the traveler finds false.●4 minVisa and entry to AlbaniaPassport, land borders, rental cars and why Albania is still one of Europe's easiest entries.●

Chapter06 · 3 chapters

Itineraries

Choose a structure and make it yours. No two journeys need be the same.

01North and the Albanian AlpsTirana, Shkodra and the Theth-Valbona crossing, day by day: the least touristed and most spectacular part of the country.7 daysLocked ↗02South and the RivieraBerat, Gjirokastra and the Ionian coast, day by day: the itinerary that combines Ottoman stone, Hellenistic history and sea.7 daysLocked ↗03Complete AlbaniaFrom the northern Alps to the Ionian Riviera, day by day: the full circuit for understanding why Albania is still the least known country in Europe.14 daysLocked ↗