It is time for a very over due post about traveling through Albania. My anniversary for departing for my Euro-trip is coming up and it’s been stirring up a whole bunch of those nostalgic feelings. I’ve got a hankering that only travel will sedate, but until next time I’ll relive all that goodness through a hopefully helpful how-to for Albania on the cheap! I was rummaging through my room the other day and came across a list that my fellow traveler Jenna and I had compiled during our last couple of days in Albania and Croatia.
For any of you folks that may be in Europe already, and for those who are looking to travel there I urge you to take a step out of the average Euro-comfort zone and check out Albania!! Despite the occasional hindrances we came across, every time I look back on my trip this small country is what stands out most. I still have yet to come across somewhere are strikingly beautiful and unusual. I have dreams of it’s towering mountains dotted with purple flowering trees, herds of sheep and goat crossing the roads… breath taking valleys, people who are pushing through it’s past and into a future… There are so many difficult things to describe… So, instead- here’s some bullet points!
- Know what you’re getting into. Hostels are few and far between so get creative (We slept in our rental car every night we had it- not that bad really, you wake up to amazing views)
- Actually, I recommend only sleeping in the car. Seriously, amazing views.
- Intense historical stuff within the last 20 years.
- Very little English and Italian is spoken, seems to be some German.
- Everything you’ve heard about Albania is probably wrong.
- Very very nice helpful people, no real tourist infrastructure or public transport. Albanians themselves don’t use much public transport- mostly car pool. Ask ask ask!!! The more people you ask the more likely you are to get where you want to go.
- Buses leaving the country are few and far between, maybe 4 or 5 a week. It does help to plan ahead of time for this.
- It isn’t unfriendly- we were often the only females out and we never ran into trouble (despite my mothers constant fretting) Just be smart, and respectful. Falemnderit ( fall-in-min-dare-it ) is Thank You. A little Albanian will go a long way.
- Don’t just wander, ask around if you want to rent a car. Compare!! (One place we asked said $250USD a day and they wanted to keep our passports! The next place we asked was $20USD a day, and they didn’t even ask for passports.)
- Oh, and learn how to drive stick/manual whatever you want to call it. They don’t really have automatic rental cars.
- Awesome pastries. You can find them for very cheap, but they tend to mark up the price.
- Pedestrian does not have right-of-way, no apparent law enforcement governing roads. Police stops along the roads happen occasionally, we never had any trouble.
- Roads are shit. It will take you much. much. longer than you anticipated to get anywhere.
- Enjoy getting lost- it will happen often. (Detailed and up to date road/city maps were no where to be found)
- Shkoder was the only city we really liked. Natures where it’s at! Stop in small towns- they are wonderful everywhere.
- Amazing things to be found in Nature, secret beaches ♥, mind blowing mountains, forests, rolling hills.
- Appreciate confusion. Our tire popped and it cost €4.€4!! (That would have cost us at least $60USD at home. We had to call our car rental company and have them translate though.)
- Travel with someones number that speaks Albanian and English. Smile. See above.
- Hotels can be very cheap ($15USD), tend to be much cheaper than hostels.
- Tourist info people are nice but do not always have all the knowledge (at least about what a broke person wants to know), worth asking people on the street.
- WiFi very easy to find, cheap internet cafes are plentiful. 2hr for one coffee.
- Don’t turn down offerings for help, you never know where it will take you.
This is all jumbled I know, but that’s the spirit of travel! Or at least my kind. I recommend asking people every where you go what their favorite part of their home country is. It’s fun to connect with people this way, and who knows- you may end up getting a really great tip off on a sweet spot. I remember all the people we asked this, the young guys working at a gas station, the woman concierge who pointed us in all the right directions, the teacher, the man at the bar. All these faces scrunching up in thought. I’ll go back in a heart beat.
A Girl WWOOFing Europe 