Want Stunning Beaches, Delicious Food, & Budget-Friendly Prices? It’s Time You Start Traveling to Albania
Welcome to the next up and coming country in Europe to add to your bucket list. Last summer while everyone was in Greece and Italy, we decided on traveling to Albania instead.
With an amazing blend of beautiful beaches, jaw dropping mountains, and other insanely cool landscapes, there is so much to explore in this underrated country. Not only that, but it is much cheaper and less crowded than the more popular surrounding countries!
In this guide we’re going to share why Albania stole our hearts, as well as all of the great things to do, foods to try, and more. Here is everything you need to know when traveling to Albania.
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The Basics of Traveling to Albania
Traveling to Albania is such an experience, and we’re so excited to share it with you! Before we dive into logistics, here are a few reasons Albania is great, and why you should make it there sooner than later.
⭐️ What is Albania Known For?
Albania is known for a lot of things, but most travelers couldn’t tell you what they are before visiting. That is exactly what makes it one of the most exciting destinations in Europe right now. It’s severely underrated, and we’re sure it’s going to be the next hot summer getaway.
The country has stunning Adriatic and Ionian coastlines with some of the most beautiful beaches on the continent, dramatic mountain landscapes in the Albanian Alps, and a fascinating history that has left behind ancient ruins, Ottoman architecture, and thousands of concrete bunkers that dot the countryside like something out of a science fiction film.
Albania is also known for its extraordinary food, and the fact that it is one of the most affordable countries in all of Europe. Travelers who make it here almost always leave wondering why they waited so long.
🤔 Is Albania Good for Tourists?
Albania is one of those destinations that tends to get a bad reputation, particularly from other Europeans. We heard it constantly while traveling through the surrounding countries, with locals warning us that Albanians were unfriendly, unwelcoming, and not worth our time. Honestly, we almost let it get to us.
But the truth is that we were completely surprised! (especially when an old lady was hugging me while her neighbor tried pushing our car out of a ditch). The Albanian people were some of the kindest and most helpful people we’ve met, even despite some of them not originally looking friendly. It is one of those places that has been unfairly talked down for years by its neighbors, and the reality on once you’re there is totally different.
Albania is still a developing destination when it comes to tourism infrastructure, so some roads are rough, signage can be limited, and things don’t always run on a predictable schedule. But for curious, flexible travelers who want stunning nature, incredible food, and an experience that feels completely authentic, Albania is an absolute gem that most people are still sleeping on.
Travel to Albania: Getting There
There are quite a few ways to travel to Albania, and we’ve done it a couple of different ways. Here are the different options.
📍 Where is Albania?
Albania is located in south Eastern Europe, a part of the Balkan region of the continent. The countries that border Albania are Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the north east, Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south.
Albania is located in the Balkan region of south Eastern Europe.
✈️ Traveling to Albania by Air
If you’d like to travel in Albania from outside the surrounding countries, the easiest way is to fly into Tirana, the capital of the country. Cities that fly direct into Tirana include Abu Dhabi, Ancona, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Beauvais, Belgrade, Berlin, Bologna, Budapest, Catania, Charleroi, Dortmund, Dubai, Eindhoven, Forli, Frankfurt, Geneva, Genoa, Hamburg, Istanbul, Karlsruhe, London, Memminghen, Milan, Mulhouse, Munich, Nice, Nuremburg, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Rome, Torino, Treviso, Verona, Vienna, and Zurich.
In addition, there is a small airport in Kukes, which has flights from Basel, Karlsruhe, Memmingen, and Vienna, and is served by Wizz Air.
✈️ Flight Tip: Using Skyscanner you can put from “your city” to “Albania”. This way you can see which is the cheapest airport to fly to. Also, you can check the calendar to see which are the cheapest dates to get there.
Search for a flight to Albania:
🚗 Traveling to Albania by Land
If you find yourself in the Balkans, it’s actually quite simple to travel to Albania by crossing the land border. We had a rental car, and border control was very easy in all three borders we crossed with Montenegro, Kosovo, and Macedonia.
If you don’t have a rental car, not to worry. Traveling around Eastern Europe is super easy by bus, so there are plenty ways that you can make it to Albania via land. Here are some of the most popular routes that you can check out:
🚢 Traveling to Albania by Sea
This is actually how I went to Albania the first time ever. While in Corfu, my sister and I saw that there were ferries to Albania, so we decided to visit for the day. We loved it so much, and it really made me excited to travel to Albania again 8 years later.
You can easily travel to Albania from this Greek island in just 30 minutes- an hour. Tickets online are around $30-45 each way right now to Sarande, which is a part of the Albanian Riviera in the south west of the country.
We actually booked in person though, and remember it being much cheaper (granted it was a long time ago). Ferries leave at 8:50 and 9 am, so we suggest booking the day before.
Entry Requirements to Travel to Albania
Traveling in Europe can get a bit confusing, as there are different requirements for each country. This goes for within the European Union, as well as within the Schengen Zone. That’s why we’re here to clarify a few things before you travel to Albania.
🛂 Visa Requirements to Travel to Albania
In many European countries, the “90/180” rule applies for the people that are not European. This means that in a 180-day period, tourists can only stay within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in total.
Some countries in Europe are part of the EU, and aren’t part of the Schengen Zone, while some are in the Schengen Zone and are not part of the EU. Some countries are apart of both, while some aren’t in either of them. You can imagine that this can get extremely confusing when trying to calculate your traveling dates!
The good news is though, that Albania is not actually part of the Schengen Zone. This means that you can freely travel to Albania even if you’ve already expired your 90 days in the Schengen Zone (which is exactly what happened to us). Tourists are able to travel in Albania visa free for a total of 90 days within a 180 day period, despite any of the other European countries they had visited prior.
💉 Do You Need Any Vaccinations for Albania?
There are no required vaccinations to enter Albania.
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Local Adjustments for Traveling to Albania
Whenever traveling somewhere new there are things that may be different than from where you are coming from. Here are a few of the local adjustments to keep in mind for when you travel in Albania.
🗣 What Language is Spoken in Albania?
The official language in Albania is Albanian. Unlike all of the languages around Albania, the Albanian language has zero to do with the Slavic ones. It is a rather difficult language to learn, and we were really only able to pick up a few words here and there.
Many older people don’t speak too much English throughout the country, but the young kids really can speak it very well! Being in more “touristy” areas of the country we found much more people were able to speak English than in the small towns.
💶 Currency Used in Albania
The currency used in Albania is the Albanian Lek. Currently (March 2026) the exchange rate is 83.5 lek for every USD or 96.15 for every euro.
Euros can actually be used pretty much everywhere throughout the country, and we even found the exchange rate to be better than using lek at times! This is quite rare to find while traveling, so we suggest bringing as many euros as you can to travel in Albania.
Another thing to note is that many places such as beach or mountain towns only take cash. Even restaurants will claim that their “credit card machine is broken” in many establishments, even in bigger cities. Pretty much cash is key in Albania, so make sure to have plenty of euros or Albanian Lek.
🔌 Do European Plugs Work in Albania?
Albania uses the same outlets as the rest of Europe, which are for plug types C & F. The standard voltage in Albania is 230 V, with a standard frequency of 50 Hz.
If you’re coming from the US or UK, you’ll need to get a travel adapter for you travel to Albania.
🚰 Is Albania Tap Water Drinkable?
The water potability actually changes quite a lot throughout Albania. You’ll find that in the mountain regions the water is great to drink, while the cities don’t have the most drinkable water.
💸 Tipping Culture in Albania
The tipping culture in Albania is pretty relaxed. Most people tip in bars by simply rounding up, while in restaurants most will leave 100-200 lek (between $1-2).
We always left about 10% to our servers that did a good job, as wages are pretty low in Albania. However, if you don’t receive super great service, you don’t have to feel obligated to tip like that.
Travel in Albania: Places to Visit & Stay
Now that you know almost everything you need to know to travel in Albania, here are the best places to see throughout the country.
❣️ Top Places to Stay in Albania
💎 Other Cool Places and Hidden Gems
Suggested Read: The 20 Best Places to Visit in Albania
Travel in Albania: Getting Around the Country
Now that you know all of the best places to go and explore, we’re going to share the absolute best way to travel in Albania.
🚗 What is the Best Way to Get Around Albania?
We had a car when we visited Albania, and truly felt that it was the best way to get around the country. There are so many cool places that you can only reach by car, and a ton of hidden gems that we found while driving from one side to the other.
Something to note about driving in Albania is that you never know when a nicely paved road will randomly turn into a nightmare.
There are so many dirt roads that are extremely difficult to drive along. While we didn’t feel a 4×4 was really necessary in the surrounding countries, we found that some parts of Albania really lacked infrastructure, and feel a 4×4 is really necessary.
There are a lot of areas of Albania where there are only dirt roads.
Travel in Albania: Local Cuisine
We absolutely loved the food in Albania, and found the cuisine to vary quite a bit throughout the country.
In the mountains you can find heavier meat based dishes, soups, and stews, and the cuisine was very similar to other inland Balkan destinations such as Zabljak in Montenegro or Zlatibor in Serbia. Meanwhile, the coastal cities have a bigger emphasis on fresh pastas and seafood, and are much more Mediterranean style.
Another thing we loved in Albania is that there has been a huge influx of agro-tourism, and farm-to-table experiences. This is where you can find locally run restaurants with fresh ingredients from local vendors. We found the quality of food and prices to be excellent all around, and really enjoyed eating and drinking our way around Albania.
The food varies from the seaside to the mountains.
🍴 Service in Albania
One thing we loved about eating out in Albania too is that many restaurants were super generous, and had the custom of bringing fruit to the table after the meal (especially watermelon).
As a whole, we had such a variety of experiences when it came to service though. Some restaurants has servers that were slow and inattentive, while others had the friendliest servers that would truly go out of their way for you.
Is Traveling to Albania Safe?
When you tell other people from the Balkans that you’re visiting Albania, they usually have nothing but bad things to say about the people. Personally, we’ve also had some experiences with Albanians that came off a bit arrogant in the past, which made us a little worried before coming.
However, when we went to travel in Albania, we found that all of those stereotypes and preconceptions were completely not true! The people of Albania are super warm and welcoming, and the country is super safe.
Like anywhere, we still suggest to be cautious with your belongings, and not to leave things in plain site if you rent a car. Other than that, we can say solo travelers, women, and families can all confidently travel in Albania without having to worry about safety.
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Other Things to Know in Order to Travel in Albania
Now that you know almost everything you need to know to travel in Albania, here are a few last details.
☀️ Weather in Albania
Albania experiences similar weather to other places in Southern Europe. There are four seasons, with pretty mild winters, and hot, sunny summers along the coast and in capital. Meanwhile, the mountain regions have super hot summers and very cold and snowy winters.
📆 The Best Time to Travel to Albania
We honestly think that you can travel in Albania any time of the year and enjoy it!
Summers are amazing to head to the Albanian Riviera. While many tourists flock to surrounding countries for beach destinations, Albania still remains a bit under the radar.
Because of this, you can have equally amazing beach vacations, but with fewer crowds and better prices! In addition, Albania has quite a few beautiful springs that are extremely cold, and only suitable to enjoy swimming in if it’s super hot out.
Summer is a great time to enjoy the cold waters of the springs in Albania.
Winter is a magical time to visit the mountain destinations such as Theth or Girokaster, where you can find the quaint towns covered in a blanket of snow.
Meanwhile, spring and fall are the happy medium for being able to enjoy the cities, and are a great warm escape from other places in Europe that may still be a bit colder.
🧳 Packing to Travel in Albania
When to comes to packing, it really depends on which area you are traveling to Albania. However, here are some of the must-bring items for any part of the country.
- Sneakers (Albania has amazing nature to explore)
- Flip flops (our favorites are Havaianas)
- Insulated water bottle (we use this water bottle from Cafago because it holds the temperature)
- Sunscreen
- Bathing suit
- Powerbank (We use Anker power banks, as they are super long lasting and durable)
- Towel
- Small backpack (here’s a list of our favorite backpacks for travelers!)
- Action Camera (We use the Insta 360 X3 because it’s small & waterproof)
- Waterproof phone pouch (we use the Casemate Waterproof Phone Pouch)
- Drone (We use the Mavic Mini 4 Pro because it’s super light and can shoot vertical)
- Camera (we use the Sony A7Riii)
- Standard Lens for a dynamic range (we use the Sony GM 24-70)
- Wide Lens to capture great panoramas (we use the Sony GM 14 F1.8)
- Telephoto Lens to capture the landscapes closer up (we use the Sony GM 70-200)
- Tripod to get nice shots with no one around (We use the JOBY Rangepod Tripod)
- Travel Adapter (we use Insignia travel adapters as they are affordable and reliable)
- Travel toiletries (our favorites are from Sheer Alternatives because they’re all natural and 100ml)
Final Tips About Traveling to Albania & What’s Next
Traveling to Albania was honestly one of the biggest surprises of our travels. We went in with low expectations thanks to everything we had heard from people in surrounding countries, and left completely won over by the place. The landscapes are jaw dropping, the food is incredible, the prices are unbeatable, and the people were far kinder and more welcoming than anyone had led us to believe.
Whether you spend 15 days exploring from north to south like we did, or just have a week to work with, Albania has a way of getting under your skin and making you want to come back for more. There is genuinely something for every type of traveler here, from mountain trekkers and beach lovers to history buffs and foodies.
A few final things to keep in mind before you go:
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👀 What’s Next?
Now that you know all about traveling to Albania, let’s dive a bit deeper! Here are our other Albania travel guides:
🏙️ How to spend one day in Tirana
💎 How to visit Lumi i Shales
🏔️ Theth travel guide
🏞️ How to visit Osum Canyon
🏖️ Albania Riviera travel guide
🌊 How to visit Gjipe Beach
So are you ready to travel to Albania? We know that after visiting, you’ll fall in love with this gorgeous country just as much as we did. We spent a total of 15 days exploring from north to south, and found we were able to cover all the highlights, as well as plenty of hidden gems!
Planning on visiting other nearby countries? Make sure to check out the rest of our Balkan travel guides. In addition, we have more coming every week, so make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest updates, as well as exclusive offers!
Ready to start planning your trip. It can be a lot of time invested, which is why we’re here to help. Scratch Your Mapa now offers customized travel planning services, so that you can sit back and relax, while we do the work. We can book your flights, find you unique accommodation, and even build you a full blown itinerary. Take a sneak peak at our different travel planning packages, or simply shoot us an email for your free consultation.
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