The best holidays in Albania – the Med’s budget secret
There’s a good chance you’ve been to Greece. You may well even have thought about the current darling of the Adriatic, Montenegro, for your next beach break. But for those really looking to get ahead of the curve? It’s all about beautiful Albania, the unsung pearl of the Balkans.
Sitting snugly between these aforementioned holiday hotspots on the shores of the Ionian Sea, Albania is beginning to draw international visitors with its blend of beguiling scenery, excellent cuisine and intriguing history.
Visitors willing to diverge a little from the well-beaten Mediterranean track are rewarded with a mosaic of cultural riches and natural beauty: from the Ottoman stone houses of Gjirokaster and unspoilt sands of the Albanian Riviera, to cutting-edge culinary culture in Tirana and whispers of ancient civilizations at the Unesco-listed Butrint Archaeological Park.
Getting there couldn’t be simpler, with direct flights to the capital, Tirana, running regularly from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh with Wizzair, Ryanair and British Airways. Flights come in under four hours from all UK airports, meaning Albania is ripe for both weekend city breaks and bigger adventures.
Now all you need is a little inspiration, so we’ve picked ten thrilling ways to get under the skin of Europe’s latest holiday hotspot in the making – before this Balkan pearl is unsung no longer.
Hit the town in Tirana
Tirana, Albania’s dynamic capital, is making a name for itself as an off-beat urban escape. This is a city where rich – albeit sometimes unsettling – history converges with a distinctly youthful energy: step back to the communist era via bunkers-turned-museums Bunk’art 1 and 2 and the House of Leaves Museum of Secret Surveillance, set in the former headquarters of the Sigurimi state intelligence service, before hitting the lively cafes and stylish boutiques of the chic Blloku neighbourhood.
A jaunt up nearby Mt Dajti on the Dajti Ekspres – the longest cableway in the Balkans – gives you an idea of the area’s impressive topography, while dinner at culinary hotspot Mullixhiu, set at the edge of the Grand Park, showcases a bounty of local produce.
Stay in style at The Plaza (00 355 422 112 21; plazatirana.com), which has rooms from £125 per night.
Experience the European Galapagos
Why visit one country when you can tick two off the list, all in the space of one relaxing waterside break? One of Europe’s oldest and deepest inland bodies of water, Lake Ohrid straddles Albania and North Macedonia and is often referred to as the “European Galapagos”, thanks to its impressive biodiversity.
Stroll the promenade or take a sweetwater dip at Pogradec and enjoy a boat ride at Drilon, before peeking over the border into North Macedonia and taking in the Byzantine St Naum Monastery. If time allows, follow the road round to the Unesco-protected town of Ohrid.
Lounge lakeside at Hotel Hymeti’s Palace (00 355 67 500 0800; hymetispalace.al), where rooms start at £70 per night.
Discover Albania’s unsung cuisine
Drawing on the diverse produce of its varied landscape – think rustic, hearty fare in the northern mountains, and quintessential Mediterranean flavours along the riviera – and its history under numerous empires (perhaps most notably the Ottoman), Albania’s culinary culture will surprise and delight with every olive oil-laden mouthful.
Savour national dish tave kosi (baked lamb and rice with yoghurt), pispili cornbread with leeks and scarlet fergese stew packed with tomatoes, peppers and generous helpings of feta, before sampling the fruits of the local terroir at one of Albania’s many up-and-coming vineyards (there are plenty of excellent options, but Alpeta Agrotourism & Winery makes a particularly good one-stop-shop intro to food and wine culture).
Dig into the best of Albanian gastronomy with Responsible Travel (01273 823 700; responsibletravel.com), which has a seven-day Albanian food and wine tour from £1,200 per person.
Chase waterfalls in the Osumi Canyon and Vjosa River
Albania is a thrill-seeker’s paradise, particularly when it comes to aquatic activities. Beyond the watersports available at the pristine beaches that punctuate the Albanian Riviera, heading inland means river hiking or rafting in the Osumi Canyon – a deep 16-mile river gorge, dotted with waterfalls – and kayaking on the Vjosa River, dubbed Europe’s last truly wild river.
And if you’d sooner explore the Osumi riverbed on foot than in a boat? Visit in the dry season between July and October.
Enjoy high-octane fun with Much Better Adventures (020 3966 7597; muchbetteradventures.com), which offers a range of rafting, kayaking and hiking trips from £828 per person.
Hike the Albanian Alps
Swap Mont Blanc and Zermatt for the Albanian Alps, set in the country’s rugged north. Home to Albania’s finest hiking, this mountain range sees dramatic peaks melt into lush forests and deep valleys dotted with wildflowers.
Don’t be put off by the area’s other moniker, the “Accursed Mountains”: the epic scenery is crisscrossed by varied trails, ensuring a happy holiday for all intrepid walkers of all abilities. The most popular trails run through the Valbona pass to the village of Theth – dubbed the most beautiful village in Albania.
Trek Balkan (00 383 49 601 007; trekbalkan.com) has a six-day hiking tour from £640 per person, including local accommodation.
Mix ruins and relaxation
Holidaying in Albania’s far south means combining adventures in history with lazy beach days. Start by exploring Albania’s most extensive archaeological site, Butrint, marvelling at the way the ruins trace the settlement’s evolution as new occupants made their mark on the city.
With traces of the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans all in evidence, it’s easy to see why Butrint is often called the perfect microcosm of Mediterranean history. Ancient amphitheatre and agora duly investigated, take to your sunlounger on the nearby pure white sands of the Ksamil Islands: Albania’s answer to the Maldives, surrounded by inviting, crystal-clear waters.
Hop on the ferry from nearby Greek island Corfu to reach the Albanian seaside city of Sarande in 1.5 hours. Blue Eye Ksamil (00 355 693708250; blueeyehotel.al) has doubles from £43 per night.
Delve into Ottoman history in Berat and Gjirokaster
During the communist era, much of Albania’s Ottoman architectural heritage was dismantled in favour of functional, often more stark, building design. The UNESCO-protected cities of Berat and Gjirokaster escaped this fate: Berat is known as the “city of a thousand windows” for its beautifully preserved Ottoman-era hillside houses, while Gjirokaster is crowned by its 12th-century castle and dubbed the “city of stone”, thanks to its slate-roofed stone houses.
Journeying between the two cities by car generally takes less than three hours, with local buses providing a cheaper (if slightly slower) alternative.
Albanian Holidays (albanianholidays.co.uk) has the two-day Berat and Gjirokaster tour from £250 per person.
Road trip the Albanian Riviera
Skip St Tropez in favour of southwestern Albania’s very own riviera: a seemingly endless string of breathtaking bays between Vlore and Ksamil.
Often cited as some of the country’s finest swimming spots, the beaches at Dhermi and Gjipe are the perfect setting for your first Ionian paddle. Here, near-radiant white pebbles are lapped by turquoise waters and backed by the dramatic Ceraunia Mountains, with Gjipe offering a taste of wilder Albanian beauty and Dhermi equipped with comfy loungers and seaside lunch spots. What’s more, Dhermi is touted as the holiday destination of choice for Albanian prime ministers.
While you’re in the Sarande area, head inland to visit the Blue Eye – a breathtaking spring, shrouded in local legend and known for its deep underwater cave.
Take in unparalleled coastal views from Villa Filip (00 355 696247924; villafilip.business.site) which has rooms from £30 per night.
Combine city and nature in Shkoder
The legend-rich Rozafa Fortress may well be Shkoder’s star attraction, but pottering past rows of pastel-coloured houses, enjoying cafe culture on charming Kole Idromeno Street and exploring the Marubi National Museum of Photography should all be draws to the city. In addition to its distinctly relaxed vibe, a remarkable feature is the large number of mosques and churches that pepper the cityscape.
These buildings, and their close proximity, speak to the city’s high level of religious diversity (Shkoder is the centre of Catholicism in the Muslim-majority country) – perhaps best experienced by visiting the 19th-century St Stephen’s Cathedral, followed by the modern Ebu Beker Mosque. From here, head to the nearby village of Shiroka to go paddle boarding or kayaking on the eponymous lake, or tuck into fresh fish by the water.
Family-run Cocja Boutique Hotel (00 355 685383781; cocja.com) has doubles from £66 per night.
Pedal through Albania
Prefer to travel on two wheels? Drawn by the striking coastal views of the Albanian Riviera, the challenging gradients of the Accursed Mountains, or the promise of simply pootling along by Lake Shkoder or Ohrid, cyclists are arriving in Albania in their droves each year. Many resorts have bike rental available, but for more extensive expeditions it’s worth exploring organised tour options.
Hit Albania’s highlights from the (dis)comfort of your saddle with Explore (01252391103; explore.co.uk), which has an eight-day cycling tour from £1,179 per person.
Insider tips
If you’re travelling to southern Albania, where Ksamil and Butrint are located, it’s worth looking at flights to the Greek island of Corfu rather than Tirana – Corfu Town is a mere 40km and an easy ferry ride away from the Albanian city of Sarande.
Albania’s national currency is the Lek (with approximately 121 lek to the pound). You can’t exchange it outside of Albania, and euros are the best to bring if you want to exchange cash on arrival.
Most major credit and debit cards are accepted in banks, larger supermarkets and international hotels, but smaller businesses and taxis may only accept cash.
A cappuccino in a cafe in central Tirana will set you back in the region of 170 lek (£1.40), while you can sip on a Korca beer for 300 lek (£2.50).
Tirana’s average high in July and August is 31C, so visit outside of high summer for a less sweaty city break. The average high in May is a comfortable 24C, for example.
Among the cheapest ways to get around Albania is by furgon minibuses. Look for the sign announcing the final destination in the front window and be prepared for an adventure. Furgons are inexpensive and can be a lot of fun, but timetables can be on the unpredictable side.
