Tour of Albania

We have just completed a seven-day guided tour of Albania organised by Albanian Trip. This included visits to Ohrid in North Macedonia, the old towns of Berat and Gjirokastër returning to Tirana along the Ionian and Adriatic coasts, staying in Sarandë and Vlorë. The scenery was stunning, with steep, jagged hills, and old towns built into the hill sides and the return along the coast was through attractive villages and over high passes had fantastic views.

Our guide, Ervin Budo, not only spoke excellent English and had an extensive knowledge of the many fascinating historic sites we visited but was also a careful driver which was particularly reassuring given the steep and narrow roads on some of the routes through the mountains. In the towns and sites we visited we saw the influence of Greek, Roman and Ottoman building, as well as the legacy of Ali Pasha. Ervin also showed us around Tirana, with visits to Bunk Art 2 and the Block which helped explain the transition from the previous communist era.

The hotels were clean and comfortable, and in several cases family run, all in great locations and most equating to a UK 3 star standard. The Mangalemi hotel in Berat deserves special mention as it was particularly well renovated, had welcoming staff and excellent food. The cost of eating out is much lower than in the UK, although top quality food comes at a slightly higher price – we had a very good traditional Albanian meal at Mullixhiu in Tirana and excellent seafood in Sarandë and Vlorë.

Albanian Trip were easy to deal with from our first contact and were quick to answer any questions. Our tour was largely pre-planned, but also very flexible; Ervin was patient and very accommodating – always happy to tailor the itinerary to match our interests, including an unplanned visit to a winery. Ervin’s knowledge and local contacts certainly made our visit run very smoothly and gave us a deeper understanding of the country. We would certainly recommend a visit to Albania using Albanian Trip.