Albania tours

Albania is hot right now, in that it’s rapidly racing up to the top of the hiking and cycling destination leaderboard. We don’t really think of ourselves as trend setters at The Natural Adventure, however we are a little bit proud that we’ve been bringing hikers to Albania since 2010. So we like to think that we know the best places for adventures as well as the best time to go to Albania. The walking and cycling season is relatively short, mainly due to the omnipresence of the Accursed Mountains (Albanian Alps), which are snow-covered for many months. Albania is also a lot further south than many realise, and so it also gets extremely hot in summer at coastal levels. Most of our cooler mountain trips run between June and September, however, with a few keeping their windows open from March until November, so you have some good choices. For more information, see our blog, Best time to go to Albania.

Our Albanian holidays cover three seasons really: spring, summer and autumn. There is a north-south divide when it comes to weather, however. The majority of our walking holidays in Albania take place in the north, in the Albanian Alps and are bookable for travel between June and September. Because, while the beaches of the south may be sultry in May, around 23C on average, you can take ten degrees off that in the mountains. The higher passes and trails are open and inviting by June, with temperatures averaging around 16C in Theth and 18C in Valbona. In July and August, expect average temperatures of 21 and 22C respectively. During these months, Tirana is around the early thirties, so be prepared for the contrasts. September brings temperatures similar to May, averaging 17C, with a possible contrast of 10 degrees higher in Shkodra, on the border with Montenegro, where many of our Peaks of the Balkans trails set out from.

Our southern Albanian holidays are available for travel between late March and early June, and then from September to early November, as we don’t think it’s healthy to be hiking in the extreme heat of summer on the coast. Although our walking holiday through the south’s hidden valleys and villages of the Dhembel-Nemercke Range still hits some cooler elevations, it’s much hotter than the northern Accursed Mountains, with temperatures of 30C in July and August. So we give those months a miss, bringing you back to the hills in September, when temperatures dip to an average of 22C. For more information, see our blog, Best time to go to Albania.

Unfortunately at the moment, we do not have any tours in Albania that are easy to reach by rail. Although you can get a ferry from Corfu in Greece to Sarandë port in Albania, and so a popular option is to combine this tour with our Corfu Trail Highlights holiday. Although you would need to make your own way to Tirana with a rental car. Or we can arrange a private transfer at a supplemental cost.

Family life is at the heart of Albanian culture and so you will always be welcomed with open arms. Although we don’t have any bespoke family adventures, if you have older teens who have walking experience, you may want to explore more moderate level hiking holidays or moderate level cycling adventures. Our adventure specialists are here to cater for your needs, and we can often adapt a day’s itinerary if you think it’s going to be too hard. 

Of course, but only on our guided tours, as we don’t recommend taking on some of the higher peaks on your own. These include the High Scardus Trail, where a local expert guides you with a group of maximum eight people through the Sharr Mountains and Korab-Koritnik Nature Park, which is home to Mount Korab (2,764m), the highest peak in both Albania and North Macedonia, and natural border between the two. You also cross borders on the Peaks of the Balkans Trail, a 190km long-distance trail traversing the Western Balkans, on a circuit that encompasses the heritage highlights (and highlands) of Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro. You can do a guided small group tour, over 12 days or a shorter highlights version which takes eight days. For more information, see our blog, Getting to know the Peaks of the Balkans Trail. We also have a small group tour in southern Albania, in the heart of the Dhëmbe and Nemërçka mountains. 

Sadly tap water in Albania does not meet international standards for drinkability, so it’s best not to go there. This is due to a dated infrastructure, inconsistent water service and water treatment. You can buy bottled water everywhere, but we also highly recommend investing in a filtered water bottle to ensure water is free of any toxins. You can also use it with river water while out on the trails. 

If you need medical care in Albania, private clinics are usually the best option, though they can be slightly more expensive than the public system, they are usually better funded and better equipped. Here’s a list of medical facilities in Albania. No vaccinations are required, but the WHO recommends routine vaccines such as tetanus, measles, mumps and rubella before travelling. Albania is still considered a risk for rabies, although the last case affecting humans was in 2014. There is a very active campaign to use oral vaccinations on foxes and also to control stray dog populations. 

Ticks can be a problem when hiking in Albania, so you do need to take precautions. Wear long sleeves and trousers, and tuck your trousers into hiking socks when possible. Lyme disease and Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE) are both tick-borne, so always check yourself fully after hiking and carry a tick remover with you too, so that you can catch them quickly. 

Always make sure that you have suitable health insurance to suit your adventure travel and, as with all international travels, it’s always worth getting up to date information at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for UK travellers or similar foreign office advice in your home country. One of the risks highlighted there is about landmines, particularly near the border with Kosovo, and it always advises to stick to well-mapped trails. On a much more banal level, never expect anyone to stop at a pedestrian crossing if you’re crossing a road. You just have to go for it and they will stop.

The climate crisis has whipped up many parts of the world with forest fires, and unfortunately Albania has been hit. Local authorities monitor the situation carefully but always take precautions by never discarding cigarette butts or glass bottles (which cause dangerous reflections) and, if there is a warning, always take it seriously. The European Forest Fire Information Service (EFFIS) is a useful source of information. 

Of course this depends on the region that you are visiting but, as with most of our adventures, you may be exploring remote terrain where weather conditions may be unpredictable. For that reason, these blogs, What to pack for a hiking trip and What to pack for a cycling trip may help. As well as that, don’t forget to pack your sense of adventure, plenty of sunscreen and a phrase book. 

Overtourism is an issue in many parts of the world and, although we are all for people having adventures, we’re aware that some places just need to put the brakes on. Which is why we aim to take you off the beaten path, and also encourage travel outside of the peak seasons. In Albania, there are three cruise ship destinations: Sarandë, which is close to the UNESCO site of Butrint, Vlorë and Durrës, the latter being gateway to the capital city of Tirana. Sarandë does feature on this guided cycling and this self-guided cycling holiday of the UNESCO sites, but there is so much more to these adventures than being bruised by cruise crowds. 

Cruises coming into Vlorë do offer day excursions to Himarë or Llogara National Park, which feature on this tour, but they are still relatively small compared with Durrës, which doesn’t feature on our adventures. If you’re passing through a cruise ship destination, it’s worth checking this useful website which is a timetable of all port arrivals and departures, so you can avoid them. Most of Albania’s natural and cultural highlights remain blissfully crowd-free, however, especially in the mountains and rural areas. By exploring lesser-known trails, villages and national parks, you can experience the country’s beauty without contributing to the pressures of mass tourism. Take a look at our blog, Best hikes in Albania, for more travel inspo and info.

Even though it’s home to the Accursed Mountains (also known as the Albanian Alps), which are snow-covered for many months, our tours generally run between June and September. With a few keeping their windows open from March until November, but these are still traditional hiking and cycling holidays. At the moment, we don’t have any winter sports holidays such as snowshoeing or cross-country skiing in Albania. 

Albania is slowly but surely accommodating travellers with special dietary needs, especially in larger cities and popular tourist destinations. While rural areas may offer fewer options, fresh produce is widely available at markets, and traditional vegetable-based dishes can often be adapted to suit different diets. In Tirana, the capital, you’ll find dedicated vegan cafés, gluten-free bakeries and restaurants that are happy to adjust meals if asked in advance. For peace of mind, it’s worth carrying a translated dietary card and we can also contact your accommodation ahead of time to ensure your needs are met.

It’s the Albanian lek (ALL is the currency code), and applies to both notes and coins. Euros are widely accepted too, although not an official currency. And you can never guarantee a good exchange rate either. Cash still rules in Albania, and so it’s worth having lek coins and notes to hand. You can only buy it when you enter the country and you can use ATMs etc. However, ATMs and card machines in shops can still be rare, especially in some of our rural hiking and cycling areas.

Most adventurers in Albania’s rural areas just want a good three course meal at the end of the day, and some great picnic food for their backpack. With recipes influenced by Turkish, Greek and even Italian traditions, as well as its mountain landscapes, tuck into mountain lamb-filled tava e kosit after a day on the hills, or enjoy some qofte meatballs with your Albanian aperitif after a long hot cycle. 

All in all, it’s still very much a budget destination with very reasonable prices. The traditional Albanian byrek is a savoury, filo pastry pie, filled with cheese, spinach, or meat and perfect for picnics, and costing between 60-100 lek. A meal at an inexpensive restaurant outside the main cities costs on average 3,300 lek for two people, a glass of local wine is around 200 lek and beer is 300 lek, which is dangerously cheap! Bottled water is around 100 lek, so make sure you drink plenty of that too, and a local coffee is around the same price.

If you’re on one of our guided holidays in Albania, tipping your guide 10% of the tour price at the end of the trip will bring out a Balkan beam. Our guides often create a shared fund, or kitty, which group members can contribute to in advance, to cover small purchases such as coffees and also tips throughout the trip. For the most part, a tip of around 10% is welcome in restaurants in Albania and, in more casual bars and cafes, leaving a few coins for your waiter is the kind thing to do. However, tipping is never expected, but it’s always appreciated. And remember, it’s a relatively short tourism season in many parts of the Balkans, so don’t skimp on the coins. They’ll only gather dust at home. 

Definitely not the best, although cities are better than rural areas. Albania is definitely a country for a digital detox though, with average download speeds of around 86Mbps, (France has 177Mbps for context). There are plenty of free wifi spots though, and so two of the most useful wifi phrases you can have on your travels in Albania are: falni, a keni wifi? (excuse me, do you have wifi?) or falni, sa është fjalëkalimi për wifi? (excuse me, what is the wifi password please?).