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Europe’s Last Secret – The top 10 reasons to visit Albania now!
If ever there was a time to plan a trip to Albania, it’s now. As we explored the south of Europe, we started hearing more and more about this Mediterranean gem but the word on the street or the internet, rather, could not have been more confusing. So we wanted to find out for ourselves. The truth is, Albania is amazing and here are the top 10 reasons to visit Albania now!
1. Undiscovered non-tourist Mediterranean destination
Sure, visiting the famous landmarks around the world like Eiffel tower or Vatican can be fun, but why not go somewhere completely different and be the first one to discover the most amazing gems before thousands of tourist descend. Following years of communist regime and its ultimate collapse in the early 1990’s, Albania is in the midst of a major facelift offering thousands of years of history and natural beauty. Thus, while others navigate the overcrowded streets in neighboring Greece or Italy, Albania offers plenty of peace and quiet enjoyment, local lifestyle, untouched nature and pure pleasure of having all the amazing treasures pretty much to yourself.
2. Phenomenal weather
Located in the south of Europe, right across the Adriatic Sea from Italy and neighboring to the south with Greece, Albania features gorgeous Mediterranean climate all year long, with warm summers and mild winters, especially along the coastline. Can you feel the warm breeze caressing your cheeks?
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3. Pristine beaches
Albania features hundreds of miles of immaculate coastline and a rich offering of sandy and pebble excitement. Plenty to choose for you beach lovers. Most importantly the beaches, especially those to the south close to Saranda and Ksamil, feature amazing turquoise, crystal clear water and are simply irresistible. No matter how much you like the sun and getting your tan on, I promise you will not resist a refreshing dip in those crystal clear blues.
4. Stunning mountain ranges
Are there any more beautiful places than those with both the sea and the mountains? Well, Albania has both and plenty of it. There are two large European mountain ranges which dominate Albania: the Dinaric or Albanian Alps to the north and Pindus Mountains also referred to as the “spine of Albania” stretching all the way from the north to the south of the country and reaching over 2000 m above sea level. The mountain ranges feature breathtaking glacial and alpine lakes, as well as, a diversity of natural beauty. Plenty of joy for your claiming or skiing adventure.
5. Archaeological and UNESCO wonders
As if the beautiful weather and phenomenal geographic scenery were not enough, there is also something for a history buff and archaeological explorer in you. Considering Albania’s close proximity to Greece, it is not surprising to find abundantly rich and captivating archaeological sites, castles, UNESCO heritage sites and ancient history throughout Albania. The current archaeological discoveries point to the early Iron Age B.C. displaying intriguing remains of Byzantine and Ottoman Empire. Did I mention having it all to yourself? (see #1)
6. Delicious food
With the glorious coastal location, Albania offers delicious selection of fresh seafood from octopus to squid, mussels, shrimp and fish prepared in variety of ways. You will also enjoy phenomenal freshly grilled pork, chicken and well-seasoned juicy stake. All that in a garden-fresh company of organic fruit and veggies from the local market. Yummy…
7. Feels wonderful for your wallet
As a developing country, Albania offers prices you will not see anywhere in Europe, especially not in the Mediterranean. You simply cannot beat the lodging prices. A beautiful, new and modern apartment for a family of four, stunning sea view, fully equipped kitchen and in the center of the city – all that starting at $35 per night. And local food, oh so good. Enjoy a huge gyro for lunch at a whopping $1.30 per person or seafood dinner for two that may set you back $15. Feeling rich yet?
8. Friendly Locals
The people of Albania are warm and welcoming. They are excited to see their country transform and welcome visitors from around the world. We had a great time making new friends in Albania, from our bus driver, to shop and restaurant owners and many locals met on the street. Despite the word on the internet, most of the people we met spoke English and few that didn’t were game for some hand gestures and Google translator fun! Albanians are helpful, easygoing and excited to welcome the world.
9. Safe and tolerant
We were not sure what to expect when arriving in Albania, so we were very excited to feel freedom and safety. The country is extremely religiously tolerant with Christianity and Islam peacefully co-exiting side by side. When visiting Albania you will hear the call to prayer and see the crowds filling up the Catholic and Orthodox churches at the same times. Locals are friendly and family oriented. Whether you use public transportation or enjoy evening out, you will have a peace of mind.
10. Great investment opportunity
Yes, I know. Most of us don’t pick vacation destinations to do business, but…aren’t we all dreaming of this amazing vacation spot to call home? Unfortunately, unless you are a millionaire, most of the breathtaking, warm-weather, sea-view destinations are probably out of reach, but not in Albania. The country is developing quickly and offers plenty of investment opportunity allowing foreigners to purchase delightfully affordable sea view properties without much hassle. These coastal apartments with a million dollar sea views start as a low as $50,000. Feeling fabulous yet?
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46 thoughts on “Europe’s Last Secret – The top 10 reasons to visit Albania now!”
This is great. My husband and I were just talking about and were not sure how safe it is…. any recommendations on what to do?
Hi . My name is Ervin and i am from Albania. I live in New york now but i go in my country every year in the summer for vacation. Albania is very very safe and everyone mind they own business. I suggest you if you have the time check all the coastline of my country, you will be amazed. If you need help finding a place to stay and where to go email me at Ervin_xhumari@yahoo.com. i will tell you where to go and what to do. You will love it.
Don’t come to Albania. If you come my country will be over populated. And then we are to dream life is easy, and go to indebt ourselfs like Greece. The rest you know, and to us is a road we been before. 😀
If you compare to other European countries is as safe. Is a small country but stunning. Albania is build between montain next to the ocean. It it cheap and easy to leave and move around. Great holiday destinations
@Anna Sermo, Albania is very safe place you shouldn’t worry at all in this aspect. There is plenty to do in Albania wherever you go just use trip advisor for the surrounding things to do especially nature related, hiking, walks, rafting, snorkeling. There is also a lot of very interesting ancient sites to discover, http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attractions-g294445-Activities-Albania.html.
The country is absolutely safe. Do you want to visit the country or invest?? If you have any questions pls feel free to ask any questions at altinbogdani@gmail.com
Much safer than you think. You can ask Embassy of the United States located in Tirana. Google “us embassy tirana”
Wow. Have been hearing about Albania lately too. Very nice!
It is safe. I went in 2014. The people were amazing !
im albanian and i do not recommend you going! albania used to be a very poor country and still is certain parts! they will do anything for money! pls be careful
Safe as you can get especially south part i recomend himara small but beautiful places like dhermia qeparo jale vlora or saranda as biger places with nice beaches and nice city centers for cheap eating and shooping.
Safe as you can get especially south part i recomend himara small but beautiful places like dhermia qeparo jale vlora or saranda as biger places with nice beaches and nice city centers for cheap eating and shooping for me i go every year there.
Seems like you missed out the north of Albania. If you want jaw-dropping scenery that’s where it’s at!
Hi Tania! Thanks for recommendation and joining Travelme.World! We will be definitely back so we will head to north next time! Any specific places you would recommend?
Thanks so much Lilian! We loved it there!
Time to go E.J. Hope you enjoy as much as we did!
Thanks so much Ari!
Thanks so much Altin for joining us!
Thanks so much Ari! We loved it there and will be definitely back.
We agree! Thanks for joining TravelMe.World
Thanks Ervin! Good to hear about somebody living in NY and traveling back to Albania. Any good spots you would recommend for our readers?
Hi Ermal. Sorry to hear that. I think Greece is just exception. There are so many amazing European countries that are not in Greece’s position and I believe Albania is and will be amazing.
Thanks so much Agron for joining us and for all your recommendations!
Thanks Lena for the words of caution. I think Albania is like any other place in the world. No matter where we go or even if we stay at home, we should be careful. But after traveling over 40 countries, we have found Albania safe in general, with friendly locals and definitely as comfortable as any other place in Europe.
Albania’s Accursed Mountains! Thethi, Valbona, Lake Komani… Incredible places to visit!
We are going to Vlora this September! Found a nice apartment at a very reasonable price. Any words of wisdom? What currency shall we bring? Are bank cards safe to use? Thanks to everyone who would reply!
karrin tem safe
Next month, we are doing a volunteer project in the heart of Albanian Alps to help the local villages and connect the places with tourist trails, please take a look for more information 🙂 http://www.albanianchallenge.cz/en/ or https://www.facebook.com/albanianchallenge
Hi Lena,
Tourism will continue to develop and become a great player for our economy. Unless, we scare everyone away. I hope in the future you urge everyone outside of Albania to visit and everyone on the inside to welcome them, as per our tradition.
Best wishes,
Ina
Well, it looks like you missed the best thing out there. You should have visited the “Blue Eye”. It’s something everyone must see and it’s not very far from Saranda.
Lena – spaske turp qe shan vendin tend. Ska ne gjithe boten vend per te kaluar pushimet si Shqiperia.
South Albania is safe. But dont visit mid & north albania is dangerous.
Although I’ve never been in Albania, but many of my friends been there, and to be honest, they we’re not so positive on the safety part. Also, as far as I remember only a few days ago a read a news article about two Czech tourists who were kidnapped and killed in Albania. (you can google it for more info).
Hi Jon – we saw it. It is absolutely amazing. I post our adventure in Blue Eye soon 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
You are not Albanian so stop pretending so.
Hi Rumi – the official currency is Lek. We exchanged it easily once we got to Albania or withdrew from ATM in Lek. We found that 50% of places accepted credit cards and 50% only cash, so make sure you have both. We used cards in grocery stores and ATMs without any problems, but as always in case of ATMs around the world, just follow the precautions – here are few we always use: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/checking/10-consumer-tips-for-atm-safety-and-security.aspx. Hope that helps 🙂 I would welcome our community of Albanian locals and travelers to provide tips for Rumi as well. Have a wonderful time in Vlora!
Thanks Tania! We are putting in on our list to visit!!!
Hello Zoltan – that is true. The incidents of crime happen everywhere in the world, even in the safest countries or cities. Similarly to my response to Lena, I think Albania is like any other place in the world. No matter where we go or even if we stay at home, we should be careful. But after traveling over 40 countries, we have found Albania safe in general, with friendly locals and definitely as comfortable as any other place in Europe. The people we met were absolutely amazing and we felt so good there.
Hi Vis – we have not visited North Albania yet but our Albanian friends on TravelMe. World invited us for another trip there without indication that it is dangerous. Thanks for words of caution.
After travelling more than 60 countries around the world, Albania is one of as kind. With its colourful nature, high mountains, relaxing beaches, tasty food, young age of population, energetic souls and hospitable people I highly recommend this treasure yet to discover. I have always felt welcome in Albania and it is home. It is outstanding place.
Thanks Deni for joining us. We love fellow travelers. Hopefully see you on the road somewhere 🙂
Compare to most countries in the world its safe and cheap a great country, you should visit another country Kosovo next to Albania because used to be one country until second world war and we are still one blood one nation just in Kosovo we have lakes instead of sea 😉 travel more and you will feel richer
My husband and I are traveling to Albania from Sept 2 to Sept 12. We are renting a car and traveling to Pogradec and then spending most of our time in himare or dhermi. We are looking for recommendations on accommodations please.
Some consider it Europe’s last secret spot. Hardly surprising, since for most of the second half of the 20th century, the country was cut off from the rest of the world, ruled by paranoid Communist dictators who brainwashed the nation into believing that Western invasion was a daily threat.
My husband and I are traveling to Albania in early Sept. We are renting a car and traveling to Pogradec and then spending most of our time in himare or dhermi. We are looking for recommendations on accommodations please.
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