Albania Travel Forum

I´m interested in crossing the border Greece-Albania at Sagiada. I would like to know if there are local Albanian tour operators who pick individual tourists up from the border and can take them to the places worth seeing: Butrint and Saranda and back again to the border / Sagiada.

Thank you for all information and contact info!

Direct bus from Elbasan, Albania to Orhid, Macedonia.

I need last minute advice about taking a furgon (or long distance bus) from ELBASAN, ALBANIA to ORHID, MACEDONIA. I know the bus leaves from TIRANA, and the road to MACEDONIA passes through ELBASAN so I'm hoping to catch it in ELBASAN and go all the way to ORHID.

I don't want to go to POGADEC, or take an expensive TAXI from the border. There must be a bus connecting TIRANA and SKOPJE, and I'd like to hop on board that bus in ELBASAN and get off at ORHID, if possible.

Please let me know ASAP, because I have to leave tomorrow (and I just found out today).

Thanks.

Hi to All!
I want to go to Himara-Albania at the end off August.
Can anyone tell me is there low-price accomodation in Himara,is there any night-life?
I want to go there with my girlfriend, so should I or not?
Thanks in advance

I would like to know how to get from Igoumenitsa to Albania over land. I heard it's possible via Sagiada? I would like to know what areas are nice to hike ,where to find nice hotels and beautiful sceneries and maybe if visiting Lake Butrint is worth a visit?

Thank you for information

Hi i will be travelling from Kotor to Tirana on Sunday 28 September and cant seem to find any details on the internet.

Can someone give me tips on buses, trains even plane i can take to get me into Tirana by this date from Kotor.

Thank you very much for your assistance.

looking for a Cuban alll girl band called the Caribean Hurricane and where they are playing.
thanks

Hi I am travelling to Albania for the first time towards the end of the July. I am concerned about getting from the border to my hotel in Tirana. Any advice? I am heading to Macedonia after this. Anyone any good ideas how to get to Skopje?

hello friends!
in august we're going to enter albania the first time in our lives ;) we're going to have around 6 days until we continue travelling to montenegro. at first i'd like to ask you what you think about our route and destinations where we planned to stay:

-crossing the border at pogradec from there to GJIROKASTRA
-stay in GJIROKASTRA for one night
-the to SARANDE for 2 nights (party in SARANDE swimming in KSAMIL, maybe to BUTRINT)
-from SARANDE to BERAT just for the day and leaving to TIRANA in the afternoon
-stay in TIRANA for 2 nights
-then to SHKODRA (maybe one night?) and then to CRNA GORA

what i'd like to know is: are the destinations well chosen for that period of time? we don't want to get in a total hurry but want to see some important places. is it worth to stay in gjirokastra for one night or is there a better place to visit on the way to sarande? and is it worth to see lake shkodra? what do you think about our trip in general? would you change any destination(s)?

my second question is about public transportation in albania. how often do busses normally leave to the destinations i mentioned? is it possible to get a direct connection from pogradec to gjirokastra and when do the busses leave (we don't want to miss it when we've crossed the border cause we don't like to spend a night in pogradec)? and: is it possible to get a connection from sarande to berat in the morning and from berat to tirana in the afternoon? how long will all the rides last in average?

I need to do this trip, and after some research, this is what I know:

1. There is a bus that leaves a certain bus stop in Tirana EVERY DAY?
2. It leaves at 9pm?
3. It goes via Struga.
4. It takes ages, and arrives in Skopje around 4am.
5. It costs about 20 Euros one way.
6. It is the main way of travelling between these cities.

Okay, are there any errors in the above?

Also, I have some further queries.

Me and a friend will have an expensive hotel waiting for us in Skopje, so we don't want to waste our money, so...

1. Does the bus actually leave every day?
2. Does in leave at 9pm on the dot, or is this say, quite flexible?
3. Will there be space on the bus, or is it just turn up and hope for the best?
4. How much luggage will we be allowed? We will have a rucksack each.
5. Are the Macedonian/Albanian border formalities a pain, or fairly straight forward?
6. If we miss the bus, or it's full, is it possible to catch a taxi to the border, then cross on foot and then catch either a bus or another taxi to Skopje? If this is possible, how much would it cost?

Many thanks!

By the way, I'm not doing this trip until next May!

Jason

Hi,

My question's quite similar to Petalkins', but the other way round!

In August I'll be travelling down the coast from Vlore and I want to make a stop in either Dhermi or Himare. So... does anyone know where a bus might leave from in Vlore, direction Sarande down the coast, and what time it might leave? 6 a.m. (seems typical)? (Samarkand2 for example might know, he provided all that excellent information answering the last question...). Or if there's any kind of tourist information office in Vlore?

My other question is about hotels. Albania-hotel.com booked me places in Tirana, Vlore and Sarande but they say they can't book anything in Himare or Dhermi for only 2 nights, and they say that in August the hotels don't except bookings for so few days. I want to stop off at either Himare or Dhermi (and I will!) and stay for one or two nights, but at the moment I have no accommodation sorted out. It'd be great if I didn't have to ask around at all the hotels when I get there, which could be an arduous task if everything is full. And I don't fancy the prospect of having to sleep on the beach if I can't find anything! Does anyone know of a hotel or similar in Himare or in Dhermi which has an e-mail address to try and book something, or any way of getting somewhere in advance for 1 or 2 nights in either of these two places?

Thanks in advance to all for your help.

Pau

Hello - me and my boyfriend are thinking of travelling to Albania via Corfu next month. I've been looking up info online for a few months now but there's so little information!

I've got the ferry timetable, so that's ok, but I've got loads more questions and wondered if anyone was able to help:

(1) Buses generally - are they ok? We'd like to get the bus from Sarande to Dhermi, but can't work out where they go from, frequency etc. Any advice here? And does the bus go directly to Dhermi, or will we need to change/ask to be dropped off on the road and walk down?

(2) Dhermi hotels - I know that July is the big season, so I'd really like to try to book something in advance if possible. I'm not in the luxury market - something like a basic, family-run pension is my kind of thing. Really grateful for any hints and tips here.

(3) Money - I've read on lots of fora that you shouldn't take loads of money around with you, but I'm concerned that somewhere like Dhermi won't have banks etc. Is it best to take Albanian Lek?

I think that is enough questions for now - thank you in advance for any advice!

Are there any buses that run from Shkodra to Prishtina in Kosovo? If so when are they and how long is the trip?

Thanks !

I'm going to be in Tirana for a few days and will be heading off to Skopje afterwards.

Okay, and I know this questions has been asked lots of times already,but I want the latest information.

Ideally, me and my friend would love to get a train but I know this is impossible.

Second choice would be flying, but again, impossible.

So that leaves the bus and the taxi.

Taxi actually sounds quite appealing. But a number of questions:

1. Is it possible to hire a taxi for such a long international journey?
2. How lomg would the journey take?
3. How much would a one-way trip be?
4. Which taxi firms are reputable?
5. At the Albanian/Macedonian border, will there be any problems?
6. It is best to do this in one single journey or split it into 2 (i.e. Tirana to Albanian border. Clear customs and get an other taxi to Skopje?

Failing all of this, how horrible is the bus journey. Also, we cannot afford to miss the bus or not get on it because of a flight in Pristina a few days later.

Regards

Jason

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience with the travel agency www.elitetravel-albania.com ?

Are they good ?

Thanks for any comments.

I'm planning a trip to Albania and Kosovo in August, hopefully lasting about ten days. I'm flying from London to Tirana, then flying back to London from Pristina (bizarrely, this comes to £600 less than doing it the other way round).

I have so many questions I want to ask, but first of all, I'd just like to know:

a) Where are the best places to go and how much time should I allow for each place?
b) What's the best way to get around? I was thinking of stopping in Ohrid along the way, after what I've heard about the bus from Albania to Kosovo :-)

Thanks

Hello,

If you travel from Skopje to Tirana (http://www.sas.com.mk/en/), you will arrive at 04:30u in Tirana. This is not the way I prefer things for us both but what can you do.

Is it safe to arrive in Tirana at this time ? Are there any places you can go to to kill the time till the morning (in Skopje there is a 24/7 casino at the bus station) ?

Any suggestions ?

Thanks in advance.

Is there any train operating between Albania and Greece?Ticket prices and timetable?

Thanks

Pls can anyone help me out? We are a group of Maltese friends travelling to Tirana from Athens via Albanian Airline. We are leaving from Malta to Athens with Airmalta. We have been informed that we cannot settle payment with an online bank transaction. So how on earth can we pay??

Can anyone tell me, where the King House bar in Tirana is?

I'll be there on Sunday, and I can really eat a lot.

Especially local specialties with good domestic beer!

Heeeeelp!!!!

Hi,
Does anyone know about geysers in Albania?
Particularly in north region.

Hi,
Can anyone recommend a hotel with appeal in Vlore?
Does anyone know where exactly the Hotel Pavaresia (or Pavarsia) is? Is it in the town centre? Is it near the beach?
Are the hotels in the Uji i ftöhte (Cold Water) area within easy walking distance of the town itself, does anyone know this area?
Or could anyone tell me where to download a map or streetplan of Vlore town so I can try to get my bearings - none seem to exist in internet, why is this??!!
Thanks a lot.

I am working for Playboy Croatia and my friend told me about few new microbreweries in Albania. Can anyone help me with some informations about it and be my guide this saturday and sunday?

thanks in advice, Ribafish - beer king!

Has anyone used the site www.albania-hotels.com to book a hotel in Albania through the internet? Is it reliable? Does it work?

Any idea what is the best guide book about Albania
thanks

I'm going to be visiting Albania for the first time in early July - unfortunately, I've had to scale back my earlier plans and will now only have 4 whole days in the country.

I'll certainly be taking the overnight ferry from Bari to Durres and then returing by ferry to Bari - this is the only definite part of the plan so far.

There seem to be three options:

1. Leaving Durres to go to the south of the country before returning to take the ferry back.

2. Arriving in Durres and staying around that area before departing from Durres.

3. Going south down the coast and then returning to Italy from Corfu.

The first option seems unfeasible due to what I've heard about journey times in Albania. The second is the easiest but it seems a shame not to see either Butrint or Gjirokastra. Or perhaps I'm wrong about this, and 4 days here would be interesting? The third appeals most but is it going to be too much of a rush given the few days I have in Albania? I don't really want to spend too much time just travelling.

Any suggestions or advice? And any info on buses between Durres and cities other than Tirana? All the info about times and distances I've found so far had Tirana as the destination.

Many thanks for reading if you've made it down this far!

Couple going to Albania with an opel vectra 2lD. will be pleased to share the travel or an part of it (including the charges).

P.S.Possibility to stay one night in Ljubljana, in the house of some friends.

Any ideas about things to do in Tirana on a Sunday?

Hi,
I'm planning on staying a few days in Sarande in August.
I'd like to see Girokaster but rather than stay the night I'd like to take some kind of bus or 'furgon' and do it in the same day.
Is that possible or am I mad?
Any tips on where they might leave from, timetables??¿¿, how many hours the journey takes etc. would be very welcome!

Can anyone tell me the train times from Tirana to Kotor or at least the approx cost of the journey? Thanks