Albania - general

I%26#39;ll try and give a balanced view of independent travel by hire car in Albania. There%26#39;s litter and fly tipping round every corner. Durres and south we didn%26#39;t find any sandy beaches, all stones. Roads are sometimes potholed or manholes have no covers, so cars come at you on the opposite side of the road to avoid the holes. Driving is chaotic, overtaking either side if there%26#39;s space and before blind bends, and cyclists come up the gutter against the traffic. Beaches have pill boxes on them, and they%26#39;re in the fields and hills so you%26#39;re never far from concrete. Hotels are a bit rough. That said, Albanians are lovely friendly people who give little gifts - fruit, biscuits, a coffee when you stay in their hotel or help - the last of the %26#39;honoured guest%26#39; tradition I think. It%26#39;s cheap and undeveloped in many places, with hills and trees coming down to the sea. It%26#39;s developing fast, so go now before there%26#39;s hotels all along the seafront. Particularly interesting are the archaeological and Roman ruins, churches and mosques. Food is interesting and there%26#39;s a lot of fresh fish straight out of the Mediterranean. Wine%26#39;s rough of course, beer is OK, raki strong. The hills provide plenty of water so there%26#39;s hydroelectricity powering air conditioning in the hotels. The Bradt guide 2nd edition is way out of date. I hope the 2008 3rd edition is better. Freytag and Berndt do a good map, 1:400,000 but again it%26#39;s a little out of date. Enjoy! Nigel