Albania in December

Hi folks,

I have a week and a half off and am considering doing a bit if travelling in the albania region. Just wondering what the weather is like around that time. Access to ATMs,hostels,nightlife??

I%26#39;m travelling on my own from Dublin so will prob have to go through another country. So any suggetions with itinerarie would be great!!!

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There is only one hostel in Albania - a %26quot;Backpackers%26#39; Hostel%26quot; on Rruga e Elbasanit in Tirana. Hotels in other cities, however, are quite inexpensive. If you do not hope for anything fancy, you should be able to get rooms from 20 - 30 EURO per night.

As for ATMs, they are now quite common in Albania. In general you will be able to get only Albanian currency from them, but there are even a few in Tirana that give you Euro. Small villages do not have banks, much less ATMs.

Concerning nightlife, it is more or less limited to cafes and bars in cities outside Tirana. In Tirana itself there are some jazz clubs and discos. I myself consider them rather boring, but they do exist.

You can get here flying to Tirana airport, but this may be expensive. My guess for the most likely budget flights would be Corfu, from where you can get to Albania by boat. You could also look into Prishtina (Kosovo), Podgorica (Montenegro), and Skopje (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia).

As for your week in Albania, I would guess that if you are coming in December, you won%26#39;t be looking for beaches. The nicest cities are Gjirokastra and Berat. You could also make a quick excursion from Tirana to Kruja. There are some spectacular mountains in the north, but getting to them can be difficult, especially if it has snowed. Public transportation is generally poor outside major urban centres, so you would need to plan plenty of time if you do choose to try going to the mountains.

As for the weather, it is difficult to predict. It rarely gets below freezing in Albania, except in the mountains. Nevertheless, in December it can get fairly close to freezing and flats are generally not well heated.

I hope this helps, but certainly I can provide you with more information, if you like.

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Thanks for your help,its been very helpful

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I would also suggest that you fly to Corfu, it might be cheapest and it is only 40 min by boat from Saranda. Once in Saranda you should not miss Butrinti, the Roman remenants.

Albanian coast is gorgeous, from Saranda to Vlora is stuningly beautiful but since it is winter month maybe is better to go to Gjirokastra. Very pretty town birth place of Enver Hoxa and Ismail Kadare. While there you can stay in Hotel Kalemi, very beautiful little hotel, you could negotiate the price. From there you could go to Berat and stay in a small hotel called Mangalemi.

You might also stop in Durres, I like the center and go to Tirana from there. Visit Kruja and the old bazar. One more place good to be visited is Korca if you have time.

Thethi is great little village in the mountains but I am not sure how accessible is in December.

If you need any other help just let me know, if not enjoy Albania.

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Hello johnmc85, We are a travel agent from Albania, if you need cheaper hotel visit our web-site www.edialtour.com you will finde 350 hotels around of Albania.

Let e now if you need something else.

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Jon,

Catch Ryan Air from Dublin to Pisa, overnight there and get Belle Air to Tirana. Cheapest conncetion to Ireland there is. Once you%26#39;re in Tirana, there%26#39;s lots to do and see. Depends on what interests you. Drop me a line at sksintirana@hotmail.com if you have specific questions.

Steve

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