ok. im an american from los angeles and id love to hear from anyone with knowledge on albania. id like to travel there because while everyone else goes to france or spain or italy or germany which im sure are great, i like to see off the beaten track places. i just went to cambodia in november. anyway, what would a person do in tirana which is where i would probably go? id want to work my way up by rail bus and do serbia so any advice on what to see in that region would be appreciated as well.
what is crime like?
any special precautions?
are there really no atm machines there?
what does medium priced safe lodging cost?
what should i see in tirana?
thanks,
terp
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Hello,
the crime rate is average as everywhere in the capital and central towns. However, the norther area is reported to be most dangerous every now and then. The road to Serbia via Kosovo goes in the middle of the mountains and takes a long while between 5-6 hours. You may want to go from Tirana to Shkodra - the road recently upgraded and in just over 3 hours you can be in Podgorica and follow the road to Belgrade from there.
ATM machines can be found at large these days in Tirana and at major towns these days and you can withdraw money from your Visa and Mastercard without any problem.
Medium price lodging would mean about 50 Euro. With this price you can finde reasonably comfortable hotels very close to the centre. You can also find appartments that will cost you about 20 Euros but it will be up to you.
Tirana has not a great variety of places to see apart from the national museum. While Tirana is a great place to wine and dine with plenty of restaurants, pubs and wine bars you may need to go out of Tirana to explore the country. There are archeological sites in Butrint (6 hours from Tirana close to the border with Greece). Depending when you%26#39;d like to come or you may want to check the beauty of the southern coast of Vlora and Saranda. Summer time is best for visiting Albania if you are fond of sun and sea and great food and have no problem with hot weather.
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Good for you TERPT - I, too, am interesting in visiting Albania and even posted a question MONTHS ago and to date have not recvd an answer....I was interested in visiting the town of Korce from Tirana....maybe Tirons can help....nevertheless, I will be watching your post for answers to your good questions....Thanks Tirons....
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Hi guys!
I was travelling through Europe six months ago and spent 6 days in Albania.
I loved it!!! It is very different to the other european countries i visited as it was much more unique and %26#39;real%26#39;. There are hardly no other tourists (i saw a total of 3 other %26#39;visible%26#39; tourists while i was in albania over 6 days! )
The people are extremely friendly! Not many people speak English which makes communication a little difficult.
I went to Tirana, Durres and Korca.
If you have some specific questions, I%26#39;d be more then happy to drop you guys an email.
greentiger2004@iprimus.com.au
Thanks
Melbourne, Australia
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Hey pixiefeet...Sounds like you really enjoyed it...How did you get from Tirana to Korce...bus/train? How far and how long did it take you? What were your impressions or Korce? Interested to hear your responses.....and where were you coming from? I%26#39;m in Greece and Italy allot...heard it%26#39;s easy from Florina area of Greece or by boat/ferry from Corfu possibly?
Looking forward to your responses and impressions....Thanks for any info you can provide....
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Hi Litsa. Just saw your post. I have been away for a few weeks but back in town now. The only way to travel from Korca to Tirana is by bus. It will take roughly about 3.5 - 4 hours. The road goes through the little town of Pogradec which is on the lake Ohrid (this is less than an hour from Korca) and you may like to sunbathe there. It used to be a beautiful coast but after the fall of communism it has gone down the drain and is not quite clean everywhere. You may like to stop for a great lake-fish lunch on the way in the restaurants just out of Pogradec. Pogradec is just accross the border from Macedonia and the town of Ohrid where the coast is reportedly better maintained.
If you want really sun and sea you need to explore southern Albanian coast in the towns of Vlora (about 2.5 hours away from Tirana) or Saranda (about 5-6 hours from Tirana). For a more convenient beach you may check the city of Durres where there are plenty hotels and restaurants but with the beach and sea quality considerably lower compared to Vlora and Saranda.
hope this helps
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It sure helps and thanks much....by any chance, do you know of any good hotels ON the beach in Vlora and Saranda?
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you need a car to get out of Saranda to enjoy its beautiful little beaches and if you are a fan of archeology and history to go and check the ancient ruins of the world heritage site Butrint.
If you only care about having a nice and relaxing break by the sea and moreover if you really want to check some good fresh fish dishes then Vlora is your place. I would suggest you get out of town to a place called Radhima which is full of by the sea hotels. You can check this site for hotel details http://www.albania-hotel.com/
However, I would suggest a couple I have been myself Hotel Paradise and Grand Hotel. The former is slightly more expensive and is widely believed to be the best. Bear in mind that during the months of July and August it would be difficult to find hotels as they perfer to rent rooms out for longer weekly or two-weekly periods.
hope you have a good time
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and finally if you decide to skip Korca and come from Italy, the low fare airlines have just found their way into Albania. Check www.belleair.al for really cheap return flights to Tirana from Rome, Pisa, Forli and many other small Italian airports. If you book well in advance a return ticked would only cost you around 156 Euro.
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Hey, I%26#39;m an American student living in London. I%26#39;m headed to Tirana for 6 nights June 13-19. I%26#39;ve been looking for a travel buddy if anyone in this thread might be interested in tagging along.
I%26#39;m going on the premise to do some research in Tirana, but would love to see other cities if I can. Can email me at a.b.moreau@lse.ac.uk if anyone%26#39;s interested. thx. -ash
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Hope you find a travel buddy, ashbug...Tirons, thanks again...your info is fabulous and I am going to strart checkin out your reccomendations....
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