Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Difficult to say as there were several. The moment when we witnessed the call to prayer at the Mirahori mosque in Korçë, or possibly swimming in the lake in Pogradec, or maybe the last evening sampling raki and local cheese while listening to a young local musician playing the accordion.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I liked the group leader Gerti very much - he had a great sense of humour and we had some great laughs. He provided us with a great introduction to Albania and was very knowledgeable. I was very grateful for his help ensuring I stayed in the same room for my extra night in Krujë at the end of the trip. His style was to recommend restaurants rather than accompany everyone and I thought it worked well as it gave you the opportunity to make the most of your free time and interact with locals. There was the occasional lapse when it wasn't clear how long we had in a particular short stop but nothing really serious. I also thought he was kind looking out for any group members who struggled on the steep cobbled roads.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I recommend arriving early in Tirana to have more time to explore - I arrived the night before and had almost a whole day to explore places not included on the tour. It's a great city to explore on foot and apart from general wandering I really enjoyed visiting the National Art Gallery which included an Ottoman period exhibition but also featured many communist era paintings. Also I recommend taking walking shoes with a closed toe for the mini-hike in Llogora which was great!). I managed fine with walking sandals with a good grip but it is quite stoney in parts so shoes would be better.

Suggestions

Albania is a great country and Albanians are very friendly. I was worried before I went that I'd pitched my expectations too high but It more than lived up to expectations. Also if you have any concerns about safety they will seem absurd once you arrive. I wandered around the backstreets a lot by myself in various cities during our free time and felt very safe. The food is great too!

Most Inspirational Moment

Swimming in Lake Ohrid one morning, and being nibbled by fish (ok, I had eaten 3 of their relatives the night before...) Listening to a young and talented student musician playing the piano accordion for us, at a raki and cheese sampling at Kruja Castle. Proper Italian-style icecream every day, only 30p a scoop, loads of flavours.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Klodian was a great tour leader. I feel he had a good balance between introducing us to the country, giving us information and tour guiding, and letting us take things in for ourselves. There were some challenging group dynamics on our trip, something I have not come across on such trips before, and he dealt with it very calmly and professionally, with great patience. He earned my respect for this.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take some comfortable shoes with a good grip, and possibly a trekking pole for balance if needed. There is a lot of walking on slippery polished cobblestone slopes and hillsides, particularly if you want to go off and explore independently.

Most Inspirational Moment

Exploring and eating local dishes in restaurants with a view in Berat.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very average actually but I believe this was his first tour for Exodus. He led our tour straight after finishing one for another company and planned to start another group within an hour of ending ours. His timings didn't work out however and we had to have a replacement Tour Leader from the last night and for the final day - our replacement Leader was fanrastic - so professional, spoke excellent English and did extras to make our holiday special.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be aware that there are more hours of small coach travel than is stated in the write-up. It was lovely to see the countryside though and all travel was broken up with visits to intetesting places.

Suggestions

This was a very well balanced trip and the recent changes to include two nights in Berat and an improved schedule, as a result of previous guest feedback made this a much improved experience.

Most Inspirational Moment

N /A

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very good. Well organised and very thorough in his presentations; always willing to answer questions.... Flexible, helpful. Top marks. Ditto an excellent driver.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for dreadful cobbled streets. You need sneakers with a good grip!

Suggestions

Yes, use Whispers! They give so much more flexibility and save the tour leader’s voice. Too much repetition of very similar ethnographic museums. The last one was by far the best.

Most Inspirational Moment

Bonding with the group.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent. He would make a great politician.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a face mask.

Most Inspirational Moment

There are several sites of archaeological interest such as Apollonia and Butrint, with some lesser known sites that our guide squeezed into the trip. These sites are often still being excavated and are not commercialised in any way. Kruje is a jewel of a town, clutching to the side of the mountains with fantastic views over the valley below. Gjirokaster is not looking its best at the moment as they are currently replacing all the cobbles in the town but you can tell it will be spectacular once completed - lots of little old wooden buildings clustered underneath the castle on a steep mountainside. The coast is stunning, particularly the coastline facing Corfu - white sands, turquoise seas. There are also beautiful lakes and rivers.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Eddy was extremely knowledgeable and so enthusiastic. He took good care of everyone and did his best to give us the best possible holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You change hotel every night bar one on this trip so travel light. It may look like there's a lot of driving but each leg of the journey seemed fairly short with frequent coffee or point of interest stops so I never felt restless. It's an incredibly cheap place to visit - you can get a beer for just over one pound, lunch for a couple of pounds and, even pushing the boat out, it's hard to spend more than a tenner. The only "expensive" item on menus is chicken (!) but red meat is much cheaper. There are plenty of tasty vegetarian options too. The guide needs around 1,500 Lek for the kitty, just over a tenner. We went on the first departure of the year and it was quite cold in the mountains so make sure you bring some warm clothes for the departures outside of the summer season. Albania is a land of very slippery and steep pavement surfaces so shoes with good grip are recommended.

Suggestions

Albania is a very clean and safe country - don't hesitate to see it. Exodus, why don't you extend the trip into the North of the country? A couple of extra nights for some chill-time in the mountains and by the sea would have been great.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were several.... The stunning mountains, breathtaking views of castles , mosques and the courteousness of the Albanian we met....and learning so much about the country thanks to our guide.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Klodi was a very fine group leader. His knowledge of his country and it's history was extremely impressive. We learnt so much and he was always really helpful and had a great sense of humour ! Also, importantly, Ghent, our driver, was excellent. We couldn't have been in safer hands....driving through the mountains was very tricky at times, but he was always calm and very careful.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go to Albania now before it becomes too touristy. It's a great country and after such a sad history,the people are doing wonders restoring and revitalizing it. Only one criticism....some of the lunch breaks were too long!

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to understand the seemingly endless battles over centuries that the Albanian people have had to fight and the compromises they have had to accept on the road to maintaining their identity as a nation

Thoughts on Group Leader

The guide was very knowledgeable and shared his knowledge generously and frequently on a wide range of subjects, in part leading to the comment made immediately above. He tried hard to please everyone. That is not an easy task and can lead to the wrong result. When an option is offered and half the group go one way and half the other those attempts to please everyone end up disappointing half. Sometimes it's better for the guide to just say what's going to happen.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you're interested in life in Albania during the last century, and during the communist era in particular, get to Tirana a few days before the trip starts. The trip itinerary allows for surprisingly little time in Tirana and during that time the only exposure to visual information about Albania in the 20th century is a visit to the national museum. However, that museum is far from the best place in and around the capital to find out how Albanians lived and were treated during the communist dictatorship.

Most Inspirational Moment

Entering the home of our hosts for a traditional lunch. The food was all produced locally and the garden was delightful. The infrastructure was also a pleasant surprise - many good roads and hygienic sanitary provisions.

Thoughts on Group Leader

iLife was very knowledgeable and adapted well to our sense of humour. He and our driver went "the extra mile" to point out and deliver extra experiences.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't worry about hygiene - dress casually - leave high heels at home - get a map or guidebook to research the country and it's history before you go. The trip involves some awkward walking and cobbles so be prepared with sensible shoes. Change money in small aliquot - food is cheap and wine/beer is much cheaper. Try the local restaurants - there are no McDonalds etc.

Suggestions

The trip was very good. A couple of the hotel rooms were a bit iffy. There could have been other experiences - the trip focuses almost exclusively on churches, mosques and castles.

Most Inspirational Moment

Not one moment but so much wonderful scenery, unspoilt and historic towns Berat, Gjirokaster, Permet, Butrint, Apollonia, Kruje, lake Ohrid….

Thoughts on Group Leader

Eri was a wonderful guide and excellent ambassador for Albania. He was extremely knowledgeable and taught us so much about Albanian culture and history, as well as taking us to the best restaurants and places to visit. Driver Goshi was excellent also.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go for a direct flight from Gatwick (BA) rather than the standard group flight which changed at Vienna and took much longer. You can arrive the night before and have the best part of a day longer in Tirana, and at the end you can have an extra half a day in delightful Kruje. Was cheaper overall too! The trip is full on but no really long journeys on the bus, and well timed stops. Bottled water was provided on the bus and some of the hotels. Kettles were provided in only one of the hotels, so take your own if you drink tea. ATMs charge high fees so take cash (£250 will be plenty for everything) and change it as you go. Plenty of places to change sterling commission-free everywhere you go. Food was good and fresh, and outside of Tirana and Sarande, beer, wine, coffee and ice creams were so cheap.

Suggestions

The only problem was restricted leg room on most of the bus seats. Not a problem if you’re under 6 foot.