Highlights of Albania

Most Inspirational Moment

Landing and seeing Albania for the first time, driving into Tirana to discover a modern city with a shaded past. Butrint National Park, to see how the City developed from Greek Roman times. It gave the sense that Albania had a long history. Also tve site is just beautiful and serene. Other highlights were the towns of Gjirokaster and Berat.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ed was a super leader. He was so knowledgeable and showed real passion for his country. He added extra stops into the itinerary, to show off more of his country but also to fill in gaps in the itinerary because on some days there was not enough interests to fill in the time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Spend more time in Tirana either at the end or the beginning of the tour as the time there is not enough. Alough I went late May early June take a packable raincoat as on this trip it rained every day and once was caught out up a hill and got drenched. Read a little bit about the country before going then you will understand more about Albania.

Suggestions

Most of the hotels were comfortable and clean. Hotel Elite looked poshed but staff needed training and also still using tge QR app for a menu and not helpful when I said I did not have the app. Also the toilet seat was completely broken. An excellent hotel was Hotel Mangalemi, a small family run hotel with excellent service and super food. Albania is still quirky which us a place. The tourist side still needs to train their staff in service but all in all a good trip

Most Inspirational Moment

The landscape. And the food.

Thoughts on Group Leader

See above

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure to take a waterproof. And a travel kettle was welcome !

Suggestions

No.

Most Inspirational Moment

Experiencing the friendliness, kindness and generosity of the Albanian people

Thoughts on Group Leader

Amir displayed an excellent knowledge of the country both past and present. He was very approachable and his answers to the many questions were always answered in a clear and understandable way

Advice for Potential Travellers

This was a very full on tour which allowed us to get the very best experience of this wonderful country. Be prepared for full days and a different hotel most nights, but well worth it

Suggestions

Highly recommended, we loved everything about this trip

Thoughts on Group Leader

Edjon the tour guide was excellent. His enthusiasm to share his country with others was infectious. Edjon was prepared, knowing all the information to enlighten the group about Albania. His outgoing personality, individual attention when needed, and small surprises he had planned along the way kept the trip interesting. Edjon is a top tier tour guide, that we were blessed to have in Albania.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go to Albania. Ask for Edjon tours.

Most Inspirational Moment

Standing at the summit of the acropolis in Berat Castle on a clear day, with gorgeous views over the surrounding countryside.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Uur guide Klodi was helpful, funny and knowledgeable. Great guy!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring lots of cash to exchange because credit cards are almost never accepted at hotels or restaurants.

Suggestions

Be prepared for some long coach journeys, but be ready to be enchanted by this beautiful country of lakes, mountains and coast, with a chequered history including Roman, Greek, Ottoman and Communist empires,

Most Inspirational Moment

There were a few moments that really stand out from the trip. The first was in Korce where upon visiting the oldest mosque in the oldest part of the city, an elderly man came over to our group and through the guide told us his story. Under the communist regime he wrote poetry in opposition to them and was promptly put in a concentration camp, along with his family. Whilst inside he saw the death of his parents and grandparents, and was not able to practice his Muslim faith. However, they would pray in secret and when his Mother was still in Korce she would sit outside the mosque which was being used for storage under the regime and just by sitting there, felt connected to her son who was secretly praying in the camp. Upon his release in the early 90's and then being able to practice his religion freely, the man had such a beautiful attitude to others. He didn't care if you were Muslim, Christian or other faith, he just wanted to live in freedom and love others. There were not many dry eyes in the group by the end of his story. It brought home how brutal the communist regime was, but also the religious tolerance that is now exemplified throughout Albania. Religion is practised but it doesn't divide their society, in fact their ability to worship religion in freedom is a powerful unifier across the country. Gjirokaster which is a wonderful and beautiful village. The view from the hotel across the valley was amazing and only surpassed by the view from the hotel in Kruja! Driving through the mountains was very inspirational and the views were consistently breath taking. In Berat some of the group were fortunate enough to eat a local restaurant that was just the courtyard behind the host, Lili's house. The food was amazing and he was a fantastic host. It was a wonderful experience.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Klodi was a great group leader and very knowledgeable. In the majority of places we visited he was the one to give us the tours and tell us the history of the different places and had a wealth of knowledge on Albania. The drivers on the tour were all friendly and the journeys were largely comfortable on some difficult roads.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It is advisable to take some bug spray with you as I didn't have any and got a few bites. Whilst the country does accept Euros and Lek, it was only really the more touristy places that seemed to want Euros. From the start we were advised to get Lek and this worked well. There are so many places to change money in Tirana so it was very easy to do and there are lots of ATM's across the country. Some members of the group either arrived in Tirana a day or two earlier, or stayed on for a day or two after. This is a good idea to consider to give yourself more time to do the things that there aren't time to do on the tour. Think about the time of the year that is best for you to do this trip. I had originally planned to do it in July but given how steep some of the roads are when walking around and getting up to castles etc. the heat of that month would have been quite unpleasant. I ended up going in late September when the temperature was consistently in the mid 20's which was very pleasant. It is cooler up in the mountains however so another thing to consider.

Suggestions

Albania is a wonderful country and has so much potential for the future. It feels poised to really accelerate its development, especially if it gets in to the EU. This means that now is a great time to visit as you it is still relatively unknown and unspoilt. If the sound of the trip interests you then I don't think you can go wrong, you will love it. As a further note, I had to postpone my original departure date due to testing positive for Covid and Exodus were fantastic in moving the booking to a later date, so thank you again.

Most Inspirational Moment

We had one inclusive lunch and it was at the home of a lovely family in the village of Dhoksat. The food was absolutely delicious and just kept coming .. finishing with an amazing dessert. A fantastic treat! Also loved all the ancient sites. So happy to have 2 nights at an amazing family-run hotel in Berat. Managed a lot of walks on my own there, and the best was when I left the hotel at 0640 as it was so cool at that time of day!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Arjan was an excellent guide. He knew so much about every place we visited. Also very calm and very friendly. As was our driver, Genti.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would recommend getting up and out early, especially when it is so hot. I did a lot of special pre and post breakfast walks on my own.

Suggestions

It was great that we could fill up our water bottles at local springs which were very safe, plus our guide also provided water in the bus.

Most Inspirational Moment

Really enjoyed the drives through the mountains and stopping for lunch at the working farm. Interesting castles to visit and I really enjoyed the icon museum.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader Ilir was excellent. He gave great talks and information on the history of Albania and it was interesting to hear about life during the communist era which he lived through himself. He took great care of everyone. Also our driver Kujtimi was excellent and felt save throughout the trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring some shoes with grips as there are a few walks with cobbles and a short walk in the forest. There are plenty of ATMs and exchanges for money and they will take Euro in most hotelsrestaurants. Plenty of veg and salads for vegetarians.

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.