Most Inspirational Moment
Enjoying the wonderful hospitality from an Albanian family in the tiny village of Dhoksat, where we ate their home grown and produced vegetables, cheese and wine. I also loved Butrint, even though we visited it in a spectacular thunderstorm and ended up wet through.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader, Erion Puca, was very good indeed. His historical knowledge was excellent and he went out of his way to ensure that all our particular interests were covered. Our driver Timi was superb and deserves a memtion too.
Advice for Potential Travellers
If you travel outside the height of summer, waterproof jacket is essential. Take an umbrella too, those of us who had one during our Butrint thunderstorm fared better. In restaurants it is normal for side dishes and salads to arrive before the meat, fish or main vegetable. It took us a while to work this out. There are lots of ATMs but Albania is a cash economy and I didn't see anywhere outside Tirana where a credit card was accepted. However, compared with other destinations, apart from Kruja there isn't much in the way of traditional handicrafts to buy. The airport currency exchange office surprised us by telling us to exchange money somewhere else as their own rate was awful! On the downside, Albania certainly has a problem with litter, stray dogs and bad driving, but it is all part of seeing somewhere different.