Travel to Albania is a hot topic. Albania has recently become famous through social media platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok with Reels and videos showing the beauty of the country. It is growing in popularity and travel to Albania should be high on your bucket list.
Read on for our 5 reasons why you need to travel to Albania soon.
1. Beautiful beaches
You will be spoilt for beaches in Albania. The popular Albanian Riviera runs along the South West coast and has a wealth of beautiful beaches. There are many Albanian beach resorts to choose from. If you enter Albania by ferry from Corfu you will arrive in Saranda. A port town with a great beach full of restaurants and bars. Only 15 minutes down the road is the stunning Ksamil. A popular Albanian beach town geared up for holiday makers. Ksamil has some of the clearest water we have ever seen and sandy beaches. However, be prepared for it to be very busy during summer months.
The most beautiful beach in Albania (in our opinion) is further north up the coast to Dhermi. Dhermi beach is longer than most of the southern beaches and not as busy. With plenty of beach beds to choose from it makes a perfect Albanian beach town. Be sure to include Dhermi beach in your travel to Albania.
We stayed at the lovely Skenderi villa hotel in Saranda only about a 10minute drive to Ksamil. It is a perfect, quiet Albania beach hotel with stunning views.
2. Delicious food
Along the Albanian coast expect to find great Mediterranean food. We loved the mussels, whole fish, pasta, pizzas and risotto. It is similar to Greek food with lots of salads and feta cheese too. Check out our video.
In the historical areas like Gjorakster try some more traditional food like the spinach and feta pies, Albanian berek.
Make sure to try a little bit of everything during your travel to Albania!
Read our post here on The Barrels Gjirokaster and why we think it is the best restaurant Albania.
3. It is still cheap!
One of the main selling points for us – the cost! Expect to pay under £2 for a bottle of beer in a restaurant or 80p in a shop, £7/8 for fish in a restaurant, £5 for a half carafe of wine, £30-40 for an evening meal for 2 adults, 2 kids (with alcohol – less without), entrance fees to attractions around £2-£4. We paid around £50-£90 per night for a family room hotel during our stay. Hotel Gjirokaster was considerably cheaper than the coast.
Taxis were not as cheap in comparison to everything else so we found it more cost effective to hire a car on our travel to Albania.
4. Stunning scenery
We were forever saying ‘wow!’. Albanian beaches are simply breathtaking. Never have we seen more clear water on our travels. The sunsets stunned us each night and rivaled Ibiza (one of our most favourite places!).
Driving through the countryside to Gjirokaster was a treat in itself. Mountains and greenery treats around every corner. Particularly for us coming from Dubai and being starved of green scenes.
The Blue Eye was beautiful too. Clear blue and green, fresh water. Mountains and rivers. Unfortunately it was packed with people which took away from it a little bit.
5. There aren’t many tourists!
There are many holidaymakers on the Albanian Riviera. It is full of them! However, the majority of people are local Albanians who have come for a holiday. We heard a rare few conversations being spoken in English. Do not let that put you off though, everyone speaks English and we had no problems communicating at all.
It is not a package holiday place at all, ideal for us! So it attracts a different kind of tourist, either local or travellers. It is a perfect place to drive around in a camper van and we noticed many other European cars. This is our favourite kind of travel.
Hopefully this has given you the encouragement needed to travel to Albania. Make sure you do it soon before it gets overrun and spoilt with too many tourists. Get it up the travel list ASAP!
If you have enjoyed reading this post 5 reasons why you need to visit Albania then check out our Albania Guide. You will find more information here about Albania and what to expect. Read our post Dhermi Beach Albania to find out about our favourite beach in Albania. Also check out Saranda with kids. 5 day driving around Kefalonia will give you some more information about the island of Kefalonia and some areas to check out. If you are looking for more family travel inspiration then check out our Destinations page where you can read about some of other adventures.
Disclaimer: This post 5 Reasons why you need to Travel to Albania, has affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.
