We spent two weeks travelling through Albania back in 2018 and absolutely loved it. Albania was part of our two month Balkans trip, and we entered the country by bus from Montenegro, which is also how we travelled around once there. The bus journeys themselves often became part of the adventure, winding through mountains, small villages and some incredibly beautiful scenery.
Albania surprised us quite a bit. It felt noticeably different from the other Balkan countries we visited, with its own unique atmosphere, beautiful mountain scenery and an incredible number of picturesque towns scattered around the country.
We travelled in November during the low season, so instead of visiting the coast we focused more on inland cities and mountain towns. This also meant there were far fewer tourists around, although in some places a number of restaurants, cafés and shops were closed for the season.
Our Albania Route
During our time in Albania we travelled entirely by bus, entering from Montenegro and continuing east through the country before crossing into North Macedonia.
Our route looked like this:
Shkodër → Tirana → Berat → Gjirokastër → Korçë
Shkodër (2 Nights)
Shkodër was our first stop in Albania after crossing the border from Montenegro, and it immediately felt different. The city had a much more relaxed atmosphere, colourful streets and a strong café culture. We spent our days wandering around the small city centre, drinking coffee, visiting the fort and soaking up the slower pace of life.
We stayed at Rose Garden Hotel, which was within walking distance of the city centre and made a great base for exploring the city on foot.
Read our full Shkodër guide here.
Tirana (7 nights)
We originally only planned to stay a few nights in Tirana, but after travelling quite quickly through the Balkans we decided to slow down and ended up staying for a full week instead. It turned out to be a good decision.
The longer we stayed, the more the city grew on us. We spent most of our time exploring different neighbourhoods, trying cafés and restaurants, and simply wandering around the city. Tirana felt lively, modern and full of energy, while still feeling local and slightly chaotic in parts.
Read our full Tirana guide here.
Berat (2 nights)
Berat is one of the prettiest towns we visited in Albania. The white Ottoman houses climbing up the hillside almost looked unreal, especially during the quieter mornings and evenings in low season when the streets were nearly empty.
We spent most of our time wandering around the old town, exploring the castle area and enjoying the mountain views surrounding the city. One of the things we loved most about Berat was simply slowing down and taking in the atmosphere.
We stayed at Maya Hostel, which was a great base for exploring the old town on foot.
Read our full Berat guide here.
Gjirokastër (2 Nights)
Gjirokastër ended up being our favourite town in Albania. Visiting during the low season meant the old cobbled streets were almost completely empty at times, which made the whole place feel even more atmospheric.
We stayed in the old town itself and loved waking up to the mountain views every morning. With its stone houses, steep streets and huge castle overlooking the valley, Gjirokastër genuinely felt like something out of a fairytale.
Read our full Gjirokastër guide here.
Korçë (2 Nights)
Korçë was our final stop in Albania before continuing on to North Macedonia. Sitting higher up in the mountains, it felt noticeably colder than the rest of the country, especially in November.
We loved the slower pace here, along with the city’s strong food and café culture. Most of our time was spent wandering around the old bazaar area, eating BBQ and enjoying the cosy atmosphere of the city.
The bus journey from Gjirokastër to Korçë was also one of the most scenic parts of our Albania trip, winding through mountains and small villages along the way.
Read our full Korçë guide here.
Travelling Albania by Bus
We travelled entirely around Albania by bus and overall found it surprisingly easy, even if things sometimes felt slightly chaotic. Albania doesn’t always have the most organised bus system, and schedules can be flexible, but we still managed to get around the country without any problems.
One of the best parts of travelling Albania by bus was the scenery along the way. Many of the routes passed through mountains, valleys and small villages, and the journeys themselves often became part of the experience.
In some places larger buses operated between cities, while on other routes smaller minibuses, known as furgons, were more common. Bus stations could sometimes feel a little confusing at first, but locals were generally very helpful whenever we needed assistance finding the right bus.
Travelling by bus was also incredibly affordable and gave us a lot of flexibility while moving around the country. If you don’t want to rent a car, Albania is definitely still possible to explore independently.
You can read more about traveling by bus in Albania here.
Is Albania Safe to Travel?
We personally felt very safe travelling around Albania, including while using local buses and walking around cities and towns independently. People were generally friendly, helpful and welcoming throughout our trip.
Like anywhere, it’s still important to use common sense, especially in larger cities or around transport hubs. The only place that felt a little uncomfortable to us was the abandoned train station area in Shkodra as there were people living there and didn’t necessarily want outsiders visiting, but aside from that we generally found Albania to feel relaxed and safe to travel through independently.
Travelling during the low season also meant places were quieter and less crowded, which added to the slower atmosphere we experienced around the country.
What we’d change
Honestly, not very much. Albania ended up becoming one of our favourite countries in the Balkans and we loved travelling through it.
If we did the trip again, we would probably add more time in general and even though we loved the low season, we would like to visit during summer as well and go to the Albanian coast. We would have also liked to add more hikes in the itinerary.
Travelling entirely by bus worked well for us, but having a car for at least part of the trip would definitely make it easier to explore some of the smaller villages and more remote areas of the country.
Final Thoughts
Albania ended up being one of the biggest surprises of our Balkans trip. Before visiting, we mainly associated the country with mountains and beaches, but what stood out most to us were the beautiful old towns, café culture and the relaxed atmosphere we found while travelling through the country.
Travelling during the low season gave us a very different experience from the busy summer months. In many places we had quiet cobbled streets almost entirely to ourselves, which made towns like Berat and Gjirokastër feel even more atmospheric.
We would absolutely return to Albania again, especially to explore more of the mountains and coastline. This route is perfect for travellers who enjoy slower travel, beautiful scenery, café culture and travelling independently without needing a car.
