Albania. Not a country that you would pick when you think of a holiday or vacation. It is as beautiful as the countries that are on your list, so why is it not more popular? Why doesn’t it attract more tourists? Is it that we really know little about this magical country? Well, let me break it down. This is Albania, the country you didn’t know you must visit.
The Republic of Albania is a country in the Balkans in Southeastern Europe. Albania has been inhabited by different civilizations over time, such as the Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, and Ottomans.
Albania was once ruled by a dictator up until the 1990s. Yes, it’s like yesterday. Albania was under a radical communist regime. It is estimated that Albania’s dictatorship was one of the most severe and repressive ones in Eastern Europe (Abrahams, 2015). During this time, the people of Albania saw imprisonments, killings, and internments of those opposing the regime in many camps and prisons built across the country.
In December 1990, the fall of communism in Albania, the last such event in Europe outside the USSR, started with student demonstrations. Pursuant to the 1991 interim basic law, Albania ratified its post-communist constitution in 1998, establishing a democratic system of government based upon the rule of law and guaranteeing the protection of fundamental human rights.
I fell in love with this amazing city as soon as I set foot on the soil. The people, the views, the feeling of pride, genuine humanity that exudes from everyone I met was undeniable.
On the first day in the city of Tirana, the capital we do what we do in most places. Check out the scene to find places to eat, bus stations, get a feel for the community and get our minds set.
Well, our first day did not go as planned. And that is ok, that’s a part of traveling. Our flight was delayed, add in waiting on the bus to get full and leave (should have just taken a taxi but hindsight) the airport road being closed so we had to use a different route that had standstill traffic. A 30min drive to the center became almost 3hrs. We were dead tired. One thing to note, google does not work with their bus system here, so you will have to rely on asking locals which bus to take. But that makes it fun as I made a friend on the bus who I then hung out with during our stay. The bus ride from Airport to the city center cost 300 LEK
Here is how we spent 3 and a half full days, 4 nights in Tirana, Albania.
The first thing we did after landing and getting through immigration was to go to the cell phone shop and grab a SIM card. BUT, the bus was waiting, the line was long so I had to scrap that plan until we got to the center. I had all the directions from the Airbnb host including videos and pictures so I found the place ok. The best thing was there was a Vodafone right on our street.
The SIM card cost only 1600 LEK and included text, calls, and what I care about? 40GB of data. Sweet. And this plan can be used throughout the Balkans so even though we stayed in Tirana for a week, we will still have the data for the entire month hoping through the Balkans.
We grabbed dinner at a local fish place we walked by. Everything was fresh and so yummy Simple goodness. We enjoyed our first meal. Then it was time to grab a few things from the market and head in for a shower and some work.
The next day we woke up well-rested and ready to explore. We started with work and school before heading out to see some of the main attractions. Today we started with breakfast at Tony’s American. I read it was a great place so we decided to give it a try. Everything was fantastic and we enjoyed our meal. We then headed out to explore the city. We went by the Pyraminds which is close for renovation.
The pyramid was constructed after the death of the communist leader. There was some tension about what should be done with it. It is now being built into a “peoples monument” that contains cafes, studios, workshops, and classrooms where free lessons will be available to young Albanians. It is completely blocked off right now so not worth going.
We then made our way towards the castle. While we did not check it out today, we walked around and looked at some of the shops and cafes in the area. Super cute and chic everywhere you turn.
We went to Bunk’Art 2; a Unique Albanian history museum inside a preserved, Communist-era nuclear pit bunker. We learned so much as we walked through, watched and listened to survivors telling their stories, read and looking at the artifacts, and more.
From here head over to The Skanderbeg Square. It is the main plaza in the center of Tirana, Albania. The square is named after the Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu. The square was different during our stay as the Christmas market was being dismantled from the holiday festivities.
We then decided to head back to the Airbnb after a stop at the market for some snacks to enjoy at home. Dinner was at Era, another google review find. It was a nice upscale dining place with low prices for western standards. The food was good and the atmosphere was relaxed and inviting.
Getting to Mt Dajti
On day two, we decided to go up to the mountain via the Dajita cable cars. The cost is 8Euro round trip for adults and 5 for kids. We had a little bump finding breakfast/lunch before heading up as I was low on cash and for some reason every restaurant we saw and liked only took cash. Walk with cash. Most places will not accept cards. We finally found a spot by the Univerity, close to the bus stop, and grabbed some eats. The food was delicious and we are glad we found it by chance.
The bus to the cable car from the center takes about 30 mins depending on traffic and costs 40 LEK each way. The bus was pretty full, as is most local transportation. I was not 100% sure where to get off that would make for less walking because the directions would have us walking a while. Talked to a local with the help of translate and he motioned for us to wait with him and he would get off at the stop. We did and got off close to the signs leading up the hill to the cable cars. We would have missed it because the bus stop is a few steps from the sign.
Once we got off it is a short walk uphill to the station. There are signs so easy to follow. The place was pretty empty and we got in the car as soon as we went up. The ride took about 15 mins from bottom to top. The views were amazing. We walked around taking in the views while there. There were only a handful of people. Covid is to blame per the local bartender. It was sad to see it so empty when I could only imagine how full of life and joy it is during regular times.
We sat for a bite and wine at the restaurant, didn’t need much as we had eaten just a while ago. We ordered the fruit platter and a greek salad, 2 glasses of wine and drinks. It was so good. The prices were amazing too. I thought for sure it would be pricy since we were at the top of Tirana but I was pleasantly surprised. All that cost only 1360 LEK.
After exploring some more we took the ride back down. Made our way to where the bus dropped us off and luckily one showed up maybe 3 mins later. We ended the day by stopping in the market for small snacks and drinks to eat for dinner since we didn’t want to venture out again that night.
The next day, we should have made our way to Berat. But things started to unravel so we had to cancel that trip. You can always put that day trip in here. Our plans to head to Shkoder then Montenegro got squashed because Montenegro will only let us in with the last vax 6 months or less since the last jab. I got mine back in the summer so way past 6 months. So I had to scramble to figure out what to do. Luckily we are flexible and are in no rush until it’s time to head back to the States for AP exams.
I decided to grab a new Airbnb and stay in Tirana for another week. Buying myself 7 more days to figure out the next move. Kosovo will only allow vaxed in, including kids, where else can I take the bus to? North Macedonia is an option. Or fly out to another Balkan country and pick up from there. For now, we settled in our new and HUGE Airbnb where we love. The kids are asking to stay for longer in Tirana. We may do that, like I said, we have no set plans and we get 1 yr to stay in the country.
What do you know, within a day of booking the new place the rules for entry changed again where I can go in with a negative test and kids under 18 need nothing. So we can actually continue as planned, just a few days off. We will continue enjoying the city for now then if everything stays the same, jump back on track. This is the best thing about travling with very loose and flexiable plans. We are able to go with the flow, stay longer, move faster, that’s just where we are in life right now with a virus and the risk of changes.
