My Travel Tips and Quirks for Albania

I recently visited Albania for the first time. Albania is situated on the Balkans Peninsula. I am sharing my “Tips and Quirks” based on my experiences and observations. I visited Tirana, Berat, Belsh, Lake Bovilla and Mount Gamti. 

• Currency 

The Albanian LEK is the local currency. You cannot purchase LEK outside of Albania. Therefore you won’t be able to load LEK on a multi-currency card like Revolut or Wise. While credit cards are accepted in lots of places it’s essential to have cash.

I was told that the Euro is occasionally accepted, however I didn’t see it advertised in any restaurant, cafe, museum etc. The LEK notes (pictured below) are colourful with historical figures on each one.

• At the time of writing €1 = 100 LEK approximately
• While there are exchange bureaus at the airport, I highly recommend you wait until you get to a city and purchase them then. The rates are better and there are lots of exchange bureaus in Tirana, the capital of Albania
• The rates are also better at the exchange bureaus than the banks. Commission isn’t charged
• You will need cash to exchange for LEK at the bureaus
• Exchange rates charged on debit or credit cards, at ATM’s, are not competitive
• Charges vary to withdraw cash from ATMS’s. I saw some charging between €4-€12 per transaction

• Tirana Airport Bus Services

There is an excellent bus service available at Tirana Airport, going into the city center. You can purchase tickets online and they are valid for 24 hours. Therefore you don’t need to estimate what time you will be ready to get the bus. The journey is advertised as taking 30 minutes but I suggest you plan for between 45-70 minutes. Tickets cost €4.00 each way. 

Online tickets can be saved in a digital wallet and the ticket collector will accept this. You can purchase a ticket with cash onboard. However, as it’s unlikely you will have local currency on your first visit, I recommend you purchase a ticket online.

The airport bus departs every hour, on the hour. The service to Tirana is called “Luna”. There are also buses travelling to other cities. It’s very easy to find the Luna bus. After walking from arrivals, follow the signs to the bus area. The buses are parked straight ahead (less than 2 minutes walk from the door) beside the PI parking area. 

The bus stopped twice before reaching the city center. Its final destination is on “Rruga Regimentit 33”. This is about a 2-3 minute walk from Skanderberg Square, the main square in Tirana.

The bus returning to the airport also leaves every hour on the hour. However, it gets busy so I highly recommend you arrive at least 15 minutes before your required departure time.

• Safety in Tirana 

I travel solo and felt perfectly safe walking around Tirana during the day and nighttime. The city center is busy with locals and tourists going about their business. I didn’t see any anti-social behaviour. There were a few people begging but very few approached me and none were intrusive or threatening. 

There is a visible police presence in the city center. There is also security outside some high-end shops and hotels.

I recommend you just take normal precautions walking around Tirana regarding keeping yourself and your belongings safe.

• Language

Albanian is the official language. They have two main dialects – “Tosk” spoken in the south and “Gheg” spoken in the north. English is widely spoken. On a few occasions in museums or cafes I did encounter someone who didn’t speak English. However, it was evident they were used to communicating with foreigners and they made themselves very clear to me.  

• Food and Beverages

I was extremely impressed with the quality and cost of food and beverages. There are lots of Italian restaurants due to its geographical proximity to Italy. You will also see a range of Greek and Middle Eastern restaurants. Food is fresh and of course influenced by the healthy Mediterranean diet. 

They have lots of local specialities and I was delighted to see some vegetarian ones. As I am vegetarian, I often don’t get to taste local delicacies as some countries mainly have meat or fish staples.

I really enjoyed “Fergese” which is usually cottage cheese, tomato sauce with green peppers and garlic. The variety I had, had ricotta instead of cottage cheese. It’s often called a Summer Stew and the one I had was served with delicious brown bread. I paid 550 LEK (€5.50) for a dinner size portion in a lovely restaurant. (Image 1 below)

“Byrek” is eaten at breakfast, as an appetiser and as a snack. It is a wheat based filo (Phyllo) pastry containing either vegetables, meat or cheese. I had one with spinach and it cost 80 LEK (€0.80) for a huge one. It was delicious.

“Pispili” is a cornbread, usually with leek or spinach filling. I had this served at a wonderful lunch at an Agritourism restaurant and it really was lovely. It’s quite filling and I would suggest it is more like a side dish than a traditional bread. (Image 2 below – between the olives and the beetroot salad).

Every cup of coffee I got was excellent quality. I usually paid 150 LEK (€1.50 ) for an americano or 100 LEK (€1.00) for an espresso. 

While Albania produces its own wine, most restaurants I went to just had Italian wines. A glass usually cost between 400 LEK (€4 ) – 700 LEK (€7). I was only served tap water once so I did purchase bottled water. A small bottle cost approximately 120 LEK (€1.20). 

• Services

Albania appeared to be quite service orientated. Attendants dispense fuel at petrol/gasoline stations. Most establishments provide table service even in small cafes. In a discussion with a local she told me it’s expected that service is provided and that you don’t serve yourselves. I did think retail staff approached me very quickly in all shops and it didn’t seem normal to browse and ask for help when required. Help was offered immediately. I never felt they were watching me, it just seemed the norm to approach you as soon as you walked in. 

I had a manicure in Tirana. The young manicurist was excellent. The salon was spotlessly clean and it was one of the best manicures I have had in awhile. It was also about 80% of the cost I pay in Italy and 50% cheaper than I paid in Los Angeles a few months ago. 

• Receipts in Cafes and Restaurants

Everywhere waiting staff leave a receipt on your table when they bring you an item. If you order in stages i.e. drinks, main course, coffee you will get multiple receipts. The item and price will be displayed on it. Sometimes waiting staff accepted payment at the table and sometimes they directed me to the counter. However, regardless of the type of eating establishment – fast food, cafe, fine dining, the receipt was left on the table. 

• Scam I encountered

The only scam I encountered was with the receipts. One morning I had a coffee and croissant in a cafe that has numerous branches throughout Tirana. The waiter left my items but when I went to pay, I realised I didn’t have a receipt. I presumed it was just a mistake. When I asked to pay I was told the cost was 270 LEK (€2.70). 

However, two days later I returned to the same cafe and ordered the same two items from a different waiter. I then noticed he hadn’t left the receipt. I looked at every table near me and they all had receipts on them. Everyone else appeared to be locals. When I went to leave, I waited until the waiter was close by and I made a point of picking up each item and looking under it. I moved the chair and table and looked on the ground. When I glanced at him, he was watching me. I went over and said I can’t find the receipt and he produced it from the counter-top immediately. The cost was 250 LEK (€2.50). 

Part of me felt guilty for doing this for the sake of 20 cents and egotistical of me showing him I knew it was a scam. On both occasions I paid 300 LEK (€3.00) anyway !!

However, the differential could add up if this happens in an establishment where you are having a meal or you are in a group. Therefore, I suggest you do check that the receipt is left on the table.

• Tipping Culture

While tipping isn’t expected in Albania, it is customary to tip waiting staff, tour guides and for services (hair, manicure etc) for excellent service. 10% of the cost would be considered generous.

I was never asked for a tip (which has happened to me in other countries) and I was always thanked in a very sincere manner when I did tip.

• WiFi

There isn’t public wifi. However practically every cafe or restaurant I went into had wifi. Sometimes it was open and sometimes passwords were displayed. If I had to ask for the password, I was always given it quickly. There is wifi on the Luna airport bus service. 

I didn’t buy a local SIM card. However, they are available at the airport and throughout the city. I used my Italian SIM card. As Albania isn’t in the EU it doesn’t subscribe to the EU “Roam like at Home” charges. I ended up paying almost the equivalent of what I pay per month in Italy for each day I was in Albania i.e. €12.00 per day. I didn’t make any phone calls. I used the internet and texted in the morning and evenings in my hotel and periodically when free wifi was available. Therefore if you do visit Albania for an extended period, I suggest you purchase a local SIM card. 

• City Tax

City tax was charged at 350 LEK (€3.50) per night. As is normal this is payable at the hotel when you check out. 

• Smoking

It did appear that a lot of people smoked or vaped. While most restaurants had patio or outdoor seating for smokers, often smoking areas were at the front or ground floor of a restaurant. People vaped in all areas.

Waiting staff were always helpful when I hesitated about where I wanted to sit and mentioned I didn’t like smoking. On all occasions, they showed me a table positioned away from smokers or they took me to a table where the surrounding patrons were not smoking. 

I had a drink in a roof top bar of a 5-star hotel one evening and the smoking section just had a small partition. So you could smell smoke when passing it or sitting near it.

• Toilets in public areas

All cafes, restaurants and museums I visited had clean facilities. Most had segregated ones and usually there were several cubicles available.  

• Traffic in Tirana

Tirana is an extremely busy city with lots of taxis, buses and cars. Traffic lights are clearly visible with vertical lights displayed in red and green. Now as I am writing, I don’t remember seeing lights ever change to amber – but please correct me if you know otherwise and I’ll update this. 

Some lights had a second counter and usually the green light was on for a shorter time than the red one.

There are also lots of pedestrian crossings with no lights. They are clearly marked with red paint on the road. You just have to start walking and be careful as some cars don’t automatically stop. Sometimes traffic police were directing traffic at busy crossings.

For American readers – jaywalking is normal and people crossed the street where it was safe to do so. I did this regularly !

Some traffic did drive through green lights due to the road they were coming from, or if they were stuck in the intersection. So do take care when crossing the streets.

Look closely at the lights as several have the distinctive Albanian double headed eagle, that appears on the National flag, in a silhouette in the lights. It was more visible in red than green though.

• Boarding Pass for Tirana Airport

When you arrive you scan your passport through the scanners or visit an official at a booth. However, you need a paper boarding pass when departing. The scanners at Tirana airport do not accept digital documents. My airline had communicated this when I checked in online so I got mine printed out at my hotel. You can also get a copy from your airline when you arrive at the airport.

Even though it was busy when I was leaving, on a Friday evening, the queues through the boarding pass scanners, x-ray and passport control all moved extremely quickly. 

• Facilities at Tirana Airport

While Tirana Airport (Nene Tereza, called after Mother Teresa) is quite small the facilities are excellent for its size. 

All the major rental car companies have offices in small cabins just outside the main door. Several airlines operate services to and from Tirana including the lost cost airlines – Wizz Air and Ryanair.

There are lots of cafes, restaurants and shops once you are airside. The duty free is large and there are some specialty shops where you can purchase souvenirs.

So if your flight is delayed you won’t go hungry or thirsty. I have been to lots of larger airports with less facilities. 

• Street Sellers / Kiosks

There are lots of kiosks in Tirana where you can purchase drinks, snacks and souvenirs. There were also several market stalls selling fruit, vegetables and flowers.

One thing that caught my eye was I saw several elderly gentlemen with weighing scales in front of them. I was intrigued immediately and wondered what they were weighing. I asked a local about this and she told me that after the fall of Communism, in 1991, people were looking for lots of ways to make money. Also certain appliances like weighing scales were not readily available. So it became common for people to offer a service to weigh people in the street for a small sum of money. Some gentlemen continue this practice.

• Recycling

Single use plastic is available everywhere and I saw limited segregated waste disposal or recycling. 

• Stray Dogs and Cats 

Like its neighbouring Kosovo I saw lots of stray cats and dogs in urban areas. While most of them appeared to stay away from people, cats did come to outdoor eating tables. Some stray dogs were limping and or had missing limbs. Several looked as if they could be diseased or dangerous. I would suggest caution around them and to be extremely careful when driving in urban areas. 

• Architecture

Tirana has a very interesting mix of architecture due to it’s cultural influences over generations. There are lots of beautiful mosques and churches. Minarets and domes are visible across the city landscape. Modern buildings and high-rises are everywhere or are under construction. The Albanians are not afraid to use colourful paint or glass on both modern and old buildings. There really is an amazing array of colour within the city, which I thought was just wonderful.

• Tours

While I am not a huge fan of going on organised day tours, I did go on two from Tirana. I highly recommend both and I will have detailed posts on each available very soon. They were great value and an opportunity to see more of Albania. I’ll include suggestions on where to book them in my posts.

• Bovilla Lake and Mount Gamti : this tour from approximately 9.30am-4.00pm takes you to Bovilla Lake (a reservoir supplying Tirana) and includes a short hike up Mount Gamti. You can have lunch in a mountain top restaurant with spectacular views of the lake.
• Berat (Castle and Town) and wine tasting : this was a longer tour starting at 8.00am and finishing after 6.00pm. The castle and historic town of Berat are both really worth seeing. You have lunch in an agritourism restaurant (2nd food image above) with the opportunity to taste 3 wines from their vineyard. It really was an amazing day. 

I hope the above is helpful, but please comment below if you have anything to add or you think I missed something crucial