Any thoughts of Albania as a destination?
 

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I wouldn't recommend it. Here is the US State Dept warning: http://travel.state.gov/albania_warning.html Overland transport is very risky for many reasons.

Thanks I am trying to go somewhere really different I guess I have a lot more reading to do!

Well you could visit Montenegro from Croatia, or my favorite VBalkan place -- Macedonia -- there is a travel warning for there also, but the precautions are minor compared to Albania.

Bulgaria, Russia, Croatia, Romania, Western Turkey-all safe and off the beaten path.

How about exploring rich in history Carpathian Region of Ukraine?

I would also recommend the Ukraine. Very interesting but pretty safe and secure.

Well don¨t always take the US department as for granted. I was in albania in May 02 and it was really nice, amazed by the costal nature especial in the southern part. Tirana is almost an europian city, you can find everything there and most of the youngs speak good english. To be improved is the public transport but the rest is to ...get a rest. It is worthy to pay a visit. For more infos write on my mail. Gladly I will answer.

I must agree with the previous post. the US department warnings like many other government warnings are usually outdated by a few years. <BR><BR>Albania has its problems but if you apply a little common sense to situations is as safe as any other place. <BR><BR>Furthermore the country and its people have a rich history and culture. furthermore the people are extremely friendly and what is even more important they love America and Americans.<BR><BR>If you looking for an experience you will never forget, than Albania is the place to go.

Hi i a 24 year old girl and i have just come back from albania, it was one of the most amazing times of my life. i was helping at a kids camp but we had free time to go in to Tirane on our own. Tirane was fantastic and the shopping was brilliant we went to the Carlsberg hotel and a 3 course meal was &pound;5 plus it was delicious. on the main streets they have little cafe bars and there are numerous churches and museums etc. it is a very busy city and crossing the road is a chance but its fun, exciting and a real experience. Walking around the city on my own, i think i would have been ok but there is a high risk factor and men are very dominating and demanding and strong for that matter, so caution is advised. Where I was staying was a small town outside of Tirane called Lezhe which was very nice but small, i think you would have a fantastic time in Albania but I would be a little worried if i was going on my own, but life is a risk and we all have to take a chance once in a while. If you go good luck and have a fantastic time.

If you need more info try kutrubestravel.com a US travel agency that has been organizing tours in Albania for the last 9 years.

Here is the State Dept. fact sheet on travel in Albania. It was updated on 6/25/02 and notes that the warning of 6/12/02 has been rescinded. http://travel.state.gov/albania.html

I was in Tirana for work in early 1997. To put it mildly, a lot has happened in the country since then, and I'm relieved to learn from posts on this thread that economic life there is moving forward. That's all good.<BR><BR>At least when I was there, I would have felt very uncomfortable eating alone in most restaurants or cafes other than those in my hotel. The reason is that there were very, very, VERY few women at them, and I don't just mean women sitting alone. Street cafes, in particular, were almost exclusively male preserves.

I figured I would just copy & paste from something I had posted:<BR><BR>I recently just returned from a 2 week trip to Greece/Italy. We stayed in Corfu, and we took a boat to Saranda, Albania for a day. There were 2 ways to do this, either you could take a very comfortable organized day trip with Ionian cruises, or you could do what we did. The people that I was traveling with like to really "experience" other cultures. We took a boat that mostly the Albanians use to go back & forth to Corfu with. Once we got there we negotiated with a taxi driver to show us the sites for 4 hours, he charged $50. He took us to various points that had amazing views, views that really were as amazing as those in Santorini. We went to the ancient town of Butrinty which was a beautiful archaelogical site. What made this area so much more attractive to me is the fact that it is very undeveloped and rugged. There is a very new (in fact they are still working on it) hotel in town, it is open. I believe it was called Hotel Butrinty, I wrote the name somewhere and need to locate it. It was a 4 star hotel and for suites we were told it would be $150. I could probably only imagine a night or two in this area, but if you are going to Corfu it is really worth going to. Many of the Albanians we met kept telling us to spread the word that they are not "animals" and that they are nice people. Which they really were. I think in a few years this area may definately become developed, so I would suggest for the adventurous traveller that this is a must see. <BR><BR><BR>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR> <BR>Author: Angela ([email protected])<BR>Date: 08/26/2002, 08:17 pm<BR>Message: I must correct myself- it is Hotel Butrinti.<BR><BR> <BR>

Albania is a safe country like other eastern European Countries. This is a good travel site for Albania:<BR>http://www.geocities.com/albaland/

Just go to www.fco.gov.uk. Even the UK FCO can be a little over protective at times but the US State Dept is just full of lies and b******t.

Before you get too intimidated by the State Department warnings about a place like Albania, you might want to read the one on France, or Spain. You'll soon begin to realize that just about every place in the modern world has occasional problems of a kind that can make for an ominous-sounding evaluation. Just imagine what the State Department could do with a report on conditions in New York City or Washington, D.C., especially after September 11th!

ttt

I haven't been there personally, but a good friend of mine has been there several times this year and will be there again in a few weeks. And he has his wife and young children with him!<BR><BR>Jennifer

Karen,<BR><BR>If you're considering Albania, you are in the proper frame of mind to enjoy any trip anywhere. <BR><BR>Closest I got was Dubrovnik, which is worth a stop if you're in the area. I heard great things about Montenegro, which is even closer...