Ok, my 18 year old now wants to add southern Albania to his itinerary.
 

I posted earlier about my son traveling solo to Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Greece. Now he wants to add Albania to the end of the itinerary. What do you think? Has anyone traveled to Albania recently? Is it safe? I do get to give my blessings (and financing) to the trip so really want to make sure it is something he should do. We view it as part of his education. Smart kid, good head on his shoulders.

Thanks,
Havefunnow

Bad idea---bad place---skip it.

I drove from Greece to Sarande, which was a huge disappointment ... an ugly modern city with high buildings.. i went also to the
archaeological site of Butrint ( or Vouthrotos in Greek) which was quite interesting, but Greece has hundreds of arch. sites like that...
People were friendly, food was cheap.... but i wouldn't travel there again

I agree that this is probably not a good choice for a destination. But this is yours and his decision. Perhaps the following will shed light on conditions in Albania:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1076.html

does he know WHY he wants to go there?

He will be staying in Corfu and Albania is very close. He has read that it is a beautiful and misunderstood country.

I have also heard mediocre reports of Sarande, but what about central regions such as Gjirokaster, Berat, ect..? I've only heard good things about those places. It really depends on where your son is going. Definitely stay out of the northeaster area bordering Kosovo, but just googling "is albania a good place to visit stuff like this (http://www.quora.com/Is-Albania-a-go...e-to-travel-to) comes up.

He will be staying in Corfu and Albania is very close. He has read that it is a beautiful and misunderstood country.>>

good enough reasons to go, I think.

he could/should check out any safety concerns from Corfu before he enters the country.

My good friend has some business connection in Albania and travels to Tirana
eveyeas her. she has visited other parts of the country....never had a problem of any kind.
This summer she took her 15 year old daughter to the country.

Thanks, I would like to hear more from or about people who have visited Albania.

have you searched this forum for threads about Albania? thorntree might also yield some info as it [supposedly] attracts a younger clientelle.

here's the link:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntre...&keywordid=103

There are organised day trips from Corfu to Albania in the summer, not sure about October. You can do some Google research yourself, but I found one rather old website where people made comments on their visit to Albania. It seems to show that people who went on their own hated it, while those who took organised tours had a more positive reaction: http://www.justgreece.co.uk/corfu/co...?item_ref=1115
:-)

I was in Albania last fall. No safety issues that I was aware of it, but a bit short of tourist infrastructure (although not in Sarande). He should be fine.

For my TR start here: http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/...on-to-albania/

I have Albanian American friends (second and third generation) who have traveled to the "home country" and had a wonderful time.

I have had single male friends travel alone there who were besieged with offers of sex for money, not uncommon in the less developed countries of the former Eastern Europe. Probably not a good place to indulge, however, owing to fairly widespread STD's.

Hi Havefunnow,
Albania is a totally safe place to visit. Your son can take a daily boat from Corfu to Saranda. In the high season there are usually 2 daily boats, but just one in the low season. Saranda is nowadays quite a modern city with lots of (half built) apartment blocks. Outside July/August you can get a nice hotel room with a central location for about 20 euros per night. I can recommend visiting also other places in Southern Albania. Gjirokaster is about one hour away by taxi and there's a big castle on the top of the city. You can easily spend a day there visiting the castle and the old town. If he likes beach life, he should go to either Ksamil (sand beaches with small islets just 15 minutes south of Saranda) or Albanian Riviera (deserted beaches 30-60 mins north of Saranda.. Lukove, Borsh, Qeparo, Dhermi). And of course Butrint ruins are also worth visiting. Moving around is very easy with a taxi which are very cheap. Just tell the driver what you want to see and ask for the price. If you are for example going to a beach for a few hours, you can ask the driver to come back at a certain time. There are also local buses to Ksamil/Butrinti and Gjirokaster which are super cheap (something like 1-1.5e to Ksamil/Butrinti and a few euros to Gjirokaster).

The only "dangers" I can think of are the traffic and occasional lack of electricity in Saranda (and sometimes of running water). The roads are getting pretty good there so the drivers are going pretty fast (well, Greece has the same problem as far as I know). Local people are very friendly, the food is good and the prices are cheap:)

We have a holiday apartment there and we are going there next month next time with our 3-month-old baby and really looking forward to the trip:)

I'm from Germany living and travelling in Albania with my girlfriend since the beginning of April 2012. There's absolutely nothing to worry about regarding a visit in Albania.

The country is very calm, hospital and extra ordinary welcoming, as before 1991 barely no foreigners visited it at all. After the end of the crisis in 1997 rebuilding took place and Albania was choose travel destination No1 by Lonely Planet in 2011!
Missing out on it would be a shame.

My favourite cities are Gjirokaster and Berat. Very nice as well as the region around Korca, three beautiful villages in the surrounding area, and nearby lake Ohrid (the biggest of the Balkans). Along the Ionian Sea one can visit the archaeological site Butrint, the coastal towns of Qeparo and Himare or the secluded beach of Gjipe near Vuno. Further up there's Apolonia (another dig site).
Make sure not to miss out on the Albanian Alps (in the north) without visiting Thethi, Valbona or Kelmend - all three can be connected with each other by hiking while getting there by car takes a lot longer. A good starting point is the city Shkoder from where minibuses leave to all three regions, also consider taking the ferry across amazing Koman Lake towards Valbona.

I would let him do it and see sights a bit removed from the usual tourist stops. Perhaps look at Lonely Planet website for feedback and itinerary.

Hi Guys/havefunnow

I am from Albania myself and have read all the replies. Im glad people have good things to say about my country as they are not wrong is saying so. Albania is a very nice country and people generally welcome foreigners. The only thing I would suggest try to research what you want to see and do when you get into the country so you know where to go and find it. Apart from thatlet your son go and enjoy himself.
Feel free to ask if there is anything else you want to know.

Rumours persist about Albania being the most dangerous country in Europe but I have spoken to many people who say it is very nice. I think a lot of people "worry" about it because of the number of times they read about Albanian terrorists. However, the following diary by a cyclist who rode through Albania may put your mind at ease:

http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/bi...erous-country/

I think as long as your son is cautious and treats people with courtesy, respect and friendliness, the locals will treat him the same. Its always a good idea to tread on the side of caution: don't wander around bad areas at night alone; don't carry large amounts of cash or walk around with expensive jewelry and NEVER accept lifts or provide lifts to strangers. Albania is a poor country so obvious signs of wealth may cause undue attention.

I never felt uneasy on a auto jaunt from Kosava via Ohrid to Tirana. We were treated with cordiality and enjoyed our shorttime there back in the early 90's. I usually go along with BobtheNavigator but this time I fail to see the danger..let your son do it, but also following the caveats voiced above.
stu