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Travel guide

Albania holidays: a travel guide for UK visitors

The Ottoman stone towns of Berat and Gjirokastër, the ruins of Butrint and a coast that faces Corfu: a practical guide to Albania holidays and tours, with the best time to visit Albania month by month.

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Why visit Albania

People who go to Albania tend to come back surprised, mostly by how much there is to see beyond the beaches. Cut off from almost everyone for decades under communism, it has only been easy to visit since the 1990s, and it still feels new to most travellers. In the south, Berat climbs a hill above the Osum river in tiers of white Ottoman houses, while Gjirokastër is built of grey stone from its cobbles to its roofs. At Butrint, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian ruins stand in the woods beside a lagoon, almost within sight of Corfu. The Ionian coast below the Llogara Pass has small bays and old hill villages, and the north is all mountains: the Accursed Mountains, Lake Koman and the valleys of Theth and Valbona. Add Tirana, a capital that painted its communist blocks in bright colours, generous hospitality and food that borrows from Italy, Greece and Turkey, and the case is made. A tour helps more here than in most of Europe: the roads are slow and the signposting patchy, and a guide fills in a history most visitors know very little about.

Best time to visit Albania

The best time to visit Albania for touring is spring and autumn: May and September above all, with April, June and October close behind. Then the days are warm rather than hot, the old towns and ruins are comfortable to walk, and the coast is quiet. July and August are the hottest months, often well into the thirties in Tirana and the lowland towns, and the coast is at its busiest, but they are the best months for the northern mountains, where the high passes around Theth and Valbona are blocked by snow until late spring and close again in autumn. From November to March it is mild but wet, November especially, and few tours run. The sea is warmest in August and September, so for touring with a swim at the end of the day, September is hard to beat.

Albania month by month

JanuaryQuiet
Mild but wet on the coast and in Tirana, with snow closing the northern mountains.
FebruaryQuiet
Still cool and often rainy; the towns and ruins are open but very few tours run.
MarchQuiet
Spring arrives in the south first, between showers; the high mountains stay under snow.
AprilGood
Fresh, green and uncrowded, good for Berat, Gjirokastër and Butrint, though showers are common.
MayBest
Warm, settled and in flower: the best month for walking the old towns and the ruins.
JuneGood
Hot and dry by the end of the month, the sea warm enough to swim, and the mountain trails open.
JulyGood
Best for the Accursed Mountains; the lowland towns are hot and the coast is busy.
AugustAvoid
The hottest, busiest month, with the coast at its most crowded; only the mountains are comfortable.
SeptemberBest
The heat eases, the sea is at its warmest and the crowds go home: a fine month everywhere.
OctoberGood
Mild and quieter, with rain returning later in the month and the mountain season ending.
NovemberQuiet
The wettest month of the year, with the first snow on the mountains.
DecemberQuiet
Cool and wet, with the mountain villages closed for winter.

Top things to do in Albania

  1. 1

    Walk the stone towns of Berat and Gjirokastër

    Albania’s two great Ottoman towns are listed together as a World Heritage Site, and most of our Albania tours include at least one of them. Berat’s white houses climb the hill above the Osum river beneath a citadel that people still live in; Gjirokastër is grey stone from top to bottom, with tower houses and a huge castle above the old bazaar. Both are steep and cobbled, and the cobbles are slippery when wet, so take shoes with a good grip.

  2. 2

    Explore the ruins of Butrint

    On a wooded peninsula in a lagoon near Sarandë, Butrint was lived in for well over two thousand years, and Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans all built on what came before: a theatre, baths, a baptistery, walls and a Venetian tower. It is now a World Heritage Site within a national park. Tours and cruise excursions from Sarandë come here, and an early start beats the heat and the crowds.

  3. 3

    Follow the Ionian coast from Vlorë to Sarandë

    South of Vlorë the road climbs over the Llogara Pass and drops to a coast of small bays, old hill villages such as Himarë and Qeparo, and the little castle at Porto Palermo, with Corfu on the horizon. Some of our tours drive it, one walks its coastal trails and another cycles down it, and the cruises that call at Sarandë arrive at its southern end.

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Albania travel questions

When is the best time to visit Albania?
May and September are the best months for most tours: warm, dry and quieter than high summer. April, June and October are also good. July and August are very hot in the lowlands and busy on the coast, but they are the best months for walking in the northern mountains. November to March is wet, and few tours run.
What is the best month to visit Albania for the mountains?
July and August, with June and September either side. The high trails around Theth and Valbona are usually blocked by snow until late spring and close again in autumn, which is why hiking tours in the Albanian Alps run in summer.
Is Albania worth visiting for more than its beaches?
Very much so. Most of our Albania holidays are touring trips built around Berat and Gjirokastër, the ruins at Butrint and Apollonia, Krujë’s castle and Tirana, with the coast as one part of the journey. In the north, the Accursed Mountains and Lake Koman are a different kind of trip altogether.
How many days do I need in Albania?
A week covers Tirana and the classic southern route: Berat, Gjirokastër, Butrint and part of the coast. Ten days lets you add Korçë and the south-east, or slow down. Most of our Albania tours last seven nights, one runs for ten, and a thirteen-night tour also takes in North Macedonia and Kosovo.
What is a good Albania itinerary for a first visit?
Start in Tirana and go to Krujë, Berat and Apollonia, then south through the Drino valley to Gjirokastër, on to Sarandë and Butrint, and back north along the coast over the Llogara Pass to Vlorë. It is the route most of our tours follow in some form, in one direction or the other.
Should I take a tour or hire a car in Albania?
Many people drive themselves, but the UK government describes driving in Albania as often hazardous, mountain roads are slow and winding, and the journey times are much longer than the distances suggest. A tour takes care of the driving and the connections, and the guide explains a history that is not well signposted.
Is Albania safe to visit?
Most visits are trouble-free, and crime against visitors is rare, though you should watch for pickpockets in busy places. The bigger risks are on the roads. If you walk in the remote north near the Kosovo border, stay on marked paths. Read the UK government’s advice before you go.
Is Albania good for solo travellers?
Yes. A group tour takes care of the transport, which is the hardest part of travelling alone in Albania, and gives you company in the evenings. Just You’s Albania tour is for solo travellers, and many people join our other small-group tours on their own.
How fit do I need to be for an Albania tour?
For a sightseeing tour, you need to be comfortable on steep, uneven streets: Berat and Gjirokastër are built on hillsides and paved with cobbles, and the upper streets are reached on foot. Walking, hiking and cycling tours ask much more. Each tour page says how active the trip is.
Can I see Albania on a cruise?
Some of our Mediterranean and Adriatic cruises call at Sarandë, which gives you a day: enough for Butrint, the Blue Eye spring or the town itself. For Berat, Gjirokastër and the mountains, you need a tour on land.
Can I get Albanian lek in the UK, and are cards accepted?
Lek is hard to find in the UK, so most visitors use a cash machine or change pounds or euros on arrival. Cards are taken in larger hotels, restaurants and shops in Tirana and the main towns, but smaller places, villages and the mountains often take cash only, so keep some lek with you.
Will my UK phone work in Albania?
It should, but Albania is not in the EU, and many UK plans that include roaming in Europe do not cover it, so check with your network before you go. If it is not covered, a local SIM or an eSIM bought for Albania is usually cheaper than paying for roaming.
Can I drink the tap water in Albania?
No. The UK government advises drinking only bottled water in Albania, which is cheap and sold everywhere. Hotels usually provide it.
Do I need vaccinations for Albania?
See your GP or a travel clinic at least eight weeks before you go; TravelHealthPro publishes the current advice for Albania. Healthcare is limited, especially outside Tirana, so take full travel insurance that includes medical evacuation.
Can I take my prescription medicines to Albania?
Take enough for the whole trip, in their original packaging, with a copy of your prescription. The UK government’s advice does not list rules for medicines in Albania, so if you take anything stronger than everyday medicines, check with the Albanian embassy in London and with TravelHealthPro before you travel.

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