Tirana Tours and Trips

This is the first year for this holiday, so tweaks need to be made. The first walk seemed rather pointless and there were so many mosquitoes we couldn't stop to eat our packed lunch. Albi our leader changed the order of certain elements and thereby improved the offering. Some of the walks were really great. It was the last trip of the season and in the quieter seaside resorts just about everything was closed. Before attracting more tourists Albania needs to address single use plastics, litter, public toilets, planning; please don't make the mistakes of other countries. But people were friendly and helpful.

Overall, it was a great trip! The only drawback was the number in the group, which at 16 I felt was too many. Most small group tours we do are plus/minus 12 people and the extra people make the trip that much harder to negotiate and the bus felt a bit cramped. Otherwise, a great leader, Denis and itinerary!

This was our first Explore and small group trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Tedi the leader was excellent, good company, well organised and knowledgeable. Our main driver was also great and the minibus was very comfortable. Roads much better than I expected. Trip is classed as full on but there is plenty of “downtime”. Accommodation is all comfortable and pleasant with a couple of very nice places. Trip is well thought out with a good mixture of landscape, archaeology and interesting places. We also had a lovely group! I would definitely recommend this trip and Explore to get a good overview of Albania.

Our tour leader, Besa, was excellent - knowledgeable, articulate, sensitive to occasional individual needs or preferences and with enough experience to run our itinerary with the flexibility that, for example, avoided the worst of Tirana's traffic, or the busiest period of the day at popular sites or the best time of day to see certain viewpoints. Our driver, Astrit, was extremely safe and patient, having held an Albanian driving license for many decades. High praise for both; a really well thought out trip taking in many highlights of a little known, but beautiful country, culture and people.

Interesting visit to Albania as it begins to gear up for tourism. Scenic drives through mountainous countryside, archaeological sites, some attractive towns and villages to visit, although the capital Tirana and coastal towns we visited suffer from too many high rise blocks and a surfeit of Communist era concrete. Fascinating and complex history to learn about. A different cuisine to try out - meat heavy and plentiful portions, although vegetarians are also well catered for. Service in restaurants needs improvement as different parts of our food order didn’t come together. Promotion of Albanian crafts and goods such as honey and olive oil needs improvement as there was very little in terms of souvenirs, postcards, guide books etc

This trip had everything, loads of history, museums, mountains, forests, thermal springs, farm hospitality, local crafts, pretty towns, coastal resorts all visited at a comfortable pace. A wonderful insight into a lesser known country, brought to us by our excellent guide, Tedi, who was so knowledgeable and interesting to listen to, but also great fun to travel with. Thank you Tedi and Explore.