Walking Albania's Coastal Trails

The leader was not entirely familiar with the all the trails. The first walk at the Pashaliman Naval Base was mosquito infested, no mention was made of this before departure so no repellent applied or mosquito protective clothing worn. The path was also extremely overgrown with sharp low bushes. Needless to say my face, arms and legs were covered in bites as well as unnecessary scratches to my legs. Our final walk from Kudhes to Qeparo was also spoilt at the end by dead ends and overgrown paths. I appreciate that my trip was at the end of the season when maintenance to the trails was no longer a priority to the authorities. However, local knowledge should have been sort before embarking on both these hikes.

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.

Albania trip and Explore good. However as a walking trip and I have done a lot with explore it doesn’t work. There are few real trails round the coastal areas. The first walk was to no where and we were eaten by mosquitoes. It needs circular walks but perhaps land access is an issue. A few of the walks were ok. Having said that I enjoyed the trip and the experience but would not recommend it as a walking trip.

A bit of a curate's egg - good in parts. Could have been so much better. The first 2 walks based in Vlore were uninspiring and plagued by insects. The remaining walks based in Himara had interesting sections but were relatively short. All finished in a village or at a beach but there was no time to linger in a cafe or have a swim. We were rushed back to the hotel for no apparent reason. The climbs to the old villages with their narrow cobbled streets were probably the highlight. There was no wow factor and for the first time with Explore I came away feeling a little short changed - clearly a work in progress. Nevertheless, a good group made for an enjoyable week.

Early September in Albania was too hot for walking! It was also very humid on some of the walks, particularly day 1. I enjoyed the coastal walks with opportunity to swim on more remote beaches. Our guide Besi was fantastic. He was well organised and good fun. He took us to some great places to eat.