Not the first country on many people’s bucket lists, and to be honest, I also had no idea what to expect! But this country in the Western Balkans surprised us in many, many ways. Why vanlife and travel in Albania? In these times of COVID-19 and all kinds of varieties, it was extremely hard (ok, impossible) for a Brazilian passport holder to fly into any European country. Except for Albania. No PCR test, no vaccine, and no quarantine required. A quick Google and Pinterest search showed us images of mountains and coasts. Also, we had read it´s definitely on the cheaper side of the European countries (but still, we keep track of our finances, as I explained in this past blog)
So off we went: I went with the van from Spain in 8 days fairly straight to Albania. Heverton flew from Rio (with stay-in-the-airport stop-overs in Paris and Rome) to Tirana.
Why vanlife in Albania for us?
It started right away with a little hiccup in Rio, where the Air France ground staff apparently is not very well informed. I was already prepared for this possibility after they, 2 years ago, asked for my entry visa into Madrid. They were very much convinced that Madrid and Spain are two separate countries. Either way not aware that European passport holders don’t need a visa to live in Spain. And neither a visa to fly into the beautiful country of Madrid ;)).
They almost did not allow Heverton to board the flight to Albania. In the end, they made him do a PCR (which is not required to enter Albania). And only after two hours of talking let him board with the mention that he ´for sure´ would get sent back. The AirFrance dude must have been asking himself the same question: why would you travel in Albania? (no worries AirFrance, here are all your answers ;))
Some 24 hours later, he entered without any issues in Albania and so did I. For the next almost two weeks we travelled all around the country. We visited spots recommended by fellow vantravers, people we met on the road and local recommendations. And of course, finding our parking spots through the popular crowd-funded app Park4Night. We were super surprised by the mix of cultures, architecture and above all: the wild nature in which you have everything! Beautiful, turquoise sea, crazy mountainous landscapes and everything in between. It might be a bit of a challenging country to navigate if you do not have your own transportation, as many places are hard to reach. So pick up a van, car, bicycle or motor and make this an adventure.
So, it’s time to share the secrets (and not so much secrets) we found about vanlife and travel in Albania.
Tirana
Tirana, the capital of Albania, kind of gave me a ´Balkan version of Berlin´feeling. Equally raw, hipster and underground there were many little cafes and places to work at (way more than I had expected). Though we only stayed in Tirana for two days (we are more nature-kind of people) I definitely liked this town. Full of public art, murals, public furniture turned art pieces and a nice mix between churches and mosques.
We were told there are many amazing museums to visit, however pandemic times made this a bit difficult for us.
We rented an Airbnb in town for two nights, close to the big Skanderberg Square with many cafes (good for us remote workers) and nice and cheap eating options. Another neighborhood that is popular with the youth, the hipsters and the foreigners is Blloku (interesting fact, this area was once restricted to only women and men of the communist party). We worked at a coffee place called Colonial Cocktails Academy, which immediately took me back to Bali (remember those times working in all the cute coffee places in Bali, no? I wrote about it here).
Aaah, and make sure you try the Kofte at Met Kodra. Be early for lunch because the koftes go quick with many people standing in line and for take-out (the waiter here actually recommended a bunch of the beach towns we will describe below as well).
Berat
A UNESCO heritage town, and the so-called town of a Thousand Windows full of Ottoman architecture, surrounded by green mountains and minarets. Add to this some amazing local food and you get why this place is quickly becoming the biggest highlight of Albania.
The ´lower part´ of the village is where the Thousand Windows can be admired, whereas the area around the castle is the old Ottoman historic centre. It’s a short walk up to the castle and from there on: just get lost in the tiny streets with small cafes and restaurants full of authentic and traditional Albanian food. We stayed until after sunset, when the streets and houses get lit, adding to a little bit of mysterious romance.
On the lower part, you will find all the houses built into the stone facade and their walls are painted white which contrast with the reddish-brown roof tiles. Not to mention the hundreds of windows. The pedestrian street just at the bottom of the hill by the bridge also has some amazing examples of how the modern architecture is perfectly incorporated into the old style.
After all of this exploring, go to Bulevardi Republika to join the locals in the cafes, bars and ice cream shops that start filling up as the day winds down.
Blue Eye
This place was a recommendation by fellow Spanish vanlifers (follow them on Instagram by the way @allthesehumans, they are amazing!!!) I met at an overnight spot in Croatia. Located in the south of the country, very close to the border with Greece, this ´blue eye´ literally is a blue eye in the form of a pool 50 meters deep. The deep blue water in the center of the spring and the turquoise water that surround it, indeed make it look like an eye. A very, ice-cold blue eye that is.
We camped at a little spot on a dirt road with absolutely amazing views (thanks Park4Night, this is what vanlife and travel in Albania is all about) about 30 minutes from the Blue Eye. The entrance to the pool is 50 lek per person (about 50 euro cents). When we were there in May, there were about 15 other people with me (some going for a scuba dive with 10mm wetsuits!!!). I therefore can imagine this place might fill up in the high season months.
Driving our van up the SH8 from the Albanian Riviera to Vlore
When I say: known as one of the world´s best coastal drives and a road that climbs up from sea level to the Llogara pass (and National Park) at 1043m only in the matter of some 23km, you know enough. This one was a recommendation from Dutch vanlifers Instagram @mygrations.nl (they wrote and posted a lot on vanlife and travel in Albania).
Sure, the road has about 250 hairpin curves, a lack of road barrier at some spots and some advanced van-driving and gear shifting is required but it was so worth it!
When starting entirely at the ´beginning´ (or end, depending on where you start) of the Albanian Riviera in Sarande, the route is 126km.
When continuing to Sarande, you will pass by many cute beaches with the bluest water imaginable. Since we were here at the end of May, things were still starting up, with many bars down. I can see this to be full of people in the summer months though. Our recommended places to stop are Himare, Ksamil, Dhermiu and Drimadhes.
Komani Lake Ferry
In northern Albania, roads are quite scarce and thus a boat route has been the fastest way to go from A to B for the local communities. However, for us, it was more all about the amazingly beautiful scenery, rather than saving time (#slowtravel). We doubted a bit, since you pay per person, plus per m2 of your vehicle. For us, this would add up to be around 75,- euro. However, we thought this would be a unique experience and decided to go for it. After we made the reservation and arrived at the spot late in the afternoon.
We were all ready for the 9 am ferry in the morning. They called us and said there had been an error in the system. Our reservation got accepted, despite the ferry already being full (later we understood that it is quite easy for the ferry to be full, as it only fits 6 vehicles). They offered us the ferry a day later and returned 25,- and a free drink during the ride. Not too bad! (another plus on the vanlife and travel in Albania story, you always have your bed with you).
Unfortunately, the day was a little bit cloudy and above all, windy. Which made it too chilly for us tropical people to sit outside. But, our van was the last one to enter the ferry and thus we had front row seats right from our bed through the back window. We were astonished by the beautiful sceneries, blue waters, mountains and had the most amazing 4-hour ferry ride ever!
If your finances allow, we definitely recommend taking this ferry! You can book online (recommended) via Komani Lake Ferry
Vanlife in Valbone National Park
This park had been on my list since I knew I was going down to Albania. Mountains, snow, rough roads and isolated places. However, a bit of bad luck with the weather (read: 4 degrees and snow) meant that we didn’t really do as many hikes as we had planned.
The hike I had been wanting to do was the one from Valbone to Theth.
However, the part I did not really think through is that this is 7 hours one way. And that there really is no other way to get back to the starting point, and thus our van, then walking the 7 hours back again. Initially, we thought we would do two days of hiking and finding an Airbnb in between. However, with the previews of rain, snow, wind and hail we decided on a plan B. Make some small hikes in the surrounding areas. Go for quick runs and coffee stops in grungy bars full of old alcohol-drinking Albanian locals.
We did absolutely love this area though, with the snowy mountains, the blue water streams, creeks and rivers. We were told that Theth is absolutely worth it (if not, even more worth it than Valbone). But this would mean many, many more kilometers and hours extra for us to go all the way around, and we were getting a bit towards a driving burnout.
Extra: Border crossings into Montenegro and Kosovo
Initially, we thought we could cross into Montenegro or Kosovo from here. However, unfortunately, the small pass into Montenegro was still entirely full of snow. We asked a local about it and he just looked at our van. He then looked at us, started laughing and said ´absolutely not possible´. So that was a clear ´no´.
Kosovo was also a quite clear ´no´ from the border police. Brazilian (and Indian and South African) nationals are not allowed in. No matter how long they had been out of their country. So, our plan B was to do another 6-hour drive to Shkoder and cross the border with Montenegro there. Sometimes, plans are the only things you end up not doing.
There you go. I hope to have given you enough inspiration as to why vanlife and travel in Albania. So pack your bags and your preferred mode of transportation and enjoy!
As always, write me if I have been missing anything?
