Documentation

Passport: For British Citizens must be valid for at least 3 months from date of entry. 

VISA's: Not required for British Citizens. British citizens can enter and remain in Albania for a maximum of 90 days in every 6-month period without a visa. 

EHIC: NA. Make sure you have adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment abroad, evacuation by air ambulance and repatriation.

Driving licence: You can drive in Albania with a valid UK driving licence for up to one year. You can also drive in Albania with an International Driving Permit (IDP).

Import documentation: It is very important that the correct import documentation is carried if importing vehicle to Albania. It is not clear whether this includes temporary imports (transits). Check with the Albanian Embassy in London before you travel. 

Customs: Customs posts in Albania can be found here

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Logistics

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Roads: When visiting hill towns on the northern border with Kosovo, you should exercise caution and heed warning signs about unexploded landmines and other unexploded ordnance. ​Driving can be very hazardous. Roads are poor, especially in rural areas. Street lighting in urban areas is subject to power cuts. Elsewhere, even on the major inter-urban arterial routes, there is no street lighting. If you are travelling at night, watch out for unmarked road works, potholes and unlit vehicles. Four-wheel drive vehicles are often more practical on rural and minor roads. Albanian driving can often be aggressive and erratic. Deaths from road traffic accidents are amongst the highest in Europe. Police have taken some measures to decrease the number of accidents. Minor traffic disputes can quickly escalate, especially as some motorists could be armed. Avoid reacting to provocative behaviour by other road users. If you are involved in a traffic accident, even a minor one, you are supposed to wait until the police arrive. This will usually happen quickly in built-up areas.

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Explosive Remnants of War (ERW): In December 2009 Albania officially declared it had met its  ‘Ottawa Convention Article 5’ obligations and had reached mine-free status. However, when visiting hill towns on the northern border with Kosovo you should take care, particularly if hiking and follow the signs warning about unexploded landmines and other unexploded ordnance. Demining is ongoing on the Kosovo side.

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Weather: BBC Weather for Tirana - 14 day forecast

 

Fuel: National Petrol Station networks. Scarcer in Northern areas and Islands.

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Water: Water quality is generally poor in Albania and can cause illness. Bottled water should be used for drinking. Locations for filling water tanks are currently unknown. 

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Food: Food is readily available in shops and supermarkets especially in the major cities. Some campsites have shops which sell the basics. 

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Vehicle / trailer repairs: Main cities. 

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Bottle Gas or Refills: ​

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LPG: In addition to cooking gas for those with tanks, LPG is also used to power vehicles. Details of LPG gas stations and connectors can be found on the website myLPG.eu. A list of Points of Interest (POI's), a list of stations, can also be downloaded in other applications and on other devices like Garmin, TomTom, Google Earth and iGO primo. Links can be found here.

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Gas adapters: A Dish adapter is used here. 

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Currency: The lek (plural lekë) is the official currency of Albania, though the euro is widely accepted; you'll get a better deal for things in general if you use lek. Major credit and debit cards are accepted in most banks, large supermarkets and international hotels. Smaller businesses and taxis often only accept cash. There are numerous ATMs in Tirana and the main towns, as well as bureaux de change where Sterling, US Dollars and Euros are widely accepted. Although street money-changers operate openly, they do so illegally. Only use banks or established bureaux de change. There have been some cases of credit card fraud.

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Health

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Medical and dental facilities (including those for accident and emergency use) are very poor, particularly outside Tirana. Make sure you have adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment abroad, evacuation by air ambulance and repatriation. The tap water in Albania may cause illness - you should drink only bottled water. If you drink milk, make sure it is UHT (pasteurised). 

 

Pets

 

To enter Albania, your pet must first be microchipped with an ISO 11784/11785 compliant 15 digit pet microchip. If your pet's microchip is not ISO compliant, you can bring your own microchip scanner. or pets entering Albania from a rabies-free or rabies-controlled country, your cat or dog must be vaccinated for rabies no sooner than 30 days prior to entry and not more than the expiration date of the manufacturer of the vaccine is required. If your dog, cat or ferret has been vaccinated before it was fitted with a microchip, it will have to be vaccinated again after the microchip is implanted and wait 21 days before entering Albania.​ A rabies titer test is not required for pets entering Albania from any country. ​Within 10 days of travel, an accredited veterinarian must then complete the bi-lingual health certificate for Albania for endorsement by the USDA or CFIA if traveling from the United States or Canada. If you are not traveling from either of these countries, endorsement is not required unless your country mandates it. An EU Pet Passport does not substitute for a health certificate.

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Places to stay 

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Name / Point of contact / Email / Tel No / Website

Price per night

Hotels

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Camping

 

Albanians have a habit of ignoring traffic laws, smoking regulations, and pretty much any rule.  So, if there is a wild camping law on the book, no one is paying any attention to it.  The country is full of wild places where you can easily camp.  I personally have wild camped in Albania a few times and loved it (my favorite country for camping).  The only time you might have trouble finding a wild camping Wild camping is illegal in Greece. 

Campsites including places (like hotels) that allow camping within their grounds

 

Wild camping

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Wild camping is tolerated in many areas.  In the mountains (not in a National Park), for example, you should not have a problem.  The hardest part is trying to find a wild camping spot on the beach because so much beach property is owned by hotels and overridden spot is on the beach in the summer.  I recommend Gjipe Beach.

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Things to do and places to see

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TBC​

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Any other suggestions / Information: 

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Public security is generally good, particularly in Tirana. Crime and violence does occur in some areas, but is not typically targeted at foreigners. The Albanian National Environment Agency reported in 2016 that 83% of beaches in Albania are of a very good or good standard but the report raised concerns over a small number of beaches including beaches in Durres, Vlore and Saranda which are polluted as a result of inadequate sewage disposal and treatment. Albania lies in a seismically-active zone, and tremors are common. Serious earthquakes are less frequent but do occur. 

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All About Albania is a useful website that shows locations of key services and places to stay.

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Local Media

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• Oranews

• BBC News Albania

• Euro News Albania

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