Just returned from a trip to Albania over the Easter holidays.
Why Albania? No real reason, apart from a curiosity to see what the country had to offer. As a traveller who has visited over 60 countries, no country is off-limits. Every country has something unique to offer the discerning traveller. The people, culture, sights, history, and scenery.
Albania is one of those countries most people must look at a map to see where it is. It is located a stones-throw from Italy, just across the Ionian Sea from the “heel” of Italy’s boot. It is bordered by Greece to the south (a short ferry ride from Corfu), North Macedonia to the East, Kosovo to the North-East, and Montenegro to the north.
Albania is not currently a part of the EU, although applied for membership in 2009 and has been a candidate country since 2014. The goal is to become a part of the EU by 2030, although needs to meet certain requirements by then.
The country has a population of 2.4m, and a GDP per capita of $8,500. The currency is the LEK, which has performed surprising well against stronger currencies over the past few years, which is perhaps why it is not so cheap to visit.
The country has transformed from a poor country to an upper-middle income country over the past two or three decades.
Albania gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, was occupied by Nazi Germany briefly during WW2, then turned communist under Enver Hoxha, who ruled the country from 1944 until his death in 1985. Communism fell for Albania in 1991, and since then the countries GDP has grown from about $350 per capita to $8,500 today. This is impressive.
We flew into Tirana, the capital city, on Good Friday, in the evening and drove down to the seaside village of Dhermi the next morning. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to see much of the Tirana. Our first challenge was in picking up the hire car. We booked a car online, but failed to see the very small print which said they don’t accept American Express credit cards. We soon found out that most places in Albania do not take Amex, because the fees are too high. Note to self: it may be time to get a Visa credit card, as a back-up option.
We made a plan with a different car hire company (Sixt), and commenced the drive down south, stopping along the way in a town called Vlorë, at Café Minimal for a seafood lunch. After another hour of slow driving along some congested roads, we descended the Llogara pass which provided some exquisite views of the Ionian sea.
Arriving at Dhërmi, we checked into our hotel, the Blue Boutique and set out to explore the village. We spent the next few days exploring the beaches, hiking up to hilltop villages with centuries old churches, and seaside towns around Dhërmi, including a drive down to Ksamil in the south, which is adjacent to Corfu.
Driving along the coast, I kept on asking myself, what is the compelling value proposition to visit Albania, rather than another mediterranean such as Greece, Italy or Spain.
In terms of costs, Albania was not as cheap as I had thought. A meal for two with a couple of drinks set you back about 40 euros. We got a good deal on our hotel, but I think this was due to our visit being just out of season (most hotels and restaurants open on 1st May).
The beaches are stunning, but no more so than comparable countries. The food is okay. The people are friendly, and not overly pushy when it comes to trying to sell services and tip entitled, which is a positive. Although this is different in the capital, Tirana, where we found the staff specifically not very helpful and more pushy.
At multiple locations we saw old bunkers from WW2. Albania has often been targeted by aggressor countries, and built these concrete bunkers in strategic locations such as near landing beaches, and on key roads. The country has been taken over by the Ottoman empire in the 14th century, Italy and Germany during WW2, and Serbia, briefly just after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Albania was generally seen as protective of Jewish people during WW2, and was one of the only countries in Europe where the population of Jewish people was greater at the end of the war than before the war. There is a claim that Albert Einstein spent some time in Albania prior to emigrating to the USA, but there doesn’t seem to be much evidence to support this.
I felt the country was somewhere in the middle of Communist Cuba and present-day Zimbabwe. Driving through the villages, it seemed on one hand not much had changed since the 1950s. Old derelict buildings, scrappy farm yards, goats and cows walking onto the roads, and dogs tied to posts. But on the other hand, there is a certain hustle about the place, like the country has woken up for a long siesta, a bit like the current construction boom happening in Zimbabwe. There has been a construction frenzy in recent years, which has seen multiple hotels being developed along the coastline, and industrial properties being developed along the main roads leading towards Tirana.
One thing that stood out was how few people there were. Every now and again, we would see an old man walking with his walking stick along the side of the road. But where were the women, and the children? One explanation is that the country has seen a huge diaspora exodus from the country. Over 1.2m Albanians are estimated to have emigrated from the country since the 1990s, many settling in other European countries, including Italy, Greece, and the UK. This is around 50% of the current population. Much like Zimbabwe, these emigrants have left to more stable economies where they can make a better living and provide their children a strong foundation.
One of the standout highlights of our trip was a visit to a vineyard, called Kantina & Ferma. Started in 1993, this family run vineyard has about 8ha of land, with some of it under vines, and the remaining land under mixed cropping, sheep and goats. We had an amazing traditional lunch including a variety of typical Albanian dishes and baby goat which was amazing.
In summary, I think the compelling value proposition for a traveller to Albania, is the authenticity of the place. It is not yet fully commercialised and taken over with tourists, like other popular European locations, but it is up and coming destination. I read that Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has plans to develop a luxury resort on the uninhabited island of Sazan, just off the coast of Albania. If the country attains EU status, it will presumably be a boost for tourism and other industries too, so there is some optionality here.