Driving the Albanian Coastline and Around
Driving in Albania is just plain insane! I had read about it before we arrived there, but I just assumed it would be crazy like Bali (Indonesia). In a way it is similar: Drivers cut in front of you, they pull out quickly, no-one looks where they (or you) are going, and it is very busy and manic. The difference is Bali does it all at 30km an hour, while Albania does it at 130km an hour! We drove the entire length of the country, arriving from Montenegro and then exiting through Greece. We also came back in through Macedonia...
Read MoreBerat, Albania – A step back in time.
Where is Berat? Berat is a charming little town in central Albania. It took a whole day to get there from Tirana which was predicted by guide books and blogs, but confused us as it was only about 130km away. Needless to say the roads were ghastly and often we drove at less than 30km per hour, arriving no less than 6 hours after we left Tirana! Berat lies inland on the edge of the Osum river. In July 2008, the old town (Mangalem district) was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is famous for its collection of...
Read MoreSurviving Tirana, Albania
We had hired a car in Croatia but weren’t allowed to take it into Albania (all rental car providers outside Albania forbid taking rental cars into Albania, for a good reason!) so we arranged a private car to drive us from Kotor to Tirana. It was a bit confusing as it was organised through a youth hostel, however it was the only way we could work out how to do it. The cost was around 99€, and just after 8am a large white van turned up and off we went to Albania. Where is Albania? Albania is a small country on...
Read MoreSarandë, Albania and the Beautiful Blue Eye
We headed south to Sarandë (or Saranda in Albanian) which was a large and touristy town right on the boarder of Greece and Albania. Along the way we stopped in a little village just outside Himarë called Qeparo Eshat which was quite beautiful and very local. The drive in was stunning and we took way too many photos. The roads were cut into the cliff and as we meadered around the coastline, new little bays kept popping up. Once we were in the town we came across a bunch of wild pigs and horses who had helped themselves to...
Read MoreHimarë, Albania – Otherwise known as Utopia!
I am not sure if it was the friendly little town, the crystal clear aquamarine water, the magnificent scenery, fresh local seafood every night for dinner, happy children playing all day in the sunshine, salt on my skin or a combination of all of the above. However I actually think back on our week in Himarë as being one of the best in my life. We drove from Berat to Himarë (or Himara in Albanian) on the Albanian Riveria, and again despite it only being around 150km it took all day to get there. I really believe that if Albania...
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