Highlights of Albania

Customer Reviews

• PS

  Paul

  · May 29th, 2019
  We enjoyed our tour in general. Erion was a knowledgeable guide whose deep love of Albania imbued our tour with a delightful spirit. Some of the hotels were better than others, but none were truly horrible. We feel that there was one too many ethnographic museums. Goshi was an awesome driver.
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  Trip date: May 2019
• BW

  Beverley

  · October 1st, 2018
  We were very disappointed that the itinerary was changed from a supposedly 10 day tour to an 8 day tour...there was no program on either the first or last day and everything was crammed into 8 days giving us less time to enjoy the attractions. Therefore for 6 days the itinerary altered from the advertised program. We chose tour tour as it had a.good itinerary and were not happy with the outcome.
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  Trip date: September 2018
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  Elizabeth McCormick

  · June 6th, 2013
  A facinating country of friendly, aparently hardworking people, emerging from a difficult and troubled past. The countryside is beautiful and some of the old towns facinating. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?There were a number of highlights such as visits to the old castles, driving through the beautiful countryside on the dreadful roads and a visit to two old houses, one occupied by an old lady in Benje, near Permet. Some of the old towns like Gjirokastra and Berat are charming and even the others, although many are somewhat over developed or spoiled by communist architecture, are pleasant and interesting. Nearly all possess lovely views.I also enjoyed our visit to Blue Eye, where clear blue water gushes up from deep underground to run through a lovely valley.  What did you think of your group leader?Our Group leader, Ilir, was excellent. He was charming, very well informed and extremely helpful.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Although I did not really know what to expect, nothing was a shock. I would, however, suggest taking comfortable walking shoes as the hills are very steep and often very uneven to walk up.Is there anything else you would like to add?My only criticism would be of the Mercedes mini bus. It looked smart and was the perfect size for our party, but the suspension was very poor making it necessary for our driver to proceed at close to walking pace over the worst sections of road, of which there were many.One of the things we couldn't help noticing was how cheap many things were, except for the petrol, which wasn't our concern. We had one extremely nice lunch in the hills at a nice open air restaurant, which worked out at £3 per head, including drinks. Cigarettes, for those who are interest, are also extremely cheap.  
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  Trip date: June 2013
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  Roger Collins

  · October 10th, 2012
  A 10 day trip travelling south in land and returning north along the coast. This was a holiday with a different hotel every night therefore distances were quite high. All but one of the hotels provided free wifi, which I thought was amazing. The tour gave a good insight into the country and although the country has made tremendous strides in the last fifteen years there were still glimpses of former attitudes partcilarly when service was less than perfect. The weather through the ten days was superb - there was one shower of rain, if you blinked you missed it. Food was very good and instances of poor health was minimal. Albania is in initial stages of developing tourism for commercially there is very little to buy, therefore expenditure was roughly $20 a day and that was on food and drink. A thoroughly good tripWhat was the most inspirational moment of your trip?The guide book suggests that you will fall in love with butrint and it was certainly the most impressive of sitesThe new orthodox churches In Korca and Tirana when the group caught the end of service which really was inspiringthe natural springs at Blue Eye and the frescoes on the churches in voskopojaWhat did you think of your group leader?ed was a enthusiast for the modern day Albania.  He was keen to offer choices to please the group but at times this lead to indecision.    Various ideas suggested were never followed through.   Neverthess his knoweldge of the country was very good although he tended to be fairly quiet on the bus.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Be prepared for long long breaks because food is cooked as we waited.Is there anything else you would like to add?The hotel moved from the beach area to Vloras created an inbalance in the trip the trip notes the guide had were not identitical to the trip notes provided by exodus which proved to be an ittitant rather than annoying.it quite clear that tour operators prefer Korja to airport rather than Tirano Airport on the last daythe return flight arrives back at Gatwick after all public transport had ceased - good job the coffee shop was open all might.
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  Trip date: October 2012