As Albania is not yet a member of the European Union, the country remains largely untouched by mass tourism and is still relatively unknown.
We've compiled here some essential and hopefully useful information about the country. We’ll cover culture, customs, the road network, the environment, and more. The goal is to ensure your experience is as smooth as possible once you're there. With this information, you'll be ready for the adventure ahead.
In Albania, it's rare to find businesses that accept credit cards. Almost all transactions are done in cash, even in restaurants and gas stations.
To pay with a card, you’ll need to go to large supermarkets, big restaurant chains, or major gas stations. For the latter, check the price boards for gasoline. Often, you'll see if they accept cards based on whether there’s a Visa or Mastercard logo. You can also tell by the price of fuel—it’s usually higher at stations equipped with card terminals. This price difference is likely due to high bank fees for vendors.
If you're planning a trip to Albania, be sure to have cash on hand, or at least plan to withdraw from an actual bank (typically found in larger cities).
When we say "actual bank," we mean ATMs attached to a bank, not the "floating" ATMs that can be moved around. We had to withdraw money from one of these portable ATMs (because we didn’t plan ahead) and the withdrawal fees were nearly €10... It was absurd.
Later during our trip, we withdrew money from Credit Bank of Albania, and there were no fees. So, make sure to plan your cash withdrawals to avoid using the many portable ATMs with exorbitant fees.
And most importantly, before your trip, get yourself a no-fee international card! We use the Visa Ultim card from BoursoBank which is free and doesn’t charge any fees for payments or withdrawals, regardless of the currency. It’s incredibly convenient!
If you’re thinking of opening an account, you can use our referral code LEGA1596 to receive a bonus (between €80 and €220, depending on the current offer and conditions) when opening your account. Feel free to contact us to check if there’s an active promotion at the time of your application.
During our trip to Albania, we quickly realized that the country is relatively poor. At first, we saw this as a positive in terms of purchasing power, thinking we’d be able to spend little while still enjoying ourselves. However, we were mistaken! While cigarette packs cost less than €2 and you can eat for under €5 per person per meal, other things were much more expensive. For example, a cocktail could cost €5 or more, and gasoline was as expensive, if not more expensive, than in France. In June 2022, diesel was priced at €2.20 per liter, compared to €2.10 in France at the same time.
These prices are similar to what we see at home, but in a country where wages are nowhere near as high. There’s a huge disparity between the local cost of living and the average monthly salary of an Albanian, which was just €393 in 2022 (source : Numbeo). While it might be manageable for us as tourists, we couldn’t help but wonder how the locals manage to live under such conditions.
Since Albania is not yet part of the European Union (negotiations for EU membership began in July 2022) or the Eurozone, the country has its own currency: the lek (or lekë in plural), abbreviated as ALL. The exchange rate is around €1 = 116.20 ALL (in August 2024).
In addition to having their own currency, Albanians also have their own language—unsurprisingly, Albanian. Unlike its Slavic neighbors, which use the Cyrillic alphabet, Albanian is a Latin-based language. This means that even if you don’t understand it, you can still read and decipher signs fairly easily.
As for communication, Albanians generally don’t speak English very well, but you can still manage to get by and make yourself understood.
One of the more confusing things we discovered when talking to Albanians is that they shake their head "no" to mean "yes," and nod "yes" to mean "no." This is completely opposite to what we're used to, making communication tricky at times. We found ourselves asking the same question several times just to be sure we understood the answer correctly. 😂.
We also noticed this custom in Bulgaria (you can find our article on "10 Things to Know Before Traveling to Bulgaria" here). Knowing this beforehand will help you avoid confusion.
Albania is a secular country with no official religion, but 70% of the population is Muslim, following Islam, while 20% are Orthodox Christians, and 10% are Catholic.
You will see many mosques in Albania and hear the five daily prayers that structure the lives of many locals. It's a fascinating cultural experience!
Regarding the roads in Albania... They are far from being in great shape. The network is quite chaotic, with plenty of potholes and stretches that desperately need repairs. It’s important to drive carefully and be ready for some bumps along the way! 🤣.
If you need to rent a car, we recommend using DiscoverCars.
This platform compares rental deals, ensuring no hidden fees! The price includes unlimited mileage, partial coverage, and theft protection.
It’s quite common to see electrical cables everywhere in the streets. Sure, in France we also have outdoor cables, but this is on another level. Sometimes they’re barely attached, hanging low or loosely in the street. It reminded me of pictures I’ve seen of India...
It can be dangerous, especially since we touched some with our van while driving. Thankfully, we saw them in time, and they only grazed the top of the van without causing damage, but still!
Albania struck us as a rather "dirty" country. There’s litter everywhere, and unsurprisingly, there’s no recycling system. It’s a real shame because it mars the otherwise beautiful landscapes.
On top of that, the country feels behind in terms of industrial development:
This really makes you see the vast economic, industrial, and social differences between Albania and the rest of Europe.
Albania enjoys a Mediterranean climate. Winters are mild (around 10°C), and summers are hot and dry. To give you an idea, we visited Albania in early June during our 2022 Europe tour, and even then, temperatures ranged between 35°C and 42°C. I'm not sure if this is normal, but with climate change, it might become more common...
Albania also has a mountainous region in the north, where temperatures are usually cooler compared to the coast or its capital, Tirana.
We weren’t blown away by Albania overall. Don’t get me wrong—it’s not an ugly country, but compared to other places we had visited, it didn’t leave a lasting impression. Sure, there are beautiful beaches, but Tirana, the capital, isn’t anything to write home about.
However, as we headed towards Montenegro, we made a stop in the Albanian Alps, and that was truly stunning!
This mountainous area, with its lakes, waterfalls, and rivers, is definitely worth visiting. You wouldn’t expect to find such scenery in Albania—it was a pleasant surprise, and we didn’t even see all of it. We had planned just one hike in the region, but we couldn’t finish it due to the weather. However, after some research, I found out there are many other amazing hikes, including one quite famous route. It’s a multi-day loop involving hiking, buses, and boat rides through the Koman, Theth, and Valbona valleys. You can find more details about this loop on the website mifuguemiraison.com. The landscapes look breathtaking. We’ll definitely need to return to explore it further.
So, we’ve shared our 10 key facts about Albania. We hope you learned something and that this information helps you prepare for your trip and during your stay. 😊.
If this article inspired you to visit, you can book your flights here:
And feel free to share your own experiences and tips for other travelers in the comments!
French phone plans usually don’t cover Albania… So, once there, you’ll either have to manage without internet, rely on Wi-Fi when and if you find it, or buy a local SIM card for calls or data.
During our European tour, we found that Free (our mobile provider) covered almost all countries except Albania (and a few others), so we decided to purchase a Vodafone SIM card. We paid 2,000 lek (around €16) for 35GB of data, valid for one month. This was the best option we found, as it also covered Bosnia-Herzegovina (which is also not included in Free's roaming package).
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