 Discover Albania
Dusk in Sarandë, Albania
Author: ZNZ (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)
Albania is a small Mediterranean country in southern Europe. To its north are Macedonia and Serbia, to its east is Montenegro, to the south is Greece, and across the sea to the west is Italy. From the end of World War II until 1992, Albania was a communist country. However, after the death of its communist leader Enver Hoxha, the communist party finally relinquished power and this led to the establishment of a multi-party democracy in Albania.
Guide to Albania Hotels
Here's a list of hotels in Albania that you can book online, listed by city with full description, star rating, address, location map, evaluation, and prices as offered by different booking sites. This helps you to make your room booking with the site that offers the best price.
Cathedral of Korçë, Albania
Author: Idobi (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
More on Albania
After years of isolation, Albania is working towards closer integration with the EU, and hope to be invited to join NATO in 2008. Travellers to Albania can expect a country that is pristine, or rather locked in time. Most visitors come to Albania to enjoy its coastal resort, though some venture further inland.
There is only one international airport in Albania, and it's located in the capital of Tirana.
Fast Facts about Albania
Official Name: Republic of Albania
Capital: Tirana (353,000)
Population of Albania: 3,079,000
Currency: Lek
Languages spoken: Albanian (official), Greek
Religions: Islam, Albanian Orthodox, Roman Catholic
Size: 27,400 sq km (10,579 sq miles)
When to visit Albania
Albania is best visited in late spring or early autumn, when it is neither too hot. September is the best month to visit Albania, when fruits are in season, and the coastal resorts are less crowded than say July or August.
Climate
It is hottest in July (31 deg C) and coldest in January (6.7 deg C). The driest months are July and August while the wettest are November and December. Annual rainfall is 47 inches.
Church of St Mary of Vllaherna, Albania
Author: Geoff Wong (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
Getting into Albania
The only international airport for Albania is the Tirana International Airport (TIA). This airport, renamed Nena Teresa in 2001 after the late Mother Teresa, has a new terminal opened in 2007. The airport has connections to Ancona, Athens, Bari, Bologna (Forli), Brussels, Budapest, Cologne/Bonn, Florence, Frankfurt, Genoa, Istanbul (Ataturk, Sabiha Gokcen), Ljubljana, London (Gatwick, Stansted), Milan (Malpensa, Orio), Munich, Naples, Palma, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Pristina, Rimini, Rome (Fiumicino), Sofia, Trieste, Turin, Venice (Treviso) and Verona. You need to pay a 10 euro entry/exit fee - make sure you have 10 euro with you as change is not available.
Tirana is 25km from the airport. Taxi is the most effective form of transport. It costs 2,500 Lek (app. 20 euro) and takes 30-45 minutes, depending on traffic. Buses are also available, hourly round the clock, between the airport and the National Museum, at the centre of town, for only 200 Lek one way.
Ancient fortifications in Durrës, Albania
Author: Pasztilla (public domain)
The Cheerful Traveler
Something to cheer up your trip.
Two friends went hunting. One accidentally shot the other. Frantic, he called up 911.
"Help, help! I just shot my friend!" he wailed.
"Is he still breathing? Is he alive?" asked the 911 Operator.
"I don't know, I think he's dead! I think I've killed him!"
"Calm down. First you've got to make sure he's really dead," the operator said, "Can you do that?"
"Okay, hang on," said the hunter. There was a moment of silence, followed by a loud BANG! Then the hunter came back to the phone, "Okay, I make sure he's really dead. What next?"
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