My Albania
Every time before the next trip, I take a new notebook, the size of a passport, and tell my friends that I will keep a diary for the whole trip (it is necessary to announce this to others, otherwise there is not the slightest chance that I will write at least a line). And every time I return from a trip with an almost empty notebook: I have enough for a maximum of two days.
So it was this time. Italy-Albania, 2 weeks August 2014. So I am writing from memory.
Background.
For some time I dreamed of going to Albania. Few people went there, there were not many reports then, it is now that Albania is slowly gaining popularity among tourists. And about five years ago, almost everyone with whom I talked about Albania claimed that there was war, crime, dirt, poverty...
My friend, Yulia, is also not looking for a seal rest, she chooses countries one another more beautiful - Syria, Nigeria, Gambia, Benin. And if Europe, then Albania. Her plans for the future include Iran and Uzbekistan. I had to spend exactly a year persuading my husband to come with us and try to find another little man to optimize the hotel stay, so to speak. They counted on Yulia's friend from her life in London, but something did not grow together there and there were three of us “not optimally” left.
VizAir tickets to Sofia (600 UAH round-trip / 1 person) were purchased at the end of August in the fall of 2013. It was planned to rent a car in Sofia and drive around Macedonia: the mountainous part, the canyons, the mountains, the gorges to the magnificent Ohrid Lake, and then Albania with its again gorges, mountains, canyons and the magnificent Ohrid Lake. Plus the magnificent Albanian coast. An awesome, I think, route was planned (of course, by me). In Sofia, not without problems, a rental company was found that allowed the departure of their car not only to Serbia or Macedonia, but also to Albania. Cheap and good cars.
And here is a bummer. Cancellation not only of our flight, but in general the cancellation of flights from Kyiv to Sofia by VizeAir. Even my husband is upset - I already managed to buzz his ears with awesome Albania and all sorts of blog reports about a great vacation there. He saw the photo, read a couple of these very reviews, and he himself began to quietly dream about Albania.
But all the same Vizeir, for which I thank him humanly, made it possible not only to collect money for canceled flights, but provided several options for exchanging for other destinations. Actually, the offer to choose any other direction of the airline for the same passengers, regardless of the price, seemed ideal to me. Doubts were only between Naples and Valencia. Julia says: I need Albania, it’s real from Naples, not from Valencia. Although Spain is also nothing. The husband says: you need to choose the most expensive direction, and this is Valencia. Or Naples, but maybe just hang out for two weeks in Italy, Albania is somehow difficult and unpredictable. And I liked all the options, but when will I get to that Albania again?
Replaced tickets to Naples. And then not a trip, a jamb on a jamb. From this moment on, you can start mocking me to all those to whom I have been telling for years how simple everything is in independent travel. Many places are easy, but here it was not very.
The idea of an Albanian vacation was that the country is cheap, not favored by tourists, there are deserted beaches in rocky bays, peace and quiet. Partly it is. But only in part.
The vacation plan in Albania was as follows: we arrive in Naples in the morning, and the very next day we go by bus from Naples to the glorious city of Brindisi, from where ferries leave for the Albanian city of Vlora. Vlora is a city, to the south of which the so-called "Albanian Riviera" begins - very picturesque and clean beaches right up to Saranda. And beyond Saranda begins mainland Greece. Opposite Saranda is Greek Corfu. Here we go, to the Saranda region.
In Vlora, it was planned to rent a car and drive along the most beautiful mountain road along the coast to get to a cozy village, where an equally cozy apartment by the beach would be rented. The same beach, of which there are "thousands": quiet, calm and beautiful.
During the week it was planned to go to 2-3 cities - Berat, Gjirokastra, Butrint, and the rest of the time to go to the beach. Canyons and gorges, as well as the magnificent Ohrid Lake, were decided to be thrown out of the route.
After that, Italy was waiting for us. It was planned to rent a car in Brindisi and slowly drive to Naples to interesting places, having lived a couple of days at sea in the Matera area. And so it happened, we visited Ostuni, Alberobello (for the second time in my life), Matera. We settled in the mountains, traveled for a couple of days to the surrounding villages, to the sea. We climbed the mountain, where the abandoned city of San Severino DiCentola is located. Then we dropped into Paestum for an hour and on the plane.
The trip budget has increased dramatically already at the stage of paying for the transport of our movements:
- From Naples to Brindisi, a bus was purchased for 30 euros per person. The bus is good and comfortable, but in all cities it stops at some outskirts. So in Brindisi he brought us not to the station, not to the center, but to a deserted parking lot, where only the three of us got out. Taxi drivers are not visible, the locals said that they are not crowded anywhere: they need to call. It was impossible to catch a taxi: not a single car was seen. And we, after all, from the city also to the port, and he is on another outskirts outside the city. Departure is 23:30. And you need to check in (as indicated on the ticket) - no later than 2 hours before departure. We have almost 21-00.
-from one outskirts of Brindisi, the driver of the regular bus dropped us off at the railway station, and prompted another bus straight to the port. 15 minutes and we are in the port
-Purchasing tickets for the ferry made me very upset. Bought online from Kyiv. Knowing the prices for Scandinavian ferries with their distances, I did not count on the price of 1 ticket for this ferry without a seat at 60 (! ) Euros one way. The cheapest cabin is 75 (slightly larger than the train compartment and the view is the same). We had attempts to buy tickets to Tirana from Naples with a transfer in Rome at the same price, but we decided that we had so many transfers and there were chances of being corny late for a vehicle. As a result, they considered that comfort in flight would not replace driving around Albania for 7-9 hours more, customs control at the airport (souvenirs from Albania can weigh more than the allowed baggage weight), the need to go back to Naples airport and fly (I still afraid to fly, flying in torment). Also, all three of us thought that the ferry between southern Italy and Albania was an adventure in itself (and this is true), plus a “collectible” stamp in the passport with crossing the Schengen by boat (for idiots, right? ). But besides the price of the ferry, which, in my opinion, is too high, the conditions on board are far from ideal. This is a separate story. Will be later: both photos and videos. And a few words about passport control. A lot of impressions! I won't risk repeating it! Conclusion - if you go to Albania by ferry, then only from the Greek Corfu! Just because the distance is less!
-car rental in Vlore. It turned out that there are no car rentals in the ports of southern Italy and Albania! Unexpected. Cars or driven from airports (in Italy it is 5-10 km, and in Albania more than 100). Accordingly, this increases the cost of a car by about 70-90 euros.
With rentals in Albania (not in the capital) it’s not very good at all, especially with advance booking and understanding of the price. If there are sites, then when contacting, at best, you will be answered by mail with something indistinct from the series “come and agree” or “well, we don’t know what kind of car it will be, but the price is from 30 euros. ” To get a clear offer in advance: this car on such conditions with such insurance for such a price is impossible. Everything that is on the site is changeable: the contract in reality will be different, and the price tag. And what is insurance, in Albania, it seems, they don’t really know. Actually, as they have no idea about the rules of the road.
But rental in Vlora, nevertheless, was found. Since they didn’t respond to emails right away, we emailed me and Julia again, filled out their feedback form on the website, contacted their FB group, and also tried to fill out a booking request. During the week we received several answers from the “come and agree” series with different prices for the same miniature machine, from 28 to 36 euros. On the phone, however (and we already called from Naples 2 days before booking a car), they announced the price of 28 euros to us and, again, “come and agree. ” The agreements ended with a price of 32 euros without any arguments from the rental. I didn't want to waste time, although my integrity almost ruined the deal. But just because I speak English badly, I can’t bargain for a car. Payment in cash, although they had a terminal: they invented that it was “broken”. Pros: no deposits, no card, no cash. If all the damage was included in the contract, then there is no need to worry about scratches and other minor damage: when the machine was handed over, it was almost not examined. Do not dig and do not hang on you other people's damage.
Small cars for long Albanian descents and ascents are not intended. The brakes whistled, stank, smoked... The car just suffers in that mountainous Albania. And we are with her. True, in the Saranda region, the roads are less steep and there are few long descents.
-We incurred the biggest expenses on renting an Italian car. It cost us 50 euros/day. Crap! Italy. South. And 50 euros. Last year in Bari I had a Hertz car for 18 euros. This time we have a rental with Van Vey - we take it in Brindisi, we rent it in Naples. But 50 euros. It was possible to take from local distributors: they are cheaper - Locauto, SicilyByCar, Maggiore. But these companies are specific: they like to “breed” a foreign tourist who is not familiar with the mentality of an Italian southerner. First, by blocking the entire amount of your deductible on the card (1700.1900 euros), they try not to include existing damage to the car in the original contract (it's easy). If it worked out, then a few days after you handed over the car, they begin to write off this huge deposit of 200-400-600 euros for damage to this car by you. Reviews darkness! Especially for SicilyByCar. We decided that a solid company was better and Europcar was chosen. And they blocked us for this only 1000 euros. Radishes! For the first time I have blocked so much money for a car. Usually: either nothing, or 200-250 euros.
Albania itself is a wonderful country.
The problem for us was precisely to get and get out of there.
Prices. Cheap domestically. Everything. And housing, and food, and services.
Housing. If you search in advance on the Internet: the choice is not large and the prices are the highest. There are not many hotels, mostly private houses and apartments. The country is being actively built up and housing is rampant. If you look for housing on the spot, then it is many times more (everywhere there are signs about renting out) and cheaper. I am writing in dollars, as it is convenient to count 100lek-1 dollar. Accommodation in Saranda (this is like Yalta) in August: modern apartment, renovated / new, 1 bedroom + kitchen with sofa, balcony. I chose according to these criteria. Prices are 30-35-40 dollars. We still booked in advance. Naturally, prices are lower in September or July. Sometimes there are tiny hotels on the beaches in the bays, simple hotels. Not pretentious. There is nothing pathetic in Albania at all!
Food. Plain mediterranean. Cheap just. Everything is delicious! Here are Greek dishes (for example, Greek salad is everywhere, the same Fredocino drink is everywhere), and Italian: there are many establishments with pasta pizza risotto. But soups are surprisingly popular. Not a tomato slurry, but a soup with meat, with vegetables, such a rich one. Not our borscht, but not gazpacho either. Lots of minced meat dishes. We often met dolma (or the like) - we didn’t order it, it just looks like something wrapped in grape leaves. In Vlore, in almost every establishment in a window on a spit, a lamb or a calf dangled (I read that they slaughter small calves, so the size of a lamb and a calf differs little). On the coast with skewers, establishments were not seen, in my opinion. There are fish and seafood. All fresh local catch! Several times we watched local guys catch octopuses right on the beach. Frog legs are very tasty, mussels are fried in batter: the most delicious mussels I have ever tasted. A traditional dish of almost all establishments is grilled fish (sea bass, trout, dorado and others, which could not be translated). Prices are 5-8 dollars for a dish that consists of a whole fish 300-400 grams + a few vegetables. Pizza is very tasty 3-8 dollars. For 8 it was meat with buffalo mozzarella and in Albania it was tastier than in Naples. In one of Saranda's expensive restaurants, meals were $8-$12, but the restaurant specialized in serving beautifully and distributing a small portion on a large plate. And although everything is delicious, but to eat well, you need to devour 2-3 dishes.
A huge number of species taverns. Not even restaurants. The beach, right on the rock above it: a bar and a restaurant. 20 bucks for three and amazing views of the mountains and the sea.
You can eat with b / a drinks or wine and already with a tip almost everywhere for 20-25 bucks for three!
People. Very open, cheerful, cheerful. Even the passport control workers laughed and joked, and one lady almost danced. Unobtrusive. Even if they want to sell you something (namely, to sell, but to "suck in"), they do it very carefully. It happened that the car would stop when it saw that we were tourists, and the smiling grandfather would simply give a business card (of a hotel, apartment, store). Always smiling, not only for us, but for life. Only very elderly grandmothers look gloomy, who are often dressed in black dresses with black scarves. We thought that most likely they were widows. But why widows, only grannies of 80-90 years old, could not explain to themselves.
We felt very safe among the locals, unlike Naples and its suburbs. We didn't see any drunks. Dragon too ; -)
Beaches. Similar to the beaches of Montenegro, Croatia. Cool. Clean. The water is very clear. The coast is rocky and the best beaches are in the bays that you need to drive to. There is a large long beach near the village of Dhermi, but we saw it only from above, driving along the road. Very beautiful. Almost all Albanian beaches near Saranda have sand, but in some places the beach on the same beach, in addition to sand, can have pebbles and even stones. One was stony: small stones. Uncomfortable without special shoes. There were also completely sandy-Ksamil, for example. They say that on many beaches in Albania, the sand is crushed pebbles. But we have also been to remote bays where there is no beach infrastructure and a very bad road: there was also sand, and there were stones and rocks nearby. My favorite combination. There are many beaches where you can only swim: they are the coolest.
I don't like city beaches, I don't go to them. Very few scooters / bananas, screaming music. Boats and yachts do not moor on the beaches (unlike Montenegro, where these are simply a disaster). There is no garbage in the water, the beaches are cleaned every evening. Most often, on any, even a remote beach in the bay, there is a restaurant, parking, sunbeds, a tray with all sorts of ice cream juices. At the same time, it is not very crowded, especially after 14 hours.
But there are beaches that I don't like. The same Ksamil is the most promoted town and several beaches, including those on the islets nearby. They are beautiful, no doubt, but! They are crowded with people, there is just an anthill. Noise and din. Clogged parking lots, a lot of people wear all sorts of garbage and sell (figs, blackberries, some kind of rolls, corn, ice cream). There is not enough space on the beach, so the whole space is filled with sunbeds / umbrellas. This was the first beach we got to in Albania and we were just horrified. The view was like in the Crimea, like the city beach of Alushta. Disappointment. But then they chose places better and quieter.
It is also interesting that the locals start leaving the beach from three in the afternoon. At four there are no more than half of the people, and at six on the same Ksamil we were the only ones.
Roads and parking. Roads minus Albania. They are of poor quality, especially in the mountainous part of the country. Along the coast, the Vlora-Saranda road is good. There are a few dead sites, but this is a trifle. But it is narrow, rather tiring: a lot of serpentines, long ascents and descents, few places for overtaking or stopping. All roads are narrow, absolutely everything. Most often, 1 lane in each direction, but many roads are only 1 lane wide. In the depths of the country, the roads... are not logical, or something. You can drive on the motorway, and suddenly it is interrupted, and a living hell begins with holes in the floor of the wheel. Or there may be no road surface at all: stones or soil. Then “bang” and after 10 km again a good road... There is a lot of horse-drawn transport in the mountainous part of the country (if this applies to donkeys). Moving around the country as a whole is very slow.
Cities have a different problem. The almost complete absence of traffic rules, signs and markings. Rather, it is absent everywhere, but it becomes a problem in cities. Chaos.
We did not understand what they have there with priority on the circle. It seems that whoever pops up first has priority. But everyone drives slowly, quite carefully, they don’t speed up, they don’t cut. My husband says, after Kyiv, it's normal here.
Parking. Like us: put where you want (almost). Sometimes valet guys (? ) come to the beaches for their 100-200 leks (1-2 bucks) per day. Lots of private parking around the clock (in the yard) at a price of 1-2 bucks per day. A huge number of washes, all because there are many primers with white dust in the country.
ZPS required. Firstly, there are practically no signs of settlements. It's impossible to follow the signs. Few people from the locals can help, because the locals do not speak foreign languages very well. Secondly, you will never reach intuitively. That would seem to be Berat. There is only one road from Vlora. Big city, only small ones nearby. Is it logical that the road there should be better compared to roads to villages and small towns along the way? But no, at some forks, we stood and did not go, even having a ZHPS with updated maps. The gadget says-left to you. But to the left is a deadly dusty narrow road, and to the right is a normal and wider one. The husband says: the road to the village cannot be better than the main road to the big city of Berat. Maybe. And we believed this only after standing for 10 minutes at the fork, noticing that 90% of the passing traffic still turns left.
It is advisable not to drive at night.
Attractions
There are not so many of them. The main cities in the southern part are the cities of Berat and Gjirokastra. But these two cities are inland, not on the sea. I will try to write a separate story about them with a photo, but now I will just mention them. Both cities are protected by UNESCO and they are really beautiful, interesting and original.
There are also ruins of the ancient city of Butrint. For those who have been to similar cities in Turkey, Greece or Italy, this one will seem modest. You can also skip. Although it is beautiful and cool (laurel forest). Nice views of the hills, the lake, the fortress. But the Greek Delphi is very far away.
Saranda. Resort city. The central part is not big, from anywhere 10 minutes to the sea. But I'm talking about multi-storey buildings. Around this central part there are many private houses on the hills, from there it is far to the sea. A nice embankment, on it the whole life of the city - shops, cafes, souvenirs. Noisy. From Saranda there are ferries and a rocket (made in Kherson) to the Greek island of Corfu. There is also a very good large restaurant and a pizzeria (delicious pizza and inexpensive). This restaurant is in an old castle on a mountain above the city, offering stunning views of the bay and mountains. The place is chic.
Blue eye - on the way to Gjirokastra from Saranda there is a mountain river. In one of its places, a very interesting effect is obtained. They write about it like this: a rare geological phenomenon - karst springs that gush deep from the ground, feed the Bistritsa River and ensure the operation of the local hydroelectric power station. There are eighteen springs in total, each of them has an unusual color - in the very center of the source, the water is saturated dark blue, and bright blue at the edges. Due to the shade of the water and the round shape, the natural attraction was named Syri i Kalt? r, which means "Blue Eye" in Albanian. The exact depth of the reservoir that the springs form remains unknown: divers have repeatedly tried to explore the "Blue Eye", but they managed to descend only 45 meters, as the water from the spring beats under great pressure. The researchers calculated that the debit is up to six cubic meters per second, and tourists conduct their own experiments: if you throw a pebble into the center of the source, then in just a few seconds it will appear on the surface of the reservoir.
The Vlora-Saranda road itself, especially its section, which is called Logara-attraction. Already very beautiful views of the sea, mountains, and winding road.
Dota. Well, there are not so many of them left, as they write about it everywhere. Often found along the roads, on the hills, sometimes on the beaches. But I was excited to see a lot more of them. And yet they are all simple and small. You can’t turn around inside (we have much more interesting pillboxes near Kiev).
There is also Lake Ohrid, but the main beauties and churches are from the Macedonian side, really. There is a Chorovoda canyon near Berat. There are good ancient towns near Vlora. There are a lot of things, but we didn't have time to do everything.
Tourists. There are many tourists on the beaches. But mostly it is the Albanians themselves. Therefore, the dream of the deserted beaches of Albania remained only a dream. Everything is the same as everywhere else. It's just that our tourists rarely travel, so it seems to us that the country is not at all touristy. There are also many Greeks, Kosovars. There are Italians quite often and Macedonians. Occasionally Poles and Germans. We saw cars from Slovakia, Poland, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Romania. Neither Russians, nor Belarusians, nor ours were seen: neither cars, nor alive.
General impression of the country. I liked it very much. Very beautiful country, beautiful beaches, beautiful mountains. Amazing sea. I plan to visit this country at least a couple of times. Of course, there is a problem with inexpensive and convenient transport from Ukraine. Because, the second time I see no point in going to Albania from Italy. An awl for soap is obtained, but inconvenient, and even with a surcharge. I plan to try from Greek Corfu or from Thessaloniki.
The country at this stage is not very suitable for a mass tourist (package) who is accustomed to Turkish service. There are few hotels, especially high-end ones. There are no large shopping centers and supermarkets - small shops, shops, bazaars. Not so much with automation: even in those supermarkets that we met, there were no terminals. Almost all trade works without cash registers. But checks are written... manually. We only saw one ATM. You can’t pay with a card anywhere - cash is held in high esteem. Internet is so-so. Many homeowners have 3G. There is no variety of beach entertainment, water parks. Towns are being actively built, but they are built randomly and it seems that this is not a city, but a large construction site, but inhabited. The cities are dirty. Although after Naples, it's hard for me to say that Albania is dirty. Far from Naples. As an inexpensive country for a great "seal" vacation without much entertainment, it's ideal. For independent tourists, the country is good, especially if there is a desire to master a new direction.
I was in a great hurry to visit Albania before it becomes a mass tourism destination. But for now, she is 5 years old before that. So there is still time to catch it!
