Can Albania, with their Roman ruins and Greek temples, blue waters, and Adriatic coastline, be the next big destination? Many people are touting it as such. What I did notice were quite a few hair transplant tourists.
We went looking for the blue waters of the Adriatic. But, we went looking for the beach in the off off season, on a rainy cold day. We did find the beach and had a meal at a beach side restaurant (it was the only place open for miles), and oddly, I had to use my Italian language skills to order as the owner of the restaurant did not speak English.
I would recommend going way to the south near Greece when looking for sunshine. Or go in the shoulder season.
Still, it was nice to be able to get a decent “Greek” salad.
Another thing, everyone smokes.
But, Albania is the birthplace of Mother Theresa so perhaps people would visit for that reason too. There are things to see and do (the communist museums, the plazas, the Greek temples, the Adriatic, the mountains), and it is a bit cheaper than other parts of Europe.
The Albanians are ready. They have the tourist gear. Also, it’s pretty inexpensive to get a car service from Tirana to Kosovo, Skopje, Montenegro, and other parts of the Balkans. This is could be practical because it is not so easy to get to some of those places but Tirana has a direct flight from Rome.
