ALBANIAN AMBLE

Our amble around Albania lasted eight days and we covered 320 miles. Albania is a grim country - a huge construction site in many places - but the people are fantastic.

We ambled up the west coast and saw some of the few unspoilt beaches left in Europe (soon to be spoilt?)

The roads have to be seen to be believed. I think Mercedes are using Albania as a testing ground for their cars, as there are literally hundreds, most being driven by kamikaze drivers. If you lost a Merc in the last couple of years it most likely finished up in Albania.

ENTERING ALBANIA FROM GREECE

We entered Albania at the Quafe Bote border post (N39.65305 E20.15945) which is situated between the villages of Sagiada, Greece and Konispol, Albania, just north of Igoumenitsa.

It took us nearly as long to clear the Greek customs as it did to enter Albania. For some reason the Greek customs wanted all the paperwork for the van.

The old Albanian border post is being replaced by a purpose built structure, not yet in operation. The old post can only be described as chaotic. Fortunately it's only a small crossing with no heavy traffic and we were through the border in about 30 minutes.

We paid €27.00 for third party insurance for 14 days. We were expecting to pay €10 each for entry tax but the charge was not made.

You will need the V5C (Vehicle Registration Document) to enter Albania. They will ask for the “Vehicle Papers”.

Approximate exchange rates at 1 May 2010.

1 Euro    €135 Leke
1 US      $103 Leke
1 UK     £157 Leke

Most traders preferred the Euro or Leke.

ATM's available in most towns. The bank of Tirana only accepted local cards.

SHOPPING

Shopping is difficult, though you can buy bread, fruit and veg easily. It's difficult because of the language to identify what you want. You will see super/mini-markets varying in size from a tiny country cottage through to an average small town supermarket. The largest you find are the easiest to use. Sometimes you may recognise something you have known in other foreign supermarkets. Meat is probably most difficult and the butchers' shops you might see are not up to European standards!!!

WEATHER

It was warm and sunny all the time.

ROADS

Road signing is very poor in the north and almost non-existent in the south. The signing for the ancient sites is better but still leaves a lot to be desired.

Speed limits:

Motorways                  90 KPH
Dual carriageways        80 KPH
Single carriageways      70 KPH
Urban areas                 40 KPH

We came across speed limits of 20 and 30 KPH in some places.

On the main roads there were many hand-held/mobile speed cameras with speed limits as low as 40 KPH in some places. So be warned.

Drive with dipped headlights at all times.

ROAD CONDITIONS (As at the first week in May 2010)

Border to Butrint        New road for some distance and then unmade /rough tarmac.

Butrint to Sarande      Under construction, very rough.

Sarande to Vlore        Good road surface, smooth tarmac.

Vlore town                 Unmade road in places, very slow going.

Vlore to Fier              Road tarmaced with many bumps and potholes.

Fier to Berat              Road tarmaced but in extremely poor condition and very bumpy.

Berat to Liushnje       Road tarmaced but in extremely poor condition and very bumpy.

Liushnje to Durres     Dual and single carriageway with smooth tarmac in good condition.

Durres to Shkoder     On the whole road is good. Roadworks in places with diversions.

Shkoder to Muriqan border post. Tarmac road with good surface.

In some towns and villages there are speed humps, which are not marked and can be very dangerous if you hit them at speed. Besides damaging the van you might get done for low flying as well.

FUEL

Euro diesel 135 Leke per litre (approx €1).

Auto Gas (LPG) Widely available about 70/80 Leke per litre. We filled up using the clawgun adapter.

MAPS

You will need a good map at least 1:400 000. We used the Freytag & Berndt that covered Albania, Montenegro and parts of surrounding countries. We met and compared notes with a few motorhomers (no Brits) and our map was the only one that showed the small crossing points we used. We try and use the smaller crossings as usually there is less hassle there. 

ANCIENT SITES VISITED

BUTRINT: N39.61428 E20.22750. Entrance fee €6. If you are interested in ancient sites it's worth a visit.

BARAT: N40.70442 E19.95081. Park alongside river, then cross over and visit old Ottoman houses. Well worth a visit.

NIGHT STOPS

BUTRINT SITE CAR PARK: See above.

HIMARA: N40.09848 E19.75190. Parked on sea front in designated parking area.

NOVOSELE: N40.61586 E19.47531. Derelict filling station on busy main road. Not an ideal night stop but needs must.

CAMPING PAEMER: 10 miles south of Durres in the village of Karpei. Site set along coast but under construction. The owner was very helpful but site is not suitable for motorhomes at all. There's one other van on the site tonight - we are parked on a driveway and the other van is on the site road. Also last 5 km was of unmade road, which is not really suitable for motorhomes.

CAMPING ALBANIA: N41.92372 E19.54194 www.camping-albania.eu  E-mail: . The campsite is about 20 km south of Shkoder and is well signed off the main road at Bushat. There is a good tarmac road leading to the site, as long as you follow the signs. The site is run by a Dutch family and is in a very peaceful location. We paid €15.50 per night which included electricity and WiFi and all the usual facilities and there is also a very good restaurant on site. The site also has a silent room (chapel). There is a small supermarket a few minutes' walk from the site and a larger one in Bushat.

EXITING ALBANIA

We exited Albania at Suobin which is a joint Albanian/Montenegrin border post. This is a small post and we were through the Albanian and Montenegrin formalities in about thirty minutes.  

You don't get an exit stamp for Albania, just an entry stamp for Montenegro.

You might need to produce the V5C (Vehicle Registration Document).

We paid €16.00 (that was €2.00 per day) for the camper. The €10.00 exit and entry fee has now finished.

CONFESSION TIME

When we entered Montenegro we realised we had been one hour ahead of everybody else since entering Albania. After checking we realised that Albania was on CET (Central European Time) and not EET (Eastern European Time), as we thought.  It did not seem to matter at all except the last night at Camping Albania, when our “seven o'clock” meal seemed to arrive very late!

If you need any advice on Albania please get in touch. 

Safe travelling

Don