based on 56 experiences from female travelers
Justine
Canada
I feel compelled to tell my story. I don't think the people here are quite welcoming yet of tourists. On the first day, I experienced two racist things (one verbal, one verbal AND physical... dirt and egg thrown at me). I understand that these two instances do not make up the entire people, but considering these all happened within less than 12 hours, I felt unsafe in the city. The next day, I decided to go bike to the lake and the castle. Now THAT was gorgeous... and the food was amazing. I decided to cut my original 4 days to 2, since I was too anxious to stay. It's hard to reconcile the goods and the bads since this is the first time in my adult life I've experienced *physical* racism. I have heard some other POC experiences (and also had one bad anti-tourist experience in Tirana) so... traveller beware.
Posted: October 9, 2024Experienced: September, 2024Ahdrielle
Australia
I really liked this city, it was very vibrant and lively. Great food for good prices, friendly people. I arrived at 7:30pm and had to walk to my hostel from the bus stop which I would usually be a little worried about in the dark, but there were many young people walking around and I saw young women walking on their own and felt very safe. Do the free walking tour! It was extremely interesting and very informative. Our guide was very passionate and excited to share a bit of the history of Tiranë and also places for food and drink. House of Leaves was also very interesting. The city park is nice (although the lake is very swampy). The mosque is really beautiful to see as well.
Posted: September 3, 2024Experienced: July, 2024Natasha
Australia
Albania is an amazing country! So much great hiking, amazing people and hospitality, and great food! I lived in gjirkaster for 2 months and cannot recommend it enough. Please stay at stone city hostel if you go there, it is by far one of the best hostels I have ever been to and was so lucky to work there. The coast is also amazing. Himare and dhermi and even sarande. Tirana is a fascinating city with super cool cafe culture. The buses make it very easy to get around but i also hitch hiked and it was easy and safe to do so.
Posted: August 5, 2024Experienced: July, 2024Albania is such a fantastic destination for backpackers. It has the Northern Alps which offers hiking routes such as Valbone to Theth. The blue eye is also located near Theth. Such a wonderful place offering crystal clear and freezing water. Down south there is the beach town on Himare (my favourite). Sarande also offers beaches but it is a port city good for partying. Berat in the centre is a fantastic old town lots of history and a great fort to hike up to
Posted: July 19, 2024Experienced: May, 2024Guljahon
United Arab Emirates
Amazing and safe country. We fell in love with nature and beauty of the country, the peacefulness of people of different religions living together. We used public transport around the country , and felt totally safe as a single mom traveling with 4 year old boy.
Posted: July 17, 2024Experienced: July, 2024Ece
Netherlands
Tirana, Berat, Gjirokaster, Sarande Lili’s restaurant in Berat is a must! Sweetest person serving home cooked meals in a tiny garden. We had the best eggplant dishes ever. We felt safe but again we were 3 women traveling together. People were very helpful, multiple times people went out of their ways to help us out. Also it helps a lot to learn some basic Albanian words, people were very welcoming.
Posted: June 25, 2024JustineKaat
France
Shkoder is a very small city. People there are not used to many tourists (yet), especially in April. So we encountered some weird look, especially as a queer couple. Life is very cheap. The city center is not worth exploring more than 1 day in my opinion but the surroundings are nice (Shkoder's lake, Mesi Bridge, the castle for sunset).
Posted: June 18, 2024Experienced: March, 2024Remy
Belgium
Hitchhiking around, felt very safe. The Albanian people are amazing, super generous and the hostels were very homy, looking like your grandma house haha I would definitely recommend travelling there and tasting the Albanian cuisine.
Posted: June 14, 2024Experienced: June, 2024Me and my mom were traveling Albania for one week, we came by a plane to Tirana, rented a car and traveled along the coastline down all the way to Greece and then came back up to Tirana inland. During the whole week here we didn't feel unsafe or threatened, people were very friendly and helpful. The only negative experience was with the person in the rental company kiosk, who we believe ripped us off, but that's a story for another day. In the cities in the evening mostly men were outside, but they didn't seem dangerous. Overall experience was very good and we felt safe.
Posted: June 3, 2024Experienced: April, 2024I absolutely loved Albania!! The country is beautiful and the people there are all so kind and lovely and more than willing to help you with anything. It is a very cheap country (I paid like €12/15 for a night in a hostel on average). Also the food is cheap, although I must say it was a bit difficult finding vegetarian food while eating out. I travelled solo and there is no country where I felt more safe than Albania while traveling as a solo woman!!
Posted: May 31, 2024Based on 3 local experiences
Based on 3 local experiences
I walk at night in Tirana, and it is pretty safe, there have been catcalling before but it has minimised, men tend to catcall foreigners but its a small minority and they don’t really act on it. Central area is very safe.
Posted: August 3, 2024Tirana is a safe place overall in my experience. What I’m mostly negatively experiencing is verbal harassment by older men and (un)fortunately nothing outside “common”. They would make comments about my appearance and ask me out. I was never touched inappropriately or physically assaulted. Ive walked outside in different hours of the day, from 6am to 2am.
Posted: July 6, 2024Malinda
Hi, I'm Malinda! I love dancing, creating music, traveling, and spending time in nature.
Katie
Hey, I'm Katie! I'm from England, but I'm currently travelling across Europe in my van! I'm staying in Albania for the next 3 months, renting Air BnB's, and I would love to make some friends!
Katie
Albania
3 days
Hey, I'm Katie! I'm from England, but I'm currently travelling across Europe in my van! I'm staying in Albania for the next 3 months, renting Air BnB's, and I would love to make some friends!
Haris
Albania
1 day
Hey!, My name is Haris and I'm interested in art, architecture, business, books, dancing, education, solo travel, shopping, nature, technology, photography and live music
Alena
About me : Iam 25 years old and from Germany 🇩🇪 I life in a small city with a lot of nature around and I love it . I have a dog named Ares and a cat named Athena who are normally always with me and go with me for walks . (Not for my trips) I love good food and cocktails , take pictures,get to know new cultures and enjoy nature🥰 Sometimes I like to go to Party's buy the most time iam more happy with a cocktail and a beautiful sunset !
Anika
I'm Anika (34), a passionate woman who loves to explore the world, different cultures and landscapes and connect to their people, share their food and stories🗿🥾🏞️🍜 I'm half German and half Vietnamese with a latinamerican heart 💚🤓 I would love to share my stories about my family in Vietnam and Germany, fox sharks on the Philippines, culture and religion challenges in Israel, awesome nature and people of Ecuador and Mexiko, my volunteering in Peru at the amazonas with indigenous people, safari in Tanzania, my development projects in the medical field and soooo much more! 🍜🦈🕍🌱🐆👩🏻🔬 I also love dancing ❤️💃🏽 You are always welcome to Brussels (where I am living right now)⛲️ Big hug, Anika 😊