Albania :: Links
The sites listed on this page are specifically about Albania. Many of the more general sites listed in the Overview of the Balkans are also useful for planning a trip to Albania.
Travel Information
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Albania - In Your Pocket
It's not easy to find information about Albania on the Web, so this guide from the ever-reliable folks at In Your Pocket is particularly welcome. As well as a Tirana city guide there is a a description of some interesting destinations in the south of the country. New in June 2006 is a guide to Shkodra that might just persuade you to include northern Albania in your itinerary; the "Around Town" section has some invaluable practical information about the scenic ferry route from Koman to Fierze.
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Ministry of Tourism Culture Youth and Sports
The official tourist site has a few nice pictures and fairly minimal information.
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Butrint National Park
Information about Butrinti's Roman ruins and natural attractions. Like so many Balkan websites, it looks good if you have broadband, but will test your patience if you don't.
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Balkans Peace Park Project
The aim of this project is to create a cross-border park in the remote mountainous area where Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro come together.
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Outdoor Albania
This organisation offers excursions to some of Albania's hard-to-reach mountain areas. The information on the website is rather limited.
Transport and Practicalities
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Albania Railways
Timetable details for the rather limited rail network. The home page features a picture of a high-speed train. You probably won't be surprised to hear that real Albanian trains don't actually look like this.
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Tirrenia Navigazione
Agoudimos LinesFerries from Durrës to Bari and Vlora to Brindisi respectively.
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Ionian Cruises
This company operates ferries from Corfu to Saranda, and (in season) to Himara - see the "Lines" section of the site for timetables.
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Tirana International Airport
Find out about the small but growing range of flights to Tirana at this site.
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Albanian Airlines
Ada Air -
Alba Trans
Bus transport between Albania and Greece. Site in Albanian only.
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Albania-Hotel
One of the few sites where you can make online reservations for hotels in Albania.
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Entry requirements for foreign visitors.
From the Travel Pages
Trying to paint over the cracks (Tirana)
The Telegraph, 11 November 2006Wild Albania: Coming in from the Cold (Southern Albania)
The Independent, 01 October 2006In Albania, a capital full of contradictions
The New York Times (requires free registration), 09 July 2006Albania: Europe's last secret (Tirana and central Albania)
The Times, 15 April 2006Greece and the Balkans all in a day (a day trip from Corfu to southern Albania)
The Times, 15 April 2006Albania steps in from the cold (Tirana)
The Observer, 09 April 2006Albania's capital gets a new coat
The New York Times (requires free registration), 14 August 2005Secret Europe (Saranda)
The Guardian, 19 March 2005Albania's Unexpected Rewards
The New York Times (requires free registration), 02 May 2004Albania: on the wild side (Walking in the Southeast)
The Independent, 12 February 2003Albania
Travel Intelligence
Background
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Tirana Times
Albania's weekly English language newspaper.
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Spirit of Albania
How could I not include a site that features on its front page a link to an article entitled "Norman Wisdom and Albania"? I also enjoyed reading about the Irish poet who says of Albania in 1994: "I thought it compared very favourably with Northern Ireland". Strangely the Albanian Tourist Board didn't adopt the slogan "Albania: not quite as bad as Northern Ireland". This site (which does not appear to have been updated for a while) is an entertaining collection of bits and pieces about Albania. The gazetteer section has descriptions and photos of many Albanian towns.