Writer: Jonathan Gharbi de Maré
There are several different ways to do the Balkans. Some visit country by country while others choose to travel with tour operators who arrange a trip between two or three countries. The advantages are that the distances are short, the prices are low and it is safe and comfortable.
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A journey that began in Tirana…
My trip started in Tirana and ended in Skopje and I also managed to make a detour to Kosovo during a total of five days of travel.
You can fly to Tirana for around 1000 kronor and the airport is about 20 km from the city center. If you still want to travel on a budget, you can take the local bus into town, it costs about 40 kronor and runs 1-2 times an hour. Taxis cost around 250 kronor.
I stayed at two different four-star hotels and expected around 600 kronor for a nice hotel room with breakfast included.
Skanderbeg Square – the center of Tirana
This huge square tells a lot about the history and development of Albania. Around the square there are both modern new buildings and classic communist structures such as the Palace of Culture with the Opera House on one side and a futuristic high-rise building on the other that is nearing completion.
Around Skanderbeg there is also a church, mosque, city hall, national museum and the bunker museum Bunk Art 2.
The Blloku area and the history of Albania
It is in the Blloku area that there is constant hustle and bustle, the area is teeming with bars, cafes and restaurants. Funnily enough, Blloku was the area where the communist party elite lived just 40 years ago.
There are several buildings in the area in the classic communist style, as well as the house where the dictator Enver Hoxha lived. The country was ruled by him until his death in 1985 and was governed according to Marxist-Leninist and Maoist ideals. Poverty was widespread in Albania, while a large part of the country's money was spent on building bunkers in case of a future war.
The bunkers are now an attraction in themselves and can be found all over the country. The Communist Party ruled Albania until 1992, but it took a few more years for the country to recover. In addition, large parts of the population were lured into a huge pyramid scheme in 1997, where over ten billion disappeared and led to rebellion and chaos.
Since then, the country has slowly recovered and today has become a popular summer destination where the Mediterranean attracts more and more people. I was in Tirana myself in 2022 and I think a lot has happened in the last three years, where of course tourism has been an important part of the development.
Some gems in the Blloku area to visit
The easiest way to get into Blloku is to walk along Ibrahim Rugova Street, where you will see lots of nice places along the way. For those of you who love beer and enjoy drinking local specialties, it will be easy to choose where to go.
Duff sports bar, Albar Taproom and The Taproom by Pan's Microbrewery are a safe bet for craft beer and the local IPA costs 40 kronor for a glass. In the area is also Bunker 1944 Bistro Lounge which is a very cozy bar with drinks, colorful decor and a nice atmosphere. Juliette Cocktail bar and Kino are also similarly decorated bars with a cozy feel and cheap drinks.
Good to know is that there are parties until 03 usually and it is a wonderful nightlife with a good atmosphere and people letting loose. It is not only on the beach that people dance salsa in Albania, but also in Tirana it is common to dance salsa and sometimes they have events where you can learn for free.
Coffee nerdery at the Frutza coffee bar
There are lots of regular cafes in Tirana with nice decor and good coffee, but this feels like stepping into the future and is more modern than most cafes back home in Sweden.
The water is heated to the perfect temperature and every part of the brewing process is designed to treat the beans in the best way to bring out the perfect taste and aroma. There are also two more cafes with the same name in central Tirana.
Visit to a winery in Tirana
There are several wineries in the region and many can be planned as an afternoon visit. You can take a taxi to this winery but for those of you who prefer to take a local bus, that is also possible. I took a local bus and looked up the route via google maps. Bought bus tickets for 5 SEK and got off a kilometer from the Uka farm winery.
But I would recommend a taxi, it will be easier. Uka has a small vineyard and a cozy restaurant with good food and a menu in English.
Wine and grapes in Albania
Local grapes to try are Vlosh, Shesh and Kallmet which are typical of Albania. Classic grapes grown are Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Riesling.
Albania is not exactly a wine country and has a wine production of about ten thousand hectares, which is a tenth of the wine growing in Bordeaux. But more and more people are choosing wine with food and there are many interesting wines to try. There are also more wineries around Tirana; Shehi winery, Cassar winery and Kantina Shehi are some of the larger ones that have tastings and visitor activities.
After visiting Tirana, we continued towards Ohrid and North Macedonia, more about this in the next article.
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Karolina says:
I've just been thinking a little about what it's like to travel around North Macedonia, interesting to see more of what the country is like.☺️
April 30, 2026 - 14:12
Jonathan says:
Yes, many people think it can be difficult to travel around North Macedonia, but it is very easy. It's a small country too, so they go quickly 🙂
April 30, 2026 - 16:29
Johan says:
What about bargaining and tipping? Do you need to bargain a lot? Then maybe it's cheap but do you need to think about tipping in Albania?
April 30, 2026 - 17:07
Jonathan says:
In most places there are fixed prices, I haven't really encountered any haggling at all. Tips... yes you can round off a little but it's not something that is expected of you.
April 30, 2026 - 19:30