The Albanians
A matter of considerable academic dispute, the origin of today’s Albanian people almost certainly lies somewhere in the time when the Illyrians settled the region, some 2500 years ago. The first written references to a specific Albanian ethnic group date back to historical records from the 11th century. The only thing truly uniting contemporary Albanians is besa, the unique honour code that insists on the well-being of honoured guests no matter who they are. Besa, which famously left Nazi-occupied Albania with a larger Jewish population at the end of WWII than at the beginning, is reason enough to visit the country. Warm, friendly, funny and inquisitive, mixing with the Albanians is guaranteed to have a lasting and positive effect on everyone who visits the country.

Alcohol
As is pretty much the same throughout the Balkans, the local firewater of choice in Albania comes in the form of a fruit-based brandy known as raki. Distilled using anything from grapes to plums and even mulberries, commercially produced raki contains around 40% alcohol, although you may well encounter illicit moonshine containing at least twice as much as this. Be careful! At the other end of the scale, Albania’s birra production is dominated by the two national brands Birra Tirana and Birra Korça, both are lager-type concoctions that are absolutely fine to drink. Alcoholism and drunkenness in the streets are minor problems compared to many other countries in Eastern Europe.

Communism
There are still plenty of communist-era relics to see in Tirana, by far the largest and most impressive being the gargantuan Socialist Realist mosaic adorning the façade of the National History Museum. Between 1944 and 1991 Albania was one of the most isolated countries in the world, a violent and paranoid police state that used coercion, torture, false psychological imprisonment and religious persecution as ways of maintaining law and order. Although it’s now three decades since Albania threw off its Marxist-Leninist shackles, many of its citizens still carry around the various internal scars associated with a violent and dysfunctional recent past. In the meantime, the younger generation is now dealing with Albania’s recent past with various museums, tours and themed bars.

Crime & Safety
Believed by many to be a lawless country populated by bandits and villains whose main goal in life is to separate tourists from their possessions by any means possible, Albania is in actual fact one of the safest and most relaxed countries in Europe. This isn’t to say that crime doesn’t exist, although most is to be found taking place behind closed doors in the shady underworld of business and politics. Still, be vigilant, don’t stroll around dark neighbourhoods drunk, and you’ll be fine. 

Entry requirements
EU citizens, anyone with an EU Schengen visa, as well as those from most other European countries plus the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan can enter Albania without a visa. Visa information can be found at www.punetejashtme.gov.al. Citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have the option of entering Albania using an ID card. Passports and ID cards should be valid for a further three months after departing Albania. 

Emergency numbers
Ambulance Tel. 127
Fire Tel. 128
Police Tel. 129

Health
Although we’ve never had any problems with it, many people advise against drinking the tap water in Albania, especially in rural areas away from towns and cities. It’s worth considering sticking to bottled water, which is available in shops everywhere and extremely cheap. Medical and dental care in the country are generally of poor quality, and travelling with medical insurance is highly recommended. No vaccinations are needed when visiting Albania.

Infrastructure
Not surprisingly for a former communist country still in transition to a fully functioning and transparent democracy, Albania’s infrastructure remains something of a mess. Expect to encounter (and get used to) anomalies including broken shower doors and bare wires, even in some of the more expensive hotels. Beware of pavements with mysterious holes, small lumps of metal sticking out of the ground and rubbish lying around in the suburbs. Although service in hotels and restaurants is improving, it’s still got a long way to go, although Albanian waiters are almost universally gregarious. Disabled travellers thinking about visiting Albania, should know right away that accessibility is often difficult.

Language
Sounding at times not unlike Turkish with the batteries running out, Albanian is an Indo-European language with its own isolated linguistic branch. Thought to have originated from the now long-extinct Illyrian (or possibly Thracian) language, Albanian consists of two distinct dialects, namely Gheg, spoken in the north as well as neighbouring Kosovo and the Albanian-speaking regions of Montenegro and Macedonia, and Tosk, which is generally confined to the south of the country. Featuring a Latin alphabet made up of 36 letters, peculiarities include a propensity to switch the definite and indefinite endings (thus both Tirana and Tiranë) depending on their function within a sentence. English is widely spoken, especially by the younger generation. A lot of Albanians also speak Italian, French and, especially in the south of the country, Greek.

LGBT Albania
Same-gender sex has been legal in Albania since 1995, although general attitudes are exceedingly conservative. Tirana ha a few gay-friendly places to eat and drink. 

Local time
Albania is in the Central European Time (CET) zone at GMT+1hr. When it’s 12:00 in Tirana it’s 06:00 in New York, 11:00 in London and 19:00 in Tokyo. Central European Summer Time (CEST, GMT+2hrs) falls between the last Sundays of March and October respectively.

Money & Costs
The Albanian currency is the lek. Banknotes come in denominations of 10000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 500 and 200 lek, with coins available in denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 lek. The lek is difficult to change abroad; spend it all or change it back before leaving Albania. Card payments are increasingly common, though it's always wise to carry cash for backup. Euros and other major currencies are often accepted at fair rates by businesses across Albania. ATMs are found all over Tirana, some of them also dispensing euros, but all of them charge an outrageous 500-700 lek per transaction. Cash can be changed at good rates at exchange offices all over the city. With the exceptions of the city’s five-star hotels and luxury restaurants, the cost of travel for people visiting from the West remains affordable. 

Religion
Contrary to what many people think, Albania is far from being an exclusively Muslim country, with less than 60 percent of the population claiming to adhere to Islam, a faith imported during the Ottoman occupation that many people originally converted to for economic reasons. Constitutionally a secular country and for two decades during the Hoxha regime the only atheist country in the world, Albania’s other main faiths include Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism. Almost none of the tiny remaining Jewish population of the country follow Judaism. All the houses of worship in Tirana welcome visitors as both tourists and believers.

When to go
Boasting a Mediterranean climate featuring often stiflingly hot, dry summers and moderately cool winters during which temperatures tend to drop severely at higher altitudes, there’s never an especially bad time to visit Albania. Tirana itself is buzzing all year round, with bar and restaurant terraces pretty much never closing. The coastal roads are resorts are very busy in July and August. We recommend visiting in late spring or early autumn, when it’s possible to walk around in short sleeves without burning to death. If you choose to visit during the hot summer months and are travelling on a limited budget, make sure your hotel has air-conditioning.