How 2 Go There: Albania

Welcome to the very first entry into the How 2 Go There country-by-country guide!

The first country on the list: Albania!

While Albania is not the first country alphabetically in the world, Afghanistan is not a recommended place to travel at the moment or foreseeable future. So, Albania is first up.

In terms of organization, first I’ll cover some flight options (from the United States). Then I’ll let you know the footprint of the major hotel chains (Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and Accor). Finally, when the best times to visit are and what to see.

Flights:

From the United States, there are no direct flights to Albania, so you will be connecting somewhere in Europe. British Airways, Lufthansa, and Austrian airlines are the main carriers flying into the capital city of Tirana. British Airways is a Oneworld alliance member, so you can use Avios or American Airlines miles to book a flight through London to Tirana. However, there are significant surcharges on award bookings (over $1,000) for business/first class seats. Economy and Premium economy awards through London will run about $200-$300 in each direction in charges (this is in addition to the miles used).

Lufthansa and Austrian are both Star Alliance members, which means economy and business tickets can be booked using United miles, Avianca Lifemiles, Aeroplan (Air Canada), and other Star Alliance partners with significantly less fuel surcharges than what British Airways charges.

For Delta or Skyteam folks, there are very few options. Neither Air France nor KLM fly from a hub to Albania, so you’ll have at least 2 connections to get there. Based on timings, going via British Airways or Lufthansa are the best bets.

In terms of cash prices, there is wide range depending on the month. For April or early May, right now out of the DC area, tickets round trip in economy are below $600. In the more popular summer months, prices double to around $1200 round trip. Premium economy is $2300+ and business is $4,600+, which are some of the more expensive tickets for flying from the US to Europe. Prices looked about the same out of NYC and LAX as well. ITA Airlines shows up, but operationally I’ve not read great things. They used to be Alitalia (national Airline of Italy), went bankrupt, and rebranded. Lufthansa recently purchased a majority stake in them I believe so they should be part of the Star Alliance network soon. Hopefully that will improve the operations side of things for them as other reviewers have enjoyed their in-flight experiences with them.

Fun aside, if you are flying out of the New York City area, you can hop on the Emirates fifth-freedom flight from Newark to Athens, then take Aegean to Tirana. Fifth-freedom is a term for when an airline flies between two countries unrelated to its hub (Dubai in this case for Emirates). Another fun fifth-freedom route unrelated to Albania is on KLM from Singapore to Bali, or from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile. Emirates has a few others as well like from Christchurch, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia (which is also one of the least expensive ways to experience Emirates First Class).

For using miles, American is going to charge 30k plus $285.60 for economy, 40k plus $285.60 in premium economy, and 57.5 plus $785.60 in business flying through London on partner British Airways (on a random day next May from DC). United will charge 43.9k plus $24.70 for economy and 88k plus $54.60 for business. Premium economy awards were pricing out twice the business rate using United. However, availability is very spotty for using United miles.

Benefit is, if you find availability on the United website, you could use Avianca Lifemiles or Aeroplan miles to book, which are transferable from major credit card point currencies. You could also purchase points from Avianca or Aeroplan where they both have regular mile purchase sales/promotions/bonuses. For Lufthansa, they release award space pretty close to the travel dates for partners (like United, Aviana, or Aeroplan), so if you are willing to wait until the last minute to book a business or first class flight, you could go that route flying Lufthansa.

Hotels:

There are no Hyatt or IHG properties in Albania. There is one Marriott property in Tirana, and it is well reviewed. The cost will run depending on the season but a random day in May was about $170 per night or about 18,000 Bonvoy (Marriott) points per night. For Hilton, there is also only one property in the entire country and also in Tirana (a well reviewed Hilton Garden Inn running about $100 per night or 27k Hilton points per night). Accor says there is a Movenpick hotel in Albania, but I couldn’t find any availability in the next 10 months, so it may be closed.

Most hotel options in Albania would be independent hotels. Your best bet is to search a particular town/city you are interested in staying, check the Google and TripAdvisor reviews, and book through an OTA like Expedia, Orbitz or if you want to convert your credit card points (like Chase or Amex), you can use their travel websites. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, each ultimate reward point is worth 1.5 cents on their travel portal (10,000 chase points=$150 towards a hotel).

When and What should you see:

Weather-wise, May through October are the best months to visit Albania. Interior Albania is rugged in places with scenic parks, but there are historical sites with ancient Greek and Roman ruins (Butrint Archaeological park) closer to the coast, to more recent structures of the Ottoman Empire. There are beaches as well that are a fraction of the cost of Italy or Greece. Tirana is more centrally located in Albania, so it is a 4+ hour drive from the main airport to the coast. Other travel sites recommend flying into Corfu, Greece and taking a ferry to what are considered the best beaches of the Southern Albanian coast (which will also put you closer to Butrint). The less expensive months would be early May to September/October in terms of hotel and flight costs. Once you are there, everyday meals and drinks look affordable.

Safety-wise, the US State Department lists Albania as Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution as of July 26, 2023 due to crime in more remote regions.

Summary:

First country on the board! Albania seems like a cool and affordable European destination, especially in comparison to other Adriatic and Mediterranean destinations. Based on the geography and financially, it would seem combining Albania with a Greece trip would make sense. Time permitting, Albania would also be a solid stop on a tour of the region if you were interested in Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Greece.

Hope you enjoyed How 2 Go There: Albania!