Albania

While on holiday in Corfu this year we took a day trip over to the small town of Saranda in Albania. Security was very tight, passports were scrutinised and armed police were swarming all over the port when we arrived. We were quickly whisked away by coach to a very posh hotel for coffee and to buy postcards. We were then taken by coach to the acient ruins of a town called Butrinti. The roads were terrible, some no more than dirt tracks and they passed through or by small villages with tiny shacks for living in and decrepid old bulidings all but fallen down. The ruins at Butrinti were magnificent, we were split into groups and followed a tour guide around who told ...  Read the complete review

Do you really want to go to Albania? Well I tell you that if you do, you really won't be able to see many landmarks, but a lot of refugees or destroyed homes. I went there last week on a business meeting and we had a local tour around the capital and villages around it. I saw a load of children looking starved from the neck downwards, no proper sanitation and no sense of hygiene whatsoever. The roads were mud swollen where there wasn't tarmac, and most of the buildings were in a dysfunctional state of repair. It just so happens that I was staying in a hotel that night, which was actually quite welcoming. I saw a shop called something really ...  Read the complete review

Switch the News at Ten off, stop reading news.bbc.co.uk - Albania is a fabulous place. I suppose this deserves a little background. I travelled to Albania as a business traveller, working for The British Council - the UK's cultural embassy abroad. That doesn't mean we're treated like diplomats, it's just a UK government agency. It does mean that I was there with people who could show me around personally, and not as part of a large group. And OK, I stayed in the nicest hotel in Albania (the Rogner in Tirana - probably the nicest hotel I've *ever* stayed in, if not just for the view of the gardens & pool) for some of the time. But ...  Read the complete review

Albania's meant to be one of the most interesting places in Europe to visit with all the old ruins and archaeological sites, and it's cheap too, so i guess it would appeal to a lot of people. Ufortunatly i had the bad luck to be taken in by this and gave up a whole day of my great 2 weeks in Corfu (visit my review)to check it out......I am surprised i came back alive. The scorching heat was desert-like, and though the country is renound for cheap drinks, i would pay anyone good money if they could find anywhere that actually sells anything to drink (or eat) that was at least safe. To make matters worse you're likely to be driven around on tours in ...  Read the complete review