15 reasons you must travel to Albania

1. Still a well-kept secret. Can you think of another place going into a 2,000 year old Roman ruins and not having to be patient as people get out of your shot? Well, visit Albania, and it’s not just possible – it happens all the time.

2. It’s really cheap. Budget backpacking is known to be inexpensive everywhere in Balkans compared to Western Europe. But even in this category Albania is much cheaper than its neighbor countries, especially in accommodation and food costs. You can get a 3-course meal with an espresso in a fancy restaurant for less than $8.

3. Best beaches in Europe. I'm sure italians, greeks, croatians ans montenegrins will disagree, but in my opinion Albania has the best beaches in all of Europe. Stony beaches make the water a crystal-clear gorgeous turquoise that feels like the real life has been photo-shopped. Ksamil beach, as well as the Himara and Dhermi beaches are outstanding.

4. It' not crowded. Unlike their Northern and Southern neighbours, in Albania you will have a lot of space for yourself when you go to the beach. There are many hidden beaches that you can have basically just for yourself if you have a little creativity (or guts!). Plus, accommodations in Albania are incredibly cheap!

5. Incredible sunsets along the coast. All the time when you travel through Albania, you will be experiencing breathtaking sunsets, just as beautiful as in Croatia or Greece — with the half of the price.

6. You learn the love rakia. For those who haven't heard its name or tried its taste,
Rakia is a brandy, distilled typically from plums or grapes, extremely popular throughout the whole of the Balkans, but especially loved by the Albanians. The best nights ever and the worst mornings after, are usually 'officially sponsored' by rakia.

7. Excellent Italian food. Yes! Albania has its own dishes and culinary tradition, but being so close to Italy they have absorbed a lot of Italian culture and lifestyle. Pizza in Albania is probably the next best thing to Italian pizza itself.

8. Amazing seafood in the southern coast. In Albania you can have delicious fresh prawns, fish, calamari, mussels… all for a good price and fresh as can be.

9. Local dishes are delightful. Traditional Albanian dishes like tavë kosi (baked lamb with yogurt) and patëllxhanët mbushur (stuffed eggplant) are delicious and unique, cooked always with local ingredients and fresh products.

10. Albanians make excellent coffee. They love their coffee, especially espresso, and you can get an espresso almost everywhere for as little as 50 euro cents.

11. Amazing Greek food. In addition to Italian food and traditional Albanian food, you can get delicious Greek food like tzatziki, gyros, grape leaves and Greek salad.

12. The bunkers. For a foreigner it’s impossible not think of bunkers when you talk about Albania. They got plenty of them. It is estimated that 700,000 small bunkers were built during the communist regime which lasted almost five decades.

13. But there’s more than just the Communist past. Albania has almost 5,000 years of history influenced by Illyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans.

14. UNESCO World Heritage Centers of Butrint, Gjirokastra and Berat. Albania's three UNESCO-listed World Heritage Sites are all beautiful and different from one another. Butrint is a 2000 year old set of Roman ruins. It is located on a beautiful lake near the border with Greece. Gjirokastra is the second UNESCO site, a “museum city” of the ottoman era with the majority of the existing buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Berat is considered to be one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities which is marked by all white paint and large windows giving it the nickname “City of a Thousand Windows.”

15. Even if you’re traveling solo, you’ll never really be alone in Albania.