Albania

Travelling to Albania provides excellent value for money. Albania is one of the poorest countries of Europe and one of the smallest and the value of tourism is appreciated. The country can be divided in two major regions: the mountainous highland region (north, east and south) representing 70% of the land surface area, and the western coastal lowland region of small plains. The coastal region contains nearly all of the country's agricultural land and is the most densely inhabited part of Albania.

Travelling to Albania

One of the best and the easiest means of travelling to Albania is by air. Albanian Airlines is the national airline which works in partnership with Tyrolean Airways, and offers flights to just about all the major European cities. The airport, Mother Teresa, is located16 miles or 26 km from the capital city of Tirana. A tourist bus provides transport to the city centre every 3 hours and the journey takes about half-hour. Taxis are available round the clock. While waiting for any transport service, tourists can browse through the duty free shops, bank, restaurants and car hire at the airport. A departure tax of $10 USD is levied from all foreign nationals. Flight times and offers are listed on www.flyalbanian .com.

Ferry services are provided by Adriatic Line and Agoudimos for those travelling toAlbania by sea. The main ports are Durres, Vlora, Sarandra and Shen Gijni. Durres has ferry links to Italy, Bari, Brindisi, Trieste, and Ancona while Vlora has ferry connections to Bari and Brindisi. Ferry lines also operate between Saranda and Corfu with Shen Gjini having a ferry connection to Bari. More information about ferry services are available on www.adriatica.it and www.aqoudimos-lines.com.

More options are available for those travelling to Albania by road. Bus services start from Istanbul, Athens and Sofia. Internal bus networks provide passengers with many more alternatives for touring. If travelling in a private car, avoid the road network to the Kosovo region, political tensions pose a safety concern within the region. Crossings at Hani I Hotit, Bllata, Oafa e Thaes, Tushemisht, Gorica, Kapshtica, and Kakavija may be selected. To prevent drivers' fatique, there are hotels and other designated areas where breaks may be taken. The road network consists of a total distance of 18,000 km, of this only 7450 km represents main roads for local travellers. About 2138 km of these roads are in poor condition and contain pot holes and other road hazards. The utmost safety precautions should be taken when driving on such roads. The speed limit should be strictly followed on main roads as well as within urban areas. Driving at night should be avoided because of the absence of street lights in rural areas. As the rest of Europe traffic drives on the right-side of the road, overtaking on the left. There is a shortage of petrol stations in the countryside, so filling your petrol tank completely when passing through urban areas is recommended. There is lack of a national recovery system forcing travellers to be prepared for an emergency situations or breakdowns. Drivers should carry their International Driving Permit and national driving license.

Historical Background to Albania

Flag of Albania

Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents.

Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, there have been claims of electoral fraud in every one of Albania's post-communist elections. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges to reduce crime and corruption, promote economic growth, and decrease the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward.

Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and is a potential candidate for EU accession. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure.

Some of the information on this page was sourced from the Central Intelligence Agency