If you’ve been wondering if you should explore Albania, take this as a sign that you should make it your next slow travel destination – I don’t think you’ll regret it.
It’s one of my favorite countries for slow traveling, so much so that I keep getting drawn back to it and now I even live here!
Some people might be skeptical of Albania since there are a lot of damaging stereotypes that piggyback on this country, but I’m here to say that most of that is a load of poo.
Trust me, I wouldn’t have moved here if I didn’t love the culture and felt completely safe.
Besides that, it is the perfect place to spend time slow traveling! How about we break down some stereotypes and talk about how you should explore Albania through slow travel.
Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links that will cost you nothing extra but offer me a little commission for any purchases made. This helps me continue to offer helpful tips and information. Thank you so much for your support.
Slow Travel In Albania
Most people assume that ‘slow travel’ means you need a long amount of time to do it, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Yes, slow traveling does often mean staying in on places for a longer period, but it also means you could be doing a slow journey to a destination by alternatives to ferries like trains, ferries, busses, etc.
Above all else, slow travel is more of a mindset.
Whether you have months to explore the Albanian Riviera or just a weekend break in Albania’s capital, Tirana, you can apply the slow travel mindset to your journey.
Check out our main slow travel page for a lot more detail on how to integrate slow traveling into your adventures.
7 Reasons To Explore Albania By Slow Traveling
A lot of Albania’s characteristics as a country really align with the mindset of slow traveling. I don’t think many people know that though, but I want them to.
Let’s get into 7 reasons why you should explore Albania through slow travel.
1. It’s Very Affordable
One of the main attractions for travelers is that Albania is a very affordable destination.
It’s easy to find information online about traveling to Albania and how the cost of living makes it the perfect place for budget travelers, especially as a country on the European continent.
While travel is cheap, prices do inflate in the summer since that is how locals make their income for the entire year.
Even with summer inflation, if someone is coming from a Western country, the prices are still very affordable – at least for now, Albania is becoming quite popular!
If you come during the offseason, not only is the weather is still great (though it can be pretty rainy/snowy in the mountains) prices are even lower.
Also, Albania kind of works off of who you know, so the longer you stay and the more connections you make, the more likely it will be cheaper (example: when you rent an apartment for longer so you pay less rent per month).
2. Americans Can Stay For 1 Year Without A Visa
There’s great news for you if you have a US passport because you can enter Albania without issue and stay for up to 1 year.
You literally don’t have to do anything to activate this visa-free year besides going through the regular immigration when you arrive via plane, bus, ferry, etc.
This is how I’m staying in Albania, and how many others are as well. Because of this, the large majority of foreigners here tend to be from the US.
Plus, if you want to stay longer than 1 year, it’s a pretty simple and cheap process to apply for a 5-year residence permit.
If you don’t want to deal with paperwork at all, you can always leave Albania for 3 months to reset your time and re-enter for another visa-free year.
This is perfect because even if you don’t plan to stay for a whole year, you can slow travel around Albania without any worries of time restraints in the back of your mind.
Not too worry though, many other countries get a 3-month tourist visa on arrival, which is still plenty of time to get into the fabric of what really makes Albania tick.
3. Slow Living Is Normal
If you’ve traveled a bit, you probably know that many non-western countries live life a little bit slower and that it’s just something you need to adjust to.
We are so used to a fast-paced lifestyle that it can feel very foreign to see people prefer to do things slowly – but sometimes, that is exactly what you need!
Because of this, slow travel and exploring Albania go together like bread and butter. If you try to travel fast in Albania, it probably wouldn’t work out too well.
There’s a lot of reasons that go into this like Albania’s history with communism, a general relaxed culture that matches other Meditteranean countries, etc.
As an example, private car ownership was banned until the early 1990s when communism fell. That is when the first highway was built.
So it’s only been 40 years for road development, whereas other countries have been updating their transport networks for hundreds of years.
4. There’s More Bio-Diversity Than You Think
While some might see Albania solely as a great Meditteranaean beach destination, there’s a lot more than meets the eye.
For example, did you know that Albania has 6 different climates? There’s Hot Mediterranean, Warm Mediterranean, Subtropical, Oceanic, Continental, and Subarctic climates.
This means you can go to beaches with some of the clearest water in Europe and hike in mountains so stunning that they have been nicknamed the ‘Albanian Alps’ or Accursed Mountains. Hiking in Albania is one of the best ways to see the country.
Don’t even get me started on the gorgeous lakes, bubbling freshwater springs, hidden canyons, and waterfalls, etc. You could a lot many months to explore Albania and still not see the whole country.
Slow traveling in Albania is perfect because yes there are many places that bloggers have written about, but there are still so much more that remains hidden. The only realistic way to find those places is because you’re taking your time.
5. Friendly Locals Make You Want To Stay Longer
Many travelers have come to Albania expecting to stay for a short time before moving on, then find themselves sticking around for months!
If you’re wondering why that is, well the locals are so amazing.
Albanians have a strong streak of hospitality that runs deeply in their culture. If you’re from a Western country and you’re a frequent traveler, you might be familiar with being very guarded when you travel because of things like travel scams.
They are some of the nicest and most authentic people I’ve met in all of my travels.
When I first got here, it was hard for me to trust such genuine and innocent hospitality. And as a woman, I feel like I need to have my guard up even more when traveling, but not the case in Albania.
Of course, I’m sure Albania is not immune from the likes of travel scams, but I have found that 95% of the time, people don’t have an agenda.
With that being said, they are oftentimes brutally honest with you, so don’t be offended if you are surprised by their directness!
Read more about Albanian culture – 7 things you should know about Albanian hospitality.
6. Explore Albania’s Food
Albania has two major food groups and they are based on geography since the cuisine is highly dependent on what you can grow or source nearby.
Generally, all Albanian food strongly emphasizes local vegetables, cheese, and meat, but the mountainous regions even more so.
If you’re further inland, especially in the mountains, you can expect the cuisine to be very hearty.
Whereas, along the Albanian coast, food will heavily be based on seafood and Greek and Italian cuisine.
This is because Albania is right above Greece and since Italy is right across the Adriatic sea.
Albania’s food is similar to what you can typically find in the whole Balkan region, but many dishes are made differently compared to the other Balkan countries and also some dishes that completely unique to Albania.
Some amazing dishes are localized to a region or town (kind of like in Italy). So don’t be surprised if you hear someone say, “Oh you have to go to [insert town] to try [insert local dish]”.
It’s possible to sample traditional Albanian cuisine on a short trip, but if you want to really delve into it, it’s best to spend more time since there is a lot to taste!
Interested in finding local food experiences wherever you go? Check out my guide on how to enjoy local food wherever you go.
7. Easily Finding Solitude
A lot of people adopt a slow travel mindset because they’ve already spent time doing what is considered ‘normal travel’ before realizing that they weren’t getting much out of it.
So they decided to slow down a bit to let their surroundings soak in.
For me, I find it easy to do this when I stumble upon hidden travel gems. As we talked about earlier, it’s very easy to find those in Albania.
There are so many beautiful places where it’s peaceful and serene.
This opens up the opportunity to be alone with your thoughts to reflect or meditate, practice yoga, draw or paint the landscape, etc.
The possibilities for finding solitude are endless!
Final Thoughts
If you want to explore Albania, I hope these 7 reasons for slow traveling have helped you!
Hopefully, this has helped you understand a little more about Albania and why it’s the perfect place to have slow travel experiences.
Love This Post? Pin For Later!
