I spent a week in Europe’s most affordable country. Here’s what it cost

There’s no better way to rinse your bank balance than to travel in Europe during summer. I’m a slow learner. Peak season prices coupled with a strong euro mean expenses are nearly doubled for those of us who earn Aussie dollars. Last year, for my third consecutive Euro summer, I spent three months pinballing from one European beach to another.

One destination was kind on my wallet. The former hermit nation of Albania is emerging as Europe’s most affordable destination. But how cheap is it? I visited late last northern summer, when $1 was buying €0.55 and 54 Albanian Lek (it’s now buying more – €0.60 and 57 lek). Here’s what I spent over a week.

Day one

I’m road-tripping through Albania with my very competent yet equally wayward Irish friend, Jonny. He collects me from the airport at Tirana, Albania’s capital, in our hire car. The next morning, we wake up in a football field. Tirana Marriott is, rather surreally, centrally located within this sporting landmark. After a quick coffee (€1.55; $3), we explore the ominous network of hallways hidden deep underground at the BunkArt 2 museum. It’s one of 170,000 estimated Cold War-era bunkers scattered across the Balkan country; remnants of the 40-year communist rule of paranoid dictator Enver Hoxha.

Lunch is at basic Gjelltore Dibra for traditional eats such as tave dheu ‘clay pot’ of meat cooked in a tangy tomato and feta-style cheese sauce. The bill for four dishes and a large beer is a modest €10 each ($18). On our way back to the hotel, we stumble upon €6 ($10) Aperol spritz at eclectic Kometiti Bar in fashionable Blloku. Later, we home in on a decent bottle of red at dinner spot Villa Era for €28 ($51), and begin an enduring obsession with the restaurant’s pizza-style ‘childhood bread’ topped with egg, feta-style cheese and Kosovo sausage.

Day two

We’re driving to the coastal city of Vlore, about two and a half hours south of Tirana. Zig-zagging between traffic and enthusiastically tooting his horn like the locals, Jonny quickly displays a deftness for the on-road chaos here. At Zena Seaside restaurant in Durres, we get our first taste of Albania’s phenomenal seafood: a grill plate of octopus, prawns, squid and fish for €16 ($30). Our self-contained apartment at Azur Luxury Suites in Vlore is nothing like it appears on Booking.com, and at €203 ($365) a night, it is overpriced. Luckily, the cocktails are as cheap as they were in Tirana (I still have PTSD from an €18 ($32) spritz I drank in Verona, Italy this summer). That night, we’re the last to leave Pirat Fish, a family-owned joint tucked behind the main tourist strip. The whole grilled sea bream (€9; $16) is one of my most delicious memories.

Day three

Vlore is crowded when we visit and the beach is a bit dull, but there are nearby mountain villages to escape to. The city, which dates back to the 6th century BC, will soon have some design cred, too: the Miami- and Basel-based Oppenheim Architecture firm is building a village of brightly coloured high-rise blocks due to be completed in 2030. Despite the traffic, Vlore Old Town and the nearby Independence Square are worth a visit. The dainty strip of colourful buildings with floating flower motifs boasts a few cafes, including the Vlore branch of museum-bar Kometiti. We order two coffees and petulla (deep fried, savoury donut-like bread served with cubes of local cheese and honey) for €6 ($10).

Day four

Weaving through Albania’s countryside, we pass goat herders and roadside stalls selling local honey and mountain tea. Our apartment at Dam Stone Boutique Hotel in the UNESCO-listed mountain village of Gjirokaster, less than two hours’ drive from Vlore, is cute, and just a short walk to the Old Town. The €1 ($1.80) fee to enter the Museum of Nostalgia, which displays Cold war-era paraphernalia, is worth every penny. As in most casual restaurants in Albania, a sallate fshati or village salad (not dissimilar to the Greek version) sets us back just €4 ($7)at Taverna Tradicional Kardash. But beware, vegans, the specialty in Albania’s rural areas is meat. Think juicy grilled lamb ribs for no more than €9 ($17).

Day five

Gjirokaster Castle dates back to the 12th century and the fortress includes a gallery of cannons, an Italian Fiat tank, a former Ottoman-era bakery and a “captured” US T-33 jet plane from 1957. Our guide is 14-year-old Nedris, who is earning pocket money during the summer holidays, and we happily slap him €10($18). Before hitting the road, we veer towards Festival Patisserie for excellent iced coffee and the local sweet ‘oshaf’ of sheep’s milk and dried figs (€9 [$16]). The plan is to swing by the natural waterhole Blue Eye for a picnic, but even the parking lot is heaving, so we venture on. The drive takes us past canals of emerald green into the Albanian Riviera port town of Sarande. Jonny and I skip dinner, too caught up in watching moonlit clouds shapeshift while drinking prosecco and Palomas at Boulevard 40 overlooking the promenade.

Day six

It’s a somewhat slow start to the day, but we kick into gear on a brisk 20-minute walk to the promenade. There are stalls set up all along the marina offering private and group boat trips to untouched beaches nearby from as little as €30 ($53). Our accommodation at DAED Luxury Residence (€230 a night; $407) is better value for money, and it’s right on the waterfront with a sundeck allowing for direct dips in the Mediterranean below. The apartment is huge, and my favourite of the trip. Mussels (€7 [$12]) are calling for lunch, and we find them by the bowlful at Taverna Restaurant Argjiro just a short walk up the street.

Day seven

Wildfires are burning all around Sarande, a film of smoke trailing to Corfu in the distance. Ash is falling on sun-loungers, and waterbombers fly back and forth all day. After enough sunning, we drive to the Lekuresi Castle viewpoint for panoramas of the coastline. It’s not so much a castle as a few bars and a restaurant. It’s busy, but the sunset is well worth the slow service and sparse seating. Our final meal in Sarande is at quaint rooftop Green Restaurant in the hills just above the town centre. Pork liver, spit-roasted lamb, a Greek salad, beef meatballs and a 0.5L of local red amount to a cool €56 ($99).

What I spent:

Hire car: €325 ($574)
Hotels: €807 ($1425)
Petrol: €21 ($37)
Coffee: €11($19)
Meals and drinks: €290 ($512)
Sights/museums: €19 ($34)

Total: €1473 ($2601)

The verdict

Food and drinks are significantly cheaper in Albania. Accommodation is a bit hit and miss. Most of the stays don’t even provide doonas and there was some shoddy building work. However, on average I paid €100 ($177) a night for accommodation in peak summer, which is unheard over the same period in many places in Europe.

THE DETAILS

FLY AND DRIVE

You can fly into Tirana from most major airports across Europe. Wizz Air and Ryanair both offer budget flights to the city. Car rentals are available at the airport from various providers, including major operators Avis, Hertz and Sixt.

STAY
Tirana Marriott overlooks a football field in downtown Tirana and offers spacious, modern rooms from €140 a night. See marriott.com.

MORE
See albania.al

The writer travelled at her own expense.