Motorhome Albania

[billym]

We've moved to Tirana on the carpark of an old hotel on a very busy street.
To use the toilet/shower you go in a side door, up one flight of stairs where you are immediately faced with this.

Anyone whose read 1984 will understand.

 

[Jays2]

Well i got it from the bbc program room 101.

 

[billym]

Continuing the room 101 theme

Room 101 from Orwell's 1984 Explained - Book Analysis

Room 101 is the designation of a particularly awful torture chamber within the Ministry of Love in '1984.' Explore more about Room 101.

bookanalysis.com

We took a 30p bus ride to Tirana and went to
The House of Leaves. The museum of secret surveillance.
It wasn't as good as the KGB museum ( Museum of Occupation and Freedom Fights) in Vilnius but still an interesting place.

Hyrje

Muzeu Kombëtar i Përgjimeve: “Shtëpia me Gjethe” Ndërtesa e njohur si ‘Shtëpia me gjethe’ (e quajtur kështu për shkak të bimës kacavjerrëse që mbulonte fasadën e saj), është kthyer tashmë në Muzeun Kombëtar të Përgjimeve. I hapur më 23 Maj 2017, ai

muzeugjethi.gov.al

I just can't believe how many Range Rovers there are. Loads of UK reg ones here as well, all left hand drive. There was even a UK reg left hand drive Rolls Royce Cullinan tearing through the city traffic

 

[billym]

An hour's drive from Tirana to the seaside seemed easy dual carriageway all the way but turned out to be an absolute bone shaker of a road.
We also struggled to find a petrol station that accepted cards. No suprise but it's cash for just about everything here.

We've got a lovely little camperstop 50 yards from the beach .

The owners are expats and have treated us to some wonderful home cooking. There is a long promenade of hotels and restaurants which are about 50% open. The weather remains glorious.

We even bumped into the young girl we met cycling around on her own. It was good to know she is absolutely fine.

 

[jongood]

An hour's drive from Tirana to the seaside seemed easy dual carriageway all the way but turned out to be an absolute bone shaker of a road.
We also struggled to find a petrol station that accepted cards. No suprise but it's cash for just about everything here.

We've got a lovely little camperstop 50 yards from the beach .

The owners are expats and have treated us to some wonderful home cooking. There is a long promenade of hotels and restaurants which are about 50% open. The weather remains glorious.

We even bumped into the young girl we met cycling around on her own. It was good to know she is absolutely fine.

View attachment 883441
View attachment 883446

I'm liking what I see but amazed that you havent been fined for anything yet. We got very close to the Albanian border in 2022 but it was August and baking hot so headed back north. Definitely on our list though.

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[billym]

I'm liking what I see but amazed that you havent been fined for anything yet. We got very close to the Albanian border in 2022 but it was August and baking hot so headed back north. Definitely on our list though.

Not yet.
We had a few drinks with an American/German couple last night( their Hymer in the picture) who are very well experienced travellers, they had just been fined for overtaking an unmarked police car on a ' no overtaking' dual carriageway in Montenegro.

He was offered a maximum or minimum fine and went for the cheap option which was a €50 backhander. So there's still time for us.

 

[billym]

Another 30p bus ride to the port city of Durres.
A ferry to Ancona from here for us now is about €560 .

Getting money out is a pain, costing between £3.50 and £6 a transaction.

We had a good chat with some of the Scotland U19 ladies football team who are here for a EURO qualifier tomorrow. They have been here a week and loved it. I wished them good luck (which to be honest didn't come naturally to me.)

the

 

[billym]

It was a wrench leaving Scoturk camperstop and the apple crumble, apple turnovers, byreck( pie) with curry filling.( It's like a Greggs sausage roll with curry inside) and Raki supplied completely free by the hosts.

We missed the photo opportunity with the Scottish ladies football team.

But found a proper football ground, bought the shirt and just need to convince someone to stay here until Sunday

 

[billym]

We've spent two days exploring the excellent city of Shkodra, near the Montenegro border.
A city full of tree lined avenues, historic buildings, museums, cafes, shops and Range Rovers.
However we did manage to depress ourselves by visiting the Site of Witness and Memory, otherwise known as the interrogation, torture and execution prison.

I didn't know Mother Theresa was Albanian

The only famous Albanian I knew of is Dua Lipa who you can listen to in just about every bar we've been in.

We were randomly talking to three Albanian late teenage lads today. They said it's every youngsters dream to go to England, get a house full of hashish, sell it, come back home and buy a nice car. ( their words not ours)

It's still beautiful weather, hot and sunny.

 

[Roger S]

Are you sure I thought she was a scouser !

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[Just smiffy]

Are you sure I thought she was a scouser !

Who, Mother Theresa….

 

[billym]

This has to be one of the very best campsites we have ever been on/ worked on.

Still in Albania , 25 mins from Montenegro.
€17.50 a night but stay 5 pay for 4

Excellent cheap very busy restaurant bar.
Superb facilities

No barking dogs and no traffic noise.

Lake Shkodra Resort, Camping Albania Shkoder - Campsite, Glamping Hotel, Lodge / Bungalow, Restaurant & Bar, Thethi, Lake Koman & Shkoder Day Trips, Theth Guesthouse Hotel

Albania Camping, Lodge / Bungalow, Tents for Hire, Glamping Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, Holiday Campsite & Resort. Thethi Hotel booking, Theth, Lake Koman & Shkoder day trips. Carp Fishing.

www.lakeshkodraresort.com

 

[billym]

After two hot days sitting around this truly fantastic site, we took our bikes for a 25 mile round trip through tiny villages to Mesi Bridge.

Built in 1770 it's done a lot better than the new bridge

I'm still wondering if it's time to get an electric bike , but stubbornly refusing to.

The only UK people we've met on the road was a family of home educators. They left today for the ferry to Bari as they couldn't get into North Macedonia or Montenegro as they only had a virtual copy of their V5. They learnt a good lesson there .

Why they were allowed into Albania one can only guess

On a more serious note, after weeks of blazing sunshine it's going to rain on Tuesday and Wednesday

 

[billym]

It's peed down here for 24 hrs .
Norman Wisdom loved this place and Enver Hoxha loved him, along with the Albanian people.

How Norman Wisdom became Albania's favourite movie star

You’ve heard of movie stars breaking America, and we know some obscure entertainment acts often make it big in Japan, but have you ever heard of anyone being big in Albania? The little country in the Eastern Bloc only has a population of 2.7 million, so they’re not exactly known for producing...

uk.movies.yahoo.com

 

[VXman]

He's cycling from the Netherlands to China but seems remarkably normal. He's just met the girl in the orange tent a couple of hours ago, she's from Switzerland and has flown out for a couple of weeks to cycle round Albania on her own.

This lad 'Ed' unicycled around the world when he was 18. He's a perfectly normal, nice and well wounded lad!

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[billym]

After 30 days we finally left Albania

It's a great country to visit by motorhome as obviously the Germans know.

We've had nothing but pleasantness and kindness from locals.

We stayed 27 nights on campsites working out at €15 a night with electric.

It would have been great to go into the Albanian Alps but not in our old van sadly

Getting through the border was quick and we are now in Podgorica Montenegro deciding which way to turn.

Importantly we did find the Montenegro football national stadium. It didn't look great, just like the city.

 

[Jays2]

Thank you for sharing your information.

Can i ask a question, what did you ask for to get the right coffee for you?

What was it?

 

[billym]

Cappuccino. Which happily nearly always came piping hot unlike the one we had this afternoon

 

[billym]

With 11 nights in Montenegro ( which we found not even remotely as friendly as Albania) we are now in Croatia and the campsite we are on is rammed full and the gates are shut.
We thought it might be busy as it's a holiday tomorrow, but it's rammed full of Germans .

The vodaphone SIM we bought in Albania worked well in Montenegro but not in Croatia. It will work in Bosnia where we are heading.
30 GB €20 for 31 days, recharge online

Our last stop in Montenegro on the bay of Kotor

 

[billym]

Four days in Croatia and now in Bosnia and Herzegovina where we've been two days now.

The Albanian Vodaphone SIM works well

It's lovely . The site we've stopped on is €15.
Free washing machine, We've had six beers ( 500 cl) Five large red wines, and only payed for three. We have had two free apple cakes, two plates of strawberries and a litre bottle of wine .
Bodes well for a few weeks.

We met several Brits in Croatia who couldn't get insurance for Bosnia or Montenegro.
Ours covers us for both. I believe it's fully comp and hope never to find out for sure.

Niche Car Insurance | Vinttro

Specialist vehicle insurance, for classic cars, high performance cars, motorcycles, import cars, custom cars, modified cars, vehicle fleets and vans.

vint-tro.com

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[billym]

Mostar is a very interesting place.

We did the usual tourist thing of watching jumpers off the old bridge, a very long informative walking tour, visited the Museum of Genocide victims and war 92-95 .

So the following day to lighten the mood we went to find the street art at the Sniper tower

And then to see the supposedly uncontentious statue of Bruce Lee

Unfortunately he'd been stolen in March this year and apparently cut up for scrap

Statue of Bruce Lee, Mostar - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[VXman]

I think Bosnia was our favourite bit of our Balkans tour last Autumn. Didn't have time for Albania. We went on to Serbia which we loved too.

 

[deemac]

This has to be one of the very best campsites we have ever been on/ worked on.

Still in Albania , 25 mins from Montenegro.
€17.50 a night but stay 5 pay for 4

Excellent cheap very busy restaurant bar.
Superb facilities

View attachment 884748View attachment 884749
View attachment 884751


No barking dogs and no traffic noise.

Lake Shkodra Resort, Camping Albania Shkoder - Campsite, Glamping Hotel, Lodge / Bungalow, Restaurant & Bar, Thethi, Lake Koman & Shkoder Day Trips, Theth Guesthouse Hotel

Albania Camping, Lodge / Bungalow, Tents for Hire, Glamping Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, Holiday Campsite & Resort. Thethi Hotel booking, Theth, Lake Koman & Shkoder day trips. Carp Fishing.

www.lakeshkodraresort.com

Stayed on this site many times when I lived in Montenegro and had to travel frequently to Skopje. Albanian police were generally red hot on speeding, but somehow seemed to ignore the young men in Mercedes sports cars. The Alpine region in Albania is interesting but dodgy as there are armed smugglers who are best avoided.

 

[daash]

Bet I know how they got there as well.
Wouldn't trust Albanians as far as I could throw one. A nation of thieves.

That's not very nice nor accurate. My wife and I have cycled through Albania they are beautiful and kind people who helped us out a few scrapes on more than one occasion.
What was your experience of the country.

 

[frenchie46]

Billym, thanks so much for sharing your travels with us. Your willingness to actually see for yourselves and ignore the mindless racism from some (thankfully very few) motorhomers is heartening. Please keep posting.

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[Surfer 81]

Stayed in Campsite near Berat in 2017, great little Bar and restaurant. Getting through Berat from North was a nightmare, just could not find a way through so turned round and went over to coast. Getting into Albania was interesting, has to pay 2 ordinary looking blokes %0 Euro, they disappeared for half an hour but came back with a magnificent certificate with a big gold stat. Probably worthless but I have it in the wall in the office. Met some lovely people and interesting travellers.

 

[jennywren]

Bet I know how they got there as well.
Wouldn't trust Albanians as far as I could throw one. A nation of thieves.

Unfair, untrue and totally pointless comment...

 

[billym]

Getting into Albania was interesting, has to pay 2 ordinary looking blokes %0 Euro, they disappeared for half an hour but came back with a magnificent certificate with a big gold stat. Probably worthless

€65 for a month third party insurance with a free gold star.

 

[billym]

20 days in Bosnia and Herzegovina and now back in Shengen(Slovenia)
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been a wonderful place to motorhome. Lovely places, lovely people, fantastic colours and scenery.

All in all we've had 60 days out of Shengen and it's been a great choice of shuffling Shengen.
I think we've been lucky with the weather which obviously helps greatly .

We are now being looked after on the road to Maribor

 

[JulianC]

20 days in Bosnia and Herzegovina and now back in Shengen(Slovenia)
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been a wonderful place to motorhome. Lovely places, lovely people, fantastic colours and scenery.

All in all we've had 60 days out of Shengen and it's been a great choice of shuffling Shengen.
I think we've been lucky with the weather which obviously helps greatly .

We are now being looked after on the road to Maribor

View attachment 900296

We're travelling with friends now in Corinth, but heading to Albania, then Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Bavaria. Read your postings with great interest Billy. Thank you and travel well. Will be trying a few of your suggestions for sure. I would not have thought of Bosnia and Serbia. Will have to wait for next time. The fantastic benefits we get from MHF membership.

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