I will go to A L B A N I A to make ARMS deal & to CRUSH da flow with them fine Albanian woh-men

umm, i going to try and give you as honest an answer as I can.
 
Aside from the fact that I have no idea exactly where Albania is, somewhere in the Balkans I presume,
 
BASICALLY ALL OF THE REASONS YOU STATED ARE VALID TO MAKE ME NOT WANT TO VISIT.
 
In the tourism game you have to offer someone something unique, while at the same time keeping the confidence of prospective tourists that the country is safe to visit, real or imagined.
 
what I mean by real or imagined is everyone who has seen the Borat movie would never want to visit kazahkstan even though he illustrates the country to be worse than it is to some degree.
 

i understand you concern cute_with_e but i tell you ALBANIA is amazing

we have INTERNATIONAL STANDARD destaination on offer like CROATIA?HRVATSKA but at price like ETHIOPIA!

there is Tirane and beautiful city with dance club (wohmen like) as well as Gyrokaster (beautiful) and Sarande (romance)

there is MUCH to offer

You see HEAVYDRINKER he come and HOBNOB already. this talk about arms deal not necessary true as i think he talk to AL-HARMAGE not me. but ok still you see with hospitality i say COME TO MY HOSTEL (it great)

Kazakhstran yes I agree this is not of the place for tourist. It is industrial and bleak and i go once to buy corn and someone try break me.

[=“3”]APOLOGY IN ADVANCE FOR THE LONG ANSWER… IT’S JUST IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST SUCH RIDICULOUS STUFF.[/]
[=“arial”][=“2”]
The answers are fairly honest, admitting they come from people who have not visited the country. But I don’t understand who would write such things, especially with an intent of making somebody want to visit the place. Not to mention the title “why you no go Albania”, I thought I was gonna read some sluggish satire. Frankly that’s not what Albania represents, since I happen to be from there and I’m finding myself utterly alien to this rubbish. [/][/]

[=“trebuchet ms”][=“2”]An answer to the Borat-ish talking non-sense and to whom reads it. [/][/]
[=“arial”]
– First of all, the “Pyramid Schemes” crisis happened 10 years ago, and it was an easily created, post-communist experiment with democracy and the free market, which was used by the smart ex-communist businessmen to make fast, easy cleanable money… Anyways, until then people knew very little of peaceful protests, democratic governance or free market rules so crisis like that are thank God, history. As a matter of fact Albania divorced from Communism in 1992 only and trust me you don’t want to know what kind of Communism I am talking about. It would make every young Communist from stylish European universities turn red from embarrassment. And 15 years later, it is finally progressing towards EU membership, a process not really helped by continous Balkan conflicts, for which usually this country and Macedonia are the ones to pay the biggest price (politcally).[/]

[image]local://81028/169B8745674D4DB8957193926F618226.jpg[/image]
[=“1”](Coast in Southern-Albania – Dhermi)

[/][=“arial”] – Moreover, incidents with navies and tourist ships are not unknown even to much more developed countries than Albania. Ferries and ships visit Albania 365 days a year, and if an incident happens, it doesn’t mean that’s a routine, so no need to go further with that. 

– As for war issues, the last time the lands of Albania were touched by war were when Fascist Italy invaded “its sister country” in 1939. That’s a war only Franco’s Spain didn’t take part remember? The Balkan regions have seen many wars in the 1990s but that is ex-Yougoslavian countries, not Albania. If the Balkans look that similar to you, then please don’t bother reading any further.

– It is not far neither expensive to get there. The country is situated between Greece and Italy, two of the most visited countries not only in Europe but in the entire world. The times of flight vary slightly. It takes 1 hour and 30 min. to fly from Rome, less than an hour flight from Athens, 3 hour flight from London, 2 hour flight from Vienna, 1 hour from Sofia, 1 hour and 30 minutes from Belgrade and so on… Daily ferries from Bari, Ancona and other Italian cities get u there faster than many other much visited regions. A daily ferry takes you from Corfu (a major tourist Greek island in the Ionian sea) to Saranda in less than 20 minutes. From land there are border checks all over the continental land; 2 or 3 from Montenegro, 1 or 2 from Kosova, 4 from Macedonia, and 4 from Greece (correct me with the numbers, cus there is probably more). It is also expected to be a good choice for transit trips in the near future. Coutries such as Montenegro, Croatia are much more visited and trans trips further south, could very well include visits to Albania, Macedonia and then further south in the northern regions of Greece. As u may guess at this point I am talking about a country which beats Spain in sunny days, then still beats every other European country in anonymity and misconceptions. Anyways, as prices is concerned, if you are visiting from North-America or other non-European regions something tells me you will have to pay a lot for the trip anyways.

– There is no such thing as weapons. Carrying a gun in Albania is illegal and the only people permitted to carry one are those who have asked to do so from the public order institutions, and there are criteria to be respected too. Gun carriers are spread all-over the US, but that doesn’t mean that everybody uses them, nor does it stop someone from visiting Texas or other places where guns are freely sold in shops. So “heavydrinker” if you wanna trade guns in the country, I advise you be careful, unless you wanna see what an Albanian prison looks like.

– There are plenty of hotels to stay, starting from major 4-5 star hotels in Tirana, Durres and Saranda, to 2-3-4 stars hotels in many other visited cities of the country.

– There are no constraints of another lifestyle choice. People, especially the youth have integrated their lifestyles according to what the global market has to offer, and everybody tries to do their best depending on personal budget. U can behave the same as you would have behaved in Rome or Athens and you would be fine. I’m saying this because I’ve lived in both cities, and have found myself comfortable and at ease in all of them, equally. Unfortunately, as in many other eastern European countries, people such as homosexuals are discriminated and not very appreciated from the society. Nevertheless, nobody is obliged to yell about his/her private life to unknown people. The Balkan spirit plays its part too, so trying to “steal” somebody’s girlfriend is not very appreciated, and that’s the only risk a foreign adventurous guy would have. But tell me a country where that stuff doesn’t imply a fight of some sort anyways.

– Nightlife is far better than in many other places, and reaches European levels especially in Tirana, and the coastal cities of Durres, Vlora and Saranda are more and more crowded with youth and tourists visting there in the summer. Very often clubs and show-biz people host major DJ-s from all over the world. I’ve personally seen some of them, starting with Paul Oakenfold and many others, though I wouldn’t bother looking for names now. One nice thing is that you can drink as much as u like and get stoned as much as u prefer but in no way are u going to see horrific fights, such as the usual ones you see in England, Spain or Malta.

– Furthermore, nobody cares whether you are Serbian, Asian, Russian, American, Muslim, Christian, Jewish or whatelse. If you are a foreigner, then that’s enough a reason for a local to make his/her best to make you feel at home and to provide help when possible.

-  There is also a lot to do, if you have the spirit of adventure of course. Programs such as Outdoor Albania, which u can look for through Google, provide an amazing experience with several extreme or adventure sports. Geographically these activities cover all the regions of the country, from the high mountains of the north to the amazing southern coast (I’m not an expert of sports names in English, but still, sports such as hiking and diving are amongst the many).

– Each major city has its own medieval or ancient towns, sometimes even both; with little Ottoman or Venetian markets; theirs own castles above the hills, several major ancient cities, plenty of museums from historical to archaeological, medieval, religious, ethnographical ones and so on… Not to forget about the landscape and its amazing southern coast, both appreciated by many foreign visitors, who as usual have had to make their comparisons to old-dear developed Europe, but still not spare the good words for what this old country has to offer. No cultured foreigner forgets to appreciate the variety of historical remains, from Illyrian to Hellenic, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, Ottoman, Slavic and, of course, Albanian ones.
[/][=“arial”]
[/][=“arial”] – The prices are much cheaper than in most of southern Europe, and the food is usually considered to be from the best, because of its mixed Turkish-Italian traditions, influences from Greek cuisine, as well as several traditional Albanian plates.

Obviously it has its major problems. The country still lacks an EU level transport system, the roads are not the best, and illegal construction is still a major problem together with the new industrial and urban waste. But as a tourist you don’t have to care about this, (well u can since this planet is everybody’s planet…) anyways you are there to enjoy yourself and not to save the world. Buses travel daily all around the country, and taxies, considering the European or American currency are fairly very cheap. Moreover, millions of euros are being spent every year to construct new roads and reconstruct old ones, a major new airport was inaugurated this spring, a new port terminal will be opened next year and so on. The foreign languages spoken are various, though Italian is spoken and understood as much as English is in the Netherlands. English is the second most favourite language, though people older than 40 wont be the ones you should ask for directions. Greek is mainly spoken by people who have lived in Greece, Spanish is widely understood and spoken too, though wouldnt be able to tell you how spread it is exactly. A minority of people speak French though its widely studied and German, which is the hardest language I could ever think of, probably after Chinesse and Japanese, anyways…

The government itself, being aware of the many things still to ne donne, has postponed for next year the airing of promotional videos on CNN and BBC, which will affect tourism more than 30o trip reports all together.

So yes you don’t know where Albania is, and fair-enough why bother, but if you want to go someplace where there is perfect religious tolerance, a nice Mediterranean climate and fairly friendly people then you don’t have to be concerned to visit this country. If you are looking for major European splendor, then frankly Albania is not on the top list, on the contrary. Also facilities such as internet and bulletins are a newly implemented trend, so again do not expect major Tokyo-like technology, fast train lines or ultra-modern metros… It doesn’t have any of that, yet.

But if you are looking for a good time with prolific options, if u are not afraid of streets invaded by young people (Albania has the youngest population in Europe, still), if u like coffe breaks in nice-trendy caffe-shops, dosens of pubs (not the English type Pubs) and clubs with music as multinational as possible, fresh and sun blessed food, and breathtaking white-sand virgin coasts then Albania has its fair place among all the other places of southern Europe, I would dare say special. Maps of the roads, hotels, historical places, internet centers, the relatively fast progress that Albania is going through, previous travelers’ reviews and lots of other information is easily found online, so you will very soon know how to move and what to see. With that done you will discover things which usually lazy 5-star hotel fans will not be able to see, ever.

[/][=“arial”]Its actually very simple: A lot of beautiful countries are considered developing by Northern standards, yet nobody stops people from visiting them in millions every year. On the other hand being developing in Europe is as being a non-white or non-christian in 19th early 20th century Europe. Its just not the best position to have. That is why people like “dwop” don’t bother anyone, because to make fun of what you are ignorant of, is not only “legitimate” but entertaining too. [/]
[=“arial”]
I wouldn’t bother say hurry up to try something before it gets too crowded because I know it will eventually happen anyways, but on the other hand I am 100% willing to dismiss the wrong information provided by people who know nothing about this country.

Thank u


[/]

pwnd

What the heck is “pwnd”? 

Dwop just stirs the pot, and we’re all pretty sure he’s not from Albania.

lol I thought so too… no Albanian speaks English like that, nor the idiocities that this guy writes. By the way I see u are the adm. Really sorry for the long msg. I just saw so many messages from this guy, and with no proper info whatsoever. anyways, really great web. helps people find their way. congrats.

And by the way since he is not what he claims to be then why do you let him write such nonsense? 

Of course nivid. And that would really please a lot of people, especially the houndreds of businesses and their employers in the tourism sector of Albania together with those foreigners who have no clue about a country and might very well get their interest quelled from this joker.

And honestly it wouldnt bother me if I hadnt noticed how informative this website is and the honest answers that this guy gets from people who genuinely might be interested. Its a free-speech world, but to be a member of this forum I had to agree to certain rugulations, which means that I’m bound to respect them. Plus I didnt think slander is what u are required to do to be a member of the forum.

I still wonder if heavydrinker and dwop are really the same person.
 
Anyways, nice to hear about Albania from a real Albanian.

In retrospect, maybe I should have locked, deleted, and/or moved this post, but now that we actually have some good info on albania, I’ll keep it up here.  Thanks alptime!

No problem, and pls if any of you has any questions dont hesitate to ask.

As for other European countries Ive only visited Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Austria and France. Ive also been studying for the last 5 years in Greece, Italy and now in England, though I wouldnt give many advices, since most of my trips were organizaed by my parents so there was no need to bother with tickets and budget. Nyways will try to say sth where I feel that I can. As for Italy and Greece I do have my favourite places of course. []