Trip readiness checklist for Albania

What to pack

Albania is the Mediterranean before the prices: white beaches on the Riviera, stone towns inland and the Accursed Mountains up north. Pack for all three and bring cash, because much of the country still runs on it.

• Cash and somewhere to keep it

  Plenty of guesthouses, cafés and furgon minibuses are cash only, and ATMs thin out beyond the cities. A money belt earns its place.

• Water shoes

  The Riviera's famous beaches (Ksamil, Gjipe, Dhërmi) are pebble and rock, and the water is startlingly clear because of it.

• Hiking boots for the north

  The Valbona-to-Theth crossing and the Albanian Alps are proper mountain trails: six to eight hours, loose rock, weather that turns.

• Modest cover for mosques and churches

  Shoulders and knees covered inside Et'hem Bey mosque, Berat's churches and the Bektashi shrines; a light scarf solves it.

When to go

July and August are peak and the Riviera is genuinely full: Ksamil runs out of sand, the coast road crawls and prices double. May, June, September and early October are the sweet spot, warm sea and room to move. Tirana works year-round; the mountains are June to September only.

Money & getting around

Albania uses the lek (ALL), and prices are sometimes quoted in old lek with an extra zero; ask if a number seems ten times too high. Cards work in Tirana hotels and bigger restaurants; everywhere else is cash, and euros are often accepted at a rounded rate. Tipping is about 10 percent, rounded up. Furgon minibuses run between towns when full rather than on a timetable; a rental car is the honest way to do the coast and the mountains.

Local quirks worth knowing

Albania is the friendliest country in Europe that most people have not been to yet. The customs are warm, the raki is strong and the head gestures are backwards.

• A nod means no, a shake means yes

  Mostly. Younger Albanians increasingly do it the other way, which helps nobody. Say po (yes) or jo (no) out loud and skip the guessing.

• Hospitality is a code, not a courtesy

  Besa, the old word for it, means a guest is sacred. Coffee, raki or a meal will be offered; accept at least a taste, and never try to pay for it.

• Raki comes before, during and after

  The grape spirit arrives with breakfast coffee in villages and with everything else elsewhere. One small glass is polite; refusing outright is awkward, so sip.

• Furgons leave when they are full

  The minibuses between towns have no timetable: find the right one at the lot, climb in, wait. The driver collects the fare en route.

• Driving is improvisational

  Overtaking on bends, horses on the highway, roundabouts treated as suggestions. Drive defensively, or let a local do it.

A week in Albania, the list starts here

Quantities scale with your dates, the weather groups arrive once we have your travel days, and your own plans add their gear on Trip Pass.

• Passport & travel documents1
• Phone charger & adapter1
• Wallet, cards & some local cash1
• Toiletries bag1
• Any daily medicationsenough for the trip
• Underwear7
• Socks7
• T-shirts / tops5

• Everything in my carry-on, and why each thing earns its spot
• The packing trick that got me through 3 countries with one carry-on