Motor Caravan to Albania
This story happened on: 15/06/2012
Gallery
I once worked as an international HGV driver and have travelled through most of Europe and parts of the Middle East. However one country that we could not enter to make deliveries was Albania. It was a hard line communist regime state and all goods had to be unloaded at the border. Now these days are long over, I decide I should like to add Albania to my experience list.
I entered Albania from the Montenegro coastal road, which was winding and difficult in places. There are no listed campsites in any of my guide books, but I had been told about the Camping Hotel at Mali Robit on the coast road about 12 kilometres south of Durres, which is Albania’s principal beach resort.
This hotel has shaded parking to the rear of the hotel with electricity and a basic toilet block. I was informed that campers could use a shower within the hotel and the price for my motor caravan and two persons was 15 Euros per night. I negotiated a reduced rate of 12 Euros per night, and that we would use our own onboard shower. We also had free use of the hotel WIFI and a washing machine load of laundry for a modest charge.
The beach was not clean on our arrival but was cleaned up on the second day. We took excursions into Durres and the capital Tirana on the local buses that were inexpensive. Cold drinks and ice creams where inexpensive away from the camping hotel. We did not experience the local restaurant food, but self catered, getting cheap salad from the market and using canned meat or local fish.
Durres was not a particularly attractive resort, but had a certain charm. Tirana is being developed big time, with many new buildings under construction and will be like many other Eastern European capital cities when completed.
I decided to return back into Montenegro via the main inland highway from Tirana to Podgorica (the capital of Montenegro). Unfortunately the highway ran out of tarmac for around 35 kilometres before the Montenegro border and it was a tortuous slow and bumpy ride over stone chippings that gave my ageing Talbot Express motor caravan a real shake out.
To summarise, an interesting visit but having been there, I shall not go again. Montenegro has more to offer, but Croatia is better still.
baggiemacca
Motorhomer