Outdoor Albania
Outdoor Albania
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Full view
About
Outdoor Albania is a tour operator specialized in one-day and multi-day hiking tours and cultural round trips and cycling tours into the Albanian nature and culture. We bring you an authentic experience by taking you to off the beaten track locations, besides the main well-known destinations, where you will be introduced to the local people, cuisine, culture and traditions. In addition to hiking and cultural tours we also organize exiting outdoor activities such as rafting, river hiking snowshoeing and sea-kayaking!
Travellers talk about
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
66 reviews
Excellent
52
Very good
11
Average
2
Poor
0
Terrible
1
These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.
Casey D
3 contributions
Sept 2019
I cannot say enough good things about traveling through Albania with the help of Outdoor Albania! We chose to do a self-guided tour as experienced travelers and hikers. While everyone we met was incredibly warm and friendly, I will say that the travel processes in Albania (i.e. transportation) are a lot more informal than most of Europe and if we hadn't been at the guest house at the same time as another Outdoor Albania group who had a guide, we might have had a few issues with language barriers (like most Americans, we are not cultured enough to speak any language beyond English). The guides seem wonderful, informative, and are likely a worthy investment if you truly do not want to worry about anything!
Rezi was amazing to work with, and smoothed over any wrinkles that possibly could have appeared in our trip. She was incredibly responsive and answered any question we had very quickly (including while we were in the country).
We felt incredibly safe and welcomed the entire time we were in Albania, and highly encourage anyone thinking about traveling to this wonderful country with a rich history to book the trip and go! And DEFINITELY hire Outdoor Albania - even if you're an experienced traveler, it would be incredibly difficult to plan the type of trip they did without insider knowledge of the country and the options, and it's well worth the money to know that you are taking the best possible trip!!
Rezi was amazing to work with, and smoothed over any wrinkles that possibly could have appeared in our trip. She was incredibly responsive and answered any question we had very quickly (including while we were in the country).
We felt incredibly safe and welcomed the entire time we were in Albania, and highly encourage anyone thinking about traveling to this wonderful country with a rich history to book the trip and go! And DEFINITELY hire Outdoor Albania - even if you're an experienced traveler, it would be incredibly difficult to plan the type of trip they did without insider knowledge of the country and the options, and it's well worth the money to know that you are taking the best possible trip!!
Written 3 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rachel N
USA254 contributions
Jul 2022
Booking a tour with Outdoor Albania was the best decision we made on our trip!!! We did two nights in the Accursed Mountains with a private guide, Albert. Albert was absolutely fantastic. He was so, so knowledgeable about everything - there literally wasn't a question I asked him that he couldn't answer. He was also just a super cool dude: I felt like we were hanging out with a friend rather than a guide. Everything was seamless, from the transport to the very friendly, very comfortable guesthouses to the hike. The nature itself was just stunning - I had no idea there was such rugged, wild beauty in Albania! I strongly recommend Outdoor Albania to anyone looking to get off the beaten path and explore this little-known corner of Europe.
Written 14 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
villadampierre
Pau, France5 contributions
Mar 2024 • Friends
Outdoor Albania has put together a dream week of ski touring for us. They knew how to adapt to the snowfall and put together a great program. Long downhill slopes, excellent cold snow, unexploited, wild valleys, very rich encounters with the Albanians and their history thanks to our super guide Bési, in high quality hotels and Guest houses. thanks to the whole team
Written 26 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Moshe D
Ra'anana, Israel2 contributions
Jun 2016 • Couples
We approached Outdoor Albania Company, to organize a two-weeks tour in Albania, during June 2016.
The company assigned Bledar Jubani as out tour guide and driver. Bledar is a young man, 25 years old, speaking fluent English, having astonishing knowledge in history, culture, nature, mammals, that turned our journey into outstanding/amazing experience.
Albania is a Muslim country (Muslim majority of 70%). The most impressive fact about Albania is the "acceptance of the other" – Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Catholic Christians, live together and accept each other. It does not matter how you worship god.
The agreed tour plan, appeared to be unreasonable for us. The 18 km, pass in the Albanian Alps from Valbone to Theth is a challenge for experienced mountain hikers. Llagora National Park, appeared to a hilly park with a very steep and difficult walking trails.
Our flexible and creative guide found and led us to alternative routes and touring places. Bledar took us to remote places like ancient churches with amazing, well preserved, colorful holy men paintings. The dirt tracks to these remote places, became a real challenge for Bledar private car. Bledar took us to good restaurants, to enjoy the Albanian food (something between Greek and Turkish cuisine) and took care that we'll get the most convenient rooms in the various hotels. Our guide has an hawk eyes. While driving, he could spot a lizard crossing the dirt road in front of the car, stop and show us the little creature. Spot a baby turtle crawling aside the road, stop the car and show us – amazing! During our journey, our naughty tour guide, was shooting secretly a video using his smartphone. During our exciting departure from Bledar, in our final day of the tour, at a coffee house in Tirana, he showed us the amazing video of our entire journey in Albania. When we've returned home, Bledar burned the video into a CD and sent it to us.
Bledar let us experience Albania's nature, people, history, archeology, in a very pleasant way.
We highly and warmly, recommend to everyone who plan to travel in Albania, to use the touring services of this amazing young man.
Aya and Moshe Doron
The company assigned Bledar Jubani as out tour guide and driver. Bledar is a young man, 25 years old, speaking fluent English, having astonishing knowledge in history, culture, nature, mammals, that turned our journey into outstanding/amazing experience.
Albania is a Muslim country (Muslim majority of 70%). The most impressive fact about Albania is the "acceptance of the other" – Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Catholic Christians, live together and accept each other. It does not matter how you worship god.
The agreed tour plan, appeared to be unreasonable for us. The 18 km, pass in the Albanian Alps from Valbone to Theth is a challenge for experienced mountain hikers. Llagora National Park, appeared to a hilly park with a very steep and difficult walking trails.
Our flexible and creative guide found and led us to alternative routes and touring places. Bledar took us to remote places like ancient churches with amazing, well preserved, colorful holy men paintings. The dirt tracks to these remote places, became a real challenge for Bledar private car. Bledar took us to good restaurants, to enjoy the Albanian food (something between Greek and Turkish cuisine) and took care that we'll get the most convenient rooms in the various hotels. Our guide has an hawk eyes. While driving, he could spot a lizard crossing the dirt road in front of the car, stop and show us the little creature. Spot a baby turtle crawling aside the road, stop the car and show us – amazing! During our journey, our naughty tour guide, was shooting secretly a video using his smartphone. During our exciting departure from Bledar, in our final day of the tour, at a coffee house in Tirana, he showed us the amazing video of our entire journey in Albania. When we've returned home, Bledar burned the video into a CD and sent it to us.
Bledar let us experience Albania's nature, people, history, archeology, in a very pleasant way.
We highly and warmly, recommend to everyone who plan to travel in Albania, to use the touring services of this amazing young man.
Aya and Moshe Doron
Written 24 February 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JustKerryOn
Campbell, CA12 contributions
Sept 2014 • Friends
A group of us (friends from Australia, USA and England) went on a week long trip with Outdoor Albania in mid-Sept. Not knowing a lot about Albania or the company, we weren't really sure what to expect, but we all went in with an open mind and a sense of adventure. What can I say? The trip absolutely exceeded our expectations. Our guide Gerg was fantastic and very knowledgeable about the area and the trip was extremely well organized. The hotels we stayed at, while basic, were clean and we all felt safe. The food - WOW! every single meal was AMAZING. We didn't eat a bad dish the entire week. The kayaking along the coast is stunning. The water is clean and clear and the most amazing color of blue. The towns along the coast are quite basic, some more established than others (Hirame and Saranda are quite large), but all were comfortable and the people were very friendly.
They are a quickly growing country with some typical problems, such as garbage clean up. We often encountered areas where garbage was strewn about. Of course this is an infrastructure problem that will get better in the years to come. My guess is that within 10 years, the Ionian coast of Albania will become a popular yachting designation just like its neighbors Greece and Croatia. We would all highly recommend this trip if you are in good shape and enjoy kayaking, or just want to try something new. I don't have a lot of kayaking experience and I felt fine. In all, we kayaked about 65km in 6 days. It's truly the best way to see this part of the country, and Outdoor Albania is an excellent company to do it with.
They are a quickly growing country with some typical problems, such as garbage clean up. We often encountered areas where garbage was strewn about. Of course this is an infrastructure problem that will get better in the years to come. My guess is that within 10 years, the Ionian coast of Albania will become a popular yachting designation just like its neighbors Greece and Croatia. We would all highly recommend this trip if you are in good shape and enjoy kayaking, or just want to try something new. I don't have a lot of kayaking experience and I felt fine. In all, we kayaked about 65km in 6 days. It's truly the best way to see this part of the country, and Outdoor Albania is an excellent company to do it with.
Written 28 September 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jessica M
Chiang Mai, Thailand7 contributions
Sept 2018 • Friends
Our group of 6 Americans did the guided trip from Albania to Kosovo in midSeptember 2018 -- 5 days hiking, 7 days total. Everyone of us has nothing but positive things to say about the trip, and specifically our guide Adnan.
The scenery is stunning, from dramatic peaks to rolling countryside. The guest houses we stayed in each night ranged from large mountainside cabins to remote huts, but all were full of charm, character, unaimaginable hospitality, and offered breathtaking views.
Our guide Adnan was what you might call a social butterfly— when he wasn’t busy checking on our well-being or teaching us about the complex politics of the region, he was befriending everyone we crossed paths with. This not only made us feel safe and secure, knowing that our guide was personable and well-liked by all, but also added a layer of local immersion that we could not have imagined. Adnan’s charisma carried us into family’s homes for coffee and cookies, into restaurants for tea and insightful conversations with local legends, even behind the burning embers of a cooking flia — a traditional Kosovian dish.
We highly recommend this trip, and suggest you request Adnan as a guide.
The scenery is stunning, from dramatic peaks to rolling countryside. The guest houses we stayed in each night ranged from large mountainside cabins to remote huts, but all were full of charm, character, unaimaginable hospitality, and offered breathtaking views.
Our guide Adnan was what you might call a social butterfly— when he wasn’t busy checking on our well-being or teaching us about the complex politics of the region, he was befriending everyone we crossed paths with. This not only made us feel safe and secure, knowing that our guide was personable and well-liked by all, but also added a layer of local immersion that we could not have imagined. Adnan’s charisma carried us into family’s homes for coffee and cookies, into restaurants for tea and insightful conversations with local legends, even behind the burning embers of a cooking flia — a traditional Kosovian dish.
We highly recommend this trip, and suggest you request Adnan as a guide.
Written 20 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Jessica,
Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so happy you and your friends enjoyed our beautiful country! For us it's always a pleasure hosting nice and kind guests like you!
Adnan was very happy to see your review, and took the recognition he deserved.
Thanks for the love,
Outdoor Albania Team
Written 2 October 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
BVdB1988
Herent, Belgium39 contributions
Aug 2017 • Friends
We did the self-guided village house trek in the surroundings of Schkoder - Valbona - Teth in August and really enjoyed it: beautiful surroundings, nice people, good food, guesthouses with everything you need,... The combination with our own planned visit to Tirana was a cool combination.
It was well organized, nevertheless leaving enough space for adventure/your own initiative. If you are in to taking initiative yourself from time to time, don't being to 'wait-and-see',... then this self-guided tour is ideal with a good price-quality balance. You'll get a great new experience in a country that is rather unexplored/untouched by mass tourism, and this on a low budget.
My advice would be to buy an Albanian sim card (as adviced by Outdoor Albania) and double check with your contact person by phone every day if the next day's pick up/guesthouse/... is foreseen as in your planning. In that way you are guaranteed of a very smooth trip. If you are not too strict on planned timings, described routes,..., and are a bit flexbile, you will do fine. Once in contact with Outdoor Albania for questions,..., they do the utmost to help you on your trip.
Outdoor Albania is a company with a lot of experience and contacts in Albanian travel.
Reactivity in communication could be optimized from time to time, but our contact person Rezarta did a really good job arranging us a brilliant vacation!
It was well organized, nevertheless leaving enough space for adventure/your own initiative. If you are in to taking initiative yourself from time to time, don't being to 'wait-and-see',... then this self-guided tour is ideal with a good price-quality balance. You'll get a great new experience in a country that is rather unexplored/untouched by mass tourism, and this on a low budget.
My advice would be to buy an Albanian sim card (as adviced by Outdoor Albania) and double check with your contact person by phone every day if the next day's pick up/guesthouse/... is foreseen as in your planning. In that way you are guaranteed of a very smooth trip. If you are not too strict on planned timings, described routes,..., and are a bit flexbile, you will do fine. Once in contact with Outdoor Albania for questions,..., they do the utmost to help you on your trip.
Outdoor Albania is a company with a lot of experience and contacts in Albanian travel.
Reactivity in communication could be optimized from time to time, but our contact person Rezarta did a really good job arranging us a brilliant vacation!
Written 4 September 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sophie L
9 contributions
May 2016 • Friends
The trip was very well organised from submitting our proposal to helping us plan an itinerary that fitted our travel plans. Our guide Aurel was ABSOLUTELY fantastic, he always put our safety first in all circumstances, transportation (public buses), meals and accommodation (comfortable and safe guest houses) were very well organised. Hike itself was fantastic which was facilitated by our experienced guide Aurel (who couldn't be more passionate about the mountains) We highly recommend Outdoor Albania to couples, family, friends looking for a spectacular and fun outdoor experience in Albania.
Written 8 June 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Glen R
Canmore, Canada3 contributions
Sept 2015 • Family
My son and I did a private three part trip organised by Outdoor Albania. We hiked in the northern Albanian Alps, did a road trip to Ohrid and Skopje and then spent more than a week cycling the Unesco route.
Our hiking guide Hassan was very good and Ilir, who drove us to Skopje and who drove and guided us on our cycling tour, was exceptional. Ilir has a fascinating personal history in Albania and has an encyclopedic knowledge of Albania. He added much to our understanding of the current culture of Albania and to the ancient history of the region. He went far beyond what would have been expected of a “driver” but I think that Outdoor Albania knew this when they assigned him to us.
While it is very hard to gauge a group ahead of meeting them the only thing that I would have changed in our program had I known more about Albania in advance would have been a longer stay in Valbona with the addition of some longer day hikes to see more of the peaks and valleys close by. I found the actual amount of hiking involved in our tour to have been a little light given the number of days spent getting there and back.
Our hiking guide Hassan was very good and Ilir, who drove us to Skopje and who drove and guided us on our cycling tour, was exceptional. Ilir has a fascinating personal history in Albania and has an encyclopedic knowledge of Albania. He added much to our understanding of the current culture of Albania and to the ancient history of the region. He went far beyond what would have been expected of a “driver” but I think that Outdoor Albania knew this when they assigned him to us.
While it is very hard to gauge a group ahead of meeting them the only thing that I would have changed in our program had I known more about Albania in advance would have been a longer stay in Valbona with the addition of some longer day hikes to see more of the peaks and valleys close by. I found the actual amount of hiking involved in our tour to have been a little light given the number of days spent getting there and back.
Written 9 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks Glen for superb review. We are happy to hear that you had enjoyed your adventure in Albania. Thank you very much for traveling with Outdoor Albania. Ilir is happy reading your review ;-)
Written 12 October 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Blerta D
Glastonbury, CT3 contributions
Apr 2013 • Couples
Enjoye one wk day tour guided hiking tour of Albanian Alps. Very well tour organized, great, energetic and guide very knowledge. Very nice scenery, staying in traditional village guest house. Very nice Outdoor Albania who and perfect for tourisms. Great value!!!
Written 9 December 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MVAgusta1
Douglas, United Kingdom
Hi
We are coming to Albania on the 13/06/23 and we have about 7 days to explore mainly coastal areas ant Butrint.
Have you a y suggestions and appropriate prices .
Kind Regards
Donald Russell
Written 10 April 2023
I'm due to go to Corfu in May with my son Kane aged 18. He is special needs [learning disabled and within the autistic spectrum]. and he especially wants to go on the Albania trip. He loves history and culture [ he has a memory like a computer for dates and facts] and he is also a Rita Ora fan {who is part Albanian}.
I have said that we can go on this trip, however, being a lone female traveller with a vulnerable young man I have a few concerns.
Is the country safe?
Are you pestered by locals?
Which companies run the safest, most informative, structured & interesting tours ?
Also any other advice would be much appreciated
Written 27 January 2016
I'm due to go to Corfu in May with my son Kane aged 18. He is special needs [learning disabled and within the autistic spectrum]. and he especially wants to go on the Albania trip. He loves history and culture [ he has a memory like a computer for dates and facts] and he is also a Rita Ora fan {who is part Albanian}.
I have said that we can go on this trip, however, being a lone female traveller with a vulnerable young man I have a few concerns.
Is the country safe?
Are you pestered by locals?
Which companies run the safest, most informative, structured & interesting tours ?
Also any other advice would be much appreciated
Written 26 January 2016
My Sister and I went to Albania in October 2015 not pestered at all lovely people super restuarants along promenade. We did the trip up to the ruins which was fantastic although there are a lot of steps but we managed I am 66 and my sister is 62. We certainly wouldnt have missed it. We booked through the hotel ( there dont seem to be as many tour Companies as some of the other islands I have been twice and its been the same company both times) Its quite a long day we started at 9 from the dock and albania is an hour behind and we got back to the dock in Corfu at 7pm really enjoyable boat trip in a really old boat which was also really interesting and fantastically maintained all wood panelling etc. We paid 30 euros each for the trip and a further 20 each for the tour and lunch well worth it. I expected Albania to be grey and a bit depressing not at all its clean really pretty views and a throughley enjoyble day. We also did Parga and Paxos on another day thats a trip to be recommended however dont pay the extra for bus tour of paxos its the most boring thing Ive every done the town is far more interesting around the harbour - have a lovely time
Written 27 January 2016
Out-Al
Tirana, Albania
Hello Becky,
Thanks for your wonderful review. Outdoor Albania team is so glad to hear that you had a great experience with us.
OA Team
Written 30 June 2015
Showing results 1-4 of 4
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.