>btw im heterosexual not sure if it matters

>>2840506
Yes I am, i'm a normie now.

i've been reading tripadvisor and google reviews but its all the same shit. Most people are happy. Some say its the worst hotel they have ever been in. The thing is it doesnt matter if we go to the cheapest all-inclusive 5 star hotel or the one that's most expensive. All reviews are exactly like this. Most happy, some say it's the worst hotel they ever been in. So idk how much you can even trust these reviews. As long as the food and drinks aren't gonna make you sick and the rooms are decent it's okay right?

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>>2840505
Never been, but almost went this year. The place next to Corfu (Ksamil) is basically the same as Corfu, but 4 times cheaper. Looks similar like greek island with out of place looking apartments and unfinished buildings. All the albanians at work say it's fine nowadays

>>2840510
This place I wanna go to is called Golem kek it's next to Durrest or Tirania or something. When I check google maps its a complete different area. Google maps data is 10 years old but i think they started turning it into a touristy area 5 years ago.

I read reviews about the hotel but its scaring me, mostly they mention old and cold food etc and also loud music until late at night. I'm also scared the all inclusive free alcohol is completely shit and you have to pay extra to not get spoiled or rotten food

>>2840514
Please don’t come to Albania.

Going to a cheap all-inclusive in the Balkans, Black Sea or MENA region is pretty much always a big mistake. If you're lucky it's just loud as fuck(as it's filled with 14-18 years old on a school trip or their first solo party vacay and welfare dwellers with their offspring from hell). You get fed with the worst kind of "barely fit for human consumption" food, drinks of the category no-name super budget and dwell in a hopefully not completely rotten rental port-a-potty as a room that might or might not have a functional bath and electricity.
In the worst case that thing is still under construction(or the 5 properties around it) so you can enjoy your wake up-call at 6am from the jackhammer and that won't stop till 22:00 or that thing just fell apart/burned out and your rental port-a-potty room is now a bunk in a 16+ bed basement/container with a bucket toilet.
A tent on the beach would be a upgrade.

The region is great for solo individual travel but going there for cheap AI is a big mistake, yeah it's cheap as fuck but it's cheap for a reason.

Enjoy your trip.

>>2840515
Why not?

>>2840521
Yeah but it's cheap because in the country everything is also much cheaper right? I don't exactly expect world class 5 star hotel quality but decent enough to have a good time as a couple of young adults.. or where else should I go instead what country? Turkey or Croatia?

>>2840528
Well it will do, but all of that is pretty much the same, yeah it's cheaper but not that much. Been there done that, 350CHF for a week in Bulgaria, got a new build commie block with a out of order pool and our "beach resort" was next to a sewer outlet, you can imagine the smell.
We had fun anyway because we were 17 and drunk as fuck and would've slept anywhere and feasted on instant ramen anyway(that was way better than the AI food provided) but anything else, fuck me.
Look at your options, add a 100€ and go for a AI with solid good ratings and zero "rat den" comments

>>2840536
Yeah I think the 5 stars dont mean shit in Albania especially for these prices. Maybe its better to find a decent 3 or 4 star all inclusive hotel that has been around for longer and has more ratings then? But we wanted to go to albania. Maybe we shuold to go greece then

>>2840539
ive been in Saranda 2 years ago in summer and we slept in rented appartment in hightest floor of housing building. It was pretty good and quiet at night. Catched some pretty cool prog-house beach festival

>>2840541
that sounds complicated how do i do that

i want like some place nice but i also want to be able to have nice hotel breakfast and good food and free drinks by the pool such as beer

>>2840539
>3 or 4 star all inclusive hotel that has been around for longer and has more ratings then
That's the way to go or go to greece/spain/portugal at least anything with a decent rating will be okay and not that much gambling.

>>2840542
>that sounds complicated how do i do that
Find a cheap flight (google flights) (100€ will do r/t with a bag)
Throw money together with the lads, and book a nice airbnb or apartment on booking (100€/p will do)
Self cater your breakfast and you have plenty of money to eat out and drink yourself to death three times per day.

>nice hotel breakfast and good food
Forget that unless you upgrade to the upper class of AI(1000€+/weeke excluding flight). The cheap ones of them will provide you with crap that makes English public school lunch taste like gourmet food and the a bit better stuff is a decent simple canteen.

>>2840546
But i rather book everything together hotel + flight + transfer its easier

Maybe I will just get overnight stay + breakfast, so not all-inclusive. That way I only have to worry about lunch and dinner I can just get something easy and cheap. Airbnb doesnt really sound convenient to me i dont wanna make my own breakfast on holiday i just like to take elevator down and then have a very good hotel breakfast so maybe i should look for hotels that Do Not offer all inclusive that way you know its better quality right?

>>2840553
>But i rather book everything together hotel + flight + transfer its easier
Book a cattle package, get the cattle treatment.
I'm not even trying to be a dick to you or anything, but that's just how it works. The other anon is right that you should just get an apartment and eat out in restaurants. It won't actually really be cheaper than those AI package deals that tour companies sell but you'll gain a lot in quality and won't be doomed to a week of godawful food.

>>2840553
Looking at 5 stars hotels like Sol Tropika in Durresl and it does have reviews that tell what anons already told you. Nice location, shitty cold food. And it's still over 1500 for a week. Going to a hotel with breakfast, or just a studio is way less frustrating. I don't know why boomers like this cattle holiday so much, the same who fight for sunbeds next to the pool. All Inclusive can be nice too, but you need to pay more for it.

>>2840795
>>2840811
alright thanks

we probably will go to spain again

last year we went to mallorca we had a hotel stay + breakfast and we ate out and it was very good. I think all-inclusive sounds nice because of the free drinks but the food will suck so probably we will go to like tenerife or gran canaria or some shit and book hotel + breakfast and then just eat out for dinner i think its better

I'm going to Tirana in february for a week with my gf. Albania is making big steps to get into the EU so it wouldn't be that bad anymore. I'm looking forward to it.
Any good historical sites to visit in Tirana?
>>2840505
>all inclusive
Nigger what are you doing. Get away from the resort and the Russians.

Someday I want to take a solo trip to Albania for visiting military stuff. Any good sites or museums?

I went to Albania this spring with a friend. We rented BnBs on booking dot com without any issues, until we splited up and went our seperate ways. Albanians are very welcoming and helpful to foreigners, it's part of their culture.
The food in restaurants is good, and when in Dürres, my friend discovered a local market selling fresh produce, olive oil and even raki, everything was extremely cheap, it's a good way to save money.
So like other anons said, I don't recommend going to an all inclusive hotel, you might get a subpar experience.

Protips:
- Don't drink tap water unless you want a stomach ache, even boiling it doesn't get rid of the lead
- Most stray dogs are chill and won't cause any issues, but be careful because some can get a bit aggressive. Follow the standard advice you can find on the internet like "don't stare at them in the eyes" and so on, and you should be fine.
- If you want to take a bus to another city, make sure you arrive early, because they often leave earlier than announced once it's reasonably filled up. Don't book anything on Flixbus, ask the locals instead.
Sometimes it's better to go back to Tirana and taking a bus there rather than trying to connect between two smaller cities, but be careful because there are two different bus stations in Tirana, and it takes a long time to reach one from the other.
- Never go to Elbasan for the sole purpose of visiting the city. There is nothing to see, nothing to do, dogs are much more aggressive there than in other cities, and getting out of there is hell because there is no bus station.

Albania is currently at a sweet spot where they are developing their tourism industry and infrastructure, but it is still rough around the edges, exciting and cheap. Now is the good time to go because in 10 years, it might become as expensive as Croatia, so enjoy.

Albania is still shitty enough to keep the normies away and the prices down, but nice enough where the most you have to really worry about is some wannabe gangster trying to sell you drugs (if you consider that a bad thing). Like the guy above said, it really hits the sweet spot and is a very comfy country.

albania is nice
a little rough around the edges but great value for money
lovely nature and landscapes
some nice historic towns
food is alright
drink is cheap

>>2841162
little bunkers are everywhere but there is a massive one with a museum in it near tirana, BunkArt 1
there's also a spy museum in Tirana

>>2841815
Awesome.

>>2841162
There's an underground submarine base near Porta Pallermo. Not sure whether you can currently get in.

If you're going further into the Balkans. Bosnia has Tito's Bunker, which is effectively a self sustianing city underground, which was never used, and is pretty kino. Could work as a trip of
>Mostar
>Neretva Valley (bunker, rafting)
>Sarajevo (siege content)
>bus to Tirana
>Riviera (+ submarine base)

>>2841836
Forgot Sazan Island, a naval base you can get a boat to off the coast of Vlore. Decent day out. You can have beers on the boat over (I took some pirate ship looking thing, which was chill)