FAQs

Outdoor Albania is specialized in cultural round trips and active tours such as, walking, cycling, sea kayaking, rafting, snowshoeing, ski-touring and others. For all our tours and products please check ‘Tours’ and ‘Day trips’ in the main menu above.

A small group departure with Outdoor Albania means that you will travel on a pre-set departure date with a group of international travellers, guided by a local English speaking tour leader. You can join these groups as an individual, a couple, a family, a group of friends or with whom else you wish to travel. Joining a group is a great way to explore Albania at a lower cost and to also meet like-minded people along the way.

How small are these groups, you might think? It depends on what kind of tour but generally we already depart with a minimum of three people and we go up to a maximum of 15 participants.

It depends on each tour what is included and what not. This information can be found in the tour details. Departure dates for each tour are indicated on the calendar on the right side of the tour page.

Our small group departure tours are Land Only; the prices do not include your flight, nor transport to and from the airport to hotel. Our set departure tours do not include the airport transfers, if you wish to book an airport transfer, please mention this at your booking form. The price from the airport to Tirana is 30 euro (max 4 pax).

All the suggested tours on this website can also be run privately on nearly any date (depending on availability). A private tour is most suited if our small group departure dates do not fit with your available dates, if you do not want to travel with other people, or if you want extra flexibility and a personal touch in your private tour.

You can book the itineraries exactly as they are described including the airport transfers, or the tour can be extended or shortened to suit your travel requirements. Based on your itinerary wishes and the amount of persons joining your group we will give you a price quote on request.

With a tailor-made tour, you can, with help of us, design your own itinerary and decide on your own preferred dates. You can use the itineraries on this website as a starting point to give you some interesting ideas and to show you what is possible. If you contact us with ideas and requirements, we can then customize an itinerary to fit your personal preferences and interests, available dates and budget. We know Albania and the Balkan countries very well and have years of experience in designing itineraries for our travelers. We are here to help you with creating your own special Albanian or Balkan holiday.

Our self-guided walking holidays are for experienced walkers who prefer to be independent. On most trips we can arrange main baggage transfers, giving to you the possibility to hike comfortably with just day-sack on the shoulders. As there is is no guide (and strict schedule to keep to) you’ll be able to take up opportunities for cultural experiences and interactions as they arise.

It depends on each tour what is included and what not. This information can be found in the tour details. Departure dates for each tour are indicated on the calendar on the right side of the tour page.

Please make your own way to the starting point of your tour. If you would like us to arrange a transfer for you from the airport to your hotel or from your hotel to the beginning point of the tour, please let us know at booking in your booking form.

We do our best to use accommodations that reflect the local area and the famous Albanian hospitality. During many years of operating we have established a trustworthy cooperation with small and bitter sized accommodation providers all around the country.

Hotels

• The hotels we use are comparable with a European bed and breakfast or a 2/3 star hotel. Rooms are generally for two persons. However family- or single rooms are, depending on availability, bookable on request. In addition we can organize a stay in more luxurious accommodation when/ if requested.

Local guesthouses

• During many tours we will stay in local guesthouses. This will enhance the cultural experience and profit the local community. Rooms are shared dorm rooms with an average of five persons per room.

Our small group departures are based on twin sharing rooms. We will make sure that you will only share your room with a person of the same sex. In case you want to share your room with a specific persons you know, please let us know at booking.

When staying in hotels you will share a double room with someone of the same gender. A single room is also possible but will require a supplement. In guesthouses you will stay with multiple people in one room, in this case it is rarely possible to have a single room.

You can check our departure dates and see what departures are guaranteed or contact us for further information. 6 weeks prior to departure we will let you know if there are enough participants to run the tour, in case there are not enough participants you can either choose to cancel or pay a small group supplement.

This is a less fun, but nevertheless a necessary part of preparing your holiday. When you booked a small group departure or a private tour we offer you the following two possibilities:

• Payment of an online deposit of 20% of the tour price + 4.5% service charge (over the deposit payment), via our secure online credit card payment. system and pay the remaining amount at our Tirana office prior to departure.
• Payment of the total amount due through bank transfer with all transfer an wiring casts borne by the sender, no later than 14 days following receipt of the OA invoice by the customers. For the avoidance of doubt, the transferred amount ought to have reached the OA bank account within 14 days from the receipt of invoice by the customers. The customers shall send OA a copy of the bank transfer by email.

Outdoor Albania invests time and expertise into every customized itinerary of a tailor made tour. Therefore, we ask our customers to do a pre-payment of €100 when a third itinerary is proposed without a forthcoming booking. Subsequently when a booking is made the following guidelines apply:

• Payment of an online deposit of 20% of the remaining tour price + 4.5% service charge (over the deposit payment), via our secure online credit card payment system and pay the remaining amount minus the €100 pre-payment at our Tirana office prior to departure.

• Payment of the total amount, minus the €100 pre-payment, due through bank transfer with all transfer an wiring costs borne by the sender, no later than 14 days following receipt of the OA invoice by the customers. For the avoidance of doubt, the transferred amount ought to have reached the OA bank account within 14 days from the receipt of invoice by the customers.

Outdoor Albania reserves the right to alter the prices of any tours shown in our brochure and/or website. But don’t worry; the definitive price will be communicated with you before booking. Once your tour is booked the price is set and will not change according to tax rises, fuel prices etc.

With our scheduled departures we might not have enough participants to depart, in which case we will inform you about the small group supplement. At this point, you can either decide to cancel your participation or you can join our tour.

It is essential that we know any medical problems well prior to departure. The tour leader has the right to disqualify anyone at any time during the trip if he or she feels the traveler is physically or mentally incapable or if a traveler’s continued participation will jeopardize the him or herself or the group. Refunds are not given under such circumstances.

Furthermore it is important that you inform Outdoor Albania about any special dietary needs well in advance.

Both should be indicated on the booking form.

We expect our travelers to be realistic about their own capabilities. Not only for your own safety and well being but also for the safety and well being of the other group members. Furthermore we expect our participants to be on time to make sure the group can remain on time schedule. Additionally we expect participants to report any personal or mutual problems to the tour leader as he or she is responsible for the group’s well being.

If you need a visa depends on your country of origin. Please check online whether you need a visa or not. You may also look it up at the website of the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs by clicking here.

It is always nice to have some knowledge about the language that is spoken in the country you want to visit. Learning Albanian is not necessary, but it can help you. Here are some words that you can use:
Hello – Miredita!
How are you? – Si jeni?
Yes / no – Po / jo
Good – Mirë
Thank you – Faleminderit
Good-bye – Mirëupafshim
Most people in Albania speak italian and the younger generations speak some English as well.

Tap water is drinkable but it holds a high amount of chlorine, which affects the taste. Drinking too much tap water might cause stomach cramps, therefore filtered water is recommended. To protect the environment we recommend you to invest in a good water bottle. You can use the water for coffee or tea but keep in mind that the taste might be affected. Brushing your teeth should not be a problem.

The local currency of Albania is Lek. In the bigger cities and the airport you can withdraw money with most foreign cards. Visa and other credit cards are sometimes accepted in bigger hotels and bigger restaurants. The easiest is to withdraw money in Tirana or one of the other bigger cities. You can take to 50.000 Lek per day. In many places, especially the touristic places and in Tirana you can either pay with Euros or you can exchange them.

The season for Outdoor Albania usually starts in January and ends in the end of October.

Our hiking season starts, depending on the weather, usually in May and ends at the end of October July and August are best to be spend near water due to the high temperatures.

Our rafting season starts in April. From April to June we run trips in the Osumi Canyon and our Vjosa rafting trip last until the end of October.

Our kayak season starts in May and ends at the end of October.

Our snow season usually starts in January and ends in the beginning of May, depending on the snowfall.

You can hike your way to Albania following the Via Dinarica track but we can imagine this is not for everyone. Therefor it is good to know that Tirana, the capital, has an international airport but you can also look for flights from nearby airports such as Ohrid, Corfu and Pristina and then continue your journey on land or take the ferry from Italy.

Health and safety are of high importance to Outdoor Albania. We perform regular audits for all suppliers (accommodations, vehicles, etc.) where we check the safety procedures and do a quality control. Furthermore we train our tour leaders to make sure that they perform their daily standard operational procedures . Additionally we are very proud to have an quality officer in our staff, who has the luck to regularly travel around Albania to do check-ups.

Our small group departure tours are Land Only; the prices do not include your flight, nor transport to and from the airport to hotel. Our set departure tours do not include the airport transfers, if you wish to book an airport transfer, please mention this at your booking form. The price from the airport to Tirana is 30 euro (max 4 pax).

Please make your own way to the starting point of your tour. If you would like us to arrange a transfer for you from the airport to your hotel or from your hotel to the beginning point of the tour, please let us know at booking in your booking form.

Our small group departures are based on twin sharing rooms. We will make sure that you will only share your room with a person of the same sex. In case you want to share your room with a specific persons you know, please let us know at booking.

Children are welcome on our family tours and private departures  However, they should be able to swim.
Children under the age of 18 should be accompanied by an adult.

You can either bring your own bike, or rent a bike from us.

A rental bike cost 15 euros per day

We alsways use a support vehicle to carry the luggage.

In principle our cycling tours are for fit people who have some experience with cycling. Most of our tours have a transfer to the beginning point and a transfer to the end point. However, we also have some space ( up to 4 places) in the support vehicle for people who decide to not hop on the bike.

Unfortunately, we do not have small bikes and therefore children need to be big enough for an adult bike. The min age for set departure tours is 18.
If you wish to do a private cycling tour with your family, while bringing the bikes for the kids, we are happy to make the arrangements, necessarily.

Children are welcome on our family tours and private departures  However, they should be able to swim.
Children under the age of 18 should be accompanied by an adult.

Breathable light-weight waterproof gear (gore-tex, sympatex, etc), fleece/wool pullover, wind-stopper jacket and gloves, small backpack with rain coverage, cap, sun block, mosquito repellent, headlamp, hiking poles, water bottle, sunglasses.

Breathable light-weight waterproof gear (gore-tex, sympatex, etc), fleece/wool pullover, wind-stopper jacket and gloves, small backpack with rain coverage, cap, sun block, mosquito repellent, headlamp, hiking poles, water bottle, sunglasses.

Children joining our hiking tours should have experience with hiking. Children under 18 should be accompanied by an adult. Please let us know your and your children hiking experience at booking.

We try to direct our tours with overnights in a guesthouse. This will give you a real experience, while staying with the locals, and will bring a direct economic benefit to the guesthouse owners in rural Albania. Depending on where the overnight is, we also use family run hotels, 4 and 5 star hotels and tents.

You can either bring your own bike, or rent a bike from us.

A rental bike cost 15 euros per day

We alsways use a support vehicle to carry the luggage.

In principle our cycling tours are for fit people who have some experience with cycling. Most of our tours have a transfer to the beginning point and a transfer to the end point. However, we also have some space ( up to 4 places) in the support vehicle for people who decide to not hop on the bike.

Unfortunately, we do not have small bikes and therefore children need to be big enough for an adult bike. The min age for set departure tours is 18.
If you wish to do a private cycling tour with your family, while bringing the bikes for the kids, we are happy to make the arrangements, necessarily.

All the suggested tours on this website can also be run privately on nearly any date (depending on availability). A private tour is most suited if our small group departure dates do not fit with your available dates, if you do not want to travel with other people, or if you want extra flexibility and a personal touch in your private tour.

You can book the itineraries exactly as they are described including the airport transfers, or the tour can be extended or shortened to suit your travel requirements. Based on your itinerary wishes and the amount of persons joining your group we will give you a price quote on request.

This is a less fun, but nevertheless a necessary part of preparing your holiday. When you booked a small group departure or a private tour we offer you the following two possibilities:

• Payment of an online deposit of 20% of the tour price + 4.5% service charge (over the deposit payment), via our secure online credit card payment. system and pay the remaining amount at our Tirana office prior to departure.
• Payment of the total amount due through bank transfer with all transfer an wiring casts borne by the sender, no later than 14 days following receipt of the OA invoice by the customers. For the avoidance of doubt, the transferred amount ought to have reached the OA bank account within 14 days from the receipt of invoice by the customers. The customers shall send OA a copy of the bank transfer by email.

Outdoor Albania reserves the right to alter the prices of any tours shown in our brochure and/or website. But don’t worry; the definitive price will be communicated with you before booking. Once your tour is booked the price is set and will not change according to tax rises, fuel prices etc.

With our scheduled departures we might not have enough participants to depart, in which case we will inform you about the small group supplement. At this point, you can either decide to cancel your participation or you can join our tour.

This rafting tracks are classified as Wild Water II – III (flat running water with small waves). Difficulty level is moderate. As such, it does not present particular hazards for navigation. Our expert guides and specialize equipment guarantee a trip in full safety.

No, previous experience is not required. The guide on board will teach passengers the basics of paddling that are needed for the trip. This level of rafting is open to any skill level, even first-timers and children age 12+

Yes. Although the life jacket (pfd) will not let the person go under water, swimming or flotation capacities are good reinforcement.

Our specialized equipment provides good protection against cold. However, everybody is different and some may experience a bit of chill.

Children are welcome to join this trip from 12 years and up and should know how to swim. Children under 18 should be accompanied by an adult. Participants bringing children are requested to contact OA before booking, as there are a limited number of places for children. Children up to 14 years, get a 10 Euro discount of the adult price. If you wish to join with children younger than 12, please contact us.

No, previous experience is not required. This level of river hiking is open to any skill level, first-timers and children age 12+ are welcome to join. However, there are some parts where you have to swim, therfore you can not join this trip if you can not swim.

Yes. Although the life jacket (pfd) will not let the person go under water, swimming or flotation capacities are good reinforcement.

Our specialized equipment provides good protection against cold. However, everybody is different and some may experience a bit of chill.

Children are welcome to join this trip, but they should know how to swim. Children under 18 should be accompanied by an adult.

In order to join our seakayaking tours you have to be able to swim.

Participants on our seakayaking  tours are advised to bring (water-proof ) hats, swimming gear, drinking water, a towel, a pair of shorts to avoid sunburns in the kayak, sun screen and a pair of (water-proof) shoes. (no flip flops).

A small group departure with Outdoor Albania means that you will travel on a pre-set departure date with a group of international travellers, guided by a local English speaking tour leader. You can join these groups as an individual, a couple, a family, a group of friends or with whom else you wish to travel. Joining a group is a great way to explore Albania at a lower cost and to also meet like-minded people along the way.

How small are these groups, you might think? It depends on what kind of tour but generally we already depart with a minimum of three people and we go up to a maximum of 15 participants.

It depends on each tour what is included and what not. This information can be found in the tour details. Departure dates for each tour are indicated on the calendar on the right side of the tour page.

Our small group departure tours are Land Only; the prices do not include your flight, nor transport to and from the airport to hotel. Our set departure tours do not include the airport transfers, if you wish to book an airport transfer, please mention this at your booking form. The price from the airport to Tirana is 30 euro (max 4 pax).

Please make your own way to the starting point of your tour. If you would like us to arrange a transfer for you from the airport to your hotel or from your hotel to the beginning point of the tour, please let us know at booking in your booking form.

Our small group departures are based on twin sharing rooms. We will make sure that you will only share your room with a person of the same sex. In case you want to share your room with a specific persons you know, please let us know at booking.

When staying in hotels you will share a double room with someone of the same gender. A single room is also possible but will require a supplement. In guesthouses you will stay with multiple people in one room, in this case it is rarely possible to have a single room.

You can check our departure dates and see what departures are guaranteed or contact us for further information. 6 weeks prior to departure we will let you know if there are enough participants to run the tour, in case there are not enough participants you can either choose to cancel or pay a small group supplement.

This is a less fun, but nevertheless a necessary part of preparing your holiday. When you booked a small group departure or a private tour we offer you the following two possibilities:

• Payment of an online deposit of 20% of the tour price + 4.5% service charge (over the deposit payment), via our secure online credit card payment. system and pay the remaining amount at our Tirana office prior to departure.
• Payment of the total amount due through bank transfer with all transfer an wiring casts borne by the sender, no later than 14 days following receipt of the OA invoice by the customers. For the avoidance of doubt, the transferred amount ought to have reached the OA bank account within 14 days from the receipt of invoice by the customers. The customers shall send OA a copy of the bank transfer by email.

Outdoor Albania reserves the right to alter the prices of any tours shown in our brochure and/or website. But don’t worry; the definitive price will be communicated with you before booking. Once your tour is booked the price is set and will not change according to tax rises, fuel prices etc.

With our scheduled departures we might not have enough participants to depart, in which case we will inform you about the small group supplement. At this point, you can either decide to cancel your participation or you can join our tour.

We expect our travelers to be realistic about their own capabilities. Not only for your own safety and well being but also for the safety and well being of the other group members. Furthermore we expect our participants to be on time to make sure the group can remain on time schedule. Additionally we expect participants to report any personal or mutual problems to the tour leader as he or she is responsible for the group’s well being.

Our small group departure tours are Land Only; the prices do not include your flight, nor transport to and from the airport to hotel. Our set departure tours do not include the airport transfers, if you wish to book an airport transfer, please mention this at your booking form. The price from the airport to Tirana is 30 euro (max 4 pax).

Please make your own way to the starting point of your tour. If you would like us to arrange a transfer for you from the airport to your hotel or from your hotel to the beginning point of the tour, please let us know at booking in your booking form.

Our small group departures are based on twin sharing rooms. We will make sure that you will only share your room with a person of the same sex. In case you want to share your room with a specific persons you know, please let us know at booking.