Albania has a reputation as the cheap corner of Europe and it is mostly still true, with one large exception. Food, coffee, alcohol, transport, museum entry and inland accommodation are all a fraction of western European prices and have not moved much. A room on the southern Riviera in August has moved a great deal, because that stretch of coast went from unknown to famous in about a decade and the beds did not multiply as fast as the demand. Knowing which half of that you are in is the whole budget.
What is genuinely cheap
Eating, at every level from a byrek counter to a proper restaurant.
Coffee, absurdly, and it comes with as much time as you want.
Furgons and buses, which cross the country for a few hundred lek.
Museums and sites, including the UNESCO towns and the bunker museums.
Inland accommodation, in Berat, Gjirokaster, Shkoder and the mountains.
Alcohol, whether beer, wine or raki.
What is not
Riviera accommodation in July and August, which is the whole problem.
Sunbeds and beach clubs at the popular beaches.
Restaurants on tourist strips, which charge several times the price two streets back.
Taxis for journeys a furgon covers, particularly from airports.
Car hire in August, if booked late.
Anything priced in euros by the seller rather than in lek.
Where the savings are
Eat two streets back from any promenade or main square.
Byrek and a coffee for breakfast, every day, for almost nothing.
Furgons instead of taxis for anything between towns.
Inland nights rather than coastal ones, when the itinerary allows.
June and September instead of July and August, which is the largest single saving.
Guesthouses with dinner included in the mountains, which are cheaper than eating out.
Practical notes
Cash in small notes for furgons, markets and mountain guesthouses.
Bank machines are common in towns and absent in villages.
Card acceptance is good in Tirana and the coastal towns, patchy elsewhere.
Tipping is appreciated and not obligatory; rounding up is normal.
Free things: the beaches without sunbeds, the mountains, the old towns, the churches.
Water from a shop rather than a restaurant, in summer, which adds up.
Where this fits in an Albania trip
A decision made at booking, mostly, and a set of small habits once you arrive.
For the full picture of what a trip here costs, our Albania travel cost guide covers the numbers.
For the cheapest way to cross the country, our guide to Albanian public transport covers the furgons.
And for keeping your phone working without roaming charges, our guide to SIM cards in Albania covers the options.
The short version
Everything in Albania is cheap except a Riviera room in July and August, so come in June or September if you can and book early if you cannot. Pay in lek rather than euros and always decline the offer to charge your card in your home currency. Eat two streets back from any promenade. Take furgons rather than taxis between towns. Carry cash in small notes for the mountains. And have byrek and a coffee for breakfast, which costs nothing and is the best meal of the day.
