Bike Tour Reviews UNESCO Sites Of Albania
- Albania
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Holland
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Montenegro
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Scotland
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United States
- Vietnam
- Wales
Guided from EUR € 1390
Self guided from EUR € 990
Description:
The highlights of this magical bike tour include three UNESCO sites, snow-capped mountains, inviting beaches on the Albanian Riviera, a genuine, untouched subsistence culture, and exceptionally friendly local people. Some say that visiting Albania is as…
-
★★★★★ MB 2 days agoAlbania welcomes you!
This was an enjoyable ride with some absolutely gorgeous mountain ranges and coastlines. There are no bike baths on this ride except for the first day. The rest of the time you are on roads with varying degrees of vehicle traffic. Rarely a car in sight in the country but they are constant along the coast and towns. Accommodations were relatively modest but clean. If you are looking for 4 star hotels and amenities it won't be on this trip. Every lodge had a continental breakfast, some were definitely better than others. The visit to the monastery of St. Naum was worth the extra ride the first day. 2nd day ride to Korçë was decent not overwhelming. However, thanks to a tip from Lilliana at the Hotel we had dinner at a delicious steak house called "Repulika". Off a little side street with not so great signage. Best meal of the whole trip. The best part of the day 3 ride to Sotire was the last 3 or 4 mile climb up into the forest. The cabins were a treat and being way out in the country was delightful. The ride to Permet was when the mountains came into full view. Beautiful ride. Would recommend riding to the Stone Bridge to check out the thermal pools which are about 4 miles past the lodging. The word thermal is a misnomer. If you have time, take a long walk past the bridge up through the canyon to get away from the crowd around the bridge. The ride to Gjirokaster was manageable and relatively car free. However when getting closer to town the vehicle traffic increased. Gjirokaster is a pretty touristy enclave. The castle is worth the visit if only for the views. Sarande & Himare were beautiful seaside towns. Sarande was larger and had more bustle to it. If you are planning a layover day you can take a day ferry over to Corfu. We prefered Himare, but the city center was a short bike ride from the hotel. All in all I would recommend this trip. It had a great range of topography from farmlands to forest to mountains to coastlines. I would highly recommend an ebike unless you are in superior shape. No fun pedaling with your head down for hours on end. Do your work outs at home. You're on vacation! Go now because in 10 years this will be a very different country
- What was the date of your tour?
- September
- How many tours have you completed?
- 9
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from bozena_kusovac October 10, 2025
Thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful review — it’s a wonderful overview of the trip! We completely agree with your advice: now is the perfect time to visit, as the region is developing rapidly and will surely look very different ten years from now.
-
★★★★★ Kirsten T 5 days ago
Wonderful biking trip
Amazing way to explore Albania. We were self-guided, but the guides were helpful in ensuring communicating with us to ensure that our luggage was being transported. Hotels ranged greatly in quality, some were great, all were adequate. Location of hotels was great as well. Bikes were great quality and had no issues (one flat tire). Biking was on roads, some were quite busy. Would have been nice to have more off road biking, but I'm not sure that Albania has those facilities. First bike tour for all of us, and I would definitely do more.
-
★★★★★ Apurva M 5 days ago
Biking in beautiful Albania
Just an absolutely fantastic trip. The arrangements, hotels, meals were all immaculate
Tani and Teri, who were our guides, were fantastic..
As a vegetarian, no problem with food at all
Highly highly recommend this trip! -
★★★★★ Chris M 1 week ago
Take us back
Felt like we were able to see many different parts of the country and you can’t beat traveling by bike. The tour companies were great to work with as we had some travel challenges to work around. Inland the roads were scenic and quiet for riding, while the coast was stunning.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2025
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Susan 2 weeks ago
Experience Albania
This was the perfect way to see and learn about Albania. Our guide, Juli, was knowledgeable and enthuastic about his country and shared his love of Albania throughtout the tour. His leadership style was inclusive and entertaining as each individual became a valuable member of our cycling group. The tour covered varied terrains that included open countryside, orchards, mountain view vistas and shoreline. We were rewarded with delicious family style meals that were fresh and authentic to Albania.
This was a lifetime experience!-
BikeTours.com staff reply from bozena_kusovac September 26, 2025
Hi Susan,
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful feedback! We’re so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the tour, the beautiful landscapes, and Juli’s guidance. Moments like yours are honestly the best part of our jobs!
Bozena
-
-
★★★★★ Paul G 3 weeks ago
First bike trip ever
I did the unguided tour with a friend of mine. This tour was a fantastic way to discover the wonderful country of Albania. The Albanian people that we met were warm and welcoming, and the scenery was awesome. I did the tour with an e-bike and the level of difficulty was quite manageable. I don't think I would have been able to do this tour without the e-bike assistance, although we did meet some people who did the tour without e-bikes. The hotels we stayed in, while not first class, were quite comfortable and well located. The trip was well organized and went smoothly.
We had a fantastic time!- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the 1st one.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Nadine Janssens 3 weeks ago
Beautiful nature
Very nice scenery
Hotels at the coast were nice
We recomment the trip for nature not for gastronomy
Breakfast was difficult to eat- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 40
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Kim H. 1 month ago
Beauty on the Bicycle
From start to finish, our guides Tani and Tani made it a memorable worry free vacation! We tried so many ethnic foods and the 3 meals were substantial and delicious each day. The e-biking was breathtaking with beauty and maybe some cows, donkeys or sheep around a corner.
Riding through the countryside was like stepping back in time with children saying hello from their front yards and the farmers working in their fields.
The UNESCO sites were interesting and informational.
Each turn was a new view with valleys, mountains and beautiful blue water. The routes were safe with our guides letting us know when traffic would be busier on roads. I was happy to have an e-bike with the elevation and knowing I could make this trip as easy or hard as I wanted.
Lodging was very nice with one of my favorite days was staying at a farm in the countryside. If you are thinking about this trip, book it.
The journey through Albania is the reward!- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Robert Guilmette 3 months ago
I really enjoyed the UNESCO sites of Albania Tour.
The route was scenic. The food was delicious and plentiful. The accommodations were very nice comfortable. And the guides were great. I really enjoyed the trip! Awesome job bike tours!
Rob
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 30th - July 9th
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ James Black 3 months ago
Bike Tour that Exceeded Expectations
The scenery, roads, countryside was stunning. Our guide, Julian, was friendly and knowledgeable and catered for our every need.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2025
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Jeffrey S. 3 months ago
Albania Adventure
I'll start off by saying that overall I had a great trip. However, there were several things that were a disappointment. Starting with the good-the route, the scenery, and the group of people I was with were wonderful. The bad-the guide and the total number of people on the trip. The guide gave virtually no instructions when we first got our bikes. He spent a fair amount of time in the van rather than biking. He spent more time with his "assistant" (who was clearly his girlfriend) than he spent with guests. Except for in one city, he offered virtually no insight into the Albanian culture of the areas we visited. As for the number of people, there were 20 of us on the guided tour and there were another 8 people on the self-guided tour. The self-guided people stayed in the same hotels as us and that caused, on several occasions for the group of 20 to be split up into different hotels. One night in particular, our group was not only split up into two hotels, but I stayed in a separate house (hardly a hotel-more like a hostel) by myself. It was a very uncomfortable night. Had there been fewer than 28 people in total (guided plus self guided) on the trip, this would not have likely happened. Notwithstanding the above, I had a very good time but I chalk it up to the 19 other travelers in my guided group and the beautiful countryside we saw. One last thing-if you are not a seasoned cyclist-use an e-bike on this trip. Some of the hills are killers.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Mary O 4 months ago
Great trip through Southern Albania
I thoroughly enjoyed the UNESCO Sites of Albania cycling tour. Our guide Andrea was awesome! He was very eager to share his knowledge of Albania, its culture and history. He was also very friendly, helpful and supportive of tour participants. The hotels and restaurants were all good, food was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the two nights that we spent at local guest houses up in the mountains: family run and very friendly, with amazing local fresh food. The bicycles they provided were in good condition. The sag van driver and mechanic Rimi was great. He promptly and skillfully addressed any mechanical issues with the bicycles and was very supportive of any riders who needed to ride some sections in the van.
My only criticism of the tour is that communication prior to the trip was minimal. Also, though not my personal experience, some of the other participants had been given misleading information about the difficulty of the trip from TO's administrative staff prior to the trip.
Overall, I would highly recommend this trip! -
-
★★★★★ Belinda 5 months ago
A wonderful trip
We had a wonderful trip our guide Roxan was fantastic, very attentive and helpful. The route was very good, with not too much traffic. Our hotels were generally good and the food was excellent. We had a great trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- April 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- One
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Deborah Davis 5 months ago
Perfectly curated
We were self guided and had changed the itinerary by adding a few rest days along the way. As we were not part of a group we were initially worried that me might get forgotten (and bags not forwarded etc) but every detail was taken care of and the support was completely reliable and comprehensive. This allowed us to just enjoy the trip. Albania was an absolute delight in every way; scenery, people, culture and the route was perfectly curated to show the best of all of this.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from jan May 20, 2025
Thanks for the lovely review and fantastic photos. My mother took this trip late last year and spoke of it much the same. Thank you for traveling with us!
Cheers,
Jan
-
★★★★★ JBR 5 months ago
Wonderful trip. Great sampling of Albanian mountains, farms and coast.
Wonderful to start in Tirana, then see the rural part of Albania and finish on the coast. I enjoyed the stays at the organic farm and the guest house especially.
The local historical tours done at some of our stays were good for hitting the highlights of their significance. They were neither too long or too short.
The guides were fantastic. They did a nice job of allowing everyone to go at a pace that was comfortable for them. They were very patient about answering questions about Albania's history, current challenges and daily life.
The accommodations were always clean and comfortable. Some were very nice, others more humble but were always clean and functional.
The food was plentiful! They really focused on trying to serve traditional Albanian dishes particular to that region. Two nights we were free to eat at local restaurants so those who wanted to get a pizza or non-Albanian food could do so then.
I feel the level of difficulty was accurately described. Unless you are an experienced cyclist you would not want to do this without an e-bike. There were several people who did not ride much and did just fine on e-bikes. For those on regular bikes (non e-bikes) it was a manageable ride. There was always a break in the morning for coffee, then again for lunch and then finishing the ride. This really helped make the rides manageable.
I consider myself a moderate rider typically doing 50 miles per week with about 3000-4000 elevation gain total. So this tour was a moderate challenge but very doable.
My wife and I had previously done only DIY trips and this was our first supported, guided experience. It was nice to not worry about navigation, where to stay or where to eat. All in all, it was a wonderful trip that I would recommend highly.- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6 including DIY
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Monica 5 months ago
Beautiful trip
This tour showed off some amazing countryside, scenic vistas and quiet roads in Albania that many visitors would not otherwise see. Our driver Roxhens was really enthusiastic, supportive and went to great lengths to help us out even when it wasn’t part of his job (on an unguided tour).
- What was the date of your tour?
- April 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ James S 6 months ago
Great trip
Great trip. Scenery is amazing. From high mountains to the sea! Most roads were low traffic (except in towns). The last day had a bit more traffic on the climb but wasn’t too bad. (When the tunnel opens there will be less automobile traffic)There is definitely a lot of climbing (some steep - 10%). So consider an e-bike unless you’re an avid cyclist. Food was good. No problems as a vegetarian. Hotels were good. No problems (a couple were really luxurious).
- What was the date of your tour?
- April 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
