Off-road trips in Alba­nia — wild and rug­ged — ori­gi­nal and cul­tu­ral.

The tour starts from the resort of Shko­dra near Koplik in the north, towards our first desti­na­tion, Theth Natio­nal Park. After visi­ting the magni­fi­cent Theth Val­ley sur­roun­ded by some of Alba­nia’s hig­hest moun­ta­ins (where we will spend the first night), we drive a stre­nuous but beau­tiful 50km rocky road south to com­plete the clock­wise round trip of Alba­nia to con­ti­nue.

Our next big attrac­tion is Lura Natio­nal Park in north-eas­tern Alba­nia, known for its magni­fi­cent moun­tain lakes. After dri­ving through Lura we con­ti­nue towards Pesh­kopi and then on to Shabenik-Jabla­nice Natio­nal Park, per­haps the most beau­tiful in the eas­tern part of the coun­try, with some the hig­hest gla­cial lakes in Alba­nia. This is a point where we will begin a very impres­sive zig­zag ride through the cen­tral part of the coun­try.

The second part, through the moun­ta­ins of sou­thern Alba­nia, will be no less impres­sive, taking the defi­ni­tion of wil­der­ness and off-road chal­lenges to a whole new level. Sou­thern Alba­nia also offers many nota­ble high­lights, such as the Tomor­rica and seve­ral other river bed trails, the old town of Vosko­poje or the ther­mal springs of Benja. The tour ends after 10 days of camping/hotel on a magni­fi­cent beach of the Ionian Sea. Those who arri­ved via Dur­res Port will need around 2 hours of good coas­tal roads to return to the ferry on the final day, while others can enjoy a lon­ger stay by the sea if they have more free time after the tour.

In these 10 days we will ride through land­scapes of breath­ta­king beauty, on some­ti­mes chal­len­ging trails that stretch across vast unin­ha­bi­ted areas. We will cross seve­ral rivers on our way, drive through sandy river­banks as well as con­quer some very rocky moun­tain trails. We will navi­gate muddy trails deep in the anci­ent forests of the sou­thern Bal­kans. Throug­hout the tour we camp in remote wil­der­ness areas, far from any civi­liza­tion, free from rest­ric­tions and ran­gers. The dyna­mic, ever-chan­ging land­scapes make this tour a true off-road adven­ture gua­ran­teed to be an over­lan­der’s dream come true!

During the tour we will sleep in beau­tiful natu­ral camp­si­tes in total wil­der­ness, often near rivers, streams or lakes. Our average arri­val time at the camp­site is around 17:00 and mor­ning depar­ture time will be around 9:00. Alt­hough these are wild and remote areas, the risk of wild­life is only theo­re­ti­cal, so you can camp with peace of mind and not need addi­tio­nal shel­ter. Howe­ver, it is advi­sa­ble to bring warm clot­hing and warm qua­lity slee­ping bags as tem­pe­ra­tures in the high moun­ta­ins can drop into the sin­gle digits at night even in sum­mer (we will often be cam­ping above 1000m). To make cam­ping more con­ve­ni­ent, you should have fol­ding tables and chairs, as well as food coo­king equip­ment, por­ta­ble ref­ri­ge­ra­tor (12V), etc. Twice during the tour we will sleep in dis­creet, remote hotels. We will stop every 2–4 days of the tour to resup­ply food and fuel (when­ever our route pas­ses a major city). Par­ti­ci­pants usually prepare their own food during the tour, but occa­sio­nally there will be the oppor­tu­nity to eat at restau­rants.

This trip is Sui­ta­ble for off-road vehic­les and SUVs with suf­fi­ci­ent ground cle­arance. At least all-ter­rain tires. Pick­ups with cabin only by arran­ge­ment.