Wild Frontiers

Flight Information

Flight time to Bucharest from London is 3:00hrs, with British Airways.

Useful Tips

• Spend some time on some of the most unspoilt beaches on the Mediterranean, like Greece but without the crowds!

• Like many countries in this region, a drink of Raki is always on offer. The Raki here is made out of grapes and is delicious, if a little strong!

• Albania is rich history, learn about the likes of King Zog, Skanderbeg and Enver Hoxha to give context to this fascinating country.

• If horse trekking take a copy of Byron's account of his trip on horseback through the mountains - 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'

• Visit Butrint, one of the world's archeological wonders - and a UNESCO World Heritage site

Recommended Reading

If you want to read up on your destination we recommend a variety of guidebooks such as the Bradt Guide, Odyssey Guides, The Rough Guide and Footprint Guides. All these publications have good general information as well as more specific country information that will help orientate you in the areas you visit.

Good books and maps of Albania are available at Stanfords in Covent Garden, London or online at www.stanfords.co.uk

Relevant Reading:
Land of Eagles: Riding Through Europe's Forgotten Country, by Robin Hanbury-Tenison describes the journey he and his wife took as they set out on horseback to discover the true nature of Albania and its wilderness that so inspired Byron.

The Accursed Mountains: Journeys in Albania by Robert Carver is the story about how he travelled Albania often as the first outsider to visit villages since 1933, observing the hermetically sealed environment set away from the rest of the world. On his journey Robert Carver crosses paths with Vlach shepherds, ex-Communist Special Forces officers, missionaries with jeeps and light planes and juvenile heroin smugglers while travelling by bus, on foot, by mule and horse staying with Albanians along the way.

When To Go

Albania has a variety of climatic conditions, being situated in the transition zone between the typical Mediterranean climate in the west and the moderate continental in the east. The average annual temperature is 15°C (59°F). Rainy winters (with frequent cyclones) and dry, hot summers are typical of the coastal plain. Summer rainfall is more frequent and winters colder in the mountainous interior. Annual precipitation ranges from about 100 cm (40 in) on the coast to more than 250 cm (100 in) in the mountains.

Packing List

Below is a list of general items you might take with you on a Wild Frontiers trip to Albania. With your booking confirmation you will receive a packing list specific to your tour, so please treat this as a general guideline only.

Luggage:
It is best to use a soft bag - rucksack/hold-all/duffel bag - so it can be transported and stored more easily.

On all our trips a small daypack is practical for keeping general items (e.g. camera, books, wallets etc.) at hand when your main pack is out of reach. It is also handy for day trips and excursions.

Clothing:
In general you should bring clothes you feel comfortable with, therefore as a guide we suggest a packing list like this:
• 3 x Light cotton shirts or T-shirts, short sleeved and long.
• 2/3 pairs of cotton trousers. If preferred, women can wear dresses and skirts
• 1x pair of shorts
• 2 x Lightweight jumpers or sweatshirts
• Good quality fleece or warm jumper
• Warm jacket
• Set of lightweight waterproofs
• Change of clothing for the evenings
• An extra “outfit” if you’d like to dress up a bit on occasion
• Gloves
• Sun hat or cap
• Women should have a headscarf for church visits
• Swim suit or trunks
• Pair of recreational shoes, adventure sandals, trainers or pumps

Equipment:
The following is useful extra equipment for your trip:
• Sleeping bag " 2 season
• Travel towel, travel soap and toiletries
• Flip flops/sandals for bathrooms
• Sleeping bag liner (cotton or silk)
• Torch (LED head-torch keeps your hands free)
• A bandanna or large handkerchief is useful for dusty tracks
• Pair of good quality sunglasses
• Water bottle
• Plug adapter

Personal First Aid Kit:
While we do carry a large medical kit on all our group tours, we would advise that you take some of the basics with you. This should include:
• Any prescription medication required (please inform the tour leader at your pre-departure meeting about these)
• Antibacterial dry hand wash
• Painkillers: paracetamol & ibuprofen
• Rehydration salts (Gastrolyte)
• Travel motion-sickness tablets if required (e.g. natural ginger tablets)
• Diarrhoea remedies
• Antihistamines
• Cold/flu decongestants
• Mosquito Repellent
• Insect bite cream
• Laxatives
• Plasters/Bandage/Steri-Strips/Blister pads
• Sunscreen (30+ factor)
• Moisturiser/after sun cream/lip balm
• Contact lenses and solution if required
• Tweezers

(A kit with most of this in is available at www.nomadtravel.co.uk)

Optional Extras:
• Ear plugs (if sharing a room / camping)
• Alarm clock
• 3-4 plastic carrier bags are very useful for dirty washing, dirty shoes and rubbish
• Binoculars
• Small packs of tissues
• Money belt or secure pouch for money and passport etc.
• Eye patches if light affects your sleep
• Sewing kit/scissors
• Writing materials
• Spare batteries/camera memory cards
• Swiss Army knife
• Universal bath plug
• Lyons coffee bags if you cannot survive without ‘proper’ coffee.

NB: If you wear glasses, it is advisable to bring a spare pair since opticians are rare. If you wear contact lenses you may find that climatic changes and dust can create visual irritation, therefore, it is advisable to bring a pair of glasses.

You might be tempted to buy a few souvenirs here and there, so leave a little room for those extra purchases!!

Hand Luggage:
Although it is very rare that luggage goes missing on flights, it has been known to happen and so it’s a good idea to carry a spare top, toothbrush, wash kit, underwear and any other essentials in your hand luggage so that you can at least freshen up while waiting for your bags to catch you up. If you wear your sturdy shoes/boots it will also reduce weight in your luggage and keep them safe.

Practical Information

Time:
Albania is 1hr ahead of GMT.

A useful website to check the time zone differences is www.worldtimezone.com

Food and Alcohol:
Albania’s location and occupational history would naturally affirm itself to a Mediterranean style cuisine. The main meal of the Albanians is lunch which is usually accompanied by a salad of fresh vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and olives with oil. The salad will usually include a main dish of vegetables and meat. Seafood specialities are available within the coastal towns and in the high altitude areas smoked meat and pickling is very common.

Electricity:
Those bringing video & digital cameras that require battery chargers should also bring a two-pin, continental style adapter. In most hotels you can charge from the mains using a travel adaptor plug.

Money:
The currency in Albania is the Albanian Lek.

To check out the latest exchange rate for the places that you are visiting you can go to www.oanda.com
A few points to help you plan:
• Payments are mainly made in cash.
• Only the few large hotels and banks accept credit cards
• ATM machines are available within the cities, be sure to notify your bank before you travel.
• The favourite currencies are US dollars and Euros for exchanging.
• It is useful to bring lots of small denomination notes.

Language & Religion:
Albanian is the dominant and official language, a revised and merged form of the two dialects, Gheg and Tosk. The Shkumbin River splits these two dialects at the country’s midline with north being Gheg and in the south speaking Tosk.

The most common religions practiced within Albania are Islam and Christianity.

Cultural Sensitivity:
On our tours we frequently interact with local people, each with their own distinct customs and traditions. We therefore ask you to be considerate and to treat them with respect. Your tour leader will be able to advise you accordingly.

At Wild Frontiers we are very aware of the ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures. We realise that taking a group of tourists through such a region can have a negative impact on the lives of those who live there and on all our tours we therefore go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive…after all, there are also many good things that the tourist can bring.

To help this process we ask that our clients do not hand out pens or sweets to children. As one sign in Egypt emphatically put it, ‘Please don't make beggars out of our children!' No matter how well intentioned, in our opinion the dolling out of free gifts fosters a ‘beggar mentality' that is ultimately extremely destructive to a society. In addition we do not condone giving out money to beggars or ‘students'.

However, we also realise that we are exceptionally privileged to be travelling in areas where most of the people have far less than us and that the desire to ‘help' can be very powerful. As a result we ask that you refer to your trip dossier for information on the Wild Frontiers Foundation which supports specific projects in the areas where we travel.

Photography:
Please remember, we are guests in the countries through which we travel and we may sometimes inadvertently cause offence by taking photographs without first asking permission.

Also many countries have very strict rules about taking photos of army, police or any official personnel; restrictions apply at borders, bridges and any government building. Please exercise care in this regard as the penalty may be to have your film and/or camera confiscated.