Highlights of Albania

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

During the many years of communist rule Albania was cut off from the outside world, but now times have changed and it’s proving to be a popular destination for visitors looking to experience untouched countryside vistas, visit ancient sites and swim in the crystal clear coastal waters. Our trip is designed to gain an insight into this fascinating land and to experience the wide variety of sights it has to offer.To help reduce the level of pollution within the urban centres, the sightseeing tours we operate are mostly done on foot, which is also a great way of seeing all they have to offer first hand. When coaches are being used for these small group trips we keep the size of the coach to a minimum, so rather than using gas guzzling 40-50 seaters we opt for smaller coaches.

As a travel company we are acutely aware of our impact on the environment. All of our tours display a carbon footprint, and we strive to reduce our emissions by regularly reviewing our tours and embracing low-impact styles of travel such as trains, public buses or walking – which offer the added benefit of getting a closer connection with the destination and local community.


ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

On this trip we have a balance of time spent in the towns and cities and also out exploring the beautiful scenery on foot, such as hiking in the Llogora Park and walking up to Leusa Village to visit the church. During our walks our Tour Leaders will explain about the local fauna and flora and also village life and customs, and about the importance of safeguarding these for future generations. We will visit Butrint, which is one of the great archaeological sites in the Balkans. By visiting Butrint we are helping to fund the ongoing work to conserve this important historical site.

Our local agent in Albania also feels passionately about operating responsibly, and they have their own sustainable tourism pact, which includes ways that they minimise the amount of waste and plastic used and the importance of using local suppliers, they also have an animal welfare policy and support a number of local projects that benefit the communities where they operate trips. Recently they received the Golden Bee Award for Touristic Entrepreneurship Excellency from the Albanian Government. They were chosen due to the great work they do to help make Tirana a greener capital. They’ve done this by planting new trees and promoting cycling, green energies and recycling practices.

We strive to support nature and biodiversity through protection and regeneration projects, and for every customer that travels with us we make a donation to Rewilding Britain and Cool Earth.We encourage all customers to take a reusable water bottle with them when travelling which helps to reduce the number of plastic bottles. Along the routes we take on this trip there are plenty of fresh, good quality water sources to make good use of your reusable bottle.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

This cultural tour is focus on traditions of Albania. We use a local Tour Leader and guides on this trip who know the country very well and who will help to give us a unique insight into the history, customs, culture and folklore of Albania and get us that bit closer to the local people. As we travel around we stay mainly in local, family run hotels and eat out in small restaurants which brings direct economic benefits to the communities we visit. During the tour we enjoy two included traditional homemade lunches with local families. At Pellumbus Guesthouse with the Duqi family and in Dhkosat village we meet the family and explore their farm, tasting their fresh honey and learning about the local wine production.

Our leaders are the heart of tours. They bring passion and unrivalled knowledge of the destinations and communities that we visit. Their guidance ensures we observe the cultural norms in a destination, they act as a bridge between travellers and the local community and ensure that tourism is a positive experience for both host and guest. We believe in supporting local; staying in locally-run hotels, exploring markets, buying snacks from street vendors, and by doing this we add money to the local economy and enhance our connection with the local community.

Our Albanian tour leaders are real facilitators, enabling us to meet and mix with the locals wherever possible – all the more fun when we are travelling off the beaten track. They take us to small, locally owned and run restaurants wherever possible throughout the trip and take advantage of numerous opportunities to support local businesses by visiting local cafes, supporting historical churches and cultural sites. This ensures that small businesses benefit from our visit, and that we enjoy a very authentic experience.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY & DIVERSITY

All our local guides in Albania are passionate and proud of their country, ensuring an authentic and insightful experience as they share their expertise and personal anecdotes for the region throughout our journey. One of our guides is also the first tourist guide in Albania starting during the communist time and has been working with Explore for many years, nowadays his two sons are also guiding for the company.

Our ground operations on this holiday are taken care of by a small Albanian company not a large company. Our ground agent contacts the hotels directly and all other services used on this trip to make sure as much money as possible goes back to the local economy. The owner lives in Tirana and is passionate about his county and outdoor activities. He helped developing many hiking trails around the country and was one of the pioneers of rafting on the Vjosa River.

On this tour, we also only using smaller hotels not part of big chains and contributing to the local economy with employees getting a fair wage and excellent work environment.