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When we first started planning our Balkan itinerary, the number of places we wanted to visit was overwhelming. We hoped to explore Albania over multiple days, but found ourselves running out of time. We knew we wanted to spend time in Montenegro, so we decided to look into available day tours from Kotor to Albania. We ended up on quite the memorable adventure!
How to get there
After a lot of searching and comparing, we booked the Food Experience Tour through Montenegro Hostel for 60 euros per person. Although it wasn’t a smooth experience from start to finish, I would recommend the tour for the reasons I’ll explain below.
Another option is to book your own rental car and drive yourself. The roads were in good shape and the driving laws seemed pretty straightforward. If I were traveling alone or with a friend, that’s what I would probably have done. Just be sure to tell the rental agency that you’ll be driving across the border into Albania. There is a special green tag you must put on your car.
You can also rent a car using Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase Travel Portal.
The tour begins
Our tour included round trip transportation from Kotor to Albania, and three stops in Albania – Rozafa Castle, the city of Shkoder, and an agrotourism restaurant.
We woke early in Kotor to meet our driver, Marko. I was disappointed by the size of the vehicle considering the number of hours we would be spending in it. My husband was in the front seat with Marko. The kids and I squeezed in, three across, in the small back seat.
We drove for around three hours before crossing the border into Albania. The crossing went smoothly with no issues at all.
Rozafa Castle
Rozafa Castle was our first stop in northern Albania. This is a really interesting site, first used as a fortress as early as the third century BCE. It was fortified over the years and the walls that currently stand are Venetian. The views surrounding the castle are very beautiful.
There’s an Albanian legend passed down through the years regarding the initial construction of the castle. The legend goes like this: three brothers were building the castle, but the walls kept falling down every day after they built them. Then they met an old man who told them the solution — bury one of their wives in the walls. The three brothers all agreed not to tell their wives their plan and to bury whichever wife showed up at the castle first.
The older brothers betrayed their pledge and told their wives not to come to the castle. The youngest brother did not tell his wife, Rozafa, and she showed up at the worksite. Even though she had a baby at home, she agreed to be walled in but asked for holes to be left in the wall so she could continue to feed her baby.
According to the legend, although it was a tough sacrifice, it made the castle stand strong and ensured her son’s future greatness. Rozafa’s story is interpreted to show the importance of love, sacrifice, and keeping promises. To me, it seems like Rozafa got a pretty bad deal!
City of Shkoder, Albania
Marko drove us into the city of Shkoder and dropped us off at a city park. We walked around and looked at the public art, then stopped into a coffee shop. Shkoder is not a touristy city at all, and when it became clear we didn’t speak Albanian, we attracted interest from the other coffee patrons.
One man in the coffee shop spoke English and came over to ask us about our travels. He was kind and interesting and helped act as an interpreter for the other interested people who wanted to ask us questions. We really enjoyed the interactions in the coffee shop and the curiosity we all had for each other.
Mrizi i Zanave Agrotourism Restaurant
Our final stop was a unique farm to table restaurant. Everything they make comes directly from the surrounding farm and the menu rotates seasonally.
We went into the experience with open minds and big appetites. There were some fun surprises along the way including warm blueberry flavored noodles!
Drive back to Kotor
The drive back to Kotor lasted a little over three hours. It was a long day with a lot of time spent in a cramped car, but it’s also a day we’ve talked about so much since returning home. The prices in Albania are very affordable, which fits well with our travel strategy. I’m very happy we took the day to explore just a bit of Albania and I’d love to come back to this interesting country!