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Based on previous reviews I thought this would be challenging but manageable for my abilities. Some but minimal cycling recently but good fitness base. It was definitely more difficult than some of the reviews suggest in particular day 1 is straight into some tough climbs which I struggled with but for the rest of the days I was able to manage quite well. Slower cyclist in my group-most of them regular cyclists with good speed but they were all super supportive throughout. All in all a great trip with a great support crew and very rewarding to complete the last day 🙂
Completing the last days climbs and the whole trip in general after a tough first day where I doubted my abilities.
Erlis was great-knowledgeable and supportive throughout. Very enthusiastic with his work ensuring everything is perfect.
Interesting, challenging adventure trip mostly in rural Albania with some days on the Ionian coast.
One late afternoon we had a chance to visit the thermal springs of Benji. We had to cross an ancient foot bridge to get to the pool. It was awesome to be in warm waters in the middle of nowhere looking at beautiful pasture and snowy peaks.
This was the only sub-par part of the trip. Our leader biked by himself most of the time, leaving us for ourselves. There was a van support, but it was very behind us, sometimes ahead of us leaving us without support. The leader failed to point out the beauty, the scenery and most of the time the guiding was very superficial, lacked enthusiasm. This was my 3rd trip with Exodus, and the other two trip leaders were so much better.
Make sure to be in good form, the hills are steep. This is not a trip for a beginner.
Albania totally surpassed my expectations. The scenery and cycling was fantastic. Inland its a bit like the Alps and towards the coast it get more like mountainous meditterannean. But the beauty of it is that the roads are really quiet which is just great for cycling. The trip notes had said that some of the accommodation may be a little basic, but this too was a lot better than I was expecting. I think this trip had the best days cycling I’ve had anywhere.
Getting to the end in one piece. Its a 6 day trip. We had 5 glorious days of sunshine, with some big climbs, and on the final day a little rain, which made the roads very slip after a prolonged dry spell. Two of the team had a spill
They were great as usual on all exodus trips. They were from a local company 'Cycle Albania'. Everything was well organised, the bikes were good, and they coped well with a few unexpected events. People could cycle at their own pace and then re-group at specific points.
Not really. The only thing I would say is that I wouldn't go to Albania for a gastronomic experience. There is a lot of really good seafood, always fresh and readily available. Otherwise the food is uninspiring.
A challenging ride through dramatic scenery. Beautiful countryside, friendly people but too many unfinished buildings. The trip was efficiently organised with good back-up and accommodation.
Reaching the top of the 1000m pass on the final day.
Both leaders were excellent.They were well informed and spoke excellent English.
Don't be put off by the mountainous terrain. You can take it at your own pace.
Why would you go to Albania?!? Is what everyone said to me before I did this trip. Well, after coming back I’m telling them they should go because of:
– Amazing scenery. Beautiful mountains, alpine type meadows, some nice beaches along the coast
– Good food. Really nice, simple food. Fresh fish and fresh vegetables. Options for vegetarians too.
– Great cycling. Some reasonable hills (and a couple of really good descents) and generally good quiet roads (in April anyway.)
The big hill on the last day was a satisfying challenge. The descent out of the mountains on day 2 was beautiful and probably my favourite bit.
Really good. The guide and driver we had were great - friendly, helpful and super organised. This is probably the best organised exodus trip I’ve been on.
In terms of difficulty this is definitely a grade 4 (certainly not a 3.) You don’t have to be a ‘cyclist’ but you do need to have a reasonable level of cardiovascular fitness and to have been on a bike about before I think.
This is my seventh trip cycling with Exodus and probably one of the best.
The cycling was quite challenging with a fair amount of hill climbing and I was glad that I had spent the time out on my bike in the weeks before I departed. This was rewarded with cycling through wonderful hills and mountains with snow capped mountains in the background. We could go at our own pace and stopped for great coffee and lunch.
Every night we stayed in different types of accommodation – mountains, valley, beach resort, small beach town. The variety was really good.
We had fantastic lunches and dinners with lots of home grown vegetables, salad, local cheese, local wine. Our local guides organised these great meals for the group.
Reaching the top of Llogara Pass on the last day of cycling. Our guides provided us with information about the days cycling so we knew what to expect and then provided snacks, water and supplies to make sure I could keep going to the top. I also really enjoyed cycling to Leskovik and through the valley. The snow capped mountains in the background with river wending past wildflowers and blossoms was a great days cycling.
Our guides worked tirelessly to make sure we had a great holiday. They organised lunch and dinner and provided encouragement and support for every day of cycling. They were amazing ambassadors for Albania.
Make sure you do some training beforehand, cycling up and down hills. I went without expectations and just wanting to have any enjoyable week of cycling. It was a great experience and would recommend a trip to Albania before it becomes really popular.
Didn’t know what to expect, but it didn’t disappoint. Really excellent tour guide. Fantastic scenery. One of those trips that just went smoothly, almost certainly due to the guides organisation. The cycling is described as moderate to challenging. At the time I would have said it was more challenging. However, upon reflection, I was pushing myself, which almost certainly made it feel more challenging. However, the last day of cycling was definitely challenging. It was also very rewarding and as with all of the Exodus trips I’ve been on, there’s always the option of the bus, which for various reasons, some of our party took. The food was really good. Plenty of choice for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. There are plenty of mountain springs for water top-ups which was brilliant – tasted great! A fantastic trip which I won’t forget with a guide who really did look after everyone!
I like the challenge of a hill climb, so I would have to say the last day, cycling up and over the pass.
The group leader was truly amazing and really did go the extra mile. As previously mentioned, a trip doesn't run that smoothly without a lot of planning. He was also without a doubt a group leader you would want in any unexpected situation that might occur!
The mountain spring water is fine to drink. You get a bit of a taste for it.
‘Albania’ why go there? was something we heard many times from friends and family when we told them of our plans. Well firstly its off the beaten track, it isn’t full of mindless tourists and its got some sense of mystique still. But mostly it is such an interesting place with such lovely people.
My third Exodus cycling trip and the most challenging, it is more challenging than moderate in my opinion. We went in September and it was still fairly hot so the long climbs were a bit of a ‘push’. I was tail end Charlie for most days, partly due to my frequent stops to take photos and I was not going to be rushed, all at my own pace. The point is that this trip allows this to happen, no pressure whatever you capability. The rear-guard van is never far behind so you are not on your own.
The scenery here is amazing, both mountains and the coast. Albanians we met were lovely and you always felt safe and welcome.
Bikes were good and days were planned well. Hotels were varied but all were more than adequate.
There was a bit of culture thrown in which was interesting but not overdone.
We were a large group of 16 but in no time at all we had all gelled and were supportive of each other and had many laughs and shared experiences. We have all shared our photos so we have a great bunch of memories.
Most of my memories are of quiet roads, no people anywhere and incredible views made more amazing by people still living in a bygone age.
Apart from start and end there are no significant transfers so this is a positive.
Food was excellent and plenty of it too.
The first and last days are the most challenging climbs and so to finish them (last) I did feel I had achieved the challenge I knew lay ahead when I booked. Also to see real Albanian subsistence farming in action, people actually supporting themselves without food imports, selling food at the side of the road.
Dhimo was 1st rate, very friendly, easy going and good at communicating. He was well organised and had all the food/snack stops well organised. Seamless all the way! He has a good knowledge of Albania in many ways and answered all kind of questions put to him. He worked well with our van driver as well. It was nice they both ate and socialised with us, something I didn't always witness on other trips I have done. Safety and accommodating everyone's wishes was always top priority.
Go with the Group Leader suggestion to pool money for group meals, it saves so much time and works out cheaper too. Waterproofs may well be needed and long sleeve top for down hills. If you are partial to white wine then perhaps take a couple of bottles as there is none available on a couple of nights early in the trip. Also black tea is a rarity in some places so bring you PG Tips! Agree with Exodus/guide up front to go to Tirana for a short tour and lunch after arrival. This is a real bonus. Either bring £cash with you and change a lot on first day or use an ATM in Tirana. Food and drink is relatively cheap in Albania so for a 'full on' week week I only spent £200!
My husband and I have recently returned from cycling in Albania. What a fantastic adventure it was. Prior to going on this trip our bikes came out of the shed about once a year and since we are not in the flush of youth we had to go out cycling every weekend for the previous 5 months to make sure we were fit enough and boy were we glad we did. It was a challenging trip but we loved every minute of it. The scenery is fantastic, we could not fault the food and the hotels were a lot better than we anticipated and even quite luxurious at times. Armand is an excellent guide with plenty of local knowledge. He offered to run a kitty for meals and drinks and ordered a variety of food at every meal which made meal times so easy and enjoyable. It is a fast paced trip and we had to be up early every day for breakfast and be ready to leave by 8.30 every morning but we were glad of this because at least it was cooler when we set off and we always had a nice stop for coffee to look forward to after a couple of hours. It is a great way to see Albania and it was great to start inland and then move to the coast offering different scenery and a chance to have a swim in the sea. We enjoyed the cultural stops and the chance to learn about the history of Albania. The minibus driver was always there with extra water, bananas and snacks when you needed them and greeted us with a smile at the top of every climb. I would strongly recommend this trip to anyone but to enjoy it make sure you do plenty of hill training. We hired the bikes offered by Exodus and these were of good quality although we took our own saddles. We used the pedals on the bikes ie. no clip ons and managed it okay so if you fancy it go for it – you won’t regret it.
Getting through the first day without hopping on the bus and actually thinking I might be able to actually cycle the whole route - I had been panicking before we went that maybe we had overstretched ourselves. it was harder than I imagined but we had trained enough and so were able to do it. A great feeling!
Armand was a good leader. He made sure we always knew what time we had to be ready, where we were going and when the next stop was. He ordered all our food for us and made excellent choices at every meal. We have never enjoyed food so much on holiday before.
Make sure you are fit enough to cycle up hills and for consecutive days. Take energy drinks and snacks as you definitely need these as well as the Zero sports drink tablets to stop you getting dehydrated. We didn't have these and had to beg, steal or borrow some from the rest of our group.
We signed up for this trip having done a few other cycle holidays and always finished feeling more cycling would have been good. Not so on this one! It’s certainly a challenging route, with many long hills and often some long climbs before you get to the start of the days longest climb! But the bikes are good, the roads are mostly in good condition, with very little traffic and we were very well looked after along the way. As always, cycling is the best way to see a country and this tour certainly gives you an insight into way of life in the Albanian countryside, how things are developing and a lovely few days in Macedonia too.
A few moments of relief on reaching the top of some big climbs - and the time in Macedonia around Lake Ohrid, including visiting the old town (UNESCO site).
Vimo (maybe not the right spelling, sorry) was excellent. Managed the group really well, gave a good briefing about the next day each evening, set out meeting points so that people could cycle fairly large chunks at their own pace and was always on hand with snacks at the re-grouping point.
Be prepared for some long tough climbs. If that's what you like and what you are expecting then you'll will have a great time! Do consider the impact the weather, particularly the heat, might have on your cycling and ability too when deciding to go. August in Albania is HOT!!