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The road network is not very complicated, and getting out from and past towns is usually just a matter of walking in the right direction. Roads do tend to go through the towns, but keep an eye out for signs for shortcuts to avoid tedious walking when transiting.

[[Hitchhiking]] in Albania can go surprisingly well. Even though Albania is still one of the poorest countries in [[Europe]], the country's living conditions have improved greatly in the past years.

[[File:Skadar-mosque.jpg|right|thumb|Mosque in [[Shkodër]]]]

Albania has a good hitchhiking reputation. The government financial trust in [[police]] force has lifted up the safety level in most areas of the country; however, it is paramount to remain cautious, and hitching by night as well as in some areas might not be too wise. Beware of the poorest area and hitching next to slums since you will be quickly dragging the attention of dozens of children lurking at your bags, and would make almost impossible for you to get out of there, so if you find yourself around such place just walk away and ignore the people until you are in a better area.

* [[Tirana]]

* [[Shkodër]]

Be careful at the borders, because officers can be corrupted and there are many problems with smuggling of cigarettes, drugs and guns. Border controls are more "exact" than in the rest of the [[Balkans]].

** ''[[User:Klaudyna|Klaudyna]] reports a very different experience: ''We crossed the Macedonian - Albanian border on foot and started hitchhiking straight after crossing, about 100 meters away from the officers. We thought it's was going to bring us in trouble and we were trying to be as discreet with it as possible. They noticed us of course, but their reaction was quite different from what we expected - they stopped a car for us and told the driver to bring us to Tirana coz there is not much traffic and otherwise we would have waited forever.''

In Tirana (and probably in other cities, too) you can find very cheap local food markets with really good and fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, olives, etc. Local olive oil and freshly baked bread is something everyone has to taste!

Do not drink tap water in Albania.

In Tirana one can easily get accommodated in so called private sector: these are people who have their apartments arranged to accepts occasional tourists. It is safe, quite cheap (you can talk about how much you can pay), you get friendly company (if needed) and tips how and where. To find these kind of places just ask some more tidily looking folks on the street, or in Internet cafes and other similar places.

There is a nice and individual hostel in the center of Tirana. Tirana Backpacker Hostel, Rruga Elbasanit 85, Tirana.

* [http://wikitravel.org/en/Albanian_phrasebook Albanian Phrasebook] on Wikitravel

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