“The Ionian Coast of Albania, also known as the Albanian Riviera. The beaches and the scenery are stunning, and you won’t find yacht-loads of tourists,” writes The Globe and Mail
TIRANA, Jan. 11 – The Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest national newspaper, has selected Albania as a top tourism destination in 2012. In a travel slideshow on its website, the newspaper places the Albanian Riviera as the top destination among the six best places to visit in 2012.
“The Ionian Coast of Albania, also known as the Albanian Riviera. The beaches and the scenery are stunning, and you won’t find yacht-loads of tourists,” writes The Globe and Mail.
Canadians who have visited Albania in the past tell Tirana Times there are no direct flights between Canada and Albania, but there are convenient one-stop flights from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver via Vienna, Rome and Munich. Travel costs for the one-stop flights can be a bit steep for low budget travelers נabout C$2,000 for the high season of summer and winter holidays and approximately C$1,600 for the rest of the year. (Canadian and U.S dollars were equal in value for most of 2011.)
Some seasoned travelers suggest Canadians wanting to follow the advice of The Globe and Mail should look into flying to London on one ticket first, then purchase a second independent ticket for travel to Tirana from there. It lowers the cost by as much as 30 percent, the experts say. (And this works with a lot of other eastern European destinations too.)
Travelers already in the United Kingdom can also fly to low cost destination Corfu, Greece first, then take the ferry to nearby Saranda which is situated at the southern tip of the Albanian Riviera. Alternatively, if travelers are in nearby Italy, there are many cities there with low cost connections to Tirana. Albania has previously been selected as a top destination by several other major publications in the United States and Great Britain.
