Thank you for your support. We try to be as honest and transparent as possible. We hope people appreciate that. It's something that's very important to us.
I was surprised how nice Tirana is. Toptani mall has a very nice gym. Better than most I have seen in Europe. I hardly smelled any cigarettes when I was there. Everywhere takes credit cards, even the bus to the airport.
I was born in Tirana and I love this city. ❤ Is a very modern city with great architecture and I also love walking around there. Tirana is very dinamic and multicultural since is the capital and there are people who come from different cities to live there. It has a lot of energy, friendly people and has a great tourism potential. The famous area called ‘‘Blloku‘‘ has some of the best and most popular bars and restaurants in Tirana, is great for parties 🎉. Traveling in Albania 🇦🇱 is generally more budget-friendly than in Greece, Italy, Montenegro or Croatia, etc and Albania provides excellent value for money. Some may consider Tirana not so cheap, but that’s because the standard of living and the services are getting better. There you can visit the Et’hem Bej Mosque, the national Park, Pyramid, House of Leaves Museum, Bunk‘Art, Dajti Express Cable Car 🚠, Bovilla Lake, Daily Tours, the Orthodox Church, Skanderbeg Statue and square, National Museum, Toptani shopping Center, new Bazar, Communist Tour, Watch Tower, Eat at Zgara, etc, etc. The bars and coffee shops are affordable and they have good coffee. Albanians are high smokers, about 40% of the population smokes daily. In the bars/restaurants only outside or in the open areas is allowed smoking, but inside is not permitted. So if you go inside, you won’t be bothered by it.
Thank you. We are really enjoying Tirana so far (aside from the smoking) We will go to the cable car and the museums, but we really just enjoying strolling around the city and discovering new things.
@@fulltimeabroad If you want to try Albanian traditional food I suggest these restaurants: Oda, Tymi and Mullixhiu but there are also other great restaurants with mainly Italian cuisine. I hope you have a great time there 🫶🏼
We've heard a lot about Oda, and I've seen good reviews for Tymi. We went to "Tradita te Meri" and it was fantastic! Tavë kosi is such a wonderful dish!
Thks for another great video! I like the way that both of you complement each other to reinforce the various honest points that you are trying to make :). I think your channel will continue to grow with time ! Regarding the smoking culture, did you detect any cigarette smell in your Airbnbs in Durres and Tirana? I understand that many Airbnbs in the Western Balkans do smell of cigarette smoke, as many past guests may have smoked inside …..
Thank you for the comment! We really appreciate it! So far, the two airbnbs we have been in have been super clean and did not smell of smoke, thankfully. But once we get out into the street, its challenge lol!
Thank you for being honest about the smoking. As we are planning for our slow travel journey, I came upon this article "Killing me softly: air pollution in the Western Balkans" by Aleksandra Tomanić Executive Director of the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB): "Western Balkan countries have the lowest air quality in Europe. Cities from the region figure regularly and prominently among the global top ten most polluted cities on Earth. According to the European Environmental Agency, 30,000 lives are lost every year as a direct consequence of excessive air pollution." These are just facts. I found the tradeoff between polluted air/second hand smoke and lower cost of traveling/living in these countries extremely difficult to take personally. But then there is no other way to slow travel the continent full time without doing the Schengen shuffle in and out of these countries.
Thank you for your comment. Totally agree with you. Its difficult to walk here sometimes because you're basically walking into a cloud of cigarette smoke. There are so many cafes lining the sidewalks, so its almost constant. Other than that, we are really enjoying the city and we believe it is a good location to come for the Schengen Shuffle as a slow traveler. Tons of parks and green spaces, so you can definitely find areas that are somewhat smoke free to relax in.
If you are looking for some of the best baklava my wife and I have had anywhere in the Balkans, please go to Istanbul Baklava on Kavaja Street. It's across the street from Mulliri. Thank me later.
totally agree with your observation regarding smoking everywhere in Tirana and Albania as a whole. Yes, it is absolutely disgusting! But I find drinking coffee just the same, one disgusting habit. So, no need to go the coffee shops at all; there are other alternatives to sit and enjoy moments of absolutely lazy.
@@fulltimeabroad they are lounges not excatly cafes, so If you ever go to another country with a big smoke culture ask before If the coffee shop is a lounge or smoke-free.
we'd love to sit outside on the patios, but its basically impossible because most of the people around you will be smoking. It really is a huge turnoff and basically forces you to sit inside.
It is obvious, that this guy is showing his east European negativity pick, If you wanna ridiculous something , you can do it even in the best spot existted, cose it shows how much values you got .. Why you bother to come to Albania anyway?
I like your style. Albania is definitely on my list of places to visit. Thanks for sharing this beautiful city.
Thanks for the support!
Love your vids! ❤
Thank you! Appreciate the watch and comment!
Love your no frills honest approach. Keep up the great work
Thank you for the feedback. We don't sugar coat and we appreciate the support.
We’ve been wanting to check out Tirana so your video was quite helpful. Look forward to watching more of your video.
Thank you! Its much appreciated. We really enjoyed Tirana. We've got a full month budget video coming out in a few days if you are interested.
Always appreciate your honesty :) thank you for that
Thank you for your support. We try to be as honest and transparent as possible. We hope people appreciate that. It's something that's very important to us.
I completely agree with everything you said great video!
Thank you for the watch and comment!
I was surprised how nice Tirana is. Toptani mall has a very nice gym. Better than most I have seen in Europe. I hardly smelled any cigarettes when I was there. Everywhere takes credit cards, even the bus to the airport.
We're really enjoying the city so far!
Lovely city ! 🎉
Nice video guys, enjoy Tirana, Smoking is something South Europe can't do without it, enjoy your time
Thank you! Its ingrained in their society!
I was born in Tirana and I love this city. ❤ Is a very modern city with great architecture and I also love walking around there. Tirana is very dinamic and multicultural since is the capital and there are people who come from different cities to live there. It has a lot of energy, friendly people and has a great tourism potential.
The famous area called ‘‘Blloku‘‘ has some of the best and most popular bars and restaurants in Tirana, is great for parties 🎉.
Traveling in Albania 🇦🇱 is generally more budget-friendly than in Greece, Italy, Montenegro or Croatia, etc and Albania provides excellent value for money.
Some may consider Tirana not so cheap, but that’s because the standard of living and the services are getting better.
There you can visit the Et’hem Bej Mosque, the national Park, Pyramid, House of Leaves Museum, Bunk‘Art, Dajti Express Cable Car 🚠, Bovilla Lake, Daily Tours, the Orthodox Church, Skanderbeg Statue and square, National Museum, Toptani shopping Center, new Bazar, Communist Tour, Watch Tower, Eat at Zgara, etc, etc.
The bars and coffee shops are affordable and they have good coffee. Albanians are high smokers, about 40% of the population smokes daily. In the bars/restaurants only outside or in the open areas is allowed smoking, but inside is not permitted. So if you go inside, you won’t be bothered by it.
Thank you. We are really enjoying Tirana so far (aside from the smoking)
We will go to the cable car and the museums, but we really just enjoying strolling around the city and discovering new things.
@@fulltimeabroad If you want to try Albanian traditional food I suggest these restaurants: Oda, Tymi and Mullixhiu but there are also other great restaurants with mainly Italian cuisine. I hope you have a great time there 🫶🏼
We've heard a lot about Oda, and I've seen good reviews for Tymi. We went to "Tradita te Meri" and it was fantastic! Tavë kosi is such a wonderful dish!
Thks for another great video! I like the way that both of you complement each other to reinforce the various honest points that you are trying to make :). I think your channel will continue to grow with time !
Regarding the smoking culture, did you detect any cigarette smell in your Airbnbs in Durres and Tirana? I understand that many Airbnbs in the Western Balkans do smell of cigarette smoke, as many past guests may have smoked inside …..
Thank you for the comment! We really appreciate it!
So far, the two airbnbs we have been in have been super clean and did not smell of smoke, thankfully. But once we get out into the street, its challenge lol!
Just saw your video-Tirana looks amazing! 😍 Loved the Airbnb tour. How are the prices? similar to Durres?
For the most part, yes. The gyros and the coffee are basically the same price. The groceries are also very similar in price.
Thank you for being honest about the smoking. As we are planning for our slow travel journey, I came upon this article "Killing me softly: air pollution in the Western Balkans" by Aleksandra Tomanić Executive Director of the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB): "Western Balkan countries have the lowest air quality in Europe. Cities from the region figure regularly and prominently among the global top ten most polluted cities on Earth. According to the European Environmental Agency, 30,000 lives are lost every year as a direct consequence of excessive air pollution." These are just facts.
I found the tradeoff between polluted air/second hand smoke and lower cost of traveling/living in these countries extremely difficult to take personally. But then there is no other way to slow travel the continent full time without doing the Schengen shuffle in and out of these countries.
Thank you for your comment. Totally agree with you. Its difficult to walk here sometimes because you're basically walking into a cloud of cigarette smoke. There are so many cafes lining the sidewalks, so its almost constant.
Other than that, we are really enjoying the city and we believe it is a good location to come for the Schengen Shuffle as a slow traveler. Tons of parks and green spaces, so you can definitely find areas that are somewhat smoke free to relax in.
Can you Tell me the Name of the airbnb?
If you are looking for some of the best baklava my wife and I have had anywhere in the Balkans, please go to Istanbul Baklava on Kavaja Street. It's across the street from Mulliri. Thank me later.
Ill get back to you on this. Looks really good!
totally agree with your observation regarding smoking everywhere in Tirana and Albania as a whole. Yes, it is absolutely disgusting! But I find drinking coffee just the same, one disgusting habit. So, no need to go the coffee shops at all; there are other alternatives to sit and enjoy moments of absolutely lazy.
We love coffee and enjoy the cafe scene, but its very difficult here
Smoking inside is not allowed though. So don’t worry.
you'd be surprised how many times we saw people smoking inside
@@fulltimeabroad they are lounges not excatly cafes, so If you ever go to another country with a big smoke culture ask before If the coffee shop is a lounge or smoke-free.
Thanks. The Smoking Culture is a huge turnoff for me. Otherwise it looks very nice.
we'd love to sit outside on the patios, but its basically impossible because most of the people around you will be smoking. It really is a huge turnoff and basically forces you to sit inside.
It is obvious, that this guy is showing his east European negativity pick,
If you wanna ridiculous something , you can do it even in the best spot existted, cose it shows how much values you got ..
Why you bother to come to Albania anyway?
What exactly was I being negative about? This video shows very clearly how much we enjoy and like Tirana.
nuk tha naj gje tkeqe pervec duhanit