Tirana Hostels

Tirana has an unusually good hostel scene for a city its size, built during the years when Albania became a fixture on the Balkan backpacking route. Most sit in converted houses and apartment blocks in the centre or just off Blloku, with dorms of four to ten beds and a smaller number of private rooms.

The better ones run their own bars, cook communal dinners and organise day trips to Kruja, Berat and the Dajti cable car, which makes them a practical base even if you are not travelling alone. Rates are low year round and rise only modestly in July and August.