We often hear the question whether Albania is safe. Before going to Albania, we had heard rumours about the country that it was quite wild and dangerous there. Having been there for almost two months, we did not feel any dangers too far from the norm – to be honest, there is quite safety.
On the streets of the touristics towns, it is very common to see police. They ensure the safety of residents and tourists. Definitely, police activity in Albania is at a high level and they are visible from a distance because the police cars always have their signals on.
One of the rumours we heard before going to Albania was that you can find there people walking bears on a leash… This may be true, but I think it can currently be counted as an urban legend.
From the issue of safety and possible danger, the subject of stray dogs is worth mentioning. There are unfortunately a lot of them in Albania and they make the tourist feel very insecure in such a situation.
In this text, we want to discuss safety in Albania and what it is like there, and give some advice on, for example… selling your SIM card when you return home.

Albania is not a member of the European Union and is not in Schengen, so you will have to go through full passport control when going to Albania. In this case, you will only need an identity card or passport that is valid for a minimum of 3 months from the date of your intended entry into Albania. However, it is advisable to take two identity documents with you in case you lose one of them or in situations where you need additional proof of identity.
Green card
If you are travelling by car, it is necessary to have the Green Card (third party insurance). This is not a very expensive issue, as insurance companies issue such a card for free (if the insurance package covers it) or it costs approx. 5 euro. You should have such a card printed out with you and it is a good idea to upload it onto some kind of mobile device such as a phone / tablet. Such a document is checked together with the identity document when entering Albania at customs.
Medical insurance
Most European countries have an agreement with Albania for free medical treatment under. For this reason, if you need to use the health service in Albania it is free of charge. Agnieszka ended up in hospital as a result of severe food poisoning, where she had to be transferred from our flat to a medical facility. She was given three drips. We have to admit that the health service in Albania surprised us positively, as everything was done efficiently and quickly in the hospital.
There was no long wait to start treatment – Agnieszka was immediately placed in a small, double room, given drips and being monitored. The conditions were not luxurious, but there was nothing to complain about either. The only problem was communication in English. Only a few doctors spoke a foreign language and even calling the emergency number in English was very difficult.
Although the health service is free of charge, we really recommend taking out travel insurance for your trip to Albania. We had insurance that reimbursed medical expenses (including buying medicines). We took advantage of it, as the medicines alone prescribed in hospital cost 7200 LEK (about 72 euros).
Will you need an EHIC card for your trip to Albania?
The EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) is not recognised in Albania because Albania is not a member of the European Union or the European Economic Area, which means that the EHIC rules do not apply there. It is worth getting one especially if you are going to Albania by car, as you will be travelling through countries where the EHIC is homorised while on the road.

General safety rules for everyday life
Albania is a country where people are very concerned about safety. It seems to me that it is a country where you will behave normally then it is really hard for you to be robbed or beaten. Albanians are friendly and helpful in many situations.
Of course, if you come to Albania to party and you know that you can go crazy after drinking alcohol, you can be brought back to reality very quickly, both by the locals and also by the police. The police do not turn a blind eye to tourists, and while they may do this when it comes to traffic, alcoholic brawls of all kinds can have a very unpleasant ending.
Moving around at night also requires a certain amount of common sense. There are different people living everywhere who have different intentions. In general, however, it is safe here and police patrols traversing Albanian roads at night are very visible.

SIM card in Albania - think twice about selling your card
Many times on Facebook groups we have seen offers to sell a SIM card by tourists returning from Albania. It is quite a natural reflex to want to at least partially compensate for the purchase of a card that can cost €20 for a few days.
However, we strongly advise not doing this. Why? In Albania, a SIM card is issued on your personal details from your passport and identity card. So by selling such a card you expose yourself to potential unpleasantness if the card falls into the wrong hands.
Consider the situation where someone buys the card from you and makes a few inconsiderate phone calls or deliberately uses the number to carry out illegal activities. The first person who will have to explain themselves will be the person on whose name the card is registered.
Probably everyone will be able to prove their innocence, but I do not know if couple of Euro are worth the potential unpleasantness you may incur.

Road safety in Albania - what to be aware of
Albania is a country where it has been relatively easy to get around by car. During the communist period, which lasted here until 1991, only a few could afford to drive their own car. For this reason, the road infrastructure was not highly developed, nor were driving skills developed too much.
Today, Albania’s roads have undergone many changes and the main roads leading to major cities are not far from European standards. Admittedly, there is more liberalism about the highway code (standing in the middle of the road, switching on the emergency lights and going to run errands in a shop is completely normal), but there are very few fatal accidents here. In our opinion, this is due to a high degree of caution and a lack of trust to other drivers.
In Albania, you need to be aware that even though you are on a road with priority, it is better to see who is coming from the secondary road. For this reason, you slow down and drive much more carefully.
By the way, it’s worth keeping in mind how you will be driving your rental car. Any scratches on the car could end up with the deposit being deducted or the driver being charged for repairs. For this reason, it really is worth taking out car insurance. For more advice and details on renting a car, see our specially prepared post: Renting a car in Albania – child seat, insurance and tips.
I got a ticket in Albania - now what?
The police is running a campaign – zero mercy for irresponsible tourists. If traffic offences involving badly parked cars can still get away with it, driving against the wrong way, significant speeding or drunk-driving percentages are sternly condemned and enforced.
Depending on the traffic offence committed, you can pay between LEK 5,000 and LEK 40,000 (€50 – €400) in fines. For bad parking, fines range from LEK 1,000 to LEK 5,000 and, in some cases, can end up with the car being towed away.
We don’t even want to mention drunk driving… We hope that everyone realises how dangerous drunk driving is and what tragic consequences it can have. At this point it is worth mentioning that in Albania the permissible blood alcohol concentration is 0.01%.
If you receive a fine, it is worth paying it within 10 days of the offence. It is then reduced by 50%. You can pay the fine either at the police station or at the post office.
It is worth doing this, as car hire companies receive notification in the electronic system up to 24 hours after the offence has been committed, and if you are driving your own car, information about the fine will certainly be visible in the customs control system on the border.

Safety with children and getting around with a stroller/wheelchair
In our opinion, is it a good idea to go to Albania with children? We think it largely depends on personal travel preferences. There are not many facilities for children in Albania, such as playgrounds or amusement parks. Hotels often don’t have cool attractions for children either. However, you can count on a great holiday by the sea, delicious fruit and fairly cheap ice cream.
The Albanians themselves are very positively disposed to children and often offered them some fruit at the market. A very nice gesture that is missing in Poland. A simple kindness to children and an understanding that they are little people who, like adults, experience their own problems.
Getting around with a stroller / a wheelchair
In our opinion, Albania is not completely prepared for exploring it with a stroller or with a wheelchair. High curbs, uneven roads and cars often parked in such a way that it is difficult to squeeze through. In addition, if you want to visit Albania’s attractions, these are often located in the mountains or take roads that can only be crossed on foot.
If you are planning to travel with a child who is still in a pushchair, we recommend taking a baby sling or baby carrier with you.

Stray dogs in Albania
The issue of stray dogs in Albania is probably, in terms of safety, the most important thing to pay attention to when planning your arrival in Albania. Unfortunately, they are everywhere and while individual dogs are still harmless in the city (often you can just see very strong tiredness and sadness in their eyes), dogs in the villages or in the mountains can cause a lot of trouble. They usually gather in small groups and can be very aggressive.
We were accompanied on our trip by our dog Loki, who often aroused a lot of interest in the dogs and ‘pulled them’ to us. You can read more about travelling with a dog in Albania in this post: Travelling with your dog to Albania – what do you need to know?
If you are planning to go to the mountains in Albania, shepherd dogs, which are very fierce in defending their herd, can also be quite a threat. Any tourist is considered a threat by them and nothing works against them except to call them off by the shepherd.

Summary
Albania is a country that is developing very strongly and, despite a few issues that still need to be ironed out, it is a safe destination for travellers. The people’s attitude is really positive and the mood of Albania today can be compared to Poland in the 2000s. Albania has also started the process of joining the European Union since 2009 and in 2020 the Council of the European Union formally approved the opening of accession negotiations. There are still many things Albania has to do to join the EU, but if you still want to see what fruit and vegetables exempt from EU regulations taste like, what ordinary life is like that is not yet saturated with commercialisation, then Albania is a destination you will really enjoy.
You can read about our adventures in Albania here. There you will find lots of advice on visiting Albania and the attractions you can visit.