Albania is considered one of the most affordable destinations in Europe – but what does that actually mean in practice? In this post, I’m sharing our real expenses for 14 days in Albania as a couple – including flights, rental car, accommodation, food, and everything in between. This should give you a realistic idea of how much you should budget for a trip to Albania.

Still working on your itinerary? You can find our complete route here: Albania Road Trip – The Perfect 14, 10, or 7-Day Itinerary

Our Total Costs for Two People

Category	Total Cost (€ / US$)	What’s Included
Flights	€335 / ~$392	Round-trip flights for 2 people
Accommodation	€318 / ~$372	14 nights in Himarë, Sarandë, Berat & Kruja
Rental car	€172 / ~$201	14 days including full insurance with no excess
Food, snacks, fuel & extras	€695 / ~$813	Restaurants, supermarkets, souvenirs, tours, 3 fuel stops, cash expenses (approx. €210 / ~$246 in cash)

Total: €1,520 / ~$1,778 → €760 / ~$889 per person → approx. €42 / ~$49 per person per day excluding flights

For comparison: our two weeks in Thailand cost us €42.50 per person per day excluding flights. That makes Albania one of the most affordable destinations in Europe – especially considering the quality and variety you get for your money.

The Costs in Detail

✈️ Flights – €335

Tirana is served by direct flights from numerous European cities – and if you book early and are flexible about your departure airport, you can often find excellent deals.

Our tip: Book your flights well in advance and set up price alerts for Tirana International Airport (TIA).

🚗 Rental Car – €172

We paid €172 for a rental car for 14 days, including full insurance with no excess – around €12 per day. Considering the flexibility a rental car gives you in Albania, that’s excellent value for money.

We booked our rental car through Check24 and picked it up from CarQ Car Rental Albania at Tirana Airport. You can find all our tips for renting a car in our Albania Rental Car Guide.

🏨 Accommodation – €318

14 nights in Himarë, Sarandë, Berat and Kruja cost us €318 – around €23 per night for two people, or approximately €11.50 per person per night. And the quality of the accommodation was consistently good – clean, central and with plenty of personal charm.

You can find our accommodation recommendations in the individual city guides:

• Tirana Travel Guide – Blloku Unique Apartments
• Himarë Travel Guide – Bay View Hotel & Nia Boutique Hotel
• Sarandë Travel Guide – Joanna Suites
• Gjirokastër Travel Guide – Hotel Musée.
• Berat Travel Guide – Hotel Nasho Vruho
• Kruja Travel Guide – Hotel Kroi

Accommodation in Albania is easy to book through Agoda or Trip.com – both often offer very competitive prices and reliable reviews.

🍽️ Food, Snacks, Fuel & Extras – €695

Our €695 covered pretty much everything that came up during everyday travel – and that includes quite a lot:

• Restaurants & cafés: Eating out in Albania is affordable. A dinner for two at a local restaurant often costs less than €20 – including drinks. Our favorite in Sarandë was Fishbar Saranda.
• Supermarkets & snacks: For beach days, we often stocked up at Conad, Spar or local markets. A fresh byrek from a bakery costs just a few cents and makes one of the best beach snacks in Albania.
• Fuel: We filled up three times for a total of around €60–70. Diesel costs approximately €1.40–1.60 per liter, while gasoline costs around €1.50–1.70 – roughly comparable to the EU average.
• Souvenirs & extras: Small souvenirs from the bazaar in Kruja, entrance fees and spontaneous expenses along the way.
• Cash: Of the €695, we spent approximately €210 in cash – mainly on beaches, bakeries, smaller restaurants and entrance fees.

Money-Saving Tips for Albania

Book Accommodation Smartly

Booking early is worth it – especially during summer, when accommodation prices in Himarë and Sarandë rise noticeably. We experienced this ourselves: as soon as June started, prices were significantly higher than in May despite virtually identical weather. You can read more about this in our Albania Climate Guide

For finding accommodation, we recommend Agoda and Trip.com – both offer good prices and are reliable.

Explore Independently Instead of Booking Tours Every Day

Most beaches, viewpoints and attractions can easily be explored independently with a rental car. Guided tours are particularly worthwhile for special experiences – such as the Sea Breeze boat tour from Himarë or the day trip to Gjirokastër and the Blue Eye. You can find a good selection of tours on Viator.

Withdraw Cash Strategically

No ATM in Albania offers fee-free withdrawals for foreign cards. The cheapest option is ABI Bank, which charges a flat fee of 500 ALL (about €5) – so it’s better to withdraw a larger amount once rather than making several smaller withdrawals. When withdrawing cash, always choose “Without Conversion” to avoid additional exchange-rate fees.

Eat Local

Local family-run restaurants and bakeries are not only cheaper – they’re often some of the most authentic experiences of the entire trip. A byrek for the beach, lunch at a local restaurant, an ice cream from a pasticceria – these are the moments you remember. You can find all our restaurant recommendations in the individual city guides.

Stay Connected

A reliable internet connection makes traveling around Albania much easier – whether you need navigation, want to find a restaurant spontaneously or need to stay in touch. We recommend an eSIM from Saily – you’re online as soon as you land, without having to search for a local SIM card. Use code WAVES15 to get 15% off.

Get Your Beach Gear Before You Go

Water shoes, a snorkel, a beach blanket and a UV shirt are available in Albania, but you won’t always find the quality or selection you’re looking for. We recommend getting the essentials before your trip – we’ve put together our complete Albania Packing List on Amazon.

Our conclusion: €1,520 for two people (€760 per person) for 14 days in Albania – including flights, rental car, accommodation and everything else. For that price, you get one of the best road trips Europe has to offer.

How much are you planning to budget for your trip to Albania – and did our costs surprise you?
Share this guide with your favorite travel buddies and leave us a comment below!

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