Photo: In the centre of Berat, with guide Irilda, Pual van Laarhoven, Maaike van der Windt, Gianpaolo Galipò and Marie Vermeesch (both Sais Tours)
How much Albania can you see in just over four days?
Much, very much, becomes apparent during a round trip from Tirana in the north to Gjirokastër in the south and back again.
At the invitation of Maaike van der Windt and Paul van Laarhoven of de Jong Intra Vakanties, Theo de Reus (Editor-in-Chief of TravMagazine) travels on their introductory trip through the country that is going to be very successful on the Dutch market. Arrival at Tirana airport is smooth.
Because Albania is outside the Schengen zone, I finally get a stamp in my passport again.
After customs we are met by countless people who hold up signs from behind gates at the exit.
Not an unusual sight at airports.
But in this case, no names of arriving passengers on the signs, but only one word: e-SIM or Vodafone.
With the exception of Vodafone, mobile subscriptions from the Netherlands do not work in Albania.
As a visitor, you have to rely on e-SIM, which is best purchased and installed in the Netherlands, or else at one of the vendors at the airport.
Vodafone couldn’t wish for a better advertisement.
Gianpaolo Galipò, owner of incoming agent Sais Tours with whom de Jong Intra Vakanties works, has rented a sturdy Range Rover, with plenty of room for five people and luggage.
Number five is for Marie Vermeesch, who does the shopping in Albania for the Italian Sais Tours and turns out to be a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Albania and knows every hotel. 
In fact, you should do your best to visit a place that is not recognized by UNESCO.
One of the few Dutch-language travel guides I could find about Albania calls Berat ‘a historical gem that you should definitely not miss’.
But for the time being, we still have to drive more than three hours, while Tirana also appears to have a real Monday afternoon traffic jam.
From the back seat, a green and sometimes rugged landscape passes by.
On the way, the question is: do we first go to the hotel in the center to check in or do we do the planned wine tasting in the village that is on the route?
An hour later we are sitting at the Nurellari wine farm, a village on the outskirts of Berat, behind tall glasses.
After the usual tour of wooden barrels and a tour of the wine cellar, we taste white and red wines, of which the family business produces 65,000 bottles per year locally.
The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia are major buyers of Albanian wines.
They are top wines, is also our conclusion. 
Paul van Laarhoven says from the co-driver’s seat that he is ‘quite hungry again’.
Occasional driver Gianpaolo Galipò deftly winds us over the dark mountain roads, to a village east of Berat.
Thanks to its exuberant lighting, Restaurant Alpeta is visible from afar.
On a weekday Monday evening we expected a deserted restaurant, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Two birthdays are celebrated at long tables.
They are families of three or even four generations.
The age of the partygoers varies from four years old to well into their eighties, we estimate.
Old men keep an eye on us from behind their half-full glasses, while the children curiously come to look at our table. We are introduced to the natural cuisine of Albania.
Lots of salads, lots of feta, everything with fresh ingredients, no-frills food.
And served with a big smile by the owner himself, who asks a hundred times if everything is still okay. 
It gives the five-star hotel the allure of the White House in Washington.
A double room costs 60 euros per night.
‘But that will soon change’, Marie expects.
‘There is a lot of renovation going on, which drives up the price.’ The swimming pool that is still under construction is proof.
During a morning walk, Berat presents itself as the historical gem that my travel guide had promised.
We walk across the Bulevardi Republika, where old men sit on benches under trees discussing whether their lives depend on it.
We pass an endless row of restaurants and coffee shops.
The central square will be provided with new pavement.
A parking garage may be built under the square to accommodate the tourist cars, so that the authentic character of Berat is not affected.
Everything is being prepared for the bulk of tourists who will come.
If not this year, then certainly in the years to come.
I realize that I am an eyewitness to how a destination develops into adulthood.
That feeling will stay all week. 
After the walk we drink coffee at the Bulevardi Republika.
Paul insists that he can pay.
I quickly understand why; For six cappuccinos and six bottles of water (including those for the guide), the bill is 8 euros and 50 cents.
With such prices, you can treat again.
I intend to pay for the coffee next time.
If Berat is a pearl, then Gjirokastër in southern Albania is a diamond.
Fortunately, there is still an uncut diamond, although we meet the first visitors from Japan who take turns photographing each other in the small center.
Gjirokastër gained a certain fame through the series Wie is de Mol?
which partly took place here in 2022.
The city is built on a hill.
The square at the bottom of the hill is temporarily a construction site, where the new underground parking garage has just been put into use.
We walk silently up the narrow main street, with small boutiques, shops with local trinkets and restaurants to the left and right.
Everything here exudes a certain tranquility, something that undoubtedly has to do with the steepness of the streets.
We will skip the castle and spend our time having a local lunch. When we leave the parking garage after a few hours, the guard walks with us to the exit to personally open the barrier with our exit ticket.
He stands there for a moment and waves before he dives back into his garage. 
Sarandë or Saranda, a coastal town in the south, is a holiday resort in development as tourists like to visit.
Hotels with sea view and a promenade with restaurants and terraces.
The hotel complex where we spend the night has just opened a third building.
Inside, it smells like a new car.
In the elevator I meet two elderly German couples, who enthusiastically tell me that there must be a beer party somewhere.
They just need to figure out where.
Holiday fun at its best.
On our way to our dinner restaurant further down the boulevard, we find ourselves in the middle of the annual Fish Festival, complete with live music.
On the other side of the water we can see the contours of the Greek island of Corfu in the twilight.
The coastal town of Vlorë, we are already heading north, is less massive in terms of tourism than Sarandë.
The place is a great base to discover the coast with a fast boat.
An afternoon at sea while the sun is doing its best is not a punishment. 
A walk through the center takes you past the huge independence monument on the main square, the Muradi mosque (from 1542) and most importantly, the old district of Vlora, car-free, colorful and with many coffee shops.
Our hotel for the night is brand new.
The owner doesn’t want to complain, but explains that the tourist season in Vlorë is relatively short.
His clientele consists mainly of passers-by who make a round trip from Tirana airport with a rental car, but there are few overnight tourists.
He says he is eagerly awaiting the opening of the new southern airport near Vlorë, which should be trial run in 2025 and should really start in 2026. 
It is located directly on the beach and offers everything for a holiday in the sun at a competitive price.
Many young people book this hotel, but there are guests of all ages in the hotel lobby.
But Tirana is a pleasant city to explore.
Shops, restaurants and coffee shops are lined up.
There are local markets and many terraces in the spacious town.
We walk through the neighborhood where the villa is located where the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha lived until his death in 1985.
Under his rule, tens of thousands of Albanians disappeared into camps or were executed in the 1950s.
‘Five days in Albania is too short.
It’s a destination to come back to’
After his death, his daughter and son-in-law designed the Pyramid of Tirana, which was to serve as a museum for the late dictator.
It didn’t come to that.
The building was used as an exhibition space and event venue.
Today, it is a climbing object and landmark that symbolizes the transition from a strict communist regime to a more democratic society.
In any case, the pyramid is a tourist attraction.
At our farewell dinner in the center of Tirana, Alina Starove, head of marketing at the National Tourist Board of Albania, joins us.
I can ask her the question that has been occupying my mind for four days: how can Albania maintain its unique characteristics, such as small-scale hotels and low price levels, when at the same time it wants to grow strongly? 
Her answer is partly reassuring. The government of Albania does not want to allow mass hotels. “We have learned from the mistakes of our neighboring countries,” she says firmly, emphasizing that the tourist board wants to focus its marketing on the higher customer segment. These core countries also include the Netherlands and Belgium. There is even interest from tourists from the US and Asia who are willing to pay higher travel sums. And then there is the remarkable friendliness of the people, which we have been encountering everywhere all week. It’s a cliché to write it down. And besides, there are also nice people living in Spain and Greece, and even in the Netherlands there seem to be non-unsympathetic people. Amela Rexho, who works for Sais Tours in Tirana, has the answer: “Albanians have hospitality in their genes. We have a saying here: ‘Our house is also the guest’s house.’
In short Conclusion, you can see a lot of Albania in four days, but you have to go back a longer time to discover the rest.
Tip: if your customer has an early flight home, book a hotel near the airport for the last night and not in Tirana itself to avoid the traffic.
Tirana airport is extremely modern, equipped with self-scanners for your passport for a quick passage.
For the coffee lovers: every right-minded Albanian loves coffee.
In four days, I haven’t drunk a bad cappuccino anywhere.
The tour guide from de Jong Intra Vakanties, including incoming agent Sais Tours, has set up an informative and varied trip.
Five stars out of five.
‘Undiscovered and adventurous’
Albania, touted in travel guides as a hidden gem on the Adriatic Sea, has been offered by de Jong Intra Vakanties since this summer.
Maaike van der Windt (director) and Paul van Laarhoven (tour operating manager) have high expectations of Albania, especially as a tour destination. According to Van Laarhoven, the return of Albania to the offer is ‘absolutely’ related to the fact that Transavia is flying to this destination again.
‘I knocked on Transavia’s door in May last year to ask if Albania would be an interesting destination for them. In October, we got the green light and they announced that they were going to fly. We decided to focus on the northern part, such as Durrës and to a lesser extent Vlorë, because they are a pretty good driving distance from Tirana. We also offer fly-drives.’ How do you stand out as a tour operator? Van der Windt: ‘We distinguish ourselves with small-scale, boutique-like accommodations. In addition, we also offer beautiful tours, which you can also extend with some extra nights at the beach.’ Van Laarhoven: ‘We work together with Sunny Cars for rental cars and Transavia as a flight partner. Our customers can also fly from Düsseldorf via Eurowings, which works amazingly well. We have long and short tours through the south of Albania. Next year, we will further expand that offer.’ Where does the attention for Albania suddenly come from? Van der Windt: ‘On the one hand, Albania is popular because of programmes such as ‘Who is the Mole?’ in 2022. It offers good quality for a relatively low price. The country is still undiscovered and adventurous, which attracts a lot of people.’ Van Laarhoven: ‘Albania offers affordable quality. For example, a five-star hotel costs around 60 euros per night. Food and drinks are also affordable. As de Jong Intra Vakanties, we have two products: individual tours and sun holidays on the coast. Albania is a perfect fit for both. Our traditional customers love itineraries, but we also offer beach holidays that are suitable for sale through retail and online partners. And optionally, beach accommodation can be added to the tour.’ What are the plans for Albania? Van der Windt: ‘We are also planning to offer group travel from next year. That will be air bus trips and maybe even a bus trip from the Netherlands. Our current Byzantine Balkan bus tour is already visiting Albania. Most of the programmes are already ready. We may also want to combine Albania with surrounding countries such as northern Greece, Montenegro and Macedonia for a complete Balkan experience for both groups and individual tours.”
