Kimkim Trip Reviews for Albania

The planning and then putting the itinerary into action was perfect. A wonderful experience we had. After the first 48 hrs, we settled down and relaxed, went with the flow, and driving through the countries of Albania and North Macedonia was delightful. Superb roads like driving on a pool table at times compared to roads in Scotland. Loved our itinerary which was prepared by Ed beforehand taking into consideration our likes & dislikes. The places and accommodation we visited were ideal, beautiful and would never have considered these hidden gems.

From start to finish, our trip in Albania was absolutely phenomenal. Ed was very helpful with the planning of the trip, perfecting an amazing itinerary for my friends and I that consisted of a mix of the mountains and the beach which we wanted. Ed took away the stress of worrying about transfers and destinations, creating an incredible 7 day Albanian adventure.

Once in Albania, everything ran smoothly and Ed connected us to fabulous local tour guides who enabled fabulous experiences. I cannot reccomend Ed and KimKim as well as Albania as a travel destination enough. Thank you so much Ed (as well as Kreshnik and Kledis) for the most fabulous week and the absolute highlight of our European trip.

Ed was a great local guide! Our trip was a little unique because we had a bike accident on the first day resulting in a broken wrist and surgery. Ed and Nick were massively helpful, providing translation services and basically babysitting me in a coffee shop while my partner was in surgery and recovering. Ed rescheduled or swapped activities on the fly as necessary. He could not have been more accommodating or helpful.
Once we got on the road we found the itinerary to be exactly what we had asked for- lots of beautiful hiking, rafting, strolling through ancient cities, no tourist traps, accommodations all mom and pop operations run by the sweetest people you'll ever meet. Highlights were a cooking class in Gjirokaster, dinner at Lili's in Berat, the view from the glamping tents at Nivica. A day spent hiking up to Borsh castle, poking around the ruins and taking in the incredible views, then doing then same at upper Qeparo village are experiences we'll never forget. Ed clearly has great working relationships with his vendors and it shows when you show up somewhere and people are expecting to see you and already know who you are.
This was our second time using a local guide (kim kim both times) after 35 years of planning trips all over the world by ourselves. I'm not sure there is any going back because we had experiences that we never would have found on our own! Thanks Thanks Ed, Nick, and Elio! You are the best. We are looking forward to the next trip!

Hotel Reviews

Berati Castle Hotel

Berat

Our stay at the Berati Castle Hotel was fantastic. The hotel is in the old part of Berat, which gave us a real feel for the history and culture of the city. The ambiance was exactly what we were looking for, and the location made it easy to explore the beautiful “City of a Thousand Windows.

Camp Nivica

Staying at Camp Nivica was a really cool experience. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and it was made even more interesting by the presence of a Swedish film crew shooting a documentary. The setup was like glamping, and it was a refreshing change from traditional hotel stays.

Activity Reviews

Berat - Exploring The "City Of A Thousand Windows"

Berat

We did get to explore Berat, and it was a lovely experience. The city is just beautiful, and the architecture is something you don’t see every day. The atmosphere in Berat was calm and relaxing, which was a nice change from the chaos of Tirana.

Mt Dajti MTB Experience

Tirana

This was a huge letdown. What we were expecting was an easy ride up to the foot of Mt. Dajti, take a cable car to the top, and then gently ride down winding country roads with a nice lunch break somewhere. Instead, we ended up riding through city traffic, which was a nightmare, and then up a steep, dirt road filled with heavy construction traffic. It was brutal and not at all what we signed up for. The guide didn't even mention the cable car anymore. My wife had a bad accident on this trip, which just added to the frustration.

Quality of Experience

My friends and I travel together every other year and we try to choose places none of us have ever been. We chose Albania as our destination as it was a new to all of us and the hotspot for 2024.
I am so glad we did. As we were researching we decided to get some expert advice and found Kim Kim and Drive Albania.
Ed helped us with our custom itinerary and had great suggestions. He quickly responded to all of our many questions.
Upon arrival in Tirana, Ed and our guide Margil picked us up at the airport and made us feel comfortable. All of our hotels were comfortable, safe, and in great locations. They had great suggestions for lunches/dinners.
Margil was an excellent guide. He knew the history of the country very well. He was a safe driver on the mountain roads. Most of all he was personable and had a great sense of humor.
We enjoyed our trip very much. I would highly recommend Drive Albania and Margil as a guide.

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Our southern Albania and northern Greece trip was perfect in every way. Ed, our travel consultant, was terrific. We had some last minute scheduling hassles that were out of his control and he got us wonderful last minute accommodations. Everything he suggested regarding the itinerary, hotels and restaurants were spot on. He was easy to work with and lots of fun. We are using Kim Kim for our next trip and have recommended you to many friends. Albania was so refreshing with kind people, gorgeous scenery, interesting culture and good food. We enjoyed the guesthouse near Permet and the mountains. Also the guesthouse in Ano Pedina, Greece nestled in the Zarori area near theVikos gorge. We wouldn’t change a thing about the trip. Thanks Ed.

The trip was one of the best I have been on - and I have visited 50 countries. I usually do organized trips with small operators. It was great to experience a customized trip for our small group. Ed did a great job helping us organize our trip and Margil was a very good driver and guide. It was great to be picked up by both at the airport. A couple of suggestions:

1. A list of activities / plan for Tirana so no double tracking on sites already visited on our own.
2. Restaurant suggestions were a bit off - especially dinner on second night - a bit far from hotel and we were taken to a restaurant for a large lunch.
3. Guide should wait more for entire group to catch up before giving information on sites.

Will recommend KimKim and Drive Albania to my traveler community.

Hotel Reviews

Art Hotel Rruga Kavaja

Great breakfast options! Centrally located.

Authenticity & Character

Great art on the walls!

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Musée

Gjirokastra

Beautiful traditional Albanian house converted to hotel! Fabulous hosts!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Riviera

Himare

Nice hotel! Rooms a bit dark.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Panorama Kruje

Krujë

Great location close to old bazar and castle. Great restaurant!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Look

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tirana - Welcome to Albania's Chaotic Capital!

Tirana

A clearer itinerary for our time in the city would have been better so we could plan things we would do on our own.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gjirokastra - Exploring Albania's "Stone City"

Gjirokastra

Excellent overview of the castle.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Put Albania on your travel bucket list and use Drive Albania to make it happen before more people discover this spot. Albania has warm, welcoming and kind citizens, eye-popping scenery, beautiful and interesting ancient sites and natural, fresh and mouth-watering food and of course homemade wine and raki at every stop.

We worked with Ed from Drive Albania to create the tour that worked for us – 4 young middle-aged females. He worked with our itinerary sketch to create a trip that delivered the sites and experiences we wanted while minimizing the amount of hotel hopping we did.

Our guide/drive Margil made this a once-in-a-lifetime experience with his passion for delivering high customer service, his knowledge of Albanian history, his safe driving and his pure joy and zest for life. After consultation with us, on our off days, Margil arranged our activities and made reservations at the best, out-of-the-way eating spots. From the moment he met us at the airport with his wide grin to our final send off, he was professional and attentive, adjusting to our needs, all while sharing his love

Margil was our guide for 9 days during our trip to Albania. He was an absolutely amazing!. He was patient, kind, funny, responsible, and trustworthy. He explained each day with detailed plans and carried through with these plans. We were impressed with Margil's knowledge; not just with the understanding of specifics of the tour but with world wide comprehension. The four of us felt very safe with Margil, especially when driving the coast in Albania. Margil was open to ideas from us and didn't' get offended when we wanted a change in the itinerary. We would recommend Margil to anyone wanting a great vacation to Albania.

Ed, was very valuable when planning our whole trip. He was patient to work with us and plan a beautiful, memorable trip to Albania. From the restaurants to the lovely hotels to the continuous communication , we would recommend Ed (KimKim) to our friends and family. It was also a nice touch, that Ed showed up throughout travels in Albania.

Ed planned a fantastic trip for me based on both the places I wanted to visit and his own extensive local knowledge.
During the trip Ed and his team provided friendly and efficient service and assistance as needed.
I would recommend anyone to book a trip through the team!

We had an amazing trip to south of Albania! As we got so used to from the Kimkim team (and we are getting spoiled after the years), from the first contact with Ed to the final goodbye at the Tirana airport from "Nik" (Kreshnik), our guide and driver, all went great. The trip was as we envisioned in our request: explore as much as possible the "real" Albania, stay away from tourist traps and crowds and get to see how "real" people live. Nik was a treasure trove of history, culture, politics and everything else. He knows his country like back of his hand and he seems to know everyone (and everyone seems to know him....) so he/we were treated like locals. The only downside: we ran out of time (but that was out problem).

Margil was an amazing guide. He was prompt, energetic, extremely knowledgeable and highly personable. He genuinely likes people and loves to show off his country. Notwithstanding this, he doesn’t shy away from its less savoury past snd present. We left with an abiding love for the country and a great appreciation for its people. They are remarkably resilient, hardworking and engaging. We would go back tomorrow, with Kimkim, if we could.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Boka

Tiranë

We stayed, NOT at the Hotel Boka, but the Hotel Art. This was a lovely hotel, perfectly located and spotlessly clean. The staff were excellent and the breakfast was exceptional.

Authenticity & Character

It was an old building that had been beautifully repurposed as a hotel. It was true to the name Hotel Art, with wonderful local and European art at every turn.

Location

Close to the Skandereg Square and east walking distance to all that we wanted to see.

Staff

Nothing was too much trouble. Their English was excellent.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Onufri

The ceilings in the rooms of this hotel were unbelievable. Such craftsmanship!

Authenticity & Character

The woodwork was so very special.

Location

Very central and within east walking distance to most things. (We drove to the fortress)

Staff

When present, the staff were very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Guesthouse Chri Chri

Përmet

This was the only time on our trip that we got to speak with other travellers. It made a delightful change. Gilberto had access to the key to a local, rarely available to the public, orthodox cathedral and he gave us a private tour.

Authenticity & Character

The walls of the guesthouse were made of 3ft thick stone. The outbuildings were original. The road was … an adventure.

Location

While we did not see Përmet, we did enjoy the rural location of the guest house.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Praga

This was a quirky, but charming hotel. It was well situated within walking distance to the market and the castle.

Authenticity & Character

The bedroom was filled with historical pieces and the communal areas were similarly decorated

Location

Staff

The staff spoke excellent English snd were eager to be if assistance.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Riviera

Himare

One got the impression that the owners of this hotel are working very hard to improve the facilities and ambiance of their hotel. It was entirely comfortable, but still in yhrr we process of becoming more.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The location was pretty, but there was not much “activity”. As we were there for two days, without a car, it gave us time to rest up from our busy schedule.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The hotel room was basic but clean and comfortable.

Hotel Panorama Kruje

Krujë

This surpassed our expectations in every way.

Authenticity & Character

It could have been s hôtel anywhere in Europe, but it was an excellent example to of one.

Location

Brilliant!! Even the 6am call to prayer from the adjacent mosque was mellifluous.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kruja Bazaar - Albania's Best Shopping Opportunity

Kruje

Great fun - colour and movement and a feast for the eyes.

Quality of Experience

The unsurpassed views; the extraordinary history museum I’m the castle precinct and the hotel’s location, combined to make this a fitting hurrah to an extraordinary holiday

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Margil was like so many of the prolly we met - gracious, keen to show their country, interested in learning from us.

Transport

Home-cooked Evening Meal

Përmet

It was a lovely meal, on the terrace, with good company.

Quality of Experience

My grandparents were Albanian. I found myself in Albania.

Food

Loved it. Margil was a great help with this, too, those we wished that he would have joined us.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Margil was exceptional. Words fail to do him justice.

Transport

I’m not going to lie, the Jaz was the one thing we would have changed. It was poorly air conditioned, poorly sprung and underpowered. It’s a good thing the countryside kept us diverted.

Berat - Exploring The "City Of A Thousand Windows"

Berat

We love the city of Berat. It’s like no other place. The sunset tour of the castle was breathtaking

Quality of Experience

Dinner at Lili’s was so much fun! Everything was designed to relax us, make us laugh and feel very special.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Brilliant

Transport

We walked everywhere (except up to the castle).

Tirana - Welcome to Albania's Chaotic Capital!

Tirana

We initially thought we would self drive, but a friend who lives in Albania convinced us otherwise. Thank goodness. Hectic, doesn’t begin to describe the traffic. Tirana is so much prettier than I had anticipated and so rich in history. We loved it.

Quality of Experience

It suited our interests. It was tailor made for us.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Driving through morning peak hour was probably the one time we really appreciated the mighty Kaz

Gjirokastra - Exploring Albania's "Stone City"

Gjirokastra

Gorgeous city! Loved everything about this place. Don’t miss the markets.

Quality of Experience

It was very easy to get by with just English, wherever we went.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a great time on our trip to Northern Albania and Kotor. Ed was very responsive and helped us with reservations before hand. Kreshnik was a very fun guide and made sure we had a fun and safe trip. While all of the trip was enjoyable the highlight for us had to be Valbone and Theth. While the weather was not fully cooperative it was still a great hike and the area was beautiful.

We could not have asked for a better guide…..competent, thoughtful, knowledgeable with a focus on our safety at all times . Nik’s love for his Albania was palpable and infectious.

The whole trip was amazing, well planned by Ed. Our guide Nik was amazing, really friendly, accommodating, welcoming and really made the trip. Would recommend for sure.

Nick, our tour guide, did a fantastic job showing us his beautiful country. At our request, this was a personalized tour with some new destinations which sometimes presented challenges. Nick was always able to handle well any unexpected circumstances. The ride in the tour bus was at times a bit rough, but that is to be expected when traveling some not so good roads in a four wheel drive vehicle. The food was excellent, specially the salads and local ice cream. The pace of the trip was perfect for two retired couples and Nick was ready to assist with any question or necessity. Great experience. Thank You.

Trip was great, well coordinated, Jared was always immediately available with help / guidance along the way, even when I was abroad. I would recommend Mostar for future guests in place of Travnik day trip, but all else was interesting to see. Jared is the best!

We have recently completed two amazing weeks is Albania. In planning the trip we were keen to really see the country, taking in many of the main sights. Ed put together a wonderful itinerary taking into account our specific wishes and really listening to what we wanted. Originally we had planned to self-drive but in the end opted for a driver and guide. This was the best decision. Ardi was fantastic and having him with us for most of the journey (Ed stepped in a for a few days) really made a difference. Their knowledge of Albania meant that we were really able to enjoy the country and learn about its past, present and future. They were also great company. Their ability to adapt the itinerary as required meant we enjoyed unexpected experiences and were able to get closer to the local people. We came away having fallen in love with Albania and can’t thank Ed and Ardi enough for putting together such a fantastic trip. We would love to travel again with Drive Albania.

I have visited more than 40 different countries and this was easily one of my favorite vacations of all time! We visited Albania, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, and Montenegro through the company Drive Albania. These countries were wonderful and should be seen by all!

My friend and I were supposed to travel in 2020, but Covid canceled our flights so we postponed for 2021. Ed gave us constant updates through all the covid related issues and planed everything during a very turbulent time. He answered all of my questions promptly (even if I asked multiple times). He adjusted the itinerary based on our new flights and even arrange for two additional friends to join half way through our tour making us a group of four. Ed personally picked everyone up from the airport (on three separate flights on three different days) and drove for hours to ensure the group was fully united! We had the pleasure of touring with Ed for a few days, and Ardi for the majority of our vacation. They were both knowledgeable, professional, made wonderful food suggestions and were delightful company! Our tour was so thoroughly planned and went so smoothly, that our group began to joke that Drive Albania was controlling everything including the weather! We had a unique tour group with two people who frequently vacation together; later joined by two less experienced travelers. Ardi was quick to assess everyone’s needs and resolved any potential issues (caused by us) so seamlessly, one would hardly know that anything was out of sorts.

Traveling with Ardi and Ed felt more like visiting with friends than traveling with a tour company. They ate with us, joked with us, and even joined our group selfie photos.

I am typically an anxious person, but on this trip, I was completely at ease! I can’t remember the last time I went on such a stress-free trip, and I know it was due to the thorough planning and good decisions of Ardi and Ed. I will definitely return to the Balkans, and travel with Drive Albania when I do!

We can't even say how wonderful this trip was! Both Ardi, and Ed were very good. Not only did they show us fabulous sights, nature and culture they introduced us to the locals and gave us fabulous service! The places they chose were great and the places we stayed were historical but very comfortable. I highly recommend Drive Albania. We have traveled to many places in Europe. This was probably one of the best. Don't wait until it gets expensive, go now! Because it is very inexpensive for what you get! But the country is changing fast! Go have a RAKI and a espresso!

Our guide Alban was amazing - a veritable font of Albanian history, knowledge and culture. He is very well educated and speaks fluent English and French. Our group of three spent 8 days with Alban traversing the length of Albania and definitely want to go back. As avid hikers and a vegan with a highly specific diet, Alban tailored the trip with our needs in mind and always made sure I was well catered for, The historic sites are interesting, the country side is beautiful, the people are warm and friendly and almost everyone speaks fluent English. This country should be much better known for Americans...

Our review is highly positive for Alban and Evasion Albanie but also for Albania as a whole.