Cycling holiday in Albania

Planet

During the many years of communist rule Albania was cut off from the outside world, but now times have changed and it’s proving to be a popular destination for visitors looking to experience untouched countryside vistas, visit ancient sites and swim in the crystal clear coastal waters. Our trip is designed to gain an insight into this fascinating land and to experience the wide variety of sights it has to offer.

During breaks form cycling Tour Leaders will explain about the local fauna and flora and also village life and customs, and about the importance of safeguarding these for future generations. We will visit Butrint, which is one of the great archaeological sites in the Balkans. By visiting Butrint we are helping to fund the ongoing work to conserve this important historical site.

We encourage all customers to take a reusable water bottle with them when travelling which helps to reduce the number of plastic bottles provided and used locally. Along the routes we take on this trip there are plenty of fresh, good quality water sources to make good use of your reusable bottle.

As a travel company we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key, and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage.

People

Aside from the cycling, a focus of this trip is the traditions and culture of Albania. We use a local Tour Leader and guides on this trip who know the country very well and who will help to give us a unique insight into the history, customs, culture and folklore of Albania and get us that bit closer to the local people.

As we travel around we stay in a variety of local, family run hotels and eat out in small restaurants which brings direct economic benefits to the communities we visit.

Our local agent in Albania also feels passionately about operating responsibly, and they have their own sustainable tourism pact, which includes ways that they minimise the amount of waste and plastic used and the importance of using local suppliers, they also have an animal welfare policy and support a number of local projects that benefit the communities where they operate trips. Recently they received the Golden Bee Award for Touristic Entrepreneurship Excellency from the Albanian Government. They were chosen due to the great work they do to help make Tirana a greener capital. They’ve done this by planting new trees and promoting cycling, green energies and recycling practices.

As a company we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of the UK travel industry body AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.