Worst travel experience
I have travelled to more than 60 countries, and unfortunately, I have never experienced anything quite like Albania.
This is purely based on my personal experience, but I found the interactions with people here to be noticeably less friendly than in other countries I have visited. On several occasions, people were quite rude or aggressive. I lost count of how many times people cut in line at supermarkets or became frustrated and started shouting because I couldn’t understand Albanian.
For example, a truck hit my car while it was parked. Instead of apologising, the driver became very aggressive and started yelling at me, claiming that my perfectly parked car was in his way. I had to call the police, who eventually resolved the situation. The driver continued to behave aggressively and even threatened me until the police arrived.
There were also two occasions at petrol stations where staff became upset and started shouting because I didn’t understand Albanian. I experienced similar situations with a barber who didn’t accept cards, at the beach when my child was running too close to someone’s chairs, and even when simply asking people for directions.
The traffic has probably been the most difficult part of the experience. Driving often feels extremely aggressive, with constant honking and people driving far above the speed limit. If the limit is 40 km/h, it can feel like everyone else is driving at 100+. I found it particularly stressful when simply trying to follow the posted speed limits.
Of course, I realise that a few negative experiences don’t represent an entire country or its people, and I’m sure many visitors have very different experiences. But after visiting more than 60 countries, Albania is unfortunately the only country I have visited that I genuinely regret visiting.