6 guides, each rated 1 to 5 with the reason — and two lists per place, where you are comfortable and where to pay attention. Nowhere is called dangerous; the specific thing is what helps.
Very comfortable, day and night, and a UNESCO town that lives off its visitors and knows it. The castle streets are cobbled, steep and unlit in places — a torch after dark. The Osum canyon rafting operators vary; use the ones with life jackets and a guide who knows the water.
Comfortable: Mangalem · Gorica · the castle, Kala · the boulevard
the castle lanes after dark — cobbles, steps and no lights; a torch, not a worry
the Osum canyon in high water — choose a rafting operator with jackets and a guide
Very comfortable, and quiet after ten. The cobbles are polished glass when wet and the streets are steep; that is the whole safety briefing. The Greek border road south is fine; the mountain roads east are for daylight.
Comfortable: the old bazaar · the castle · Palorto
the cobbles in the rain — polished stone on a steep hill; good shoes
the mountain roads east towards Përmet after dark — unlit, unfenced and slow
Very comfortable, a small place with a long season. The road over the Llogara pass is the risk — hairpins, no barriers in places, and drivers who know it too well. Gjipe beach has no shade, no water and no shop; take both.
Comfortable: the beach road · the old village · Potami
the Llogara pass — hairpins without barriers and drivers who know the road too well
Gjipe beach — no shade, no water, no shop and a steep walk back
Comfortable and small. The complaints are sunbed touts, jet-skis too close to swimmers, and the August crowd. Leave nothing on the beach while you swim to an island — not theft so much as the tide and the kids.
Comfortable: the village · the beaches · the road to Butrint
the main beaches in August — sunbed touts and jet-skis close to the swimmers
a bag left on the sand while you swim out — more the tide and the crowd than a thief, but it goes
Comfortable, and walking the centre and Blloku late is normal. Pickpocketing is rare by European standards; the real risk is the driving, which treats a crossing as a suggestion, and the pavements, which have holes. Taxis off the app round up; use the app or agree the fare.
Comfortable: Blloku · Skanderbeg Square · Pazari i Ri · the Grand Park
the ring road and the boulevards on foot — the driving treats a crossing as a suggestion; use the lights and wait for a gap
taxis hailed in the street — rounded-up fares; use the app or agree the price first
the streets behind the train station late — unlit and empty rather than anything else
Comfortable, including on the promenade late. In August the town is a party and the drunk-tourist problems come with it; out of season it is a fishing town. Taxis overcharge without an agreed fare, and the coast road has some of the worst driving in the country.
Comfortable: the promenade · the old town streets above the port · Lëkurësi castle road
the promenade bars in August — the drinking, and the theft that works a drunk crowd
taxis without a fare agreed — the standard overcharge
the coast road on a scooter — blind bends and driving that does not expect you
The ratings are this site's own, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in; they are not an index. Read the general advice in travel safety tips.
