Latest news with #Durrës
The Sun
02-07-2025
- The Sun
My must-visit destinations in Eastern Europe with cheap spas and white sand beaches – flights are less than £20
DITCH the classic European escapes for these lesser-known gems - that's the advice from experienced Wizz Air flight attendant, Niko. She's not a regular cabin crew, though as Niko has been with the airline since the very first flight in 2004. 8 Niko told Sun Travel: " Tirana, the capital of Albania, is an overlooked destination. "The beaches are beautiful - it's even been called the European Maldives. You can hire paddleboards and go into secret sea caves on the clear water. "The food is great too, and the price of accommodation is very low." Albania is extremely cheap for Brits, with coffees costing around 167Lek (£1.47). Pints of local beer around 250 Lek (£2.11) and small imported beer bottles costing 350 Lek (£3.07). As for where to stay, you can find a room at a 4-star hotel for an average of £76 per night. But for anyone on a budget, we found stays for as little as £7.20 per night on Another affordable activity in Albania is heading to the spa. The highly rated Ritual Spa in the capital has 60-minute massage services for as little as 4000 lek (around £35). The average price in the UK is between £55 to £90. Five stunning, little-known holiday destinations 8 8 Now, for the beaches, there are plenty near Tirana, from Spille to Durrës and Lalez Beach. But if you want the Maldives experience, you'll have to head further south. This seaside village of Ksamil is where you'll find crystal-clear turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. Travellers on Tripadvisor have advised that you'll likely need to hire out sunbeds on the beach, but this is relatively cheap. One reported going to the Orange Beach Club where they paid €10 (£8.60) for two sunbeds and access to the infinity pool. Ksamil is four hours from the capital of Albania and can be reached by bus or taxi. Check out more tips about Albania from locals who live there - including 40p dishes. With Wizz Air, you can fly from London Luton to Tirana from £19.99 in August. 8 8 Another top Eastern European destination Niko recommends visiting is Sibiu in Transylvania. The city is landlocked so there are no beaches nearby, but there is still plenty to see. Niko added: "I've been to Sibiu in Romania several times already. "You have the mountains, so there's lots of nature, the food is amazing, everything is cheap and the people are so friendly. "And you should try Papanasi. It's a Romanian dessert that's like a doughnut. It tastes amazing, but not good if you're on a diet." A Papanasi is a fried or boiled cheese doughnut, typically served with sour cream and jam. It's soft on the inside and crispy on the outside - and you can pick one up for around £4 in Romania. Everything is cheap and the people are so friendly According to Wise, the cost of a three course meal for two in Sibiu costs an average of 175lei (£30). Beer can cost as little as 5lei, which translates to just 85p. And the price of an average Cappuccino is 12lei (£2). The city is known for its charming and colourful old town and there are still lots of medieval walls and towers to have a look at. While in Sibiu, take a look at The Bridge of Lies which has lots of legends and myths behind it - and when lit up at night, can make for a great picture spot too. According to Tripadvisor, another must-see spot in Sibiu is Muzeul Astra, the largest open air museum in Europe. The Big Square, which is historic and filled with market stalls, cafes, restaurants and shops. Flights from Birmingham to Sibiu with Wizz Air start from £35.99. Niko really knows her stuff on where to visit, as she's been flying with Wizz Air from the very beginning - including its very first flight in 2004. 8 At the time, Wizz Air had just one aircraft which had no luggage compartments, just shelves, and there wasn't a built-in oxygen system either. Thanks to her 26-year-long cabin crew career, there aren't many places Niko hasn't been yet, but there is one on her list - Tromso. The city in Norway is dubbed the Arctic Circle capital. Niko added: "I want to go to Tromso to see the Northern Lights. I've never seen them, even flying as cabin crew - that's next on my list." One Travel Writer visited Tromso where they went on a boat trip and even spotted wild orcas. You can fly from London Luton to Tromso from £49.99 with flights starting in October 2025. 8
The Independent
03-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
British tourist killed in jet ski accident in Albania
A British tourist has died and another is in critical condition following a jet ski accident in Albania. The 34-year-old man lost his life after coming off a jet ski near the Kavaja Rock area in Durrës on Sunday morning (1 June). The two British citizens reportedly lost control of the jet ski and fell into the sea. Emergency services responded to the incident at Durrës Port, where the man was declared dead. An unidentified 31-year-old British woman was also 'transported to hospital in serious condition' following the incident, said border police. Durrës police told Albania news outlet CNA: 'At around 11:15, on 01.06.2025, the Port Durrës Border Police services were notified that, in the area opposite the Kavaja Rock, two citizens who were sailing on a jet ski, are suspected of having lost control of the vessel during manoeuvres and fallen into the water.' 'Border Police Services, after receiving the notification, immediately went by watercraft to assist the two citizens who had fallen into the water, transporting them to the port, with the aim of transporting them to the hospital.' According to A2 CNN, Durrës police have since arrested the jet ski provider for operating without full documentation and life jackets for customers. The Foreign Office said that it had not been approached for assistance in this case.
Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Starmer is a walking deterrent for Albanians coming to Britain
An electorally successful Prime Minister for his country's socialist party, yet dogged by personal corruption scandals, an overseer of sluggish growth and also of democratic backsliding, a fan of football but not of free speech, Keir Starmer met Edi Rama today, the Albanian prime minister. The only visible difference between Sir Keir and his counterpart in Tirana was one of height. The gigantic Rama made Starmer look like a rejected member of Ken Dodd's nightmarish sidekick group, the Diddy Men. Our Prime Minister had spent the morning at the port city of Durrës, presumably as a one-man, walking deterrent to the vast number of Albanians seeking to get to Britain. The adverts would write themselves: 'Would you migrate to a country run by this man?' Migration was the headline issue that brought Sir Keir to Albania. Normally on overseas trips, the job of the Prime Minister is to showcase the best of Britain to the world, encouraging trade, tourism and deeper engagement between us and the host nation. Here, his task was to do the opposite. In fairness, there are few people better qualified than Sir Keir to sell Britain down. Much of the substance of the meeting, if you can call it that, was delivered in classic Starmerite form. A list of quangos, taskforces and the latest, 'return hubs', all designed to convince the nation that he's tough on immigration. This was about being 'practical, sleeves rolled up, getting on with the job' said Sir Keir, mercifully keeping his jacket on. Normally he prefers his visual metaphors as clunky as a bunker from the days of Enver Hoxha, Albania's Communist leader in the 1980s. Ukraine was also mentioned; Starmer talked about 'the front line of Western values'. It had the slight air of those politburo appearances at the end of the Soviet Union; all that repetition of slogans and looking ahead to a fantasy future. The crumbling communist aesthetic and dour content that Starmer brings presumably makes older Albanians feel quite nostalgic. Of course, the most popular Brit in Albania is famously not Sir Keir but another knight, Sir Norman Wisdom. As dictator, Hoxha believed the comedic incompetence of Wisdom's recurring character, Norman Pitkin, and engagements with his boss, Mr Grimsdale, were a perfect metaphor for the struggle of socialism, and made it practically compulsory viewing. Of course, our own Prime Minister has a line in ideological promotion of TV shows; I just suspect that there are more laughs in a Norman Wisdom film than in Adolescence. It was with an air of hubris that Sir Keir hinted that discussions about offshore processing were gaining ground. 'Prime minister Edi and I think alike', he said. 'We prefer not to talk about a problem and walk around it but to get on with it'. This was certainly true of one of them. Within about two minutes, Mr Rama had very publicly destroyed Sir Keir's dreams, by flatly denying that his country would ever host a 'return hub'. Starmer didn't dare contradict him; the Albanian prime minister looked like he'd have him for breakfast.
Washington Post
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Pedersen wins opening Giro d'Italia stage in Albania and claims pink jersey
TIRANA, Albania — Former world champion Mads Pedersen narrowly beat Wout van Aert in a sprint finish to win the opening stage of the Giro d'Italia on Friday and claim the first pink jersey of this year's race, which started in Albania for the first time. Pedersen, who won the world title in 2019 and rides for Lidl-Trek, edged Van Aert by half a wheel in the hilly 160-kilometer (99-mile) stage from Durrës to Tirana, which had a flat finish.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Pedersen wins opening Giro d'Italia stage in Albania and claims pink jersey
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Former world champion Mads Pedersen narrowly beat Wout van Aert in a sprint finish to win the opening stage of the Giro d'Italia on Friday and claim the first pink jersey of this year's race, which started in Albania for the first time. Pedersen, who won the world title in 2019 and rides for Lidl-Trek, edged Van Aert by half a wheel in the hilly 160-kilometer (99-mile) stage from Durrës to Tirana, which had a flat finish. It was Pedersen's second career stage win in the Giro, having also won in Naples two years ago. Venezuelan rider Orluis Aular crossed third. The race remains in Albania for two more days. Stage 2 on Saturday is a 13.7-kilometer individual time trial in Tirana that will test overall contenders like Primoz Roglic and Juan Ayuso. The three-week Grand Tour returns to Italy for Stage 4 in Puglia — directly across the Adriatic Sea from Albania. The finish is in Rome on June 1. ___ AP cycling:
