Health & safety

Albania Health & Safety: Roads, Water and Strays

Albania is widely considered a safe country for tourists, and most visits pass without incident on the standard circuit. A handful of practical points are worth knowing in advance rather than discovering on the road.

Updated 2026-08-15

Mountain Roads: Drive to the Conditions

Albania's mountain routes take longer than their map distance suggests, and the safety angle is closely related. Roads like the Llogara Pass and the approach into Valbona are narrow, wind through genuine mountain terrain, and sometimes lack the guardrails a driver from Western Europe or North America might expect as standard — self-driving these routes calls for a measured pace, full attention and a readiness to pull over for oncoming traffic on blind curves, rather than driving to the speed the road surface alone might suggest is possible. Weather can also close or seriously slow mountain routes with little warning, particularly outside the main summer season, so building a buffer day into any itinerary crossing them is a reasonable precaution rather than overcaution.

Tap Water

Tap water in Albania is treated but not consistently considered safe for visitors to drink untreated, and bottled water is the standard, low-effort precaution most travellers take throughout the country, including in Tirana. It's widely and cheaply available, and carrying a reusable bottle to refill from bottled sources rather than relying on tap water is the simplest way to avoid any issue without overthinking it.

Stray Dogs

Stray dogs are a common and generally harmless sight across Albania's cities and towns, including central Tirana, and most are accustomed to people and simply going about their own business rather than posing any threat. The standard, sensible precaution — giving a wide berth to any dog that seems agitated, avoiding direct eye contact with an unfamiliar animal, and not approaching strays to pet them, however friendly they look — applies here as it would anywhere with a visible stray population, and is worth knowing in advance simply so the sight itself doesn't come as an unexpected surprise.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, with the right approach — routes like the Llogara Pass and the road into Valbona are narrow and wind through genuine mountain terrain, sometimes without guardrails, so a measured pace and full attention matter more than they would on a typical European highway. Weather can also close or slow these roads with little warning, so build in some schedule buffer.

It's treated but not consistently considered safe for visitors to drink untreated, so bottled water is the standard, low-effort precaution most travellers take throughout the country, including in Tirana. It's cheap and widely available.

Generally not — stray dogs are a common sight in Albanian cities and towns, including Tirana, and most are accustomed to people and harmless. Standard sensible precautions apply: give an agitated-looking dog a wide berth, avoid direct eye contact with unfamiliar animals, and don't approach strays to pet them.

Part of the Albania guide.

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