My husband and I got married during the covid-19 pandemic, so our options for honeymoon destinations (i.e., which countries were allowing Americans to enter) were quite limited. Things were changing so quickly that we booked, and cancelled, 4 different honeymoon plans, until ultimately we chose Albania the day after our wedding, because it was open to Americans. We didn't have much time to plan what to do, so we booked this trip for our first full day there, and left everything else open. It was a great decision!
First, the trip to North Macedonia was amazing! The stops were absolutely breathtaking. This excursion was my husband's favorite thing we did on our honeymoon, and it was my second favorite (after Gjipe beach).
Second, our guide Endrit (apologies if I misspelled it!) was amazing. We were staying in Golem instead of Tirana, and he drove the extra 45 minutes each way to pick us up, without any complaints or requests for additional fees. He also was a very skilled and safe driver, making us feel safe even when the other drivers on the road did crazy things. Endrit spoke English well and was very knowledgeable (and excited!) about his tours (especially the Albanian portions!). Endrit also went above and beyond in other ways, like by taking us to a romantic restaurant for lunch and then letting us have lunch alone while he walked all the way back to where we had left the car and brought it back to the restaurant so we wouldn't have to walk back!
Third, we wanted to do a trip to the South/Albanian Riviera and weren't sure how we would get there. We had called a hotel in Himare and they said they didn't have any suggestions for us other than to rent a car. We asked Endrit if he had any suggestions on how we could make this happen, and he immediately offered to take us there, with any itinerary we wanted (e.g., a day trip, a 4-day trip, etc.). We worked with his organization to decide on a 2-day itinerary that would take us to the places we most wanted to see, plus some extra places off the beaten path that they knew about in the areas we were driving through. Our only criticisms would be that: 1) guided tours aren't the most romantic options (although much more educational and convenient!), so we were happy that we didn't book the 4-day trip and had some alone time in addition to the guided tours; 2) Endrit seemed to want to throw in some surprise extras, which was very nice, but if I were doing this over, I think I would insist on an exact itinerary, so that I can make sure that the things we want to do are being prioritized (e.g., that we get to the beach while it is still warm out instead of close to sunset); and 3) the car we took to the South's air conditioning seemed to have broken (my husband and I were sweating sitting in the car WAY more than we had been on our multi-hour vigorous hike on this trip), but Endrit apologized for this and indicated that he would look into getting it fixed when he returns, so I assume that won't be a problem for future travelers.
Overall, we very much recommend this trip, and any other trips you might take with this group!
