Raft, Kayak and Hike in Albania

Super trip with like minded people. Really enjoyed how packed it was using all available time to make the most of it. Albania is spectacular and I’ll be coming back!

Absolutely fantastic trip. Fun activities that were not too difficult but still challenging. Beautiful country with great views. Hotels and food were good. Our guide Arti was top notch, communicated well and was helpful every step of the way.

The highlight of the trip was river hiking in the Osumi canyon. Incredible scenery and so much fun to float along the water, jump from cliffs and stand under waterfalls. The accommodation was very nice. We had an excellent guide with us all the time. He was fun, spoke good English and was very helpful. The days were fully packed with activities. We visited so many cool places and nature was so beautiful. The only disappointing thing was the food. I asked in advance if they could offer vegan food but all I got the whole trip was basically side dishes.The others got meat and many different kinds of cheeses for every meal. I got greens and rice. No beans, lentils, nuts or tofu. Usually Bürek is vegan as long as it doesn't contain cheese, which it did in most meals we got unfortunately. If you are vegan I would recommend bringing protein bars or something. I have told the organizers and I hope they will get better in the future.

I had a great time in Albania , the trip was well organised and our guide Arti was exceptionally helpful.

Had the most wonderful week away with two palls from Hull. We met five others adventurers from the uk. Albania is a beautiful country and the people we met where just great, couldn’t do enough for us, Arti and his team looked after us and they did a sterling job. I would go back in a heartbeat and I would certainly recommend much better adventures

Arti is the best guide ever, beautiful places, fine food, exciting stories, nice people, delicious beer, always something going on.

This is a great trip for seeing the beauty of Albania and meeting some locals while doing some fun activities that only require a reasonable fitness level. The other reviewers have covered all the key points already so you know what a you are getting. My only advice would be to arrive the day before to give yourself time to look around Tirana, exchange currency etc, as I arrived from chilly UK wearing jeans to 32 degree heat and was taken straight on a 1.5 hour bus ride and tour of the castle without pause to get changed. Lesson learned!

A well organised and fun activities packed trip. The Albanian nature is absolutely stunning and food’s delicious. Arti and his team worked very hard to make sure all of us were well looked after, thank you.

This was a fab trip! Albania is a stunning country and the people very welcoming. The trip packed so much in to a short time, don't expect any down time! The river walk was my highlight, so glad we did that particularly as we visited during a heat wave. Arti the guide adapted the hike on the first day to around 9km as the heat was too much, which we all appreciated! A few of us also went off the itinerary so that we could watch the football in Berat City which was no problem at all. I would recommend this trip :)

Albania was far more stunning than I thought it would be. The mountains are amazing. The trip was very well put together and the team here (Arti was our guide) were amazing. The little touches were great, some of the lunch spots were incredible and I would have never found them without being on a trip like this. The Vineyard tour was also particularly good.

The activities are for all abilities - the best part of them was the constantly beautiful scenery.

There is a fair amount of driving on this trip, which at times became uncomfortable. But driving around is normally a part of seeking certain river conditions wherever you go!

Overall I’d really recommend this trip!

Arti our guide was amazing and so nice. He was accommodating to our group with all of our strange requests and great to talk to. The hiking was good but recommend bringing your own poles as they had limited sets. Definitely bring a hat and sunscreen. The cave was fascinating and the waterfalls beautiful. We had fun with the white water rafting and the kayaking but wanted more time on the river. The days on the river seemed easy compared to our first long hike. Many of us were working out or running the mornings. I would recommend scheduling one day where we had a morning to explore the town as I never got a chance to get souvenirs or visit local shops (support local!). There was a lot of time on the bus which was uncomfortable for some people but I got reading done. Alma at our first hotel was delightful. I so appreciate her tailoring meals to my limited diet. We had cucumbers, cheese and tomatoes every morning which were fresh and delicious, but really wanted something different half way through the trip. The stories the river guides told us about the area and the river were a nice touch. Mosquitoes are real, bring your spray. The 'thermal mineral pools' should really just be 'mineral pools' no thermal included:)

This was a very well organised trip with non stop fun and adventures in Albania. Excellent accomodation, food, scenery and company. I would strongly recommend this trip to anyone with a sense of adventure and fun.

This was a fantastic trip, and a brilliant introduction to Albania, with so many things packed into the 6 days. As well as the headline activities - kayaking, rafting and hiking - we did a walking tour of the 13th century hill-top castle in Berat, explored a gigantic cave with bats, stalactites and stalagmites on the outskirts of Tirana, spent a morning relaxing at the Benja thermal baths, enjoyed a wine tasting at a family-run Albanian vineyard and went inside massive tunnels dug into the sides of Osumi Canyon during the communist period. We definitely got our money’s worth!

While there was a lot of driving, as previous reviews mention, all these extra stops along the way broke it up and made it manageable. It was also amazing how many of these places we had entirely to ourselves - I would definitely recommend visiting Albania now before it gets fully onto the tourist track.

The guides for the water activities were calm, professional and clearly very experienced - I always felt safe, even when my kayak got stuck in the middle of a rapid! They told me what I needed to do and waded across the rapid to help me out. They also made sure to take lots of pictures of us so we didn’t need to take our phones.

A few pieces of advice - I would pay more attention to the most recent reviews, as the trip itinerary has been refined quite a bit over the last couple of years. Make sure to bring a head torch for the cave visit. And bring proper water shoes - I just wore old trainers, but they never fully dried between activities and got rather smelly.

All in all, I can’t wait to go back to Albania - I’m eyeing up the Southern Coastal Trail trip for next year!

Albania is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever been to and the people were so warm and welcoming, it really made the trip special. The whole team involved in this trip were fantastic but a special mention has to go to our guide Arti and Alma, nothing was too much trouble. The whole trip was really well planned and packed with activities. The food at Castle Park and the restaurants Arti took us to was amazing; you definitely won't go hungry. I would encourage anyone to book this trip, you won't be disappointed.

Wow, what a trip! Albania is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in the world. Arti gave us the best tour and kept us in check and on time throughout. We experienced so much in a short span of time - from rafting in Osumi canyon to kayaking near Permet and exploring caves near Tirana. None of it would have been possible without Arti! I already miss Alma's breakfasts and selection of jams at the Castle Park Hotel - our home away from home ♡ Thank you to Alma and Zamo for having us, it was a special time spent with a big Albanian family.

Trip was brilliant, even better than I had expected, with lots of awesome surprises along the way. Scenery in Albania is epic and untouched, people were lovely and food was great (though a lot of it). Big thanks to Arti as our guide, made it all super easy.

What an incredible trip! Wow....Albania is just beautiful and I encourage everyone to go. I will definitely be going back and this trip was a graat introduction to the country. In terms of the itinerary, you do pack a lot in but there is also some downtime as well.... For example... You go wine tasting and relax in the thermal baths.... So Its not all super active. After reading some reviews.... I was worried about spending alot of time in the van but it was fine and quite relaxing. The scenery is stunning and you get to see parts of the country that you otherwise wouldn't. It was nice to only start at 9am (10am some days) as we could enjoy a leisurely breakfast together. All of the food was incredible... Especially the breakfasts at castle park. The fried dough balls, jams and honey and walnut cake were just stunning 🤤 you will definitely not go hungry on this trip! The lady who owns it was so kind and friendly... We all felt very welcome there. The hotel in permet (you stay one night here) was clean and modern but lacked character and the breakfast there wasnt so good. But that is just a minor complaint and we were totally spoiled at castle park. Arti was a great guide and all of the rafting and kayaking crew were great. The hiking wasn't as long or as difficult as I expected... So don't be put off. In terms of tips I would say change a small amount of money at the airport when you land into LEK but then sort the rest in tirana or beret as the rate isn't good at the airport. I also recommend staying a night or two in tirana to explore... It's a great city and worth checking out. Finally got take some water shoes with you. Get it booked... You won't regret it! ☺️

This trip was a fantastic introduction to Albania! Over the course of this trip we got to explore the mountains and canyons as well as forest and caves. As part of this, we had many local tour guides which really allowed us to get a good sense of the culture and the area. The guides (especially Arti) were extremely helpful and allowed us to have a great time rafting! There is alot of driving involved but there are so many scenic stops along the way making it worth it.

Thanks for a great trip!

Had the most amazing time in Albania. The country is absolutely stunning and the activities were so much fun. Our guide Arti was brilliant and made sure everyone was OK/well looked after throughout the trip.

Alma and the team at Castle Park were also so lovely and helpful and couldn't have done more for us. Would 100% recommend this trip to anyone thinking of coming to Albania.

This was exactly everything that I needed. A back to back activities from hiking, wine tasting, rocky ride to the mountains in a 4x4 jeep to rafting and kayaking. The biggest surprise was that we got to stay in a castle hotel with a view of the mountain and Berat castle. The host and the staff went out of their way to keep us happy. Mixing with people who all have similar interests in activities and wanted to do it together as a group and we enjoyed every minute of it. This is the exact holiday I have in mind.

My only tips are get some LEK monies as soon as you get to the airport as you may visit some remote shops.

Absolutely loved everything and more

Alma, Arti, Ali and the whole team were brilliant

The food was exceptional. Alma is president of the slow food association of Albania and the food was some of tastiest meats, cheese and vegetables tasted. Each meal was a gastronomic feast.

The itinerary was jam packed and fun with lots of wonderful rafting, kayaking and hiking that was off the beaten track and in stunning locations. Wonderful adventures and experiences.

The group gelled super well and all lovely, many have kept in touch.

If Albania isn’t on your radar it should be and this is a special way to do it.

A big thank you to MBA, Alma, Arti, Ali and the whole team for looking after us and all the memories ❤️🦅❤️

The water activities were well organised and a lot of fun, especially the rafting, and we felt particularly safe knowing that we had the captain of the Albanian world champion rafting team as our leaders. The guides were lovely and really well informed. Food in hotel in Berat was amazing! There was a lot of travel in mini bus between destinations, up to 2.5 hrs at times which was probably unavoidable, and though a bit of a drag, the benefit was getting to see a lot of the beautiful Albanian countryside. Hikes were very easy distances so personally i’d book for a little more challenging next time. Overall aa brilliant experience with a great bunch of people, wonderful welcoming hosts and guides, gourmet food and memories to treasure.

Super friendly family run business that went all out to mKe this trip spectacular

Arti was a very attentive guide, always making sure everyone in the group was happy. Very knowledgeable about anything you asked him and took the time to explain it to you. Beautiful hike up Tomorri mountain. Rafting was good fun too, although I would have liked bigger rapids. I went end of March and water was quite flat. Great guides again for the rafting. Kayaking is in double inflatables, so slower than a hard shelled kayak. Tons of food at every meal, you won't go hungry.

Very happy with my trip to Albania!

The country has unspoiled natural beauty - the snow-capped mountains are epic and the river gorges complete with waterfalls are beautiful.

Our guides were very helpful and patient and they had a laugh with us as well, adding to the experience. The activities were great fun! NB - head torch and shoes with good grip strongly recommended for the bat cave on the final day!

Finally... the food! Fresh, rustic, healthy and flavoursome. Cheese, meats, salad, fruit, bread, wine and beer! The local guys at Castle Park did a great job :)

Absolutely incredible. This country and its people deserve the tourism boom they’re currently in. Unbelievable scenery straight out of a movie, great activities and very nice people all throughout the trip. Really took us outside of our comfort zone while keeping it safe. Will be coming back!

This was the most AMAZING trip!! Albania is so beautiful, made perfect by our time spent with Arti and the Rafting Company. Alma and her family are incredible hosts, the kayaking and rafting was more beautiful than the pictures let on. I want to do it all again!

An exceptional Albanian experience with a great mix of activity and leisure. The passionate hosts are experienced and well-resourced and showcased their country with pride. Highly recommended.

The trip was incredibly varied with some great activities and a jam-packed agenda. The activity level should be easy as other than some steep climbs, there isn’t anything particularly physical.

The hosts were brilliant at taking lots of photos of everyone, which was brilliant and meant people didn’t need to worry themselves about it.

The food was good - traditional so a little tricky for fussy eaters or non-meat eaters.

Slightly more relaxation time would’ve been nice, but the agenda was very well thought through.

A lot of driving time - I’m not sure if there are other hotels that could be slightly better placed? Felt like a lot of time was spent in cars - often longer than the activity itself.

Everyone was helpful and welcoming. We were lucky in having a really good group.

The wine tour was an unexpected delight and the river hiking was by far the best experience.

This is a fantastic trip to a wonderful country. Scenery is breathtaking and the range of activities is perfect. Our group was amazing and we all gelled incredibly well. So much thanks to our leader, Arti, and all his local hosts. Albania is a beautiful place of natural wonder with hospitality, welcome and food to match. Great trip!