Travel insurance to Albania is as essential as a passport and money. From the article, you will learn about the pitfalls and find a wealth of useful and interesting information. Additionally, it highlights where and why you need insurance and how you can save some money on it.
Why is insurance necessary in Albania?
Let’s start with the fact that having insurance is strictly required for obtaining a visa to many countries worldwide, including all Schengen Zone countries (if you are not an EU citizen). However, as you know, Albania is not part of the Schengen Zone, and for residents of many countries, no visa is required to enter Albania. For up-to-date information, read the article on visa requirements in Albania.
Important to know:
Insurance is not mandatory for entry into Albania. According to the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, it is listed among the recommended documents.
This means that it is unlikely to be checked at the border crossing. In my 30+ trips to Albania (as a non-citizen), I have been asked to show insurance only twice, and both times were during the post-COVID period.
Here are some recommendations regarding insurance:
- It should cover your entire stay in the country.
- The insurance policy must cover all expenses related to COVID-19 treatment. Read more about coronavirus in Albania here.
- The coverage limit should be at least 30,000 euros.
Advice:
I believe there is no need to emphasize the importance of insurance while vacationing abroad. Hopefully, it will never be needed. But if anything happens (more on that below), it will more than pay for itself.
Insurance brings peace of mind
Yes, Albania does not have poisonous insects and predators, except for bears in the mountains. There are no rare and exotic diseases like yellow fever or malaria here. However, a couple of years ago, my wife and I got infected with Dengue fever in Singapore. Diagnosis and treatment were available, and no one died, but the bill amounted to $3,700 per person. Fortunately, we had an insurance coverage. However, in Albania, there are mountains, hiking, rafting, and high sun activity during peak season in summer, among other things.
Anything can happen anytime. Although Albania is a safe country for tourists, one should always be prepared. Luckily, insurance is inexpensive, and it won’t make your vacation more expensive or safer, but it will certainly add peace of mind.
Comprehensive travel insurance to Albania
Let’s talk about two fundamentally different types of insurance.
- There is regular insurance that your travel agent can arrange when you purchase a tour package.
- And there is comprehensive medical insurance to Albania that you can purchase separately.
I won’t go into detail on how they work; instead, I will mention below what points are included in the comprehensive insurance, which are definitely not covered by regular insurance:
- Know that regular insurance never covers sunburn cases. This is the case worldwide. This provision applies only to children under 12. It is believed that adults have their heads on their shoulders and can control their exposure to the sun. However, comprehensive insurance covers sunburn cases.
- Read about weather conditions, solar activity, and high season through the provided link.
- Active sports. including driving a car/scooter, kayaking, and even hiking in the mountains. Injuries sustained during such activities are not covered by basic insurance, but they are covered by comprehensive insurance.
- Delayed flights or lost luggage? Comprehensive insurance covers the expenses.
- While COVID-19 treatment is now included in regular insurance, there are still many pitfalls and hidden clauses. In comprehensive insurance, everything is guaranteed, including taxi expenses to the hospital and phone calls with the insurance company.
- Also, an important point for women planning to travel during pregnancy. Regular insurance never covers the costs in case of any complications during pregnancy, while comprehensive insurance does.
- And there are many more points, such as toothaches, and so on.
Important to know:
No insurance policy covers incidents that occur while under the influence of alcohol! However, there are options where the alcohol is not tracked by the insurance company. More on this below.
Insurance to Albania: Where to Buy and How Much Does It Cost?
There are plenty of options:
- At any insurance company in your hometown.
- At travel agencies and visa centers.
- Online, on one of the hundreds of services available.
- The pros? In reality, there are no cons. We live in the 21st century, the digital age. We’ve been making all our purchases online for a long time, and insurance is no exception.
- It’s convenient to choose exactly the coverage you need, and you don’t pay for what you don’t need.
- No need to go anywhere. The insurance voucher is sent to your email, and it’s sufficient to keep it on your phone.
- And most importantly for me, you can buy it on the way to the airport if you forgot. Or even while the plane is taxiing on the runway.
- The pros? In reality, there are no cons. We live in the 21st century, the digital age. We’ve been making all our purchases online for a long time, and insurance is no exception.
Price of Insurance
I won’t give you exact figures as it varies greatly. But I’ll give you an estimate. If regular insurance for two weeks in Albania costs around 13 euros, then extended insurance in Albania will cost starting from 23 euros. The most comprehensive insurance with maximum coverage for active sports can cost up to 250 euros for the same period.
The decision is yours to make. Enter “insurance to Albania” in a search engine, and you’ll get a hundred options.
Tips and Recommendations
A personal tip from the author: It doesn’t matter which country you’re going to. It doesn’t matter which insurance you decide to buy, regular (yes, it’s cheaper) or comprehensive. You must have insurance. And if you’re going on vacation with children, you already know everything.
From my side, I recommend one service – EKTA. Its special feature is that when purchasing Gold or Max packages, alcohol is not tracked by the insurance company. Unlike most other insurances.
In conclusion:
I hope you understand that insurance is a must for everyone traveling to Albania. However, which insurance to buy and where to buy it is up to you. There are pros and cons everywhere. But I can tell you one thing, having insurance won’t make your vacation safer, but it will certainly help you sleep better.
Have a peaceful journey through Albania!
Resources to help you plan your dream trip to Albania
- Flights at the best prices with best discounts
- Car rental in Albania (cheaper – only by bus):
- DiscoverCars – a major international resource
- LocalRent – the leader in the Albanian car rental market. Very low deposits, even in cash.
- Hotels and apartments throughout the country:
- Tours, excursions and activities:
- GetYourGuide – more than 550 tours
- Viator – 920+ excursions and activities throughout the country
- Comprehensive travel insurance: EKTA
- Internet and Calls:
- Airalo eSIM in Albania from $4.5
- DRIMSIM – universal SIM card (or eSIM) in any country in the world.
- Taxi and airport transfer: Intui.Travel