Do I have to know what I want first?

No. Most people arrive with a rough month and a vague feeling. That is a perfectly good place to start — the questions we ask will do the rest.

How many people does it take?

Two. There is no minimum group size and no fixed departure date to work around.

Is there a charge for the planning?

No. The design is free, however many times we redraw it, and we take no deposit until you have an itinerary you actually want.

How far ahead should I write?

For summer in the mountains, a few months is comfortable. Outside high season, a few weeks is often enough — and short notice is always worth asking about, because we sometimes make it work.

Can we combine countries?

Yes, and it is one of the best reasons to come to us. We operate across Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Greece and Bosnia, so a multi-country trip stays one operator and one point of contact.

Can you mix one of your tours with our own days?

Often the best shape of all: one of our published treks or rides, then a week of coast or countryside designed entirely around you.

Why come to you rather than a tailor-made brand?

Most tailor-made journeys to this part of the world are designed in an office in London or Melbourne, then handed to a local operator to run the beds, the guides, the vehicles and the border crossings. For the Western Balkans, we are frequently that operator; international brands have trusted us with their travellers since 1991. Coming to us directly removes a margin and a translation: when you say you want to walk four hours and be somewhere with a good dinner by six, that reaches the person who knows which guesthouse cooks late.

How do booking and payment work?

20% deposit by card once you approve the itinerary; balance by bank transfer 60 days before departure. Cancellation: 61+ days the deposit is kept as a 12-month credit, 60–31 days 50%, 30–15 days 75%, 14 days or less 100%.

•GSTC CertifiedUNDP SDG Award Winner 2025Since 1991Trusted by Exodus, Topas and other international brands

Private & tailor-made Albania

Your Albania, designed by the people who run it.

Private trips through Albania and the Western Balkans, built around your dates and people.

Tell us your dates →See the trips

Who we build for

Four kinds of journey, none of them off a shelf.

Couples & independent travellers

Two people, two or three weeks, no fixed plan yet. The most common enquiry we get, and the most rewarding to build.

Families

Multi-generational trips where the ten-year-old and the seventy-year-old both need a good day. Pace, not compromise.

Groups of friends

Six to sixteen people who want their own guide, their own vehicle and their own timetable.

Special occasions

Anniversaries, milestone birthdays, or a return to the village a family came from. We take these personally.

One layer, not three

The company designing your trip is the company operating it. Nothing is subcontracted, nothing is marked up twice.

From two people

No minimum group and no departure dates to fit around. A couple, a family, or twelve friends.

Free to try

The design costs nothing, with no deposit until you want it. You get a first proposal within 48 hours (working days); full day-by-day itinerary and firm price within 5 working days.

Answered by the family

Your enquiry reaches the people who run Sondor — not a call centre, not a booking desk.

In short

Tailor-made Albania, in plain facts.

What: Private, tailor-made trips in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Greece and Bosnia, on your dates.
Who runs it: Sondor Travel, designing and operating from Tirana since 1991. Albania’s first GSTC-certified tour operator; 700+ hotels and guesthouses across the region.
Group size: Two or more travellers. No fixed departure dates.
Included: Your own English-speaking driver-guide and vehicle; beds, transfers and border paperwork arranged by us.
Price: One fixed price for the itinerary. From about six travellers, per person usually the same as or lower than a group tour.
Planning: Free, with no deposit until you approve the itinerary.
Reply: Send your dates, group size and interests. You get a first proposal within 48 hours (working days); full day-by-day itinerary and firm price within 5 working days.

How it works

From a vague idea to a confirmed trip.

You write to us

One line is enough: roughly when, roughly how many, roughly what you like doing. You don't need a plan — most people don't have one yet.

We ask better questions

How far you like to walk. Whether you'd rather have a swimming pool or a grandmother's kitchen. What went wrong on your last trip.

A real itinerary, a real price

Day by day, with actual place names, actual driving times and one clear number — not a range, not a “from”. You get a first proposal within 48 hours (working days); full day-by-day itinerary and firm price within 5 working days.

We redraw it until it's right

Change as much as you like before any deposit. Then the same team operates the trip, with a number that answers while you're here.

The design is free.

However many times we redraw it. There is no deposit until the itinerary is one you actually want — and if we have read you wrong, we start again.

Send the first line →

Freshly baked Albanian bërek on a board with garlic and yoghurt

What we handle

Everything between the front door and the front door.

Beds
From family guesthouses to the best hotels in the country — chosen by what suits the day, not by what pays commission.
Guides & drivers
Our own people, English-speaking, briefed on your group before you land.
Transport
Private vehicles sized to the group, including the roads that need a 4×4 and the ones that need a boat.
The whole region
Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Greece and Bosnia — border paperwork included, one operator throughout.
Food
Where to eat, and on the remote days, arranging that there is anything to eat at all.
While you're here
One number, answered by someone in Tirana who can change today's plan today.

The ground we know

Six countries, one operator.

Autumn trees below the limestone peaks of the Valbona valley

The Albanian Alps

Valbona, the high pastures and Tropojë — walking, or simply staying somewhere with that view.

Visitors on the stage of the ancient theatre at Butrint

Butrint & the south

A Greek theatre in a Roman city in a national park — and the Ionian coast an hour away.

A cobbled bazaar street of Ottoman stone houses in Gjirokastër

Berat & Gjirokastër

The UNESCO Ottoman towns — still lived in rather than preserved.

A small rowing boat alone on wide still water between low hills

The lakes & the water

Butrint's lagoon, Ohrid, Prespa and Shkodra — wide, quiet water in three countries.

What it costs

An honest answer about money.

Tailor-made is not automatically expensive, and it is not automatically cheap. A private trip for two costs more per person than joining a group. From around half a dozen travellers it usually costs the same or less, because the guide and the vehicle are shared between you rather than sold to you.

We will tell you early if what you are describing does not fit what you want to spend, and we will tell you where the money actually goes. If a cheaper version would make a worse trip, we will say that too.

Tell us your budget honestly →

Hand-painted wooden flutes and woven rugs on a market stall in Albania

The Sondor difference

Thirty-five years on the ground. One family.

A family DMC since 1991

Founded by Sadik Malaj and run today by the second generation, Sondor is Albania's longest-established destination management company. Your enquiry is handled by the family who runs the trips.

Certified, not just claimed

The first GSTC-certified company in Albania, and winner of the UNDP SDG Business Pioneers Award 2025.

Trusted by the trade

International operators have put their travellers in our hands for three decades. The same team, the same guides, the same guesthouses — without the layer in between.

Before you write

FAQ

Do I have to know what I want first?
No. Most people arrive with a rough month and a vague feeling. That is a perfectly good place to start — the questions we ask will do the rest.
How many people does it take?
Two. There is no minimum group size and no fixed departure date to work around.
Is there a charge for the planning?
No. The design is free, however many times we redraw it, and we take no deposit until you have an itinerary you actually want.
How far ahead should I write?
For summer in the mountains, a few months is comfortable. Outside high season, a few weeks is often enough — and short notice is always worth asking about, because we sometimes make it work.
Can we combine countries?
Yes, and it is one of the best reasons to come to us. We operate across Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Greece and Bosnia, so a multi-country trip stays one operator and one point of contact.
Can you mix one of your tours with our own days?
Often the best shape of all: one of our published treks or rides, then a week of coast or countryside designed entirely around you.
Why come to you rather than a tailor-made brand?
Most tailor-made journeys to this part of the world are designed in an office in London or Melbourne, then handed to a local operator to run the beds, the guides, the vehicles and the border crossings. For the Western Balkans, we are frequently that operator; international brands have trusted us with their travellers since 1991. Coming to us directly removes a margin and a translation: when you say you want to walk four hours and be somewhere with a good dinner by six, that reaches the person who knows which guesthouse cooks late.
How do booking and payment work?
20% deposit by card once you approve the itinerary; balance by bank transfer 60 days before departure. Cancellation: 61+ days the deposit is kept as a 12-month credit, 60–31 days 50%, 30–15 days 75%, 14 days or less 100%.

Start planning

Tell us roughly what you’re imagining.

A month, a number of people, and the kind of days you enjoy is enough to begin. You get a first proposal within 48 hours (working days); full day-by-day itinerary and firm price within 5 working days. With it, an honest opinion about whether it’s the right trip.

Start the conversation →

Or reach us directly:bookings@sondortravel.com +355 68 22 75 147