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North Albania Tours
This is a small independent tour operator based just outside Shkodër in, you guessed it, northern Albania. They are of prime relevance to dark tourism for a particular tour in their portfolio, namely day tours to the former Hoxha-era prison of Spaç. I took that tour, with pickup from my hotel in Tirana, in April 2022 and can thus vouch for the quality of that tour. It is not cheap, but I found it very much worth it, as getting to this remote place in the mountains independently is, while not impossible, not so easily done … and getting behind the wheel to drive in Albania yourself is certainly not for everyone in any case. So it’s cool that you can book these tours instead. I describe what I got to see in my Spaç chapter on this website. And here is how North Albania Tours present the tour on their own website (external link, opens in a new tab).
If you too decide to book such a tour with North Albania Tours make sure to mention that you found them through dark-tourism.com! (Here’s why.)
Another thing relevant for dark tourism that they offer is a tour of another former prison, now a museum about repression under communism in Albania in general (see here), namely in the centre of Shkodër (though they don’t, as yet, advertise that on their own website – so you’d have to specifically ask for it). I haven’t been on such a tour yet but will make sure that I book that tour the next time I visit Albania.
North Albania Tours, run by the likeable Florian Kodra, also operate a guest house some 2.5 miles (4 km) outside Shkodër. So if you stay at the guest house you can go on those tours from there. They also offer a wide range of other tours, including hiking, horseback riding, nature and wine tours. There is a family connection with winemaking, hence. And Albanian wines can be very good, as I also discovered for myself (independently of this outfit).
To book a tour with North Albania Tours go to their website (external link, opens in a new tab) or email Florian Kodra direct at fsguesthouse[at]gmail.com