Albania by campervan: safety and healthcare

Campervan safety in Albania: vehicle security, healthcare, emergency contacts and practical prevention. What to know before you go.

Published 18 September 2026Last checked 19 September 2026

Currency
Lek
ALL, not the euro. 92.27 lek to €1 in September 2026
Language
Albanian
Italian and English are common in tourist towns
Driving
Right
Motorway 130 km/h, towns 40 km/h
Insurance
Green card required
Carry it. Albania is not in the EU arrangement
Tap water
Do not drink it
The Foreign Office says bottled water only
Emergency
112
Ambulance 127

Safety and health

Crime targeting foreigners is rare in Albania, and the road is not. That is the Foreign Office's assessment and it matches what people report: pickpockets in tourist areas and on public transport, and very little else aimed at visitors, against a road network where deaths are among the highest in Europe. The single most useful safety decision you make here is to stop driving before dark.

A stone house with a slate roof and outbuildings on a green hillside — Arrive in daylight. There is no street lighting outside the towns

What works

Stop driving before dark. Unlit roads, unlit vehicles and poor surfaces compound after sunset.
Bottled water for drinking and cooking, tank water for washing. Do not mix the two up.

Health and pharmacies

112 for emergency services, 127 for an ambulance.
A farmaci is the pharmacy and the sensible first stop for anything minor.

Unexploded landmines remain in some remote areas around hill towns on the northern border with Kosovo. The Foreign Office's advice is specific and limited to that area: take care hiking, follow warning signs, do not walk on uncultivated land and do not step off marked paths. If in doubt, ask locally. This is a reason to keep to tracks in the far north east, not a reason to avoid the country.