Albania is one of Europe’s most underrated gems. I’ve already been twice, and I’ve been telling you for years to go before it gets too touristy (like so much of that continent sadly is). There’s now a direct connection to North America.
Yes, a direct Canada–Albania flight! On a Canadian airline that keeps adding really unique routes.
Here are the details of the new Canada–Albania route.
What is the new Canada–Albania route?
The new Canada–Albania air route is between Toronto (YYZ) and Tirana (TIA) on Air Transat. The airline just announced this very first route between the incredible European country and all of North America!!!
Here are the essentials about the new Canada–Albania route:
- Offered by Canadian airline Air Transat
- Leisure airline
- Between Toronto (YYZ) and Tirana (TIA)
- Toronto is an Air Transat hub
- Tirana is the capital of Albania
- Accessible from many other cities in Canada
- With a Porter connecting flight
- More expensive than with the self-transfer tip
- Like almost always for flights to Europe
- Around 1400 CAD roundtrip
- Or 140,000 points of the more simple type
- Possibly bookable with VIPorter points
- Several Air Transat European routes are
- Not available yet for now, but stay tuned
It’s not a very useful route for those who want to save money. And not very useful for anyone who doesn’t live in Toronto. But it’s always great news for the market overall when airlines offer new routes!
What are the details of the new Canada–Albania route?
Here are the details of the new Canada–Albania flights on Air Transat:
- New seasonal route
- Not year-round
- From June 18 to October 8
- Only 1x per week
- Thursdays to Europe
- Fridays to Canada
- Typical transatlantic schedule
- TS422 YYZ-TIA (9h): 10PM to 1PM (+1)
- TS423 TIA-YYZ (10h15): 3PM to 7:15PM
- Distance of 7,622 kilometers (4,736 miles)
- Operated by an Airbus A330-200
- 320 seats in economy class
- 12 seats in premium economy class (Club)
A flight that operates 1x per week is an extremely low frequency, but it’s certainly always better than no flight at all.
Why visit Albania?
Those who are pros at European travel know very well that everything is better in the East. There are fewer tourists, fewer high prices caused by too many tourists, and fewer bad welcomes from locals caused by too many tourists.
Albania is the perfect example. The entire Balkans region is great, but Albania is certainly one of my favorite countries in Europe.
And yet it’s still a quite unknown destination (especially among North American travelers). It’s clear that it’s going to become as overcrowded as Croatia eventually. It’s kind of like Croatia 15-20 years ago. Go before it changes!
The country is fascinating. It was completely closed off from the world until the 199os, which isn’t that long ago.
It’s also among the most exotic in Europe, being one of the few majority-Muslim countries (but officially secular with no state religion) and one that has a unique language that is neither Latin, nor Germanic, nor Slavic.
It’s beautiful whether you like cities, history, culture, nature, beaches, etc. The country is small, but has surprisingly a lot of variety.
With Kevin, Flytrippers’ other cofounder, we did a roadtrip in Albania that allowed us to cross almost the entire country. It was great.
I had also already visited the capital, Tirana, before, which is a really surprising city.
But my favorite remains Gjirokastër, a pretty town that is one of the 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Albania.
Those who love coasts and the sea will adore the Albanian Riviera, in the south near the border with Greece.
If you like mountains, Albania has that too (the Albanian Alps are beautiful). You want Roman and Ottoman ruins? Albania has that too! There really is something for everyone.
And Albanians are genuinely happy to welcome travelers.
You can read our post about the 11 best destinations in Albania.
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Summary
Air Transat is launching a new Canada–Albania route, and it’s actually the very first air route between one of our favorite European countries and all of North America! It’s not that useful for those who want to save money (nor for those who don’t live in Toronto), but it’s always good to have new routes on the market!
What would you like to know about this new Canada-Albania route? Tell us in the comments below.
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Featured image: Vlora and Gjirokaster, Albania (photo credit: Olga Budko & Adventure Albania, edited by Flytrippers)
