What a Month in Vlorë Actually Cost Me

I tracked every single expense during my time in Vlorë. Every coffee, every bus ticket, every bag of tomatoes from the market. Not because I'm obsessive about money, but because I wanted to identify the real cost for comparison and share with others.

Cheap isn't the point. The question that matters is: what kind of life can you actually build, and what does it cost?

So here's the full picture. Thirty-five days in Vlorë, Albania, September to October 2025. No cherry-picking, no rounding down.

Total spend: £1,391 / €1,649 / $1,760

That's roughly £1,200 / €1,420 / $1,510 per month if you project it out. This excludes flights and travel insurance, which I'll address at the end.

The Full Breakdown

Accommodation: £648 / €768 / $820

This was my biggest expense, and it's worth explaining what I actually got for it.

I rented a 65m² one-bedroom apartment on the Lungomare, right by the seafront promenade. Found it through a local agent for €700 per month.

The building itself was older. The elevator had seen better days. But the apartment's strengths made up for it: genuine space to live and work in, and a fully fitted kitchen with every utensil I could need. That last part mattered more than I expected. Having a proper kitchen with decent pots, sharp knives, and all the basics meant I could actually cook properly.

That negotiation matters too. I found it on Airbnb price with a significantly higher price. If you're staying a month or more, always ask about direct arrangements. Unless you commit to at least a 6 months rental you’re always going to have to accept paying more.

For context: a similar-sized apartment in a UK coastal town would cost £1,200-1,500 per month minimum. I was paying less than half that for more space in a better location.

Food: £416 / €493 / $526

Here's where my month looked different from what you might expect. I cooked most things. Not to save money, but because I genuinely wanted to.

Groceries from supermarkets: £319 / €378 / $403

My main shop was at local supermarkets for staples: meat, dairy, wine, cleaning products, water. A typical weekly shop ran about £20-25.

Some prices that stuck with me:

• Frozen chicken and pork for the week: £7.13 / €8.45 / $9
• 6 litres of water: £1.26 / €1.50 / $1.60
• Bottle of OK local wine: £3-4 / €3.50-4.70 / $4-5

Fresh produce from the market: £75 / €89 / $95

This really stood out. The quality of fresh produce in Vlorë is brilliant. This is why I cooked more.

A large fresh fish from the fishmonger: £6.75 / €8 / $8.50. Enough for two meals.

Spinach, coriander, mint and parsley: £1.98 / €2.35 / $2.50 for the lot.

Courgettes, carrots, peppers, broccoli, red onions and limes: £3.15 / €3.73 / $4.

Large mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and an avocado: £7.19 / €8.52 / $9.

Local feta (300g): £3.15 / €3.73 / $4. Olives: £1.85 / €2.19 / $2.35.

In the UK you don't see as many fresh markets these days. When you do they charge a premium. I found myself eating better here. Not because I was trying harder, but because the ingredients were so good that cooking became something I looked forward to rather than a chore.

Bakery: £10 / €12 / $13

Cheese birek for 72p to £1.08 (80-120 LEK each). A sandwich and two sausage cheese rolls for £2.70. The bakeries here are dangerous for the waistline.

Takeaway: £12 / €14 / $15

Occasionally I didn't feel like cooking. I’m not big on pizzas but after a few beers I got a massive 15-inch pizza from a local takeaway: £8.50 / €10 / $11 (950 LEK). Enough to feed a small family or additional breakfast in my case.

The real savings: markets, fishmongers, and bakeries

Here's what I wish someone had told me before I arrived: the supermarkets in Vlorë aren't where the value is. They're fine for packaged goods, cleaning products, and wine. But for fresh food, the local markets, fishmongers, and bakeries offer better quality at lower prices.

Fresh salmon at the supermarket: around £16 per kilo. At the local fishmonger: £12 per kilo. Fresh prawns: £12.50 per kilo versus £15+ in a UK supermarket. Sea bass and bream.

The bakeries everywhere. A fresh loaf of wheat bread: 90p. Whole wheat: £1.08. In the supermarket, that same quality would cost more for the packaged equivalent. And nothing packaged tastes like bread pulled from the oven an hour ago.

The food market follows the same pattern. Seasonal, local produce at great prices. Once I discovered this, my shopping adjusted naturally to go there more. It was at the top part of Vlorë otherwise I would have visited it more..

If you're trying to eat well on a budget here, you could skip the supermarket produce aisle entirely. Find the market. Find the fishmonger.

Eating Out: £86 / €102 / $109

I'll be honest: I didn't eat at restaurants much. Unlike some places where dining out is central to my experience, in Vlorë I found more satisfaction in cooking with those market ingredients in my well-equipped kitchen.

When I did go out, here's what meals cost:

A full meal on the touristy priced Lungomare: Greek salad, tzatziki, beef steak with chips, and half a litre of wine. Total: £15.29 / €18 / $19.

Near the port: beer, water, Greek salad, pork steak with chips. Total: £12.13 / €14 / $15.

A big meal with wine in the capital Tirana on my last night: £17.99 / €21 / $23. That was me going all out.

The restaurants are there when you want them. The prices are reasonable. I just found I wanted them less than I expected.

Coffee and Drinks: £48 / €57 / $60

Coffee shops: £32 / €38 / $40

Albania runs on coffee. The café culture is strong, and the prices are gentle.

A tiny espresso at a seafront café: 72p / €0.85 / $0.90. An Americano: 90p / €1.07 / $1.14. A latte at a nicer place: £1.62-2.25 / €1.90-2.70 / $2-2.85.

But here's something I didn't expect: about half my café visits I ordered çaj mente (Albanian mint tea) instead. It's everywhere, costs almost nothing, and became a genuine health bonus. Refreshing, caffeine-free, good for digestion. I found myself actively choosing it over coffee, which says something.

Bars and drinks: £16 / €19 / $20

Three small beers at Beer House 24: £4.49 / €5.32 / $5.68. A raki at a bar in Tirana: £1.35 / €1.60 / $1.71.

The drinking culture here is relaxed. Nobody's rushing you.

Health: £42 / €50 / $54

Dental cleaning: £17.33 / €20 / $22

I got my teeth cleaned at a local dentist. The quality was fine. In the UK, this would cost £50-70 privately.

Pharmacy: £25 / €30 / $32

Mosquito spray, sun lotion, plasters. Nothing remarkable.

Entertainment and Activities: £104 / €123 / $132

Activities: £72 / €85 / $91

Various outings and experiences. The cost was minimal compared to similar activities back home.

Entertainment: £29 / €34 / $37

Playing pool at a local bar, that sort of thing. 1hr pool hall table hire : £3.59 / €3.72 / $4.

Sightseeing: £3 / €3.50 / $3.80

Museum of Independence ticket: £2.69 / €3.19 / $3.40. That was my only ticketed attraction. Most exploring was free.

Transport: £28 / €33 / $35

Taxis: £15 / €18 / $19

Airport taxi from Tirana: £9 / €10.67 / $11.38. That was the big one. Within Vlorë, I barely used taxis. The city is walkable and flat.

Buses: £13 / €15 / $16

Vlorë to Tirana bus: £6.31 / €7.48 / $8. Comfortable, scenic, stress-free.

Mobile/SIM: £19 / €23 / $24

Local SIM for data. Solid coverage, reliable 4G.

What This Doesn't Include

Flights: These vary wildly depending on when you book and where you're flying from. Budget airlines fly to Tirana from several UK and European airports. I paid £113 for a Ryan air flight from London Stanstead.

Travel insurance: I use a worldwide annual policy at £1,389.80 / €1,648 / $1,757 per year. That's roughly £116 / €137 / $146 per month. This follows me regardless of location, so I've kept it separate. Your costs will vary by age, conditions, coverage, and provider.

One-off purchases: I didn't buy any significant items during this stay.

The Timing Matters

This was September and October. Shoulder season. The summer crowds had thinned, the weather was still warm, and accommodation prices were reasonable.

In peak summer, you'd likely pay more for the same apartment, and the Lungomare would be packed. In winter, some places close entirely. Shoulder season hit the sweet spot.

The UK Comparison

I tracked a full year of my UK spending using the same categories. Living in Exeter, paying market-rate rent for a similar-sized flat, my monthly expenses came to roughly £1,800.

In Vlorë: £1,200.

That's £600 less per month. £7,200 per year.

But here's what matters more than the numbers: I wasn't cutting back. I was eating better food, in a bigger apartment, with a sea view, in better weather. The £600 saving wasn't from deprivation. It was from the simple fact that the same quality of life costs less when you're not paying UK prices for rent, groceries, and utilities.

What the Numbers Don't Capture

I could frame this entire post around how "affordable" Albania is. And yes, the numbers speak for themselves.

But that framing misses something important.

This wasn't about spending less. It was about what I got to spend my time doing.

I got a large apartment where I could spread out and work. A kitchen that made cooking a pleasure rather than a necessity. Fresh fish from the fishmonger’s. Morning walks along the promenade in October sunshine. Afternoons reading in cafés where nobody hurried me along. Evenings watching the sunset with wine that cost less than a London coffee.

The spreadsheet captures the costs. It doesn't capture the slack. The breathing room. The sense that your time belongs to you again.

The Honest Caveats

I was solo. Couples will spend more overall but less per person on accommodation.

I cooked most meals. If you eat out daily, expect higher food costs, though even then, the ceiling isn't that high compared to the UK.

Albania isn't polished. The infrastructure is developing. The language barrier exists outside tourist areas. It's not the expat-ready setup of Portugal or Spain.

But if you're curious about what your money actually buys you in terms of life quality, not just survival, these numbers are real. I tracked them myself, and this is what I found.

Taylor