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Post by manulike on Sept 24, 2018 22:00:46 GMT
Can anyone help with flights from the North? A mate wants to come along but doesn’t fancy the drive to London (can’t blame him!) When you say North. is that Liverpool/Manchester, or further afield?
What are earliest dates for dept and latest for arrival back?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2018 22:11:57 GMT
Anyone know Tirana? Thinking of an apartment on Skanderbeg Square. Good location?
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Post by mx47 on Sept 24, 2018 22:30:35 GMT
Anyone know Tirana? Thinking of an apartment on Skanderbeg Square. Good location? My hotel is in the Blloku area of Tirana....as I understand it this is the area where most of the bars, clubs and restaurants are. Just had a quick look on google maps....Skanderbeg Sq is just under 1000 meters from my hotel. Hope this helps!! |
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Post by manulike on Sept 24, 2018 22:35:34 GMT
Anyone know Tirana? Thinking of an apartment on Skanderbeg Square. Good location? Never been. But the main mosque is right on that square, so unless you dont mind been woken up at 4am ...
The Posh area of town is a mile south of the square, but the cheaper area for food/accommodation is a little north of that square.
The airport bus (250 lek - or €2) drops off at the Northern edge of the National History Museum. The National Ballet and Opera House is also at the Northern edge of the square. Have great memories of Romeo and Juliet in Kiev ;-)
The only 5-star hotel in town is the Plaza - costing around £130, but the 4-star Tirana International also gets decent reviews at around £60/night
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Post by cymroircarn on Sept 25, 2018 5:46:14 GMT
Can anyone help with flights from the North? A mate wants to come along but doesn’t fancy the drive to London (can’t blame him!) When you say North. is that Liverpool/Manchester, or further afield? What are earliest dates for dept and latest for arrival back?
Manchester/Liverpool would be ideal Preference is 19th (morning) to 21st (afternoon) to match our flights. Best I’ve seen so far is direct from Luton with wizzair |
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Post by cymroircarn on Sept 25, 2018 5:47:46 GMT
Anyone know Tirana? Thinking of an apartment on Skanderbeg Square. Good location? Never been. But the main mosque is right on that square, so unless you dont mind been woken up at 4am ... The Posh area of town is a mile south of the square, but the cheaper area for food/accommodation is a little north of that square. The airport bus (250 lek - or €2) drops off at the Northern edge of the National History Museum. The National Ballet and Opera House is also at the Northern edge of the square. Have great memories of Romeo and Juliet in Kiev ;-) The only 5-star hotel in town is the Plaza - costing around £130, but the 4-star Tirana International also gets decent reviews at around £60/night
Posh being Blloku? This is where we are staying. Whats the name of this other area? |
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Post by manulike on Sept 25, 2018 10:24:51 GMT
Never been. But the main mosque is right on that square, so unless you dont mind been woken up at 4am ... The Posh area of town is a mile south of the square, but the cheaper area for food/accommodation is a little north of that square. The airport bus (250 lek - or €2) drops off at the Northern edge of the National History Museum. The National Ballet and Opera House is also at the Northern edge of the square. Have great memories of Romeo and Juliet in Kiev ;-) The only 5-star hotel in town is the Plaza - costing around £130, but the 4-star Tirana International also gets decent reviews at around £60/night
Posh being Blloku? This is where we are staying. Whats the name of this other area? Yes. Posh is referring to Billoku. Think that's where the elite lived til the 90s and the locals were "Blocked" out or such like. That's where you will pay £2.50 for your pints and a whole £1 for your coffee ;-(
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Post by Martyn Moses on Sept 25, 2018 10:36:56 GMT
I started Serbia in Manchester. Flew to Istanbul Ataturk first. Can they go via Turkey, Greece or Italy? Fly direct from Gatwick (guarantee it’s full of Wales) and return via Athens. Many on the direct Sunday flight stopping over at Gatwick on the Saturday night ? |
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Post by manulike on Sept 25, 2018 10:37:21 GMT
When you say North. is that Liverpool/Manchester, or further afield? What are earliest dates for dept and latest for arrival back?
Manchester/Liverpool would be ideal Preference is 19th (morning) to 21st (afternoon) to match our flights. Best I’ve seen so far is direct from Luton with wizzair Manchester to Milan Bergamo on RYAN AIR and Bergamo to Tirana on EAST AIR = £180 RETURN
19 NOV Dept 12:25 pm to 03:35 pm on Ryan Air Dept 05:20 arrive Tirana pm 07:05 pm on East Air For £83
21 NOV Dept TIA 02:50 pm 04:35 pm on East Air Dept Bergamo 05:45 pm arrive MAN 07:00 pm on Ryan Air For £97
Highly recommend you book it using KIWI.COM - as they will guarantee your connections
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Post by manulike on Sept 25, 2018 11:06:43 GMT
For the romantics out there, that don't mind an early morning flight Dept BRISTOL on SUNDAY 0720 and spend 24 hours in VENICEDept Venice Monday 0940 and arrive TIRANA 11AM
Return on THURSDAY with a 3-hour stopover in BERGAMO Dept TIA 1145 arrive BRISTOL 1740
TOTAL PRICE ONLY £126
... if you are less romantic
Change the first leg on Sunday to Dept BRS 1250 and arrive Tirana 2030 (with 2 hours stopover in Rome) Back Thursday, as above TOTAL then is £156
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Post by cymroircarn on Sept 25, 2018 11:29:15 GMT
Manchester/Liverpool would be ideal Preference is 19th (morning) to 21st (afternoon) to match our flights. Best I’ve seen so far is direct from Luton with wizzair Manchester to Milan Bergamo on RYAN AIR and Bergamo to Tirana on EAST AIR = £180 RETURN
19 NOV Dept 12:25 pm to 03:35 pm on Ryan Air Dept 05:20 arrive Tirana pm 07:05 pm on East Air For £83 21 NOV Dept TIA 02:50 pm 04:35 pm on East Air Dept Bergamo 05:45 pm arrive MAN 07:00 pm on Ryan Air For £97 Highly recommend you book it using KIWI.COM - as they will guarantee your connections
Thanks, much appreciated!!! |
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Post by sleepy on Sept 25, 2018 12:25:11 GMT
Manchester to Milan Bergamo on RYAN AIR and Bergamo to Tirana on EAST AIR = £180 RETURN
19 NOV Dept 12:25 pm to 03:35 pm on Ryan Air Dept 05:20 arrive Tirana pm 07:05 pm on East Air For £83 21 NOV Dept TIA 02:50 pm 04:35 pm on East Air Dept Bergamo 05:45 pm arrive MAN 07:00 pm on Ryan Air For £97 Highly recommend you book it using KIWI.COM - as they will guarantee your connections
Thanks, much appreciated!!! Sorry manulike, those connections are suicidal. Google kiwi.com on the tripadvisor air travel forum and you'll see the literally hundreds of complaints. As long as you don't mind potentially missing the 2nd part of your journey and paying the walk up price for an alternative flight, go ahead. |
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Post by manulike on Sept 25, 2018 12:32:18 GMT
Manchester to Milan Bergamo on RYAN AIR and Bergamo to Tirana on EAST AIR = £180 RETURN
19 NOV Dept 12:25 pm to 03:35 pm on Ryan Air Dept 05:20 arrive Tirana pm 07:05 pm on East Air For £83 21 NOV Dept TIA 02:50 pm 04:35 pm on East Air Dept Bergamo 05:45 pm arrive MAN 07:00 pm on Ryan Air For £97 Highly recommend you book it using KIWI.COM - as they will guarantee your connections
Thanks, much appreciated!!! If you are uncomfortable using Ryan air on the way out ... then you can swap to EASY JET going out, for practically the same price:
Sunday 13:30 Manchester MAN 16:40 Milan MXP U22922 easyJet £28
Sunday 19:30 Milan MXP 21:25 Tirana TIA BV2220 Blue Panorama £58
NOTE - that it is a different Milan airport!
This might take a bit of hunting getting this combination up on Kiwi.com
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Post by manulike on Sept 25, 2018 12:38:58 GMT
Thanks, much appreciated!!! Sorry manulike , those connections are suicidal. Google kiwi.com on the tripadvisor air travel forum and you'll see the literally hundreds of complaints. As long as you don't mind potentially missing the 2nd part of your journey and paying the walk up price for an alternative flight, go ahead. I respect your opinion, but will never advise someone to do something that I will not be prepared to do myself. My brother had a very positive experience with Kiwi.com back in April, after missing a ryan air connection, with five passengers.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2018 13:48:19 GMT
Anyone know Tirana? Thinking of an apartment on Skanderbeg Square. Good location? My hotel is in the Blloku area of Tirana....as I understand it this is the area where most of the bars, clubs and restaurants are. Just had a quick look on google maps....Skanderbeg Sq is just under 1000 meters from my hotel. Hope this helps!! Booked a Blloku hotel now. Good to be where the fun is. |
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Post by sleepy on Sept 25, 2018 15:42:12 GMT
Sorry manulike , those connections are suicidal. Google kiwi.com on the tripadvisor air travel forum and you'll see the literally hundreds of complaints. As long as you don't mind potentially missing the 2nd part of your journey and paying the walk up price for an alternative flight, go ahead. I respect your opinion, but will never advise someone to do something that I will not be prepared to do myself. My brother had a very positive experience with Kiwi.com back in April, after missing a ryan air connection, with five passengers.
Fair enough. I must be a more risk averse travelled than you. I'd want at least an overnight stay between unprotected connections with different airlines. |
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Post by mrpicton on Sept 25, 2018 16:27:44 GMT
I respect your opinion, but will never advise someone to do something that I will not be prepared to do myself. My brother had a very positive experience with Kiwi.com back in April, after missing a ryan air connection, with five passengers.
Fair enough. I must be a more risk averse travelled than you. I'd want at least an overnight stay between unprotected connections with different airlines. I thought kiwi.com had some sort of connection guarantee.? |
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Post by mrpicton on Sept 25, 2018 16:43:21 GMT
Fair enough. I must be a more risk averse travelled than you. I'd want at least an overnight stay between unprotected connections with different airlines. I thought kiwi.com had some sort of connection guarantee.? Attached "If you're covered by the Kiwi.com Guarantee and there's a schedule change, cancellation, or delay that affects your trip, we'll either buy you an alternative flight to your final destination or refund the affected part of your journey". I don't work for kiwi.com but I was looking at one of the deals to Tirana & concerned regarding the connection times. If I recall it was tight on the return from Georgia due to a delay (but it may have been the same airline in that case - Ii don't recall). |
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Post by manulike on Sept 25, 2018 20:07:40 GMT
I thought kiwi.com had some sort of connection guarantee.? Attached "If you're covered by the Kiwi.com Guarantee and there's a schedule change, cancellation, or delay that affects your trip, we'll either buy you an alternative flight to your final destination or refund the affected part of your journey". I don't work for kiwi.com but I was looking at one of the deals to Tirana & concerned regarding the connection times. If I recall it was tight on the return from Georgia due to a delay (but it may have been the same airline in that case - Ii don't recall). Yes. You are right. As long as you make the entire booking through Kiwi, they do carry a decent insurance/guarantee. From memory, it wasn't fantastic for meals/food, it was average for taxi expenses, but was extremely generous for alternative flight costs and alternative overnight hotel stay.
Flying to a destination as Milan, that has two fairly large airports, with 4 direct daily flights to Tirana is far less risky, than flying to a small / remote airport, with the only other options being connecting flights the following day.
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Post by sleepy on Sept 26, 2018 6:00:26 GMT
Attached "If you're covered by the Kiwi.com Guarantee and there's a schedule change, cancellation, or delay that affects your trip, we'll either buy you an alternative flight to your final destination or refund the affected part of your journey". I don't work for kiwi.com but I was looking at one of the deals to Tirana & concerned regarding the connection times. If I recall it was tight on the return from Georgia due to a delay (but it may have been the same airline in that case - Ii don't recall). Yes. You are right. As long as you make the entire booking through Kiwi, they do carry a decent insurance/guarantee. From memory, it wasn't fantastic for meals/food, it was average for taxi expenses, but was extremely generous for alternative flight costs and alternative overnight hotel stay. Flying to a destination as Milan, that has two fairly large airports, with 4 direct daily flights to Tirana is far less risky, than flying to a small / remote airport, with the only other options being connecting flights the following day.
Have you seen the 100s of complaints of people who thought they were covered by kiwi.com but in fact were not? Go on the tripadvisor air travel forum and see if you still think it's a good idea. |
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Post by mrpicton on Sept 26, 2018 8:27:49 GMT
Yes. You are right. As long as you make the entire booking through Kiwi, they do carry a decent insurance/guarantee. From memory, it wasn't fantastic for meals/food, it was average for taxi expenses, but was extremely generous for alternative flight costs and alternative overnight hotel stay. Flying to a destination as Milan, that has two fairly large airports, with 4 direct daily flights to Tirana is far less risky, than flying to a small / remote airport, with the only other options being connecting flights the following day.
Have you seen the 100s of complaints of people who thought they were covered by kiwi.com but in fact were not? Go on the tripadvisor air travel forum and see if you still think it's a good idea. I am sure there is a risk with other companies. What I don't know is whether kiwi.com are any better or worse than others ? So given that many fans have or are looking at such "connections" how do you reduce the risk to fans.? a.) Make sure the connection is not too short.? Ideally you want a short connection to reduce travel times but this increases risk if first leg delayed.? b.) Get some sort of connection guarantee. c.) Choose a busy connecting airport so that there are number of flights out to Tirana if there is a cancellation d.) Pay by credit card - does this extra protection? e.) Travel insurance - I guess this would only cover extreme events.? f.) Have you any greater guarantees by flying the 2nd leg with the same operator.? Above only suggestions - others will be far more knowledgeable about the matter than me. |
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Post by sleepy on Sept 26, 2018 10:29:15 GMT
Have you seen the 100s of complaints of people who thought they were covered by kiwi.com but in fact were not? Go on the tripadvisor air travel forum and see if you still think it's a good idea. I am sure there is a risk with other companies. What I don't know is whether kiwi.com are any better or worse than others ? So given that many fans have or are looking at such "connections" how do you reduce the risk to fans.? a.) Make sure the connection is not too short.? Ideally you want a short connection to reduce travel times but this increases risk if first leg delayed.? b.) Get some sort of connection guarantee. c.) Choose a busy connecting airport so that there are number of flights out to Tirana if there is a cancellation d.) Pay by credit card - does this extra protection? e.) Travel insurance - I guess this would only cover extreme events.? f.) Have you any greater guarantees by flying the 2nd leg with the same operator.? Above only suggestions - others will be far more knowledgeable about the matter than me. Personally I think it's all about how much of a risk you are willing to take - mainly in terms of your finances, and time. 1) If you can book directly from an airline, and both legs of the journey are on a single ticket - then that is the "safest" way to do it, as the airline will be responsible for putting you up and arranging onward travel, at no cost to you. Even with this option, I'd be checking out when the next flight with the airline departs - it might not be for a couple of days, and the airline may choose to put you up in a cheap hotel for a night or so. Unlikely but possible. This is normally the most expensive option. E.g. hypothetically £400 from A to B from the Lufthansa website. 2) The next best option would be to book the exact same single ticket with Lufthansa as above but through a broker like GoToGate. e.g. this may cost £350 so you save a bit of cash but you bring a 3rd party into the equation. If I needed to do mulitple flights to get from A to B, I wouldn't consider anything other than the 2 options above. Then you have got the far cheaper options 3) Buy 2 separate tickets but with the same airline. E.g. to get from A to B with easyjet, you need to go from A to C, and then a 2nd flight C to B. If your first flight is late, Easyjet has no obligation to put you on a subsequent flight, even though they were late in the first place. 4) 2 separate tickets with different airlines. I guess you'd be looking at 3 and 4 because they are significantly cheaper than 1 and 2. 5) You can possibly mitigate risk of 3 and 4 by purchasing through kiwi.com - but even, if you can get through to their hotline, then they may only refund part of your journey, or, there is "reasonable alternatives" clause. I've read of caps on hotel cost. Personally, I wouldn't touch options 3, 4 or 5 if you paid me as I'd be too worried about something going wrong and fear of the unknown. |
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Post by mrpicton on Sept 26, 2018 10:58:06 GMT
Cheers for the advice. Yes I was originally considering option 3 or 4 because of cost but was leaning towards option 5.) kiwi.com (or others if they offered it) because of the "connection guarantee". Awkwardness on the way out we can bear (as we will be travelling Sat or Sun) & wont miss match but on the way back will be a pain because of work.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2018 11:41:50 GMT
I did Heathrow - Berlin - Aarhus over two days. Very affordable. I chose Berlin purely because it flew to Aarhus and found it great. All flights on time and utterly stress free.
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Post by manulike on Sept 26, 2018 12:22:44 GMT
Just a general word of warning about reading too much into travel forums and review web sites.
Often, many negative reviews and negative "tips" on advice sites are generated and paid for by the competition. Especially in cases where one company is the leader in its field.
Also - especially in the case of Kiwi.com - many travelers (and my brother included) will not go online and write a positive review, despite getting a 100% full refund of around £2000. Sometimes its to do with the fact that they don't normally write reviews, and sometimes its the fact that the entire experience WAS STRESSFUL. A free hotel stay and a free flight the following day is NOT what 95% of people would have wanted... and they would simply much rather forget all about it. Genuinely negative experiences are also far more likely to get highlighted and actually written up in the form of reviews, than positive ones.
Personally, when I am not using a cheap, point to point flight, I do often use Kiwi. Still, in both cases, I like to fly out at least two and usually more days ahead of the actual game - which will also allow for any delays/cancellations etc.
Yes. I am fully aware that not many Wales fans are able to take such a long time off their work etc.
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Post by cantonwelsh79 on Sept 26, 2018 12:34:03 GMT
Anyone know if theres a direct bus from Elbasan to Tirana airport?
Cant seem to find any decent info on the Albanian buses
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Post by manulike on Sept 26, 2018 12:41:25 GMT
Anyone know if theres a direct bus from Elbasan to Tirana airport? Cant seem to find any decent info on the Albanian buses Yes, but not many. All of them will go via Tirana, regardless. Rinas is the airport.
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Post by cantonwelsh79 on Sept 26, 2018 12:48:37 GMT
Anyone know if theres a direct bus from Elbasan to Tirana airport? Cant seem to find any decent info on the Albanian buses Yes, but not many. All of them will go via Tirana, regardless. Rinas is the airport.
Thank you. Knew it would be you who answered my question!! Very useful, should get me to my flight on time. |
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Post by sleepy on Sept 26, 2018 12:51:25 GMT
Just a general word of warning about reading too much into travel forums and review web sites. Often, many negative reviews and negative "tips" on advice sites are generated and paid for by the competition. Especially in cases where one company is the leader in its field. Also - especially in the case of Kiwi.com - many travelers (and my brother included) will not go online and write a positive review, despite getting a 100% full refund of around £2000. Sometimes its to do with the fact that they don't normally write reviews, and sometimes its the fact that the entire experience WAS STRESSFUL. A free hotel stay and a free flight the following day is NOT what 95% of people would have wanted... and they would simply much rather forget all about it. Genuinely negative experiences are also far more likely to get highlighted and actually written up in the form of reviews, than positive ones. Personally, when I am not using a cheap, point to point flight, I do often use Kiwi. Still, in both cases, I like to fly out at least two and usually more days ahead of the actual game - which will also allow for any delays/cancellations etc. Yes. I am fully aware that not many Wales fans are able to take such a long time off their work etc. Fair point re: people more likely to post negative reviews than positive reviews. I should have added this to make my post more balanced. |
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Post by cymrucg on Sept 26, 2018 15:28:04 GMT
If anyone needs any help with booking anything for this trip, I own a travel business, so can look at doing this for you.
Manulike is brilliant at finding the information, but I can book it for you, and possibly get deals that you wouldn't find on your own, due to having insider knowledge etc.
You may think that having a personal travel consultant will be expensive, however, it's quite the contrary in actual fact.
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