Albania has a Mediterranean climate on the coast and a continental one inland, with mountains rising above two and a half thousand metres. The question of when to come therefore depends entirely on what you intend to do.
Spring
April and May are the best months for the historic towns and the archaeology. Berat, Gjirokastra and Butrint can be seen without heat, the vegetation is green and prices are low. The sea is still cool at around eighteen degrees. In the mountains snow lies until June and some roads stay closed.
Summer
July and August bring over thirty-five degrees inland and fill the coast completely. Accommodation prices on the Riviera double, and the coast road jams in the afternoon. On the other hand, this is the only period with sea temperatures above twenty-five degrees and everything open. If you come in August, plan mornings on the beach and afternoons at altitude.
Autumn
September is the most balanced month of the year: the sea holds twenty-four degrees, the crowds have gone and prices fall immediately. October brings the olive and grape harvest, colour in the mountains and complete quiet, though some coastal places close.
Winter
The coast is mild and wet, with little tourist life. The northern mountains are under snow and Theth becomes hard to reach. Tirana runs normally and offers the lowest prices of the year. For hiking, winter is not a season.
The northern Alps
Theth and Valbona have a short season: mid-June to early October. Outside it the road to Theth may be impassable and guesthouses are shut. The walk between the two valleys, one of the best known in the Balkans, takes six to seven hours and is a summer undertaking only.
What to avoid
The middle two weeks of August on the Riviera, when prices and crowds peak. And the first days of January, when many restaurants close for the holidays.
Events worth planning around
Summer Day on 14 March is celebrated above all in Elbasan, with the traditional ballokume biscuit. Independence Day on 28 November fills Vlora and Tirana. Music festivals in Dhërmi and Shëngjin during August bring a younger crowd and lift accommodation prices there for a week.
If you must choose a single week, take the first half of September: warm sea, passable mountains and towns without heat.