We have always urged travellers to seize any chance to see something of Albania. Many visitors to Dubrovnik heading south to Greece make a dog-leg by ferry, travelling first to Bari in Italy, connecting there onto another ferry to Patras. It certainly gives a pleasant couple of days afloat, yet the land route through Montenegro and Albania is too good to miss.

Uncertainty over Albanian furgons perhaps fuelled worries about travelling through Albania. A furgon (or shared minibus) is an unregulated service, often overcrowded, perhaps erratic and with no published timetable. It’s fun, but not for everyone. Now a new generation of scheduled bus services make it very easy to pre-book journeys.