What Currency Should You Use In Albania, Lek Or Euros? The Albanian Lek is the official currency of the entire country and is widely accepted and used throughout Albania, including both the northern and southern regions.
While it’s true that in some areas, especially those with a high number of tourists, businesses may accept Euros. The official currency is still the Albanian Lek. It is recommended to have some Lek on hand for day-to-day transactions and use Euros only when necessary or in tourist-oriented establishments that explicitly accept them.
Whilst we spent a lot of time in Shkoder and Theth, North Albania we notice that business in the mountains would preferer Lek.
Where as in Tirana the capital and South Albania business would preferer to Euros.
ATMs in Albania
There are many ATMs in Albania’s main cities like Shkoder and Tirana but not all ATM have cash or accept your card. We ended up try around 4 different ATM before we were able to get cash and there is a small fee of around £3 depending on where you withdraw money. We found that the withdrawal fees were more in Tirana City than in Shkoder.
Money Exchange
We found this to be the best option as there are no fee. There are many money exchange shops around Albania, just pick one with the best exchange rate and its as simple as that. So you should defiantly take cash with you.