To consider taking a child prone to acute asthma to Albania on holiday?

[thepeopleversuswork]

A friend and I are kicking around the idea of going on holiday to Albania with our kids. It looks just what we want in many ways: fantastic beaches, beautiful scenery, very few tourists, particularly of the sort you want to avoid, quirky and interesting with fascinating history and very different from the rest of Europe. And very very cheap.

Only thing putting me off is that my DD is prone to occasional but quite severe asthmatic episodes which can be quite scary and has twice been hospitalised overseas for this. In both cases it was stressful but ultimately she was well taken care of in the two relevant countries. But clearly its one thing in a relatively developed country, scarier in a less developed one.

I've done a bit of reading on this and I believe Albania has reasonable primary healthcare and I'm fairly sure a hospital in a big town could deal with an emergency there, but I worry that if she did get ill it could be very stressful indeed with language barrier/corruption and potential for bribery/having to travel fairly long distances to get decent care etc.

Has anyone been there and have any experiences which could be relevant? Does anyone think I'm just asking for trouble doing this or am I being a wet fusspot?

Albania is lovely, and healthcare relating to more common issues such as asthma won’t be a problem if you stick to bigger areas / towns l. Road connections aren’t amazing so I wouldn’t go too far off the beaten track, although it’s tempting!

Have an incredible time

Do you know the area you’re planning to go to? And also (hate to ask), are you all women?

Having been to Albania, I would say it totally depends on the parts you go to. So your research carefully... Some areas are not suitable for non-muslims or women.

Sorry, forgot to say, haven't a clue about the healthcare!

Iltavilli haven't really nailed that down yet but likely some time in Tirana and then would head for Durres or one of the resorts around there. We are two women with two children, one boy, one girl. Do you think that makes a difference?

Thanks for the encouragement, it does look fabulous.

I went to Albania and Kosovo a few years ago - I struggled in Kosovo as an asthmatic as any restaurant that was indoors (and we were recommended a few local hotels for dinner) was filled with cigarette smoke. Luckily, most restaurants have outside space in both countries. I’m not even sure if the same applies in Albania.

Now you have me looking at seaside resorts in Albania and they look great!!

From personal experience and friends (who’ve been there as lone women for work), outside the large urban areas / tourist areas, you may not have the best experience without a male “escort”. As mentioned, Albania is awesome. But you may feel mor confident off track in Montenegro etc

I've been to Tirana and the southern most areas of Albania as a single woman and had no problems at all.

Just go to a nice quiet part of Spain. Please dont go to Albania as 2 women with 2 children and one with a potentially life threatening health condition. Just don't do it. You'll be at such high risk of attack.

Not a hope in hell.

Current FCO advice for Albania:

Over 120,000 British nationals visit Albania every year. Most visits are trouble-free.

From December to February severe weather may cause flooding, particularly in northern Albania. Heavy snowfall in mountainous areas can lead to disruption to transport and services. Monitor local and international media for the latest information.

Public security is generally good, particularly in Tirana, and Albanians are very hospitable to visitors. Crime and violence does occur in some areas, but reports of crime specifically targeting foreigners are rare. There have been occasional shootings and small explosions, but these appear to be related to internal disputes over criminal, business or political interests.

Medical and dental facilities (including those for accident and emergency use) are very poor, particularly outside Tirana. Make sure you have adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment abroad, evacuation by air ambulance and repatriation.

The tap water in Albania may cause illness - you should drink only bottled water. If you drink milk, make sure it is UHT (pasteurised).

Do you know what your DD's triggers are?

I have asthma and now consider it in all my holiday plans after having a number of holidays spoilt by asthma, one getting scary - and mine is no way on the level of your DD's.

Thinking about triggers and then planning destinations around them is the key to brilliant asthma holidays. I have pollution as a big trigger and Venice was mildly unpleasant while Amsterdam was a fucking disaster.

With this in mind we did our next holiday to Madrid - checked out as low pollution, high on a plateau - and it was great.

If you know what triggers your DD then Albania might be great for you. Personally I also always check out whether I can access an English speaking dr - in your situation I might pick somewhere else. Even though I'd also love to go to Albania.

We spent a few days in Albania as a family. It was good fun, really enjoyed it and wish we'd spent a bit more time (we went on to Montenegro). We didn't access medical care, but English was definitely spoken in bigger cities and I would guess English would be important to know as a doctor.
Why not post in tripadvisor or lonely planet forums too?

I went to Albania when DD was 3 with black DH and again with DD as a single parent after he died. It is an amazing country, some of the friendliest people I have ever met and incredibly safe.
The first time went via corfu and based ourselves in Ksmali in an apartment owned by two teachers who lived next door but one. They happened to have family visiting from all over Europe with their children and they all played together. So we were our hosts and their siblings/cousins and their spouses that included an opera singer, pianist, scientist and translator. We had an amazing holiday and I remember DH getting quite ill and the local pharmacy being to diagnose and prescribe immediately. Our hosts had a child with a chronical illness and they could take her to Sarande in an emergency. The places you mention are all large cities and I think medical care would be readily available.
For those saying no way, I would be interested to know what they are basing this on. We travel to central and eastern Europe a lot and in fact my go to dentisit is in a small bulgarian town. I lost a crown when travelling and he saw me the same day in a state of the art surgery. Temporary crown there and then which he took over an hour to build up in my mouth as it was a front tooth and I did not want a gap. All for £50. I went back for an implant for £400. He spoke perfect English and is qualified to work in the UK but feels the level of dentisty is so bad he would rather stay where he is.

Just to add OP, from my experience if your daughter needed medical help and you banged on your hosts door or ran into a cafe then people would go out of their way to help you get it. Hope it is not needed but Albania with adequate insurance should be fine. The beaches do need sea shoes though!