26 May 2024
BEWARE: Worst guided tour and might even be a scam.
We booked a guided tour of the Butrint Archaeological Park. The company communicate well, they are punctual but I’m afraid it ends there. We had young Arber as the guide. He scored an A+ in English, he boasts, but knows nothing about history, archaeology nor even has a scant interest in either. All he did was walk us around the site, which is well signposted anyway, offering no more information than pointing them out. “Here is the amphitheatre. It’s very old” When I pushed him for information he floundered, clearly knowing nothing. “The amphitheatre was all covered when it was built” was not even true. It was rushed as well, Arber’s boss phoned him several times to make sure we ended on time (we never insisted on a finish time) but it was clear at the end that they wanted to squeeze in another group. When the boss asked me what I thought I politely fed back that Arber needed to improve the tour information. “He’s our best guide” came the unapologetic response. I dread to think what his other guides are like.
We’ve used lots of guided tours around the world and this so far wins hands down as the worst ever. I’m even dubious that they are an accredited company. We learnt from an excellent guide the following day that in Albania all guides are required by law to have their licence on display on lanyards. Neither Arber nor his boss wore them.