9 Beautiful Days in Albania

Skip to: Ksamil, Gjirokaster, Vlore, Berat, Tirana

Arriving in Albania

The best way to reach Ksamil is by ferry from Corfu. We flew in to Corfu late in the evening from the UK and caught an early ferry across to Sarande the next day. The ferry itself took around an hour but we were in the chaotic terminal for a while beforehand too.

The terminal at the port in Corfu is quite small and we were queuing for a while. The ferry says to arrive at least 1 hour prior to your departure time and I believe that is so you have enough time to queue through the one tiny door leading to passport control! We managed to get on the ferry but it didn’t leave on time. A few days before, I had an email to say the ferry time had changed to 1.5 hours earlier but we ended up leaving at the original time anyway!

Also, be aware that you might have to collect your tickets from the nearby town. The ticket office is near the port, but we asked our taxi driver to stop at the office to collect the tickets and then drive us to the door of the port terminal. We sailed with Ionian Seaways but all the ferries have offices on the same road. We booked our tickets through Direct Ferries.

Ksamil

Our ferry arrived in Sarande and from here, we collected our rental car. We used Local Rent which was easily the most affordable rental place and allowed us to leave a deposit in cash rather than by credit card. We opted for an automatic SUV to navigate the busy roads and potentially narrow, rocky lanes up into the mountains.

The drive from Sarande to Ksamil took around 1 hour and the roads were very easy to navigate. Google maps is fine for directions across Albania generally; it only led us astray a few times! We stayed at Ori Mare Hotel for 3 nights. Our hotel was on a hill and our room had a balcony looking out over Ksamil and the sea. The view of the sunset from the balcony was beautiful!

Beach Clubs

• Black Pearl Beach Club – for our first afternoon, we hired a cabana bed and overwater hammock at the Black Pearl. This was a great beach club with good music and easy access to the sea via some wooden steps. The food and drinks were pretty cheap and the cabana was 60 euros between 3 of us.
• Principotes Beach Club – on our second day, we went to Principotes and paid way too much for a front row cabana bed with overwater hammock. The price included a bottle of spirit, mixers and a fruit platter. Be careful if you go because they change the prices and do not honour previously agreed prices when booking! It was not my favourite place although we had perfect access to the sea via a lovely white sand beach.
• Kuga Beach Club – This was a great little beach bar with cabana beds on a deck overlooking the sea. There was easy access to the beach by some small steps. The drinks were cheap although we couldn’t get food delivered to the beds. We paid 50 euros for the cabana.

Restaurants

• Ostro Beach Bar & Restaurant -A really pretty restaurant with great food and nice ambience.
• Rolling Pizza – Great pizza! We walked past this restaurant on our way to Ostro and really liked the look of it so decided to come back the following night. We sat outside next to the beach under the pretty fairy lights in the trees.
• Abiori Restaurant – we went to Abiori on our final night as we had seen it on Instagram. The food was great but the ambience could be improved. The restaurant had really bright white lights which were too sharp against the great views of the sea and surrounding islands.

Butrint National Park

On our third day, we drove to Butrint National Park. Butrint is a treasure trove of history and natural beauty, offering a unique glimpse into Albania’s past. Located near the southern coast, this UNESCO World Heritage site is home to ancient ruins that span thousands of years, including a well-preserved Roman theater, Byzantine basilica, and Venetian castle. Surrounded by lush forests and tranquil lakes, the park is not only an archaeological wonder but also a haven for wildlife. The views around the park are spectacular and the water in the lakes is so blue.

Butrint park is well worth spending a morning exploring. We arrived at 9.30am and it was really hot and humid, even in the morning. The parking was busy but we were lucky to get a spot right at the front near the entrance. The entry fee is 10 euros per person.

Blue Eye Lagoon

On our drive to Gjirokastër, we stopped at the Blue Eye Lagoon. This is well worth visiting although it can be very busy! The walk to the lagoon is approximately 30 minutes but there’s a tourist train that takes you there for 3 euros one way. Again, it was so hot so we decided to take the train up but walk back down again.

The Blue Eye is really pretty; I’ve never seen water so blue before! The lagoon’s water is so clear you can see straight to the bottom, despite it being over 50 meters deep. You can get really close to the water and in some places, you’re allowed to dip in it. We spent about 30 minutes just walking around the outside of the lagoon and then we walked back to the car.

Gjirokastër

For the next 2 nights, we headed to Gjirokastër. We had to drive back to Sarande and then up to Gjirokastër, it took approximately 2 hours. The main roads were fine but the roads around the centre of Gjirokastër are very small and very bumpy! There are a lot of single track cobbled roads around the old town. We had some very tight passes on the journey up to our resort! We stayed at Kerculla resort and it was one of my favourite hotels of the trip.

It was on top of a hill overlooking Gjirokastër and the surrounding mountains. Gjirokastër is in a valley and the views are spectacular.

When we arrived, we spent a few hours by the pool and then headed down to the old town early for dinner and drinks. Gjirokastër’s old town is like stepping into a living museum, with its steep cobblestone streets and centuries-old stone houses that have earned it the nickname “City of Stone.” A UNESCO World Heritage site, the town is a stunning example of Ottoman architecture, with beautifully preserved buildings that seem frozen in time. The centerpiece is the imposing Gjirokastër Castle, perched high on a hill, offering panoramic views of the surrounding valley. Walking through the old town, you’ll find a mix of traditional shops, cozy cafes, and a palpable sense of history in every corner.

We sat outside in the street at Edua Restaurant and soaked in the atmosphere. Later, we headed to Gallery Irish pub and sat upstairs on the terrace.

Gjirokastër Walking Tour

On our second day in Gjirokastër, we booked a walking tour through Free Tour. Before our tour at 5pm, we headed down to the Gjirokastër bazaar for some lunch. We sat outside under a canopy away from the sun at Furra restaurant, right near the central crossroads of the bazaar. We ate fabulous pizza and drank their lovely house white wine whilst people watching.

Our tour began at the bazaar crossroads where we met our guide, Kledi. The tour took 2.5 hours and we wandered around the back streets of the old town and then up to the castle. We decided to do the tour at 5pm to avoid the sweltering daytime sun. Despite still being hot, we got to the castle when the sun had set behind the mountains with the sky casting beautiful colours over the town and valley.

Gjirokastër Castle stands proudly atop a hill overlooking the town, offering breathtaking views of the Drino Valley below. This massive fortress, one of the largest in the Balkans, has a history that stretches back to the 12th century, with additions made by the Ottomans over the centuries. Inside, the castle houses a military museum displaying weapons and artifacts, as well as the remains of a World War II Italian fighter plane. Exploring its labyrinth of stone corridors, old prison cells, and vast courtyards, you can feel the weight of history and imagine the many stories this ancient stronghold has witnessed.

Kledi gave us so much information as we wandered around. Whilst there are a few information boards, Kledi provided way more information than was available on the boards. We walked around every part of the castle and revelled in the history.

Himarë & Dhermi

The following morning we headed to our next destination, Vlore. We decided to drive the scenic route along the coast, stopping off at Himarë and Dhermi.

We spent a few hours at Namos Beach club in Himarë, swimming in the sea and relaxing on a cabana. During my research for the trip, I originally looked to stay in Himare at the Seaview Hotel. From what we saw when we visited Himarë, it looked like a great hotel right opposite the beach.

For lunch, we drove further down the coast to Dhermi and stopped at a lovely little restaurant called Taverna Fevan. I highly recommend this place! The feta cheese cooked in the oven was amazing and the view from the terrace was beautiful looking out over Dhermi and the sea. It was a lovely little local restaurant and really deserves praise.

Vlorë

In Vlorë, we stayed at the Azar Luxury Suites which were apartments situated about a 30 minute walk out of the main town. I was slightly disappointed with our apartment. It was new but not perfect; there were holes in the walls, paint on the floor and broken tiles near the windows. The photos or floor plan of the apartment didn’t match the one I booked either. In my opinion, it wasn’t worth the price or the title of ‘luxury’. My review on booking.com was not a great one overall which is frustrating as I do so much research in advance to plan the best accommodation for our needs.

Our time in Vlorë was great though. We spent 2 nights there to enjoy the coast again after spending a few nights in the mountains. The walk along the promenade goes all the way to the town and is a really pleasant, well-lit walk. The restaurants along the front are very commercial, similar to the strip in Alicante or any popular coastal resort town. The area is very busy but there are so many restaurants all along the road that there’s room for everyone.

For our second day in Vlorë, we relaxed at the pool club opposite the apartments. We paid 15 euros each for a lounger and access to the pool. We could also climb down some steps to swim in the sea and cool off, there wasn’t a beach at this particular spot on the coast. Just further along the coast is a small pebble beach with loungers belonging to Azar suites but we didn’t go there.

Restaurants

• Restaurant Ideal – we ate here on our first night in Vlorë. We were quite overwhelmed with how busy all the restaurants were but we made a good choice. The food was lovely and we sat playing cards and drinking wine for hours.
• Bar Pizzeria Sunset – we stopped here for sunset drinks on our second night. The bar is on a pier that goes out over the sea. We managed to get a table right at the end overlooking the sea and the bay. The view of the sunset was perfect.
• El Mar Restorant & Piceri – we came here for our second night, again the food was lovely.

Vlorë Old Town

Our fourth and final stop in our Albania trip was Tirana, the capital. On our way to Tirana we wanted to visit Berat, however we didn’t feel as though we had seen much of Vlore itself. In the morning, we stopped at Vlorë old town for a quick wander around.

The streets were beautiful, full of colourful old buildings and small cafes. We went quite early in the morning and decided to stop for coffee and breakfast.

We ate at Amos lounge bar and had croissants, crepes and coffee. It was well worth the stop to see the old town, it would have been nice to explore for longer.

Berat

Berat was high on my list of places to visit on our Albania trip. There’s actually so much to see and do in Albania, we didn’t visit any northern parts of the country! You could easily spend 2 nights in Berat fully exploring.

Berat, known as the “City of a Thousand Windows,” is one of Albania’s most picturesque and historic towns. Set along the banks of the Osum River, Berat is famous for its white Ottoman-era houses that cascade down the hillsides, creating a striking visual effect. The town’s UNESCO-listed old quarter is divided into two parts: Gorica on one side of the river and Mangalem on the other, each with its own distinct charm. Dominating the skyline is Berat Castle, a massive fortress that still houses residents within its ancient walls.

We drove to Berat castle first and wandered around the cobbled streets. It was so hot that we quickly stopped for a drink in one of the taverns just to get some shade and cool down. We didn’t manage to see much more of the rest of the castle as it was just too hot. It was 41 degrees on this particularly day, the hottest it had been on our trip so far! Even when we drove down to the old town and started wandering we kept having to stop to shelter under trees. The heat was intense!

We decided to walk 10 minutes to a recommended restaurant and even that walk was difficult in the heat.

Piccolo Grande Amore is a really unassuming place down a small back street. You have to climb up some metal stairs to reach it. The food was amazing and the panoramic view over Berat was just beautiful. Definitely try this restaurant in Berat!

Tirana

Our trip through Albania ended in Tirana. We stayed for 2 nights at the Black Diamond hotel before transferring to Montenegro. We chose this hotel as it had parking and was very central. It was a great city hotel.

Restaurants & Bars

• Observator Wine & Piano Bar – we went here for sunset drinks in Tirana and it did not disappoint. We had panoramic views of the city and surrounding mountains. Great price for drinks too.
• Fresh Garden Restaurant – beautiful restaurant with really good italian food.
• Sky Tower – On our second night, we went to the Sky Tower for sunset drinks. Whilst the view was great, the drinks were not. They had two white wine selections by the glass and they were both not good.
• Hame Restaurant – After 9 days, we had become used to complimentary bread and decent sized portions at every restaurant so it really stood out when this place had none of those things! Food tasted lovely though so can’t complain too much.