Best of Albania in 7 Days

Itinerary

Times are approximate. The day adapts to you: more time where you like it, less where you don't.

1. Day 1Arrival · Tirana

   1. 12:00

      Meet & greet at Tirana Airport

      Geri meets you in the arrivals hall with a name sign (the time depends on your flight) and drives you to your hotel in Tirana.

   2. ~30 min drive

      13:00

      Check-in & lunch

      Time to settle in and have lunch.

   3. ~10 min drive

      15:00

      Skanderbeg Square, Et'hem Bey Mosque & Bunk'Art 2

      An afternoon walk through the centre: the main square, the frescoed mosque, the Clock Tower and the Cold War bunker museum.

   4. ~15 min on foot

      17:30

      Pyramid & Blloku

      Climb the Pyramid of Tirana, then dinner in Blloku. Overnight in Tirana.

2. Day 2Tirana → Krujë → Shkodër

   1. 09:00

      Departure from Tirana

      Pickup at your hotel and drive north.

   2. ~45 min drive

      09:45

      Krujë Castle & Old Bazaar

      Skanderbeg's stronghold, the Skanderbeg Museum, the Ethnographic Museum and the cobbled bazaar full of handicrafts.

   3. ~1 h 30 min drive

      13:30

      Lunch in Shkodër

      We leave Krujë at around 12:00 and arrive in Shkodër for lunch.

   4. ~10 min drive

      14:45

      Rozafa Castle

      The legendary fortress with views over Lake Shkodër and the Buna and Drin rivers.

   5. ~15 min drive

      16:30

      Mesi Bridge & old town

      A photo stop at the 18th-century Ottoman Mesi Bridge, then an evening stroll along pedestrian Kolë Idromeno street. Overnight in Shkodër.

3. Day 3Shkodër → Lezhë → Durrës → Berat

   1. 09:00

      Departure from Shkodër

      Check out and head south.

   2. ~45 min drive

      09:45

      Skanderbeg Memorial, Lezhë

      The memorial built over the ruins of St Nicholas Church, where Skanderbeg was buried in 1468; it was in Lezhë that he founded the League of Lezhë in 1444.

   3. ~1 h 15 min drive

      11:15

      Durrës Amphitheatre & seafront

      The largest Roman amphitheatre in the Balkans, the Venetian Tower and lunch by the sea.

   4. ~1 h 30 min drive

      16:00

      Berat — check-in & evening walk

      We leave Durrës at around 14:30. Check in near the old quarters, then join the locals for the evening xhiro (stroll) along the Osum riverside. Overnight in Berat.

4. Day 4Berat → Tepelenë → Gjirokastër

   1. 09:00

      Berat Castle & Onufri Museum

      A morning in the inhabited castle, with its Byzantine churches and the icons of Onufri.

   2. ~15 min on foot

      11:00

      Mangalem & Gorica

      Walk down through Mangalem and across the Gorica Bridge for the view of the 'city of a thousand windows'.

   3. ~2 h 15 min drive

      14:15

      Lunch at Uji i Ftohtë, Tepelenë

      We leave Berat at around 12:00. Lunch by the cold-water springs along the Vjosa river.

   4. ~40 min drive

      16:30

      Gjirokastër — check-in & Old Bazaar

      Check in and take a sunset walk through the stone-roofed Old Bazaar. Overnight in Gjirokastër.

5. Day 5Gjirokastër → Blue Eye → Sarandë

   1. 09:00

      Gjirokastër Castle

      The Museum of Armaments, the old prison and the US Air Force jet, with views over the Drino valley.

   2. ~10 min on foot

      10:45

      Skenduli House or the Cold War Tunnel

      Choose between a traditional Ottoman-era tower house and the secret communist-era tunnel beneath the castle.

   3. ~5 min on foot

      12:00

      Lunch

      Try qifqi, the local rice-ball speciality.

   4. ~45 min drive

      14:00

      The Blue Eye

      A walk through the forest to the deep-blue spring (about 20 minutes each way from the car park).

   5. ~40 min drive

      16:30

      Sarandë — check-in

      Check in at your hotel in Sarandë or Ksamil.

   6. ~10 min drive

      18:30

      Lëkurësi Castle

      Evening views over the bay, Lake Butrint and Corfu. Overnight in Sarandë or Ksamil.

6. Day 6Butrint → Ksamil → Porto Palermo → Himarë

   1. 08:30

      Butrint National Park

      An early visit to the UNESCO-listed ancient city, before the heat.

   2. ~10 min drive

      11:30

      Ksamil — swim & lunch

      Beach time facing the islands and a seafood lunch.

   3. ~1 h 45 min drive

      16:15

      Porto Palermo Castle

      We leave at around 14:30 and follow the Riviera coast road to Ali Pasha's triangular fortress on its peninsula.

   4. ~20 min drive

      17:30

      Himarë — overnight

      Check in, then a swim or sunset from the old castle quarter. Overnight in Himarë.

7. Day 7Himarë → Llogara → Vlorë → Apollonia → Tirana

   1. 09:00

      Dhërmi

      A short drive (~25 min) to Dhërmi for a last swim and a look at the old stone village.

   2. ~30 min drive

      11:00

      Llogara Pass

      Climb the old pass road for a final panorama over the Riviera.

   3. ~50 min drive

      12:15

      Vlorë — Independence Monument & lunch

      See where independence was declared in 1912 and have lunch by the sea.

   4. ~45 min drive

      14:30

      Apollonia

      The ruins of an ancient Greek city founded in the 6th century BC, where the young Octavian (the future Emperor Augustus) studied. Highlights are the restored façade of the Bouleuterion and the medieval Monastery of St Mary, which houses the museum.

   5. ~2 h drive

      18:30

      Tirana or Tirana Airport

      We leave at around 16:15. Drop-off at your hotel or at the airport for your flight home.