Planning a road trip in Albania, but don’t know where to start? I have you covered! In this Albanian Riviera travel guide, I share with you the ultimate itinerary for a road trip along the beautiful coast of the Adriatic Sea. Albania is oftentimes a forgotten option when planning summer vacations, but it has so much to offer. With its stunning beaches, amazing restaurants, and warm hospitality, Albania will make for an unforgettable holiday – and even better, an affordable holiday! Being near to Montenegro and Croatia, you will get the same beautiful coastlines and architecture, but at a cheaper rate and far less touristy.
If you plan on visiting all the amazing beach towns along the coast, visiting Albania during the summer months is a must. Our trip took place towards the end of June, and we had perfect summer weather. As Albania is not (yet) as popular as say Greece or Croatia, you could probably get away with visiting in July or August and not feel swarmed with crowds of people. We didn’t make any reservations for restaurants, and the beaches never felt too crowded.
If you’ve been to Greece or Italy or Croatia…. (Or any of the popular European destinations for that matter) you know how overwhelming it can feel visiting during the summer months. Accommodations need to be booked months in advance, restaurant reservations and day clubs need to be reserved weeks in advance, there’s crowds and crowds of people swarming the top tourist spots… you get the point. With Albania, we had none of these issues! It was such a breath of fresh air to have loose plans each day, walk up to a restaurant without a reservation, and just relax! I predict in the next 5 years it will continue to grow even more popular. That being said, I recommend visiting while the country is still a secret paradise!
I suggest 7-12 days in Albania depending on how much you want to do and how many towns you plan on visiting. We spent exactly one week in Albania. We arrived very late Friday night and flew out the following Friday evening. I think 10 days would have been the perfect amount of time for us, as we did feel very rushed in some of the towns. We were not able to visit some of the beaches and day clubs we had on our list due to time. If we were to do it over again, we would account for 10 days!
Get a rental car: the cost of a rental car in Albania was pretty affordable and you’ll want the ease of being on your own schedule while driving from town to town.
Driving can be dangerous: Driving through the mountains, the roads can be small and windy. Driving through towns, the roads can be narrow and a tight squeeze. Not to mention the fact that locals will fly around you, which can be nerve-racking when you’re in a foreign country driving on unfamiliar roads. I still recommend a rental car, but something to keep in mind and be aware of.
The country is still very much “up and coming”: Like I mentioned previously, Albania is not as “touristy” as a lot of other countries yet. Because of this many aspects felt “underdeveloped” when comparing it to other places we have been.
The currency is the Lek: Cash is needed at most places. I would avoid the expensive ATM fees and get cash from your bank before visiting. We even had a couple instances where we needed cash from an ATM, and they were not working.
There is only one airport in Albania and it is located in the capital, Tirana. You will start your journey by flying into Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza (TIA).
Depending on the time of your arrival or how far you’ve traveled, you may want to stay one night near the hotel before starting your road trip. We arrived from Frankfurt around 11pm on a Friday, so we decided to stay at a hotel near the airport. First thing Saturday morning we picked up our rental car from the airport and got on the road.
If your flight lands in the morning or afternoon, I suggest getting your rental car and starting your drive right away, so no time is wasted!
The first town we visited during our road trip along the coast of Albania was Dhermi. From Tirana you’ll have about a 3.5 hour drive to Dhermi. Just over 2 hours into the drive, you will pass through the town of Vlore. I highly recommend stopping here for lunch or dinner- depending on the time of the day. Vlore is a fairly small town, but they have a quaint Old Town and beautiful beaches. If you have the time, I even suggest grabbing a quick lunch in the Old Town, then spending a few hours at the beach before making your way to Dhermi.
Dhermi is a village in Vlore County and located just 42 kilometers south of the city of Vlore. The town itself was built on a slope in the Ceraunian Mountains, therefore offering beautiful cliffside views, but also making the roads very windy and steep.
I recommend 3 nights in Dhermi to allow time for at least 2 beach days, depending on the time of your arrival. We stayed at the beautiful hotel Elysium Hotel and can highly recommend it. They offer complimentary breakfast in the morning, an all-day shuttle bus down to the beach, a beautiful pool and the staff was very pleasant.
If you are spending more than 2 nights in Dhermi, I suggest driving to Himare for one of the days and exploring the town and beaches. Since our time in Dhermi was short, we unfortunately did not have time to make it to Himare, but we are already looking forward to the next time we go!
If you decide to visit Himare, here are some of the popular places to visit:
There are so many great restaurant spots to visit, whether you’re looking for a light lunch, drinks on the beach, or a nice dinner spot, Dhermi has a lot to offer.
-360 Sunset Bar Drymades: A lively spot for amazing cocktails on the beach while watching the sunset.
-Diego Pizzeria Bar Restaurant: A nice spot for a quick pizza on the beach.
-Bacaro Beach Bar: A nice spot for sushi on the beach or midday drinks.
After an amazing time in Dhermi, we packed our bags and headed to the next destination – Ksamil. Ksamil is two hours south of Dhermi and is known as the Maldives of Europe! It has beautiful beaches and clear blue waters.
We stayed at Onix Hotel in Ksamil and it was doable for the 2 nights we were there, but we would pick a different hotel if we were to go back. It was on one end of the town, and we found ourselves walking to the other side of town often.
Our first day in Ksamil we spent at Poda Beach, which we really enjoyed. The sunbeds that sit over the water are on a first come, first serve basis and cost 60 euros. The sunbeds in the sand cost 20 euros for 2 beds and an umbrella. We arrived at the beach around 2:00PM and luckily, they still had sunbeds over the water still available.
For our second day we decided to go to Twin Island, which is located just off the coast and can be reached by boat, kayak or pedal boat. I recommend renting a kayak or pedal boat to get out there. There are also people with small boats offering to take you there but be sure to negotiate the price. They do try and take advantage of the tourists and will want to overcharge you.
Depending on how much time you have in Ksamil, here are the places I recommend going to.
We opted to stay in Ksamil and take an evening trip to Sarande due to the amount of time we had. If you are short on time and can only stay in one of the towns, how will you know which town to pick?
-Stay in Ksamil for the better beaches during the day and a quieter / more relaxed feel at night. The town did not feel crowded whatsoever in the evenings and we didn’t need any reservations for dinner.
-Stay in Sarande for more options of boat days, visiting secluded islands and looking for a more lively / fun atmosphere at night. The promenade gets very busy and lively at night. Something to note- there are many people trying to sell tourists things and there are quite a few homeless people along the promenade.
Depending on how many days you are spending here, you could split up your trip a few different ways.
Whether you are planning on staying in Sarande or taking day trip here from Ksamil, here are just a few things to check out during your visit.
-Plazhi i Pasqyrave Beach
-Shpella e Pellumbave (halfway between Ksamil and Sarande)
-Take a small boat to Kakome beach or Gjiri Krorez
-Watch the sunset from Lekuresi Castle. They have a restaurant here if you want to have dinner or another area where they only sell pizza, beer and wine. Since we only wanted drinks while watching the sunset we opted for this spot. It was cash only, so just remember to bring cash with you.
After our time in Ksamil, it was time to head back up north. The next town we stayed in was Gjirokaster, which is located just over an hour from Ksamil. We decided to take a longer route and stop at Albania’s “Blue Eye” on the way. The Blue Eye is a nature preserve that is more than 50 meters deep and a popular spot to visit while in Albania.
Although it was cool to see, I don’t think it is completely necessary and not anything I was blown away by. If you are already short on time, I would skip it all together. Because it is such a popular spot, parking in this area can be tough. Once you park your car you have about a 30-minute walk to the Blue Eye. They also have people renting electric scooters which is what we did to cut the time in half- not to mention it was incredibly hot that day. We paid 5 euros each for the scooters and it was well worth it.
After the Blue Eye, we made our way to Gjirokaster where we spent one night. If you are short on time or prefer to spend more time along the coast, one night in Gjirokaster is not needed. It is a very small and quaint town that can be seen quickly if you prefer stopping by for lunch on the way back to Tirana. Regardless of if you stay for one night or stop here for a few hours, I highly recommend this town! We are happy with our choice of staying the night in Gjirokaster, as it is very unique and has a different feel than the towns we visited in Albania.
Luckily, we picked a hotel with a pool (Hotel Gjirokaster) and had enough time to lounge by the pool during the hottest part of the day. In the evening, the town really comes to life which was fun to experience. If you enjoy a hookah bar, we had a really fun time at the hookah lounge, Qoshea, after dinner and where we spent the remainder of our evening.
The next morning after breakfast, we packed up our bags and immediately got on the road to start the trek back to Tirana. From Gjirokaster to Tirana, you’ll have a 3-hour drive, so be sure to account for that when making your way back for the flight. If you opt to stay along the coast and drive straight back to Tirana, you’ll have a 4-hour drive. Plus, stopping in Gjirokaster I would account for 6 hours in total to be safe.
We ended our trip by spending one night in Tirana. Although it was fun to explore the capital of Albania for one evening, I do not find it completely necessary. If we were to do it again, we would have added one extra night along the coast and skipped visiting Tirana.
If you opt to explore Tirana, it offers some pretty amazing restaurants. We ate at Salt for dinner, and it was incredible! The food was amazing, the staff was lovely, and the atmosphere was perfect! This was the only reservation we made beforehand, but it did not start to get busy until after 9:00PM.
If I were to go back to Albania again, I would do a 10 day trip and split up the trip like this (see below). If you only have 7 days to spend in Albania, this is how I would split up the trip (see below). These are just my suggestions based on the towns we visited and now knowing / seeing what each place has to offer.
-3 nights in Dhermi: with a day trip to Himare
-3 nights in Ksamil: with a day trip to Sarande
-1 night in Gjirokaster
-3 nights in Dhermi: with a day trip to Himare
-3 nights in Ksamil
-2 nights Sarande
-1 night in Gjirokaster
-1 night in Tirana (if you want to explore the capital of Albania)
Pros:
Cons:
Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Albania. We personally love a road trip, so it us it was fun to have a rental car and be on our own schedule. It made it a nice way to leave one town and head to the next every 1-3 days. After having been to Croatia, Montenegro, Italy and Greece, it was by far the cheapest country we have visited and far less touristy. Albania is a country that we will definitely be back to, and I am curious to see how it develops over the next few years!
Be sure to check out my other European travel guides for your next trip! I have travel guides in Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Croatia, and so many more!! If you’re vacation in Albania is paired with another country, or you’re coming back at another time- you won’t want to miss my other guides!
If you’re like me and need help keeping all of your travel plans and itinerary organized, be sure to check out my travel journal that I designed for just this reason! It’s how I plan every single trip and keep organized. It has everything you need from a packing list, a page for your accommodation info, travel itinerary, budgeting on your trip, journaling each day and more!
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