Albania: Coast, Mountains, Rivers and Cities

Coast: Himarë and the Albanian Riviera

We arrived in Albania by ferry from Corfu, which is a good alternative to flying into Tirana. The 45min ferry ride took us to Sarandë port on the southwest coast, where we picked up a car and drove north to Himarë, our base for the next few days.

Himarë is a growing coastal resort town and a great base for exploring the Albanian Riviera. You can take boat trips to various beaches, but we chose to drive and beach-hop at our own pace.

Our favourite beach day began at Gjipe Beach (picture below). We parked at the top and walked about 20 minutes down a path that leads to a stunning cove backed by a canyon – a pretty spectacular setting. We hired a couple of sun loungers, spent a few hours relaxing by the water, had lunch at one of the beach bars and wandered a little way into the canyon.

On the way back from Gjipe, we stopped at Jale Beach, a small holiday town that seems to exist purely for doing very little by the sea. A long stretch of sand is lined with bars and restaurants spilling out onto the beach. It was the perfect place for sundowners while we watched locals playing backgammon.

Mountains: Gjirokastër and a night above the valley

After a few days on the coast, we took to the road and headed inland towards Gjirokastër. The road winds up from the sea and drops into a wide valley where this Ottoman town sits tucked between two mountains, watched over by a hilltop castle.

The old town is all cobbled streets, stone houses and wooden balconies leaning over narrow lanes. We began by exploring the castle, walking the walls and taking in views of the town, river and mountains. Then we wandered back down into the town for lunch, before meandering through the lanes and exploring the shops.

That night we checked into Kerculla Resort, a hotel we’d spotted earlier, perched on the hill above town. Getting there meant threading through cobbled lanes that sometimes felt more like paths than roads, but the reward was huge: an incredible view over the valley and a pool that seems to hang above Gjirokastër. We finished the day with dinner on the hotel’s terrace restaurant, listening to live traditional music as the sun set behind the mountains.

Rivers & lakes: Shkodër and the Shala River

The next morning we lingered over breakfast and squeezed in a couple of hours by the pool before driving north to Shkodër. The landscape gradually flattened out and we passed through farmland before reaching Lake Shkoder on the border with Montenegro.

Shkodër feels more European than other places we’d visited, with pedestrian streets, cafés spilling onto pavements and people cycling around. Our original plan was to use it simply as a base before and after a river trip, but we liked it so much we extended our stay and spent a night by the lake.

What brought us here in the first place was the Shala River. After some research (and a few warnings about the road), we ditched the idea of driving ourselves to the starting point and booked a day tour with pickup from Shkodër - no regrets. The boat trip begins at Lake Komani which is reached via a narrow, winding unsealed road that’s being upgraded but is still very rough in many parts. (If you choose to drive, make sure you allow plenty of time.)

Once we arrived, we boarded a longboat that took us across the lake to the mouth of the Shala River. For about an hour we cruised through a spectacular gorge, dramatic mountains dropping straight into the water, before reaching a wide stretch of riverbed that would be our base for the next few hours.

We hired sunbeds, had lunch and wandered further up the riverbed, while others zipped across on a zipline, kayaked or swam in the icy water. There are a few places to stay along the river and, if we’d had more time, waking up there would have been incredible

The whole day felt special and, if we had to choose, the Shala River was a real highlight of our week in Albania.

The following day we explored more of Lake Shkodër by car, driving past holiday villages and lakefront cottages before stopping at Pelikani Restaurant, a family-run restaurant where we ate local fish while looking out across the water towards Montenegro – simple, fresh and exactly what you want by a lake.

City: Tirana

The next morning,, we packed up and drove south, swapping lakes and hills for our final stop, Tirana, Albania’s capital.

To get our bearings of the city we joined a walking tour with a local guide, which was a great way to understand the city’s communist past and its rapid transformation. Modern Tirana feels anything but grey: it’s colourful and lively, with street art, bars and a buzzing café scene.

We had limited time in the city so chose to visit Bunk’Art 2, a museum set in a former bunker and tunnel system in the city centre. The exhibits focus on the police and state security, and walking through those underground corridors gives you a very real sense of what life was like under a dictatorship.

All too soon, the week was over and we were in a taxi on the way to the airport. Albania was an absolute treat and offered far more than TikTok had been feeding me in the weeks before the trip. If you’re thinking of going, do, but make sure you see more than just the beach clubs on the Riviera.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

HOTELS
We chose smaller, boutique-style hotels and would happily recommend and book for you

Gjirokastër – Kerculla Resort

Shkodër Town – Cocja Boutique Hotel

Lake Shkodër – Duomo Resort

Tirana – Le Suite Boutique

DRIVING
We’d read a lot about driving in Albania and were pleasantly surprised. It looks chaotic at first, but somehow it works. It is like a well-rehearsed dance. All the roads we drove on were well-maintained with the only exception being the road to Lake Komani.

• Choose an automatic car if you can.

• Don’t choose a car bigger than you need. Coastal roads and town streets can be narrow.

• If you plan to drive into Montenegro, check that your rental company allows cross border travel.

MONEY

Cards are widely accepted, but cash is still preferred in many places.

• ATMs are easy to find, but check exchange rates and fees.

• Euros are often accepted, but I’d recommend using the local currency (lek) where possible.

• If you are paying for tours or accommodation locally check what currency you are paying in and if cards are accepted.