Early stages of planning a trip to Albania--I have questions!

I was in Albania last year, almost exactly a year ago. I spent three nights in Gjirokaster and two nights in Tirana. Did day trips to Butrint and Berat. Also went to North Macedonia, with two nights in Ohrid and two nights in Skopje. I was on a tour with OAT (https://www.oattravel.com/trips/land-adventures/europe/northern-greece-albania-and-macedonia-ancient-lands-of-alexander-the-great/2021?icid=global:adventures:central-europe-and-the-balkans:land-adventures:gre). It was an awesome tour. The places we visited in northern Greece were amazing, and I loved Albania. Ohrid was so pleasant and pretty, and Skopje was fascinating and very different from anywhere else I've been in Europe.

I don't know about the places you mentioned (Sarande or Ksamil), but if you have any questions about my experiences, please let me know and I'll be happy to share any thoughts or ideas.

The Albanian coast is increasingly built up. I only passed through Sarande on the way to Butrint, and that's not a good basis for judgement. However, it didn't seem a place that would appeal to me (not a beach person) or justify a trip from Greece. Butrint is considered quite a big deal, which I can understand. I couldn't get past the frustration of knowing there were great mosaics buried under sand.

Gjirokaster is extremely atmospheric. It's worth traveling from Greece to see, if you can figure out a transportation solution.

However, mainland Greece has lots of interesting options. I wouldn't feel the need to cross the border and would hold off on Albania until I could give it a lot more than 4 days. Transportation in Albania is quite challenging, so it's not a great quick-trip destination.

I would tend to agree with acraven that Sarandë is a large built up city. I also just passed through, but nothing I saw or read would lead me to go back to spend time there. Ksamil might be ok in May. It would be easy to get to from Corfu and not necessarily require a car.

My trip is becoming out of date - acraven and Lane have been more recently. But of the places I visited, Gjirokastra seems to do more of what you are looking for. The minivan bus was easy from there to Sarandë - so the reverse might depend on timing. If you rent a car, that also takes time, but the highway between the two was nice. But you’d need to find lodging with parking (or parking below and lodging above by taxi).

I am not sure I would go to the trouble it requires in order to spend 4 nights in the Sarandë/ Ksamil area. You might check flights Thessaloniki to Tirana or bus to Korca.

Someone else has been recently and arranged ahead for private transfer between cities - that could also be a good option. My daughter and friend were in several places there last year, with a rental car.

I am looking at a return next summer, so if you do drive, I will be looking for feedback. Lol.

I was in Albania about 4 years ago. I think it was 10 days from:

• Valbone (fabulous and I will be back next or the following year) to
• Gjirokaster (for historical context and atmosphere the number one stop) to
• Sarandë (yes a modern city but a beautiful modern city full of wonderful and kind people. Sometimes it’s good to see the “real” part of a country and the best food on the trip … I will be back)

With a dozen road stops in-between.

• Road stops at Eco-Farm Restaurants and
• artists house and
• mom and dad for fresh cooked fish and homemade Raki poured from a recycled plastic coke bottle and
• ancient villages with amazing local food from outdoor kitchens

One of my most memorable trips.

I have seen TexasTravelMom’s posts and trip reports and I know she spends 8 months a year on the road in Europe. Among the RS folks she is one of the most experienced and rational travelers and when she says she will rent a car and ride the busses in Albania I understand it one way, when many others say it, I think it’s something with the possibility to be quite different. Personally, I would worry about the language issue if I needed help, I would worry about the lack of facilities between points of interest where one could get help, I would worry about some distinct cultural differences in unassisted interactions and as much as I love Albania it isn’t among the nations with the lowest crime. Odds of something going wrong are low and if it does, maybe worst case is a loss of a day or two of holiday time. For me, I live close and the flights are cheap, so I can return or extend. No problem.

So, what did I do? I hired a guide with a car. What I got out of it besides not having to wrry about all the stuff above was someone that knew places to stop that just aren’t on the maps or internet tourist sites. I got to spend a lot of hours talking to a local from which I learned a lot about culture and society in Albania. I got to meet mom and dad 😊 and I got a lifelong friend that still writes me. How perfect!

TexasTravelMom has in recent years hired guides in Montenegro and Bosnia and Romania and if you read her reports or catch her references the guides were among the highlights of her trip (TTM feel free to correct me). Heck the one from Romania a few weeks ago, her and the other RS folks on the tour gushed so much over that they have an upcoming video conference set up which anyone can join and meet him. To this day if you want to travel to Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Slovakia and you post I will give you the name of someone who I met, stay in touch with and who has enriched my life. I would not have gained that solo in a rental car.

What’s the cost for this? Come on, this is Albania not Croatia; things are still reasonable. The tour planner in Montenegro that I post about often put together a trip to Albania for a couple of friends of mine last year. I think she just set up the introduction with a trusted Albanian guide. My friends had the time of their lives. I haven’t priced it out in a few years, but I suspect that a day with a car and driver + a nice hotel + food is less than the cost of a bus + a nice hotel + food in Austria or Croatia. So, the trip can be less expensive that Wester Europe (which I think would be a mistake) or it can be deeper for the same cost as Western Europe (bingo).

This isn’t about right or wrong ways of approaching the issue, more about my personal decisions for the best, most enjoyable holiday for my type of travel and for what I enjoy the most. This is the way of travel that has given me the best exposure, enjoyment and longest lasting and best memories.

So before you decide the route, make sure you are getting what works best for you out of the method and if that is driving yourslef, then pick TexasTravelMoms brain.

Thanks folks. It's taken me all week to get back to here, with many thoughts in between! We are now considering flying in to Tirana and then flying down to Athens. At this point it's looking like 5 nights in Albania. I know there could always be more days, but I'm ok with sticking to a drivable area, maybe even one place where we can settle in, with a couple of day trips. (Though it looks like at least one night in Tirana would be logistically necessary. Maybe 2 nights Tirana, 3 nights somewhere else.) Berat seems a good choice. That would mean a lot less necessary travel time (buses and ferries) and more time for exploring for its own sake. While the "Albanian Riviera" may be lovely, it feels like we'd have to work hard to get there, and to get deeper than beaches and tourist stops.

I would like to check out the private guide/driver option, if anyone can start me off with a name or two. (Probably not for the whole thing.)

As always, thanks for your thoughtful sharing of experience.

I used a lot of taxis for intercity trips in Albania when the buses were not convenient, but I imagine I paid over the odds on some occasions by doing that. I'm not sure I ever saw a real bus station in Albania, just parking lots. In Tirana there were different departure points for different destination, and they sometimes seemed to relocate. Online information wasn't always reliable. Those bus lots are not necessarily convenient to the historic center, but there should be taxis readily available.

Berat is a good choice, I think. I took a bus there. I don't remember the duration of the ride, but my notes say 2 to 3 hours. In case it's helpful, I'm listing my Berat sightseeing targets below; the list was compiled in 2022-2023. I didn't have time for all of them. Berat's hilly, so it takes more time to get from place to place than would be the case in Tirana, for example.

There may be a city walking tour, but likely requiring a certain minimum number of participants.

Berat Castle, Rruga Mihal Komnena: 13C fortress (country’s best) where people still live, shop and dine. Gardens. Spectacular views from parapets, but tough uphill walk. Has multiple handsome orthodox churches; should be possible to find someone to open at least one of them. Go early to avoid crowds. Need exact change for ticket (200L 2022).

Shen Todri (St. Theodore’s): Frescoes.

Onufre Museum, Kisha Fjetja e Shen Merise (Church of the Dormition of St Mary): Albania's finest collection of icons inside 18C cathedral, largest church in Kalaja neighborhood. Don’t miss chapel behind iconostasis or its faded, painted cupola. Enchanting church if no tour groups are present. Ask here whether can see the other churches in this district, which are normally locked.

Shen Meri Vllaherna (Chapel of St Mary Blachernae): Rebuilt 1578.

Kisha e Shen Kollit (St. Nicholas)

Kisha Shen Triades (Holy Trinity Church): Off side of Castle Hill. Substantial and picturesque.

Red Mosque: First in Berat (15C). Near SW wall of fortress.

St. Demetrius Church, E end of Bulevardi Republika: 16C frescoes among best Byz art in Albania. Building reconstructed 1929. Not far from Old Town.

Muzeu Etnografik (Ethnographic Museum): Excellent museum in beautiful 17C/18C Ottoman house (as much of an attraction as the exhibits. Info sheets in English. Just off hillside leading up to castle.

Solomoni Museum, Rruga Mihal Komneno: Jewish Museum. Takes about 30 minutes.

Xhamia e Mbretit (Sultan’s/King’s Mosque): Beautiful ceiling. One of Albania’s oldest mosques. Can see inside immediately after prayer time.

Mangalem Quarter (Old Town): Old Muslim quarter.

Xhamia e Beqarevet (Bachelors’ Mosque), Rruga Antipatrea: 1827. Porches and interiors covered in dizzying array of brightly-painted flowers, fruits, leaves, swirls and arabesques. Fine Ottoman-era shopfronts nearby. Down near river.

Gorica Quarter: Old Christian quarter, with churches. Quieter than Mangalem Quarter. Top of hill.

Gorica Bridge: 18C Ottoman stone bridge.

Xhamia e Plumbit (Leaden Mosque), Rruga Gaqi Gjika/Rruga Antipatrea: 16C

Bulevardi Republika: Xhiro (passeggiata).

Rafting Trips: www.albrafting.com

Tourist office: http://bashkiaberat.gov.al/

Albania has the most cash-oriented economy I've seen. Smaller hotels may want cash. Some non-touristy restaurants want cash. The only time I used a credit card for transportation was on the bus from the airport to Tirana. ATMs have very high fees. Money-exchange booths are often cheaper. Euros preferred but US dollars may work.

Take a scarf to cover your hair and wear conservative clothing (long sleeves, knees covered, etc., in mosques and Orthodox churches. I've run into a lot of Orthodox churches that do not allow photography, but I don't remember whether some were in Albania.

We recently returned from Albania. For traveling between towns we booked rides in advance with DayTrip.com. After we arrived in Tirana the taxi driver who took us to our lodging offered to drive us to the next town and his price was lower so we took him up on his offer. DayTrip has a free cancellation policy and we did receive a full refund. We wanted to have our transfers in place before we left home and it worked well for us.

Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia is beautiful but probably too far from Tirana for the time you have.

Great stuff. I am taking notes for my return trip. Thank you.

I think with only 5 days/nights, you are moving to a workable plan. Berat is lovely. You could also consider Girokastra. I am pretty sure minibuses go from Tirana to both, with about an hour - hour and a half difference between the 2 (I took the Tirana to Berat minibus.). And, of course, there is DayTrip and taxis for a higher cost, but maybe more comfort.

I used this company for a private day trip to Apollonia from Berat. I think it is owned by 2 brothers: one in Tirana and one in Berat.
https://vato.al/daily-tours/berat/ They do a variety of things - not just the listed tours.

I did NOT use this one but would have. However it required 2 people and I was only 1.
https://albaniatourguide.com/

I have seen transfer tours from Tirana to Berat, with a stop at Apollonia.