We will have a day in Saranda, Albania on our Mediterranean cruise. Does anyone have recommendations for sightseeing or a lunch restaurant? I'm considering the cruise line's excursion to Gjirokastra, but we usually prefer to explore independently.
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1600 posts
I only passed through Saranda on the way to Corfu, Greece. We spent one night in Gjirokastra and then based ourselves at Ksamil for two nights. If your are interested in old ruins, Butrint (world heritage site) is close to Ksamil. This was two years ago during summer. Ksamil is a nice beach town without any must sees other than Butrint.
Gjirokaster was wonderful especially in the evening but I’m assuming yours may just be a day visit. If you go, try and stop at the Blue Eye which is on the way - it will likely be crowded but worth the stop. One thing to note - driving through Saranda was stressful and it didn’t seem like there were many places to park. Thankfully I was only dropping off the car and the Sixt agent met me at the port and took the car