Albania Itinerary: Ultimate 2-3 Weeks Travel Route
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Planning a trip to this trending European country? Then this detailed Albania itinerary is perfect for you – especially if you love nature, fairytale towns and beaches as much as I do!
Albania is such a beautiful and diverse country and in most parts, compared to other countries in this part of Europe, still quite a hidden gem! It has everything from insanely beautiful beaches, for example in Ksamil, often called “The Maldives of Europe” and majestic mountains in the Albanian Alps.
This Albania itinerary is laid out mainly for first time visitors & for a 2-3 week travel route but can of course be adjusted as needed. Want to stay longer at some of the most beautiful beaches in Albania? Just add a few extra days in Ksamil or Dhermi.
You will probably fly into Tirana, so I will start the itinerary there, even though I did not visit the capital myself. I did drive my camper van down to Albania from Austria and mainly stuck to nature & some smaller fairytale towns.
While public transportation from and to main tourist spots is widely available, Albania is a great country for a roadtrip and I highly recommend renting a car, which is also really affordable in Albania.
In my itinerary I will talk about driving distances if you are traveling with your own car – so if you are planning to use public transportation, you might need to check other resources for detailed instructions.
- Tirana 1-2 days
- Dhërmi 1-2 days
- Himarë 1-2 days
- Sarandë: 1-2 days (optional stop)
- Ksamil 2-3 days
- Gjirokastër 1-2 days
- Berat 1-2 days
- Kruje & Shkodër 1-2 days
- Theth 2-3 days
- Komani lake 2-3 days
1. Tirana: 1st stop on your Albania itinerary (1-2 days)
As mentioned above, I have not personally visited Tirana but done some research of best things to do there.
It is very likely that you will start and end your journey here and it might be well worth exploring the capital of Albania for a day or two.
Best things to do in Tirana:
- Dajti Ekspres Cable Car
- BUNK’ART Museum
- Skanderbeg Square
- Dajti Mountain
- Namazgah Mosque
Tours you might be interested in Tirana and from Tirana.
How to get to Tirana to start your Albania adventure?
To get to Tirana, you will most likely fly into their International Airport. There’s regularly very cheap flights to Tirana from other European cities, especially with Ryanair.
Where to stay in Tirana?
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
2. Dhërmi: Welcome to the Albanian Coast (1-2 days)
Next up on my Albania itinerary is the beautiful coastline with the first stop in Dhërmi.
If you are traveling by car, the route from Tirana to Dhërmi takes about 4 hours, a bit longer if you make some stops along the way.
Stunning beaches & crystal clear water await you here. The coast is ideal for a road trip, as there is a well built out main road pretty much all the way from Vlore to Ksamil. While personally I did not love Vlore compared to the other beach destinations I’ve visited, you might add a little stop here just to stroll around and take a break along the way.
Dhërmi is home to many beautiful beaches and a beautiful old town, located on top of the hill with wonderful views.
It’s an ideal first stop along the coast to spend 1-2 days to relax, enjoy some of the beautiful beaches and visit the old town.
Best things to do and places to visit in Dhërmi:
- Old Town
- Zoe Hora Hotel
- Dhermi Beach
- Perivolo Beach
- Palasa Beach
- Boat trip to the a cave
- Gjipe Beach
Where to stay in Dhërmi during your Albania trip?
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
Even if you don’t stay at Zoe Hora Hotel, located in the old town make sure to visit and have a drink or meal there.
3. Himarë: Beaches and Old Town (1-2 days)
Just a little further South, you can find the town of Himarë. Similar to Dhërmi, there is an old town there (although abandoned, still cool to see) with great views as well as quite afew nice beaches!
Himarë is located about a 30 minutes drive South of Dhërmi, so theoretically you could also choose to stay overnight in one of them and then do excursions to the other from there.
The main town of Himarë is relatively large and has a lot of options for restaurants, hotels, etc.
Might be wort to stop here for a day or two, if you got enough time.
Best things to do and places to visit in Himarë on your Albania trip:
- Jake Beach
- Aquarium Beach
- Himarë Castle
- Old Town
- Livadi Beach
- Filikuri Bay
- Sfageio Beach
Where to stay in Himarë?
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
4. Sarandë: Optional stop on your Albania itinerary (1-2 days)
About 1hr and 20 minutes drive South of Himarë, the next larger town is Sarandë. The road along the coast and through the mountains offers gorgeous views and some cool stops like Porto Palermo castle & beach.
I personally did not find it anything very special, so I only included it as an optional stop, if you have enough time and want to see as many places as possible.
There’s also a few beautiful beaches around Saranda, but you might as well just stop on the way South to Ksamil to check out some of them:
- Mucobega Beach
- Saranda Beach
- El Primero Beach
Another place worth visiting in Sarandë is the Lëkurësi Castle with great views of the city and ocean. It’s especially popular for sunset and the google reviews are pretty good overall.
Where to stay in Sarandë?
I would personally base myself in Ksamil, as it’s just a bit further South and eventually stop in Sarandë on the way down, but here are some accommodation options in Sarandë just in case:
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
5. Ksamil: My personal favourite on this Albania itinerary (2-3 days)
Also referred to as the “Maldives of Europe”.
Yes, this place gets busy, loud and quite expensive during high season. In off season though, you can enjoy these incredible beaches in Ksamil pretty much all to yourself. During high season I heard many horror stories though and would not really recommend visiting.
I personally visited in the end of April and there were not many people around, most beach bars were still closed and I really, really enjoyed my time here. The beaches are gorgeous and the water SO clear and beautiful.
If you are a party person though and don’t mind crowded beaches, this might also be for you in summer!
It’s about 2 hours drive from Himarë and 30 minutes drive from Sarandë. If you don’t travel by car, you can also book transfers to Ksamil from most places around Albania since it’s the most popular spot in the country.
Best places to visit and things to do in Ksamil:
- Guiro I Hartes beach
- Ksamil beach (you can just walk around the entire beach there and hop from one beach bar to the next, it’s mostly somewhat connected, at least in April when most beach bars were closed)
- Ksamil beach 7 (one of the most instagrammable but in high season also crowded beach areas)
- Take a boat tour around the little islands off the coast
- Ohana beach bar
- Butrint National Archaeological Park
- Tongo Beach
- Hand of Ksamil (if you’re into photo spots)
- Augustus Beach (a little more quiet)
Here are some tours you might be interested in for your visit to Ksamil.
Where to stay in Ksamil during your Albania roadtrip?
I personally went to Ksamil with my camper and stayed at Augustus Beach for free. In high season you can pay to camp there but when I visited the place was still abandoned and I was able to stay there for free. It’s a beautiful bay and much less crowded than most other beaches around Ksamil.
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
6. Gjirokastër: Fairytale town you can’t miss on your Albania roadtrip (1-2 days)
Time to say goodbye to the beautiful coast of Albania and time to explore some of the beautiful inland – mountains, fairytale towns and other spectacular places await you there!
On the way to Gijirokastër, you can (and should) stop at the famous Blue Eye Siri I Kaltër. A beautiful spring in the middle of nature, only about 1 hr drive from Ksamil. There’s actually two “Blue Eyes” in Albania and I liked the other one better (more on that later on) but this one is definitely also wort a quick stop on your Albania itinerary.
Then continue another hour to get to the beautiful “stone city” of Albania: Gjirokastër. It’s part of the UNESCO world heritage and has a beautiful old town, with castle, mosques and the typical stone houses.
You can easily explore the main sights in a day, but if you want to explore some of the nature in the area, you might also do 2-3 days there.
Best places to visit & things to do in Gjirokastër:
- Old Town
- Gjirokastër Castle
- Cold War tunnel
- Take a walking tour
- Take a water rafting tour
- Ali Pasha bridge
- Skenduli House
Where to stay in Gjirokastër?
I personally only stayed here for one day and did not stay overnight, but here are some well rated accommodation options for all budgets:
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
7. Berat: Ottoman architecture not to miss on your Albania itinerary (1-2 days)
Time to head back North! It’s about a 2,5 hour drive to Berat from Gjirokastër.
I personally have not been to Berat on my trip, as I did not have enough time but everyone I talk to loved their stay in Berat, so I recommend adding it to your Albania itinerary.
Best things to do and places to see in & around Berat:
- Berat Castle
- Old Town
- Holy Trinity Church
- Mangelem, Ottoman neighbourhood
- Gorica Bridge
- Osum Canyon Tour
Where to stay in Berat:
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
8. Kruje & Shkodër: Stops on your way to the North of Albania (1-2 days)
On my way to the beautiful mountains of Albania, I decided to stop at another fairytale town along the way – Kruje! And I’m so glad I did, I loved it here and it wasn’t busy at all!
It’s located a little North of Tirana and the drive from Berat takes a bit more than 2 hours.
It’s a very cute and small town – exactly my vibe and for me definitely a must on this Albania itinerary. I would not necessarily stay here overnight, just do a quick stop along the way and keep driving to Shkodër for another 2 hours or so. I did not explore the city itself, just stayed overnight close by, then headed to Theth the next morning.
Best places to visit & things to do in Kruje:
- Old Bazaar
- Kruje Castle
- Viewpoint Cafe
- Temple of Sari Salltik
Where to stay in Shkodër on your Albania itinerary:
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
9. Theth: Welcome to the Albanian Alps (2-3 days)
Another 2 hours of driving from Shkodër and you’ll finally make it to the beautiful mountains of Theth National Park – one of my favourite stops on this Albania itinerary! If you don’t have a car, you could also book a 3-day tour from Shkodër to the Albanian Alps for less than 100€.
Albania is very well known for its beaches but the mountains there are much less visited and are quite a hidden gem but super impressive!
Not only can you do amazing hikes in Theth, the most popular one being the Theth – Valbona hike (which is not ideal if you travel by car, since it’s not a loop and takes pretty much a full day in one direction.
But you can easily go up to the top from Theth, admire the incredible views and then head back down the same way you came from instead of heading further to Valbone. I did it this way as well.
If you are not traveling by car, you might want to do the full hike to Valbona, then head onto Komani Lake directly from there.
Theth also has a really cute church that is super instagrammable and closeby you can also find the 2nd Blue Eye of Albania.
I would spend at least 2-3 days here, but you could definitely also do more if you got enough time and love the mountains.
Best places to visit & things to do in Theth:
- Theth – Valbone hike
- Blue Eye of Theth
- Kisha e Thethit (church)
- Waterfall Grunas
Where to stay in the Theth on your Albania itinerary:
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
10. Komani Lake: A nature gem on your Albania itinerary (1-3 days)
Last but not least – one of my favourite spots on this Albania itinerary! The wonderful Komani lake. It’s a massive lake that can be crossed by ferry or you can explore it on a boat tour. Many people do the hike from Theth to Valbone and then take a bus + the ferry over Komani lake and then by bus to Shkodër from there. But that only makes sense, if you are not traveling around by car.
I only spent a day at Komani lake or mainly at one of its side arms – the Shala River or Lumi i Shalës. A wonderful places with crystal clear, ice-cold water, beach bars and cute agriturismo stays.
If I ever go back, I will most definitely spend 1-2 nights there, as I truly loved the area! You can hike to some amazing viewpoints as well!
The boat tour took 5-6 hours and cost me approximately 25€. I heard the place is pretty busy in July & August but was super calm in the beginning of May and I truly loved it!
Best places to visit & things to do at Komani lake:
- Take the ferry
- Boat tour to Shala river
- Stay at an Agriturismo
- Hike to viewpoints
More tours around the Komani Lake here:
Where to stay at Komani Lake / Shala River in Albania:
Low budget stays & hotels:
Mid range stays and hotels:
Luxury stays and hotels:
And that is it – from Koman you travel back to Tirana, where you started your trip 2-3 weeks earlier. I hope you will enjoy this Albania itinerary as much as I did!
More Albania blog posts coming soon!