Albania Tour

Group gathering in the capital of Albania - Tirana. Arrival time does not matter. In the evening we walk around the center, immersing ourselves in another “land of contrasts”.

We're going north. Numerous mountain serpentines (6 hours on the road) will lead us to the Albanian Alps on the border with Montenegro and its Prokletije mountain range (see motor tour of Montenegro). We stop for the night in the Valbona valley at an altitude of 1000 m. From here, if you wish, you can climb one of the peaks (for example, May Rosit 2525 m), but to be honest, most likely there is not enough time and energy for this. So we just enjoy the mountain air and scenery.

We return to the sea along an endless chain of reservoirs. If space is available, we will take the ferry to sail for a couple of hours along the picturesque Koman reservoir. On the way, we look into Shkodra - a town on the shores of the huge Skadar Lake and see the ancient arched bridge Mesi and the Rozafa fortress.

We spend the whole day driving along the coast of the Adriatic Sea. We explore the resort of Durres (ancient amphitheater, fortress). We rent a boat and ride around the lagoon of the Divjaka-Karavasta National Park, looking for pelicans or flamingos (little chances). We spend the night in the town of Vlora, where we see the Kanina Castle and the Monastery of St. Mary (on the island).

We continue to drive along the sea and nevertheless rise high into the mountains. We cross the Logara National Park along the road at an altitude of 1000 meters. Gorgeous views of the sea, cool air, the opportunity to fly paragliders (70 dollars). For the night we go down to the sea near the town of Himarë.

In the morning we see the Ali Pasha fortress (Porto Palermo) and the underground submarine base (from afar). We pass the longest beach with the patriotic name Borsch (Plazhi i Borshit). We drop into Saranda, see the Lekursi fortress (Kalaja e Lëkurësit) and then go to the southern tip of Albania, near the border with Greece. There we see the beautiful Ksamil beach and the archaeological reserve of Butrint - Greek, Roman and Venetian ruins on a picturesque peninsula.

We leave the sea coast and cross a small plateau, along the way we look at the karst lake/Blue Eye spring (cold and bottomless). We descend into the valley of the Drino River, 10 km from the Greek border (Epirus region). We look at the fortress in Gjirokaster. In a large arc we go around the mountain range with the Hotova Fir national park to get to the town of Përmet. Here we are interested in the Langarica canyon with arched bridges and Bënjës thermal springs.

Once again, we are not looking for easy ways and are moving not along highways, but along mountain roads. We drive along the beautiful Osumi Canyon with unusual sinter formations and numerous caves. We make a short foray into the small but dizzying Pirogoshi cave. We have lunch in the village of Çorovodë (Chorovoda) and continue along the edge of the Tomorri mountain park. In the evening we will be in the town of Berat, where we will explore the 13th century fortress and spend the night. There is also the opportunity to arrange rafting (about 50 euros).

In the morning we go rafting (optional), and then we make the final push back to Tirana. Along the way we pass oil fields near Elbasan, see another fortress and in the evening we return to the capital. The tour is over - you can fly home (flights no earlier than 21:00) or continue your vacation at sea on your own.