Main reasons to visit Albania coastal resorts
Renting a car in Albania and driving through 400 kilometers of wild Adriatic and Ionian coastline is a killer tourist offer for beach and sea lovers. But the best sea resorts in Albania are located in the so-called Albanian Riviera between Palasa beach near Llogara Pass to Ksamil islands in the very south near the Greek border.
The ideal time to travel to Albania is June and September-October. We strongly advise you to avoid the July - August madness when simultaneously guests from other Balkan countries come here (Kosovo, North Macedonia, Greek people as it is much cheaper in Albania) plus Poland & other East-European countries plus West Europeans plus representatives of minimum 20 million of Albanian diaspora which lives outside the country. Besides, these are the hottest months in this region with heat close to extreme in the middle of the day.
Seafood and restaurants
Choosing your holidays in Albania, bear in mind that big resorts on the Albanian coast like Saranda and Vlore plus medium ones like Dhermi, Himara and Ksamil restaurants are a real paradise for seafood lovers with much lower prices than even in neighboring Croatia and Montenegro.
Not to say anything about the prices in heavily promoted countries to travel in Europe like Greece, Spain or Italy.
But here is a fly in the ointment on Albania tourism:
There are only a few public beaches in Saranda and Ksamil, the majority is private so you need to pay for 2 sunbeds with an umbrella from a modest 10 EUR in Santa Quaranta Beach resort to 20 Euro+ on some of Ksamil beaches in Albania.
Parking fees near the beach can be in the 3 - 5 Euro range though there are free ones as well.
Lots of local beauties are in remote areas and it is a pity that public transport in Albania won’t help you to reach those must-see spots. You can’t book tickets online, you can’t rely on their itineraries and in general, the whole system should be digitized!
We start from a true paradise in 30 minutes from Dhermi reachable only by boat. It is one of the cleanest, untouched and deserted beaches in Albania with a transparent sea with a heavenly bottom. On your way there make a stop at Sant Andreas Bay as well - 2 gorgeous beaches in 1 day is always better!
If you arrive in Albania at Tirana International Airport and drive south via the big city of Vlore and Llogara Pass, Palasa beach will be the first one you reach on the Albanian Riviera. Dhermi (Drymades) resort is a village with ethnic Greek inhabitants, center of attraction for young people thanks to the rich summer nightlife. Local attractions include:
Palasa Beach - calm and secluded beach with little infrastructure and tourists but with plenty of room to camp there.
Dhërmi Beach - one of the best beaches in Albania located 2 kilometers from the small village of Dhermi.
Visit Llogara National Park and Mount Cika and do tandem paragliding there.
For electronic music fans, one of the places to visit in Europe in summer is Turtle Fest. In 2023 it will be held from 28 to 31 of July on Dhermi, Drymades beach in Albania - https://turtle-fest.com/.
Gjipe Beach + Gjipe Canyon in Albania
Gjipe Beach is one of the best Albania beaches and together with Gjipe Canyon make a must-see destination in Albania. It is quite remote and directly it can be reachable by boat and by cars with 4x4 driving on a single line road with 30 cm high curbs as the only guardrail on the road. If you don’t have a 4x4 wheel drive, you need to park your car at the top, pay 3 Euro and then go down 1.5 km by foot. Or you can pay around 5 Euro per person to local drivers and they will drive you from the beach back to parking.
Hiking in Gjipe Canyon is strongly recommended to see while you’re at Gjipe Beach. Just go inside the gorge for 30 minutes and you will be rewarded by cooling shade and stunning views!
The nearest Gjipe beach hotels are in Vuno.
Himara
It is a small town with around 8000 inhabitants mostly being ethnic Greeks with several well designed cafes and restaurants offering seafood dishes at a reasonable price. Main attractions here you should visit during your trip to Albania are:
Livadhi Beach - 4.5 long and wide beach in 10 minutes drive from Himare. wide white stone beach.
Sfageio Beach.
Gjiri i Akuariumit - a small beach 1 km north from Livadhi.
Himara Castle with stunning Ionian sea view and 3 Greek islands.
Borsh
Plazhi i Borshit - is a 7km long pebble/sand mixed beach near the small seaside village of Borsh. This area is a quiet one and not spoiled by mass tourism yet.
Attractions include the Castle of Borsh and Mount of Borshi placed above the village with a stunning view of the entire southern coast of Albania, Ionian sea and the Greek island of Corfu.
Lukove
Lukove town is a small one but offers nice seafood restaurants and 2 top beaches in Albania:
Lukove beach is 2 km from the town.
Buneci Beach - a 1 km beach near Lukove with 4.6 rating with and a small river flowing from the mountains around. Right behind the beach up on the mountain is a viewpoint called Panorama with a stunning Ionian sea view.
Saranda
Saranda is the most popular sea resort in Albania with lots of restaurants and Albanian Riviera best hotels.
Of course, main attraction here is sun, sand and sea so here’s the list of best Saranda and Ksamil beach in Albania.
If you decide to stay several nights in Ksamil, here’s the list of best Ksamil hotels and apartments.