7 Days in Albania: The First-Timer Itinerary
Seven days closes the full southern loop: Tirana, Berat, Gjirokaster, Saranda and Ksamil with Butrint and the Blue Eye, then north up the Riviera to Dhermi or Himare before the Llogara Pass drive back to Tirana. Pay in LEK, carry cash for the coast’s smaller guesthouses and every castle ticket, fly into TIA, and rent a car, this route alone covers over 600km. Want the northern mountains and the Komani Lake ferry too? Save them for a separate trip; under 10-12 days, picking one region beats stretching thin across both.
Shorter trip? See 5 or 6 days .
Book these before you go
- Hotel in Dhermi or Himare: check listings on Booking.com
- Hotel in Saranda or Ksamil: check listings on Booking.com
- Butrint day tour: search current availability on Viator
- Gjirokaster old town and castle tour: search current dates on GetYourGuide
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Daily cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tirana: Skanderbeg Square, Bunk’Art, Blloku | Arrival | ~EUR 40-65 |
| Day 2 | Tirana to Berat: castle, Mangalem, Gorica | ~2-2.5h | ~EUR 35-55 |
| Day 3 | Berat to Gjirokaster: castle, bunker, old town | ~2.5h | ~EUR 35-55 |
| Day 4 | Gjirokaster to Saranda/Ksamil, Butrint | ~1h (55min-1h20) | ~EUR 55-90 |
| Day 5 | Blue Eye, Ksamil islands | ~30-45min to Blue Eye | ~EUR 50-80 |
| Day 6 | Saranda to Himare/Dhermi, Gjipe Beach | ~1h30-2h | ~EUR 55-90 |
| Day 7 | Llogara Pass to Vlore to Tirana, depart | ~3-4h | ~EUR 30-50 |
Day 1: Tirana Base
- Morning: land at TIA, pick up your rental car or take the Rinas Express shuttle into Skanderbeg Square, roughly 300 LEK (about EUR 3; schedule on TIA’s transport page )
- Afternoon: Bunk’Art 2 (900-1,000 LEK with audio guide), then the free square itself, still a genuinely sharp public space since its 2017 redesign
- Evening: dinner in Blloku, the former communist-elite quarter opened to ordinary Albanians only after 1991
Day 2: Tirana To Berat
- Morning: drive to Berat, roughly 2-2.5 hours
- Afternoon: the Mangalem and Gorica quarters facing off across the Osum River, UNESCO-listed since 2008; the general castle fee is waived in 2026, the Onufri Museum inside still runs 400-500 LEK
- Evening: overnight in Berat, tave kosi for dinner, roughly 600-900 LEK
Day 3: Berat To Gjirokaster
- Morning: drive to Gjirokaster, roughly 2.5 hours (~175km)
- Afternoon: the UNESCO stone old town beneath its castle; entry roughly 400 LEK, plus 200 LEK for the Cold War bunker and 200 LEK for the weapons museum
- Evening: overnight in Gjirokaster
Day 4: Gjirokaster To Saranda And Butrint
- Morning: drive to Saranda/Ksamil, roughly 55 minutes to 1h20
- Afternoon: Butrint , the UNESCO Greek/Roman/Venetian ruins on a coastal lagoon, entry 1,000 LEK (about EUR 10), open 08:30-20:00 with last entry at 18:00 through October, budget 2-3 hours
- Evening: overnight in Saranda or Ksamil, seafood dinner, roughly EUR 20-40
Should I add the Riviera or the mountains to a first Albania trip? The Riviera, for a first trip under 10-12 days. It wins on headline photos and pairs naturally with Berat and Gjirokaster as one continuous loop, like this one. The Accursed Mountains up north (Theth, Valbona, the Komani Lake ferry) genuinely deliver the bigger “before the crowds” payoff, but they sit far enough away that combining both regions properly needs 10-12 days minimum.
Day 5: Blue Eye And Ksamil Islands
- Morning: the Blue Eye, roughly 22km from Saranda via Muzine, entry only 50 LEK (about EUR 0.50), cash only, plus 100-200 LEK parking, open 08:00-20:00
- Afternoon: Ksamil’s islets, a boat tour runs roughly EUR 16-25/person for an hour; July-August gets genuinely crowded here, so May, June, or September deliver a calmer version of the same water
- Evening: last night in Saranda or Ksamil
Day 6: Up The Riviera To Himare Or Dhermi
- Morning: drive north along the coast to Himare, roughly 1h30 (~54km), then on to Dhermi, another 25 minutes
- Afternoon: Gjipe Beach, between Himare and Dhermi, a dramatic beach at a limestone canyon mouth reached by a 30-45 minute walk and scramble from the parking area (roughly 300 LEK parking)
- Evening: overnight in Dhermi or Himare, sunbeds run roughly EUR 5-10/day for two with an umbrella
Is the Llogara Pass drive dangerous? Not if you time it right. The road is paved but narrow, with a dozen-plus hairpins over a roughly 1,027m summit, and morning or evening fog can cut visibility to 10-20 meters. Drive it in daylight, avoid dawn and dusk, and fuel up in Vlore or Dhermi first, there are no petrol stations on the pass itself.
Day 7: Llogara Pass Back To Tirana
- Morning: climb the Llogara Pass out of Dhermi, roughly an hour to the summit, then down into Vlore
- Afternoon: from Vlore, roughly 2h15 back to Tirana via Fier and Durres, returning the rental car
- Evening: depart from TIA
Seven days is a genuinely complete first look at the country: two UNESCO hill towns, the ruins at Butrint, and a real taste of the Riviera. The Accursed Mountains and the Komani Lake ferry earn their own dedicated trip; they’re not a corner you can cut into this one.