Wandering The Albanian Riviera With a Rental Car and No Reservations
After finishing up our hike in the Albanian Alps from Valbona to Theth, we went to the Albanian capital, Tirana, to pick up our rental car and head down the coast (by way of Berat), with no plans other than to bum from one beach to another and enjoy everything the Albanian Riviera has to offer.
The Albanian Riviera, also known as “Bregu”, is the southwestern stretch of coast that runs along the Ionian Sea from the town of Vlorë to the town of Ksamil, which borders Greece. This is about 200 kilometers of coastline, which will take you about three hours to drive if you do not stop.
Garan and I had four nights to make our way from Vlore to Ksamil, as our plan was to fly out of the island of Corfu, Greece. Corfu is a Greek island located directly across from Sarande/Ksamil that has a relatively large international airport.
We reserved a car in Tirana from Avis for around $300 for five nights (we spent one night in the town of Berat before going to the coast) with our drop off point being the town of Sarande. What you should know is that there is an additional $100 they will charge when you pick up the car if your drop off point will be different from your pick up point. We were initially furious about this, as we had put our itinerary in during our online quote, but with our hands tied, had no choice but to pay the money and get moving.
It IS possible to visit the Albanian Riviera via bus, but you will mostly be limited to the biggest/touristy towns and the coastal roads are very windy and steep because you must drive through the Ceraunian Mountains, so pick your poison.
Our first tentative stop along the riviera was the town of Vlorë. We had seen several beautiful hotels listed on booking.com, so we were excited to see what the town had to offer.
Much to our disappointment, Vlorë seemed to be very touristy and kind of old and dirty. Given the close proximity to Tirana (2-2.5 hour drive), I suppose this is to be expected because this is an easy drive for all of the city dwellers. The hotel prices seemed to be high for what you were getting so we decided to keep driving and find another place for the night.
What we didn’t really realize is that there are only two more towns before you begin to climb into the mountains, with evening approaching, we settled on the last town before the peninsula, Orikum.
Orikum is NOT a touristy place. When we stayed in mid-July 2018, our hotel was half empty and we had the beach chairs almost entirely to ourselves. We stayed at Blue Paradise Hotel for 50 euros, breakfast included.
That said, Orikum is not as beautiful as some of the beach towns further down the coast, but we were very happy for the seclusion and tranquility. The beach is a mix of pebbles and sand and the water was a comfortable temperature. After a few hours on the beach, we settled into the patio for some drinks and a dinner of freshly caught fish.
The next morning we were up and on the road. Garan was very excited to drive up into the Llogara National Park, which contains the Ceraunian Mountains, on our way to the next beach town. I was surprised that within 30 minutes of leaving Orikum, we were a few thousand feet above sea level, surrounded by forest.
We had contemplated going on a hike in the national park but given time constraints, we weren’t able to execute that plan. While driving through the pass, you will see a few cute hotels and restaurants, as well as roadside vendors selling honey. I regret not stopping for lunch. If we were to re-do this trip, I would consider hiking, spending a night at a mountain hotel, or at least having lunch, as it’s just really cool to have such a stark difference in scenery, it almost feels like you are in Switzerland.
As you descend from Llogara, you will have incredible views- if you are the one not driving. The roads are INTENSE. I felt like my stomach was in my throat and I was not even the one driving. Garan thought it was “fun” and “cool” so I guess it depends on your comfort level with driving windy, mountainous roads.
At one point we saw a team rescuing someone who had spun off the road and had nearly gone over a cliff. So, again, please don’t get a rental car unless you are a confident driver.
The drive from Orikum to Dhermi is only one hour, so it won’t take long before you are descending into the little town. Dhermi (along with Gjipe, Jala, and Himare), is written about as one of the most beautiful beaches along the Albanian Riviera. And this is likely true, but just don’t think you are going to have the beach to yourself, because it is not a hidden gem. We were mildly surprised by the amount of tourists there. After some contemplation, we settled on Guesthouse Riviera XH&M which would end up being the most expensive hotel of our adventure, for the price of 80 euros/night. The hotel is across the street from the beach and almost gives off a summer camp vibe: kids running around everywhere, no truly central area to the hotel- just access to your room from outside like a motel, and our room was on the first floor so it didn’t feel terribly secure and smelled very musty.
One bright side, however, the hotel had a private section of beach for their guests to enjoy. It was a peaceful sanctuary.
Dhermi is very beautiful and the sand is much whiter than Orikum, creating picturesque Mediterranean water.
That night we walked into the more central part of town along the boardwalk. If you are a family visiting with children, I can see the appeal of this town, as the boardwalk (which was under construction to expand) had some action, including carnival games. We had a mediocre dinner at a seaside restaurant and some wine before deciding to get to bed. We did notice some clubs along the beach, if you are looking for a place with some nightlife.
Our plan for the next morning was to continue south, checking out the town of Himare, and depending on how it looked, potentially continuing onward to Borsh.
The drive from Dhermi to Himare is only about 30 minutes but has a lot of twists and turns. As we approached Himare we could tell it was also quite built up, like Dhermi. We were actually feeling guilty about not loving Dhermi because Himare is actually bigger and busier- and the main road runs right along the water, taking away any sense of tranquility. Upon seeing literally bus loads of tourists, we decided to not stop and keep driving onward to Borsh.
Ahhh, Borsh. Borsh is really interesting because it’s actually the biggest beach along the riviera at 7 kilometers in length, yet it has few hotels and tourists. When Garan and I arrived, we immediately knew this was our next destination. It is just beginning to be developed, so we were able to stay in a fancy, new hotel, the Sole Luna Hotel, for only 65 euros/night, breakfast included.
The stretch of beach in front of the hotel is reserved for Sole Luna guests, so we hurried out to take our places under the straw umbrellas. They have servers walking between the rows of chairs, happy to take your food and drink orders. An aperol spritz is about $3 USD
Although there were several rows of umbrellas, I would estimate the chairs were half empty. There also seemed to be a lot less children here than in Dhermi or Himare, which was nice for creating a relaxing atmosphere.
In the evening, we walked down the mostly empty, sandy road and had a quiet dinner at a local restaurant. The food wasn’t particularly notable, but it was cheap and we enjoyed feeling like we were in a sleepy beach town.
The next morning, we had planned to continue on to Sarande, the biggest town along the Albanian Riviera, but after some contemplation, we decided we really liked Borsh and wanted to stay a second night (which meant we would skip Sarande altogether).
We enjoyed another sunny day at the beach and were happy with our choice, as the service at Sole Luna is very good. We went to bed early that night because the next morning we had to be up and on the road to Sarande to drop off our rental car,* then catch the ferry to Corfu**. From Corfu we were flying to Tbilisi, Georgia for some delicious Georgian food and wine, and hiking in the Caucasus Mountains.
*If you are dropping off a rental car in Sarande, give yourself plenty of time because the rental car companies are located at the port, however there is no parking lot for you to leave the car, so you must find street parking (we had to walk many blocks), go into the port to find the Avis office (no one was there and the security guard had to call him and ask him to come to the office), then walk to your car parked several blocks away with the Avis guy for him to evaluate the car, before walking back to the port!
** Taking the ferry to Corfu is very easy. You can buy tickets online here, the ferry runs several times a day. We took the faster 30 minute ferry but there is also a slower, 70 minute ferry (but they oddly cost the same price, about 23 euros).
Have you been to the Albanian Riviera or are planning to go? Any questions? I am happy to give suggestions or go into more detail about our planning if you need advice
Very nice! Yeah, Borsh looks great. Not a place you wouldn’t think to go to. I think it’s something we would like as well!
Yes, we liked Borsh a lot! Really nice, new hotel for a good price. And they had a beach bar!
Your blog is fantastic! What an adventure!! So fun to follow along & enjoy the beautiful sights.
Thank you!! It’s been a lot of fun for me to create the blog and keeps me pretty busy during our days abroad
Hi, Brittany! How may I contact you to discuss details and benefits of cooperation?