Known as the land of the Eagles, Albania has turquoise blue Adriatic beaches, Roman and Byzantine history and a food scene inspired by neighbouring Greece. It felt underrated and exciting! Naturally Alice and I went ahead and booked our girlie trip, take 4! Below is our route and our top 10 highlights and tips for exploring Albania by bus:

1. The Bus Route
   With one week of annual leave, Alice and I covered Sarande (2), Gjirokastër (2), Berat (2) and Tirana (1) all by bus. My top tip on the routing is that Tirana Airport is approximately 4 – 5 hours from Sarande, (the Albanian Riviera). Once on the trip, we learnt that Corfu (Greece) was on only a 35 minute ferry ride away from the Albanian Riviera. If we planned the trip again, we would arrange a flight into Corfu, Greece and out of Tirana, Albania. This avoids the long overland bus ride. Bus tickets can be purchased on the day and I recommend carrying cash with you as bus terminals do not accept card payments. The bus rides were very scenic, around 70% of Albania is mountainous, it was spectacular passing through river valleys, olive groves, and coastal roads.

2. The Blue Eye
   From Sarande, we were just a 45 minute bus journey to The Blue Eye. The Blue Eye is a hypnotic pool of deep blue water surrounded by electric blue edges like the iris of an eye and surrounded by valleys and forests. We followed the advice of rocking up for a 10:00AM bus, with the hope that we’d be able to continue with another bus to Gjirokastër after. A bus ticket costs 400 LEK (4 EUR) per person, there were often taxi touts in town shouting ‘BLUE EYE’ for 50 EUR return. The public transport worked brilliantly for us. I’d highly recommend The Blue Eye, the site is reachable after a 20 minute hike through the forest, entry costs only 0.5 LEK (0.50 EUR).

3. Bogove Waterfall and Osumi Canyon
   Alice and I initially browsed on Trip Advisor as we were keen to arrange the canyon and waterfall day trip. After popping into a local tourist agency, we realised that we could arrange a private version of the tour at the same cost as X2 group tour spaces!
   
   We contacted 1001 Albanian Adventures and had a fantastic day with Erilda. We swam in freezing waterfalls, saw canyon vistas and explored Byzantine churches. The tour operator kindly dropped us off at the bus station for our onward journey to Tirana the same day. The canyon is one of Albania’s most spectacular natural wonders, Osumi Canyon with dramatic rock walls, narrow passages, and breathtaking viewpoints. You can reach 1001 Albanian Adventures via WhatsApp on +355 69 883 1536.

4. Rooftop breakfast at Gjirokastër
   We arrived into Gjirokastër where the skies opened with pouring rain. After a night at Hotel Kalemi drying our socks, we enjoyed a rooftop breakfast where we witnessed the sea of distinct UNESCO-listed Ottoman architecture, earning the city its nickname of the “City of Stone.” From the rooftop, the Drino River winded through a patchwork of green fields with Gjirokastër castle in the backdrop. We had a one night stay in the town which was enough time to explore the winding alleys. We loved the Petulas which were fluffy, golden-brown fritters with honey (an Albanian doughnut).

5) Walking tours in Berat and Tirana

I recommend for you to book onto a free walking tour during your trip. It’s one of the easiest ways to get your bearings, uncover the stories behind the places you’re exploring and to meet other travellers as well. During our time in Albania, we joined the Free Walking Tours Berat and Tirana Free Tour, both lasting around two to three hours. Thanks to our knowledgeable local guides, we came away with a far deeper appreciation of Albania’s history, culture and everyday life than we ever could have discovered on our own. We had dinner at Friendly House Restaurant in Berat where a Dutch traveller joined us for dinner.

6) For female travellers

Bus stops were tricky to find in Albania, they were often on random street corners, far enough from the town centre where you’d normally have to get a taxi into to/from the city centre to the bus station. My top tip for this is downloading the app Maps.Me, rather then Google, Maps.Me is often used by travellers to tag ad-hoc locations, such as bus stops situated in the middle of nowhere!
Unfortunately we experienced an uncomfortable encounter with a man near the bus stop. When he saw that we were lost, he gestured fiercely towards his car so he could take us there. We said no to the advances and this is where he got possessive and angry with violent body language and raised voices. One unpleasant interaction doesn’t define a destination, however I would always advise travellers to be cautious and mindful if anyone offers unsolicited help.

7) Learn some phrases

Learn a few basic Albanian phrases for your trip. Even a simple përshëndetje (hello) or faleminderit (thank you) goes a long way and is always appreciated. On one taxi journey, we thanked our driver in Albanian and his face immediately lit up. For the rest of the ride, he grinned, repeated faleminderit back to us over and over again and seemed genuinely delighted that we’d made the effort to speak a little of his language. It was a small interaction, but one that reminded us how a few words can break the ice. At bus stations, we often met other solo travellers and split the taxi fare between us. I also used the App SpeedTaxi in Albania to book us a taxi back to Tirana Airport on the last day, this worked well as we knew the taxi fare upfront.

8) The communist history until the 90s

Take time to learn about Albania’s communist past while you’re in Tirana. Understanding this chapter of the country’s history adds so much context to everything from the architecture and bunkers scattered across the city to the resilience of the Albanian people today. From 1944 to 1991, Albania was governed by the communist regime. The communist secret police, known as the Sigurimi, monitored the population extensively. Thousands of people were imprisoned, sent to labour camps or persecuted for political or religious reasons. It was poignant to learn the history in Tirana, we visited Bunk’Art 1 – a huge underground nuclear bunker transformed into a museum.

9) Beaches on Sarandë

For the Albanian Riviera, my top tip is to consider visiting Sarandë in the shoulder season. During the summer months, many of the town’s most popular beaches are lined with private sunbeds and umbrellas, meaning you’ll often need to pay to access these areas. Visiting in May, June or September/October means fewer crowds and a more relaxed atmosphere.

10) Travelling in Albania costs

We found Albania to be a budget friendly destination. When planning our trip, we based our accommodation cost on around £20 per person, per night (with breakfast often included), making it great value for money. Flights came to £137 return with EasyJet. In total, our 7 day trip cost around £550 per person, including flights, hotels, food, transport, activities and spending money. If you’re looking for a destination where you can experience beautiful beaches, fascinating history and beautiful scenery without breaking the bank, Albania is hard to beat.

Overall, a week gave us a great taste of Albania, but it definitely wasn’t enough to see everything. We never made it north of Tirana, meaning Shkodër had to come off our itinerary, and it’s already at the top of the list for our next visit in October 2026!

If you have any questions please feel free to comment here and I will be happy to help.