easyButrint · heritage walkButrint Archaeological Trail
Butrint
4 km↑ 30 m1.5–2.5 h
A 2,000-year span of Mediterranean history inside a pristine wetland, where the layered ruins sit right on the lagoon.
Best: year-round
Vlorë · 3 days · private
€63557,115 L for the car · up to 4 people
−10% cash · €572 for the car
Why go
Three days in the deep south: the stone city of Gjirokastër, the Blue Eye, the ruins of Butrint and four hours a day in the water.
Gjirokastër is a UNESCO stone city of tower houses on a steep slope, with a castle that has held Ottoman garrisons, a prison and a captured American aircraft.
The Blue Eye is a karst spring that rises from a shaft nobody has yet reached the bottom of, at a steady ten degrees.
Butrint, UNESCO-listed since 1992, layers a Greek theatre, a Roman forum, a baptistery mosaic and a Venetian fort on one wooded peninsula above the channel to Corfu.
On the ground
In pictures
Stone roofs of the old town at Gjirokastër
The Blue Eye spring rising through the rock
Clear water over the shaft of the Blue Eye
The theatre and the Roman ruins at Butrint
The forum at Butrint under the trees
Sunset over the small islands off Ksamil
The waterfront at Sarandë
Lëkurësi castle above the bay of Sarandë
The tower of Lëkurësi castle on the hill
Borsh beach on the drive north
Swipe for more. Photographs of the places on this route, under Creative Commons licences. Full credits.
Itinerary
Day 107:00
Three hours straight down the SH4.
Day 110:00
Two hours in the bazaar and the castle, with the Drino valley below.
Day 112:00
Forty-five minutes over the Muzina pass, then the shaded walk to the spring.
Day 114:00
Down to Pasqyrat or Pulëbardha for a long swim and a late lunch above the water.
Day 1evening
Check in, walk the Lungomare, dinner by the sea.
Day 208:30
Three hours in the ruins: theatre, Roman baths, baptistery and the Venetian fort, most of it in the shade.
Day 211:30
Four hours on the white pebble beaches, lunch by the water, a paddle boat out to the islands if you want one.
Day 216:30
Up the hill for sunset over the bay of Sarandë and Corfu across the water.
Day 309:00
North on the SH8 to Borsh or Llaman for four hours and a seaside lunch.
Day 313:30
Up through the national park, with a stop at the viewpoint on top.
Day 315:00
Down onto the highway and back to Tirana by early evening.
The price
Your price
1 person · 1 car
€63557,115 L
The whole trip. That is the card price.
−10% cash · €572if you pay the driver in cash on the day
How many of you?
Where do we start?
Door to door from your hotel or address in Tirana, included
How it adds up
Or pay the whole thing by card now. Free to cancel up to 24 hours before.
Included
Not included
Best months: May to October; September for warm water and quiet beaches
On foot
Your driver waits while you walk. Distance, climb and season for each, from public sources.
easyButrint · heritage walkButrint
4 km↑ 30 m1.5–2.5 h
A 2,000-year span of Mediterranean history inside a pristine wetland, where the layered ruins sit right on the lagoon.
Best: year-round
easyGjirokastër · heritage walkKalaja e Gjirokastrës
4.7 km↑ 200 m1.5–2.5 h
A living record of Ottoman architecture, where every alley reveals centuries-old mansions and the castle commands views across the south.
Best: year-round
easySarandë · waterfallSyri i Kaltër
5 km1.5–2 h
One of Albania's best-known natural features, a powerful spring feeding an emerald pool inside a protected forest reserve, separate from the Blue Eye near Theth.
Best: year-round
moderatePërmet · canyonUjërat termale të Bënjës
2 km↑ 100 m1–2 h
Natural thermal pools inside a dramatic limestone canyon, with an old stone bridge over clear water fed by the wider Vjosa river system.
Best: May to October
easyKsamil · boatIshujt e Ksamilit
1–2 h
An island-hopping break from Ksamil's busy shore, with clear water for swimming and snorkelling against the Riviera's coastline.
Best: April to October
Still deciding?
Get Gjirokastër · Sarandë · Ksamil, the price and a booking link in your inbox, so it's there when you plan the rest of Albania.
Questions
Up to eight. One car takes four at 60,000 lek for the three days; from five people we send both cars and a second driver, at 120,000 lek.
For these five places, yes, and it is built around four hours in the water each day rather than a checklist. Anything more wants a fourth day.
Two nights in Sarandë. Rooms are not in the price: tell us your budget and we book, or you book your own and we collect you.
Gjirokastër castle, the Blue Eye and Butrint each charge at the gate, paid on the day. The car, the driver and the fuel are in the price.
Nearby in spirit
