6 day road trip to freedom in Albania
Who would have thought that Albania offers such a great journey for a Road Trip? Well it does, from scenic roads of sea and river views, to windy mountain roads this country offers a great drive. This is a sample itinerary for 6 days.
The Itinerary
Durres isn’t a particular city you want to stop in, just get your cash sorted at this point before heading south. Here you can find many banks and exchange bureaus. Drive down for 50 minutes to down to Divjaka National Park, where you can enjoy the lake and the stunning beach on the Adriatic Coast. Beware, many cars tend to park literally on the beach. If you are not road tripping in a 4x4 we highly not suggest you keep pushing it.
Next destination would be Dhermi beach. Make sure you do not skip Llogaraja Pass National Park, Google maps tend to skip this route, giving you the longest route, and so give the directions to the area you want to pass from not the final destination! Llogaraja Pass the most scenic route you can drive in Albania that’s why it’s important not to follow Google, in this case! Llogaraja pass, is a beautiful mountain windy road with views of the sea. You can also see Corfu from the panoramic view point on a clear day! Once you get to Dhermi beach, you can opt to stay here for a night or two and enjoy the crystal clear waters, water sports and inexpensive food at seaside restaurants.
The whole coast from Dhermi to Qeparo only take 40 minutes to drive and is a charming one, full of beaches. So if you are into beaches get ready for beach hopping. Beautiful beaches you can have a dip in are Jal, Himara and Porto Palermo.
Driving 1 hour and 15 minutes south towards Ksamil. This beach is redounded for its beautiful beach with 3 islands in swimming distance. However, its charm is hidden by the crowds in peak season, hence we didn’t stop and opted to continue our route to Butrint. Butrint has beautiful ruins with lovely lake setting. However if you are interested in stopping here, make sure you do not go on the barge at this stage! The actual ruins are before the 500 Leke Barge. Oh, well it happens! But it was the best option as we got to what I called heaven.
Blue Eye spring is located one hour north east from Butrint, on SH99. This is not only a beautiful spring with crystal clear waters but a natural phenomenon. Check about the Blue eye spring blog for detailed information.
After this natural beauty, if you have enough time you can drive to Gjirokastra a mountain town of the Ottoman era. Make sure you do not mistake the name for Gjirokaster.
If not, head to Berat, a UNESCO world heritage site with its old town and Castle overlooking ‘the town with the thousand windows’. Make sure you do not try to take the short cut on SH74 to Berat. Even though it shows as a high way on Google maps it is a war zone and it would be a mission impossible to get your car alive, plus you would have wasted so much time and energy with no option to turn round from E853.
From Berat a 2 hour drive gets you to Tirana, Albania’s capital. Here you can enjoy the bustling streets of the city and take a free walking tour to get acquainted.
From the capital Shkodra is the next place to visit. This is a stepping stone town to get to the beautiful Lake Koman and from here you can cross the border to Montenegro in 20 minutes!
For more information about the type of roads expected and the ease of road tripping in Albania click here.
Join us on the beautiful road trip journey
