The Jewels Of Albania: 8-Day Trip

Day 1. Tirana airport – Tirana, Albania
Meet our guide on your arrival at Tirana International Airport and Leave for the Albanian capital – Tirana, a city in constant evolution. Formerly dull and grey, the city has experienced an international boom post-communism, becoming a lively metropolis, colourful and very lively thanks to its unique atmosphere. Fascinating, Tirana represents both the past and the future of Albania.
Dinner and overnight in Tirana.

Day 2. Tirana – Apollonia – Vlora, Albania
After breakfast, take the road again and stop in the Monastery of Ardenica. Built in the 13th century, it is one of the most beautiful Orthodox monuments in Albania.
After lunch, you will visit Apollonia of Ylliria, ruin of the ancient largest ancient Greek city of Albania founded in 625 BC.
Lunch at a seafood Restaurant.
After lunch, reach the port town of Vlora and explore the island of Zvërnec, a small island on a 9-hectare lagoon accessible only by pontoon, and visit its 14th-century monastery.
You will then join the Albanian Riviera and join the city of Vlora, where the Albanian independence started.
Dinner and overnight in Vlora

Day 3. Vlora – Dhermi – Saranda, Albania
After breakfast, you will drive to Dhermi, small and quaint Albanian seaside resort.
On the way make a stop in the Llogora National Park through sumptuous mountain scenery.
Embark on a boat to discover the wonders of the Adriatic Sea. You will discover the beautiful Gjippe Canyon and the pirate’s caves.
Lunch in front of the sea.
Continue to the south of Albania and stop in Ali Pasha Castle. Famous governor of the region on behalf of the Ottoman Empire often compared to Napoleon for his strategies and military alliances.
Join Saranda, the biggest seaside resort of Albania and drop your luggage at the hotel.
At the end of the day, enjoy a traditional dinner in a castle on the heights of Saranda (subject to availability). Overnight in Saranda

Day 4. Saranda – Butrint – Gjirokastra, Albania
After the breakfast, join Butrint and start the visit of an archaeological site of an ancient city built by the Trojans after the fall of Troy. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit this ancient city occupied by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Venetians. This archaeological site presents ruins of the ancient civilizations of this historic city.
For the lunch you will head to a restaurant, mussel farmer on the edge of Lake Butrint, located in an amazing place.
For the lunch you will head to a restaurant, mussel farmer on the edge of Lake Butrint, located in an amazing place.
Head toward the land of Albania and drive to Gjirokastra.
On the road, make a stop at the source of water of the “blue eye” or (syri i kaltër in Albanian) and re-energize yourself in this magnificent landscape of postcard (visit which can be suppressed according to the season).
Arrive in Gjirokastra and drop-off your luggage at your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Gjirokastra.

Day 5. Gjirokastra – Berat, Albania
After breakfast, start the sightseeing tour in Gijrokastra. Rare example of a city with an architectural style typical of the Ottoman period.
Arrival in Gjirokastra and start a guided tour of the city. Admire the architecture of a series of 17th-century “remarkable” two-story houses, a site that gives the impression of a thousand-window painting. Visit the Citadel of Gjirokastra overlooking the city. You will also visit the Skenduli house, a typical Ottoman house dating back to the 18th century. Lunch in Gjirokastra.
After lunch, join Berat, another city of Albania with typical Ottoman architecture.
On the way meet in a family vineyard for a wine tasting in the cellar “Çobo Winery” and discover the wine heritage of Albania.
Dinner and overnight in Berat.

Day 6. Berat – Kruje, Albania
After breakfast, start the sightseeing tour of Berat, city characterized by the coexistence of different religious and cultural communities over the centuries.
Join the height of the city to visit its fortress “Kala” built in the XIII century and listed as a UNESCO.
Visit the Onufri iconographic museum consisting of a collection of objects belonging to Albanian churches and monasteries whose paintings of the iconographer painters date from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. Lunch in Berat.
Continue your journey up to Northern Albania and make a short stop at the Karavasta Lagoon in Divjakë, Albania’s largest lagoon with a high concentration of flora and fauna. Possibility to go up a panoramic tower to enjoy a splendid view of the lagoon.
Head toward the historic city of Albania – Kruje.
Dinner and overnight in Kruje.

Day 7. Kruje – Shkodra – Kruje, Albania
After the breakfast, leave toward Shkodra and visit the largest city in northern Albania and the country’s former cultural and economic centre which has witnessed many wartime events in view of its situation, located on the east side of Lake Shkodra.
You will head to Albania’s most famous restaurant “Mrizi I Zanave”. Lost in the middle of a postcard landscape, you will enjoy a lunch in an eco-friendly restaurant where all the products consumed come from the restaurant and local families located in the surrounding area.
Go back to Kruje after lunch. start a guided tour of one of Europe’s oldest cities. Visit of the city with its old bazaar and the medieval fortress of Skanderbeg. Compared to Alexander the Great, Skanderbeg is a true hero in the Balkans for having been the first to unite the Albanians and resisted the invasion of the Ottoman Empire.
Enjoy you last day to buy souvenirs in the old bazar shops.
OPTION : Possibility to organize a traditionnal night with danses and albanian muiscs.
Dinner and overnight in Kruje.

Day 8. Kruje – Tirana airport, Albania
Free time after breakfast before transfer for the airport.