A 10-day Albania road trip from Durrës: Tirana, Berat, Gjirokastër, the Blue Eye, Ksamil, Butrint and the Riviera, with tips for campervans.
01Before you set off
This is the loop we suggest most often to guests who ask for a plan. It starts and finishes in Durrës, home to Albania’s busiest ferry port and less than an hour from Tirana International Airport. The driving times below are rough and assume you’ll stop for coffee, photos and the occasional flock of sheep. If you have more time, add rest days. The best moments of an Albanian road trip usually happen when you slow down.
The whole route works in a car or a medium-sized campervan. Main roads are good, but a few side roads down to beaches are narrow and steep, so check before committing a big vehicle. Plan a campsite every few days to fill up with water and empty your tanks, because service points are rare elsewhere. Our guide to camping in Albania has more tips.
02Days 1 and 2: Durrës and the lake
Arrive, unpack and slow down. Base yourself with us at Wonderful Camping, on a quiet lake among pomegranate trees and olive groves, fifteen minutes from central Durrës. Spend the first evening watching the lights come on around the lake, then give day two to the city: the Roman amphitheater, the Venetian Tower, the Archaeological Museum and a sunset walk along the beach. Our list of things to do in Durrës has the details.
03Day 3: Tirana
Leave the camper at camp and spend a day in the capital, about forty minutes away. Start at Skanderbeg Square, go underground at Bunk’Art, climb the Pyramid and finish with dinner in the Blloku district. Our guide to things to do in Tirana has the full plan.
04Day 4: Berat, the city of a thousand windows
Head south to Berat, around one and a half to two hours from Durrës. Its white Ottoman houses climb the hillside in rows of windows that gave the town its nickname, and together with Gjirokastër it’s on the UNESCO list. Walk through the Mangalem quarter, cross the river to Gorica, then climb up to the castle, where people still live today. Inside its walls, the Onufri Museum has some of the finest icons in the country. Stay the night and see the town lit up after dark.
05Day 5: Gjirokastër, the stone city
Allow around three hours for the drive south to Gjirokastër, through the valley of the Vjosa, one of the last wild rivers in Europe. The old town is built almost entirely of grey stone, right down to the roofs, and its huge castle looks out over the valley. Visit a traditional house such as the Skenduli House, explore the Cold War tunnel under the town and browse the craft shops in the old bazaar.
06Day 6: The Blue Eye and Sarandë
On the road from Gjirokastër toward the coast, stop at the Blue Eye (Syri i Kaltër), a spring where icy water wells up from a deep, unbelievably blue pool in the forest. From there it’s a short drive down to Sarandë, a busy seaside town with a long promenade. Walk it at sunset and find a seafood dinner.
07Day 7: Butrint and Ksamil
Spend the morning at Butrint National Park, a UNESCO site where Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian ruins sit in a forest beside a lagoon: a theater, Roman baths, an early Christian baptistery and a Venetian castle looking over the water. In the afternoon, swim at Ksamil, with its white pebbles, turquoise water and little islands just offshore. In summer, go early or late, when the beaches are calmer.
08Day 8: Himarë and Porto Palermo
Drive north along the Riviera, one of the most beautiful coastal roads in the Mediterranean. Stop at Porto Palermo, where a small fortress linked to Ali Pasha sits on a peninsula in a sheltered bay, then carry on to Himarë for the afternoon. If you still have energy, hike down to Gjipe, a beach at the mouth of a canyon that you reach on foot or by boat.
09Day 9: Dhërmi, the Llogara Pass and Vlorë
After a morning swim at Dhërmi, take on the switchbacks of the Llogara Pass, one of the great drives in the Balkans. The road climbs to around a thousand meters through pine forest, with huge views back over the coast. On the other side, drop down to Vlorë, where Albania declared independence in 1912. Just outside the city, the little Zvërnec Monastery sits on an island in the Narta Lagoon at the end of a long wooden footbridge, and in the right season there are flamingos.
10Day 10: Back to Durrës
The motorway north makes the drive back to Durrës easy, a couple of hours depending on traffic. Spend your last night by the lake with us, with a coffee over the orchards and one more evening under the lights before your ferry or flight. Catching an early boat? The port is about fifteen minutes away.
11More time? Head north
With a few extra days, add the north. Shkodër, with Rozafa Castle and a lively pedestrian center, is the gateway to the Albanian Alps. From there the Lake Koman ferry sails through a narrow gorge toward Valbona, and the Theth valley is one of the most spectacular corners of the Balkans. The mountain roads are steep and narrow, so big motorhomes are best left behind.
