Albania packs an astonishing amount of beauty into a small country UNESCO old towns, a turquoise Riviera, alpine valleys and Roman ruins, often just an hour or two apart. As a Tirana-based team running guided day trips for 15+ years, these are the places we love showing our guests most.
Want to see several of these in one trip? Many appear on our guided day tours message us on WhatsApp and we’ll build a route around the ones you care about.
Beaches & the Albanian Riviera
- Ksamil the pearl of the Riviera: white sand, turquoise water and four little islands you can swim to.
- Gjipe Beach a hidden cove between cliffs, reached by a short hike or by boat.
- Drymades & Dhërmi golden sand and clear water below the Llogara mountains.
- Jale Beach a small bay famous for some of the clearest water on the coast.
- Porto Palermo a calm bay with Ali Pasha’s triangular castle on a spit of land.
UNESCO towns & history
- Berat the “City of a Thousand Windows,” with a living hilltop castle and the Mangalem & Gorica quarters along the Osum river. See our Berat day tour.
- Gjirokastër the grey “stone city,” a hillside of Ottoman houses beneath a vast castle.
- Butrint a peninsula of Greek, Roman, Venetian and Ottoman ruins surrounded by nature.
- Krujë Skanderbeg’s hilltop fortress and old bazaar, with endless views to the sea. See our Kruja day tour.
- Apollonia peaceful Greek-Roman ruins in the countryside near Fier.
Mountains & nature
- Theth & the Albanian Alps waterfalls, stone towers and the Blue Eye of Theth deep in the Accursed Mountains.
- Valbona Valley the other side of the Alps, linked to Theth by a classic day hike.
- Lake Koman ferry a three-hour boat journey through a fjord-like canyon, one of Europe’s great rides.
- Llogara Pass a 1,000 m mountain balcony with the Ionian Sea suddenly below you.
- Benja thermal springs (Përmet) natural hot pools beside an Ottoman bridge.
Springs, lakes & islands
- The Blue Eye (near Saranda) a deep blue spring that bubbles up like a giant eye.
- Lake Ohrid & Lin village a red-roofed fishing village on Europe’s oldest lake.
- Drilon springs & Drymades shaded canals and ponds near Pogradec.
- Zvernec Island a wooden footbridge to a monastery in the Narta lagoon.
- Karavasta Lagoon (Divjakë) pine forest, a viewing tower and Dalmatian pelicans. See our Divjakë & Karavasta tour.
Cities & viewpoints
- Tirana the colourful capital: Skanderbeg Square, the Pyramid, the Blloku district and Bunk’Art. See our Tirana city tour.
- Mount Dajti a cable car ride to panoramic views over Tirana.
- Lekuresi Castle (Saranda) sunset views over Saranda, Ksamil and Corfu.
- The coastal road (Vlorë → Sarandë) one of the most scenic drives in the Balkans.
See them with a local guide
You don’t need to plan the logistics yourself. We run guided day trips and multi-day tours to most of these places, with hotel pickup, fixed prices and guides who speak English, German, Italian, French and Polish.
Browse our day tours or message us on WhatsApp with the places you’d love to see.