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Albania · 7 days · Gjirokastër + Sarandë

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 · Balanced pace

October · GoodWarm early in the month, with the first rains later. Good for walking and the stone towns; beach bars start closing.

The trip at a glance

Gjirokastër Castle on its ridge above the road into the old town
Albania · Jocelyn777, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bases Gjirokastërdays 1–2Sarandëdays 3–7Day trips 2by busButrint on day 4, Himarë on day 6.Longest leg ≈1.5 hSarandë → HimarëBus, on day 6.In total 14stops2 bases · 2 day trips · ≈7.5 h total transit

Day by day

Swap or remove any stop.

Day 1 · Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër's castle and old bazaar

  1. Afternoon

    Gjirokastër Castle

    Castle · Gjirokastër

    Go up in the late afternoon, when the stone cools; the arms museum is in the vaults.

  2. Walk Gjirokastër Castle → Old Bazaar, Gjirokastër · ≈10 min
  3. Evening

    Old Bazaar, Gjirokastër

    Market · Gjirokastër

    Dinner on the bazaar's sloping lanes; try qifqi, the town's fried rice balls.

Day 2 · Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër's Ottoman houses

  1. Morning

    Skenduli House

    Museum · Gjirokastër

    An Ottoman merchant's house, shown by the family that owns it.

  2. Walk Skenduli House → Zekate House · ≈10 min
  3. Afternoon

    Zekate House

    Museum · Gjirokastër

    A tower house of 1811–12 on the hill opposite the castle, with painted ceilings.

Day 3 · Change base · Blue Eye

The Blue Eye on the way to the coast

  1. Bus Gjirokastër → Blue Eye · ≈40 min
  2. Morning

    Blue Eye

    Spring · Blue Eye

    Get off at the Blue Eye junction and walk in; swimming is not allowed.

  3. Bus Blue Eye → Sarandë · ≈35 min
  4. Evening

    Sarandë seafront

    Street · Sarandë

    Check in, then join the town's evening walk along the bay.

Day 4 · Day trip · Butrint

Butrint and the Ksamil islets

  1. Bus Sarandë → Butrint · ≈35 min
  2. Morning

    Butrint

    Ancient site · Butrint

    Be at the gate for the 8:30 opening; the loop through the ruins takes 2–3 hours.

  3. Bus Butrint → Ksamil · ≈10 min
  4. Afternoon

    Ksamil islets

    Island · Ksamil

    Swim or kayak out to the islets from Ksamil's beaches.

  5. Bus Ksamil → Sarandë · ≈20 min

Day 5 · Sarandë

Sarandë's hill monastery and old synagogue

2 stops · Monastery of the Forty Saints · Ancient synagogue of Sarandë
  1. Taxi Sarandë → Monastery of the Forty Saints · ≈15 min
  2. Morning

    Monastery of the Forty Saints

    Religious site · Sarandë

    Take a taxi up and walk down; the ruins look over the town to Corfu.

  3. Taxi Monastery of the Forty Saints → Ancient synagogue of Sarandë · ≈15 min
  4. Afternoon

    Ancient synagogue of Sarandë

    Archaeological site · Sarandë

    The 5th-century ruins sit a block back from the seafront, free to walk round.

Day 6 · Day trip · Himarë

Himarë's castle village and Livadhi beach

2 stops · Himarë Castle · Porto Palermo
  1. Bus Sarandë → Himarë · ≈1 h 40 min
  2. Morning

    Himarë Castle

    Castle · Himarë

    Walk up through the old village inside the walls before the heat.

  3. Afternoon

    Porto Palermo

    Castle · Porto Palermo

    Swap Porto Palermo

    Other catalogue places nearby

    • Livadhi Beach

      Beach · Himarë

    • Gjipe

      Beach · Gjipe

    • Llogara

      Mountain pass · Llogara

Day 7 · Sarandë

Mirror Beach and sunset at Lëkurësi

2 stops · Mirror Beach · Lëkurësi Castle
  1. Bus Sarandë → Mirror Beach · ≈15 min
  2. Morning

    Mirror Beach

    Beach · Ksamil road

    A white-pebble cove off the Ksamil road; sunbeds fill by 10:00 in summer.

  3. Taxi Mirror Beach → Lëkurësi Castle · ≈20 min
  4. Evening

    Lëkurësi Castle

    Castle · Sarandë

    Take a taxi up for sunset over the bay and Corfu.

Same trip, different brief

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Albania · Oct · 7 days · Balanced

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