If you research what to see in Albania online or read a travel guide you will see the recommended places to visit as Shkoder, Tirana, Vlorë, Saranda, Berat and Gjirokaster. While these are great to put on the list there were plenty of others I would rather recommend visiting which aren’t included on any lists yet.

First, I do think everyone should include Tirana as it is a unique, interestingly developing capitol city but also know that it is a big, can be dirty, is under construction, has many newly constructed buildings and might not offer tons to see for tourists. Well, this is what I heard from most but I rather enjoyed the random array of mixed architecture, art and interesting neighborhood streets.

Much in Albania seems new mainly due to it’s long history with communism (40 years or so, 1944 until the early 90s) where it’s dictator Enver Hoxha abolished religion causing the destruction of most religious buildings and placed a literal curtain that hid the outside world from Albanians for all those years. Seriously, no real external travel, no imports, no religion, labor camps and arrests but tons of education and oddly improved women’s rights. What Tirana seems to offer is a clear understanding of what happened in Albania through the many free walking tours – I did Tirana Free Tour – (tips highly encouraged) and the colorful changes taking place there.

More on Albanian communism

Mind you Albania is still a developing country, it is quite cheap here still for European standards and a lot of development, upgrades and investments are happening throughout the country. I’d say Albania is very up and coming after all those years hidden from the world! You will still see plenty of trash along the road, cars emit a nasty diesel smoke and corruption is still around not just at the top level…sometimes locals charge tourists a higher price. For instance, I wanted a pedicure and I asked about pricing, they thought for a second then threw a price out which meant their set price was different for others and they were wondering if I would accept what they said. When the price is nearly comparable to the US for the service there was no way it is the true price in a much cheaper country. A fair chunk of people speak English but Albanian is the local language and Lekë is the currency which is pegged to the Euro (1000 Lek is 10 € essentially).

Anywho, do your own research but for me these are the must see spots in Albania:

* Theth

* Permet

* Lake Ohrid (Lin)

* Berat

* Beaches near Himarë

My favorite stop was the not to be missed Albanian Alps! Easily accessible from Shkoder in the North. It seemed many tourists make it only as far as here on their Balkan travels. Shkoder is a unique place not like the rest of Albania so I think the visit only here is not representative of the country as a whole.

Next would be the area around Permet, again a beautiful spot in nature where the turquoise Vjosa river flows seamlessly through a lovely valley surrounded by mountains. …A flat and awesome bike ride with very few visitors.

Preference goes to Berat among the major UNESCO sites in Albania. It is an adorable place, full of beautiful views, history, tiny streets flanking the hillsides of a pretty river and the castle above to get lost in and was just very relaxing.

Top beach area for me was found in the Himarë area. The coast is very hilly and there are tons of beautiful beaches but Himarë appeared to be the lesser visited, more chill area to enjoy the beautiful coast in Albania. Don’t get me wrong I do think the beaches close to the border with Greece must also be similar but never Saranda where every beach is private and resorty full of tourist dollars…no thanks…go South or go North of there!

Another gem is a visit to the towns around Lake Ohrid. Yes, the Macedonian side might be better and have more history but Albania offers plenty of great spots to enjoy this extremely old fresh water lake and it’s warm beaches too.

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Below I’ve detailed each spot more thoroughly. Most of my suggestions are focused on natural beauty, fewer tourists and not a must see for the average tourist. If you want shopping and crowds this blog post won’t help you. I also recommend always going in shoulder season anywhere, even here…so especially not June-August!

Theth is the place to hike and be in the Albanian Alps (as they call them). I cycled there from Shkoder and the whole ride once you leave the lake area was incredibly beautiful. Many will hike from Valbone, on the opposite side of the mountain pass, but having been on both sides I think Theth is the less touristy side. The hike from this side is much harder than from Valbone but it is also much shorter (assuming you walk from Valbone rather than get a ride to the last village).

Valbone is a valley and starting here may work better for most doing this trail. Many include a trip along beautiful Koman Lake in their journey which is well worth a visit too. The lake has ferries which take you up where you can bus to Valbone. I didn’t do this because by bike it was way more complicated given the only way from Valbone to Theth is hiking over (no road). The most common journey for travelers is to take a bus from Shkodar to the ferry, take the ferry up the lake, bus to Valbone, hike up and over to Theth then bus back to Shkodar. In Shkodar plenty of shops and hotels can reserve all of this for you so no stress do it once you arrive. By bike you can do both sides but the loop isn’t possible by bike, you must pick one side or the other.

Given most do the loop like this (ferry, Valbone, hike) it leaves Theth pretty quiet and the trail up way less crowded. On the Valbone side I saw hundreds of people hiking up but from Theth maybe a hand full. I’m sure later in the morning there are more, I started the trail at 8 am.

If you hike from either side you should be very proud of yourself. Take in those views, catch your breath because I considered the hike similar to my summer trainings for mountaineering…aka tough! Also there are less strenuous hikes on either side as well, usually to waterfalls, and if you want longer you can try the cross border hike of Peaks of the Balkans. You are literally on the borders of Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo.

If you go to the Albanian Alps just to relax, that is fine too as both sides offer spectacular beauty right out the door!

More information on hiking, etc

(another option here)

Cycling to Theth info

Permet is another place of natural beauty on my list. The road to here is lovely as you follow the River which is one of the longest, most important in Europe and flows from here to the lake in Ioannina in Greece. Besides the beauty surrounding Permet you have some MTB trails, hiking, river rafting and what attracted me here, the thermal pools. Although I’d say they are more lukewarm pools, they are known for their healing powers. In addition, these pools have an Ottoman bridge in front of them.

You can reach Permet by bus but they are very infrequent. Most buses do a route from Gjirokaster to Korça super early in the morning or at noon-ish. From Gjirokaster it is about 1.5-2 hours and from Korça it is 4 hours.

Permet itself is a small nicely put together town and a great launching spot for all these activities. You can hike straight from town to the orthodox church, rent good Mtb bikes in the main square, sign up to raft at several companies and there is a variety of good restaurants and hotels to choose from. Even a great park along the river for an evening stroll. I was impressed.

All you need to know now

Easily accessible from Tirana is Berat. It is a Unesco site beautifully set among some hills. Homes here have a unique style and are flanked to the hillsides on either side of the Osum River with tiny walkways to explore. Berat, the old town, actually had three parts to it. Two are on either side of the river and connected by two pedestrian bridges while the third part is at the top of the hill literally inside the castle; Mangalem, Gorica (across the bridges) and Kalaja (at castle). All three parts are where people live and you can stay in each part. No cars go on these tiny walkways so be prepared to walk the cobblestones. No part of the old town is that big!

You should also know why you are here. Berat is one of Albania’s oldest settlement which was taken over multiple times in it’s history. Seems that castle didn’t keep anyone out! Darn! The architecture here is well preserved from the Ottoman empire, in fact it is one of the best examples found in the world today…right next to Gjirokaster!

The castle above is well worth a visit. Not only are the views great and the third section fun to wander around but it is virtually free of charge…or if you find the ticket office I think it is like 3€! Part of the views from here include two old Orthodox churches and ruins of some mosques plus there is even a cistern to visit which for me was better than the one in Istanbul but only because it was simply there and not a well lit tourist infested one. It was full of water and you could walk into it, there was some natural light and of course some trash floating in the corner but at least they were keeping it real! Ha

Be sure to see Berat at night when they turn the lights on, it is a whole other beautiful experience you would be missing had you only done a day trip..plus if you made it to dark you also probably saw an amazing sunset from the river or hills above!

Ideas for your to do in Berat

I know Lake Ohrid might be farther and out of the way but this fresh water lake is a few million years old, has beautiful beaches along it’s shore, you can cycle here with few cars (some 90 km around) and it is shared by two countries. The biggest cities sit opposite eachother… Pogradec in Albania and Ohrid in Macedonia. If you don’t want big cities you might try Lin or Tushemisht in Albania or Dolno Konjsko or Struga in Macedonia. If you wish to cycle you can rent from either side (country), Albanian side will be cheaper but might not be great bikes while Macedonia has slightly higher prices but the bike quality is way better!

For reference, Lake Ohrid was formed between 1.5-5 million years ago and Lake Tahoe is around 2 million years old. Oldest lakes in world are around 25-65 million years old so these are relatively new if you look at it from the opposite end…

Activities, history, beautiful beaches and good food… it sure is a treat to indulge on Lake Ohrid. Make sure to check out at least one of the ridiculously old Orthodox churches here…the interior artwork from the 10th-13th century is fantastic. Near Pogradec you can get over to Saint Naum, just across the border, either by cycling the flat route there or taxi and walk a bit over a kilometer (less than a mile). From Ohrid options are a ferry or a mini bus.

General lakes of the world information

Cool discoveries and info for Ohrid in Macedonia

Pogradec guide

Lastly, the coast! Also known as the Albanian Riviera, Mediterranean awesaomeness on the cheap! So many options here but for me the Himarë area was wonderful.

A quick rundown of the main options:

Durrës near Tirana is resorty, used to be the capitol, it is easily reachable from Tirana (current capitol). It has some stuff to see and you will have all you need.

Vlorë I actually liked and the Narta Lagoon North of it is wonderful and great for bird watching (flamingos, yes please!) but beaches didn’t stand out. I did enjoy the bike paths here though and the cute little old town area.

Himarë is a smaller city with smaller beaches North of it each all less touristy and less developed while South of it was Borsh, the longest beach in Albania, also less developed!Something to consider if here with a bike or a car, head up to Llogara Pass, the views watching the clouds go to and from the high peaks to the sea is just incredible. If cycling it know it is hardcore but the drop down to the sea will be one of the best rides of your life. In addition, once inside the National Park of Llogara there are tons of wonderful hikes and good restaurants on the main road.

Sarandë I completely skipped because all I heard was resorty, private beaches and overcrowded and that was all I needed to know to avoid it. This is however where many go to reach the island of Corfu.

South of Sarandë though are some beaches that I really wanted to visit but I’d changed my route and was now not going that direction so I missed them but still would recommend them as I know they are less touristy like Himarë. The beaches I was interested in were Ksamil (this was ranked top in Europe so it may have it’s packed moments yet should still keep it’s charm) and Tonga Island.

Great breakdown of Albania’s Southern Beaches

Lastly, you might also look into Korça (pronounced Korch) which seemed more European, relaxed, good for hiking and mtb and super touristy for Albanians. It has an Ottoman bazaar and the oldest brewery in the country and is higher up in elevation (900m) near the mountains so it gets a bit colder here. Info

I went through a lot of Albania while cycling and a few places I’d say were not worth my time but listed as top sites elsewhere. Kruje Castle was one of them, the only thing here that I liked was the spectacular view of the entire route I cycled that day and if you wanted to learn a ton about the national hero Skanderbeg then the museum definitely has you covered. Honestly I learned a lot about him there but it was also overwhelmingly just about him. I preferred a visit to his gravesite instead up in Balldren which was a small cute town on a river and near the beach. Lastly for me Gjirokaster was just ok in my book, I preferred Berat of the two main Unesco sites. However, I did like the food, people watching and unique castle mansions with traditional stone roofs (Ottoman style) found in Gjirokaster.

Please keep in mind I cycled to reach all of these places (with exception to Korça and Pogradec) and often stayed only a few hours. It was enough to see a few main sights and get a good feel for places so this guide is not comprehensive but rather just that a guide to help you along on your journey through the still lesser visited Albania!

How to Get to Albania:

Besides cycling there, you can fly, ferry, bus or drive.

Best would be flying to Tirana or Dubrovnik, Croatia. More expensive but you could also fly to Skopje, Macedonia (N) or Montenegro (Tivat or Podgorica).

– If you fly to Dubrovnik it is super cheap to rent a car but you would have to then drive so prepare yourself for the drivers there! This option gives the most flexibility obviously. The other option is a bus or my least favorite, a tour bus.

Ferry from Italy (Bari) to Durrës or Greece (Corfu) to Saranda.

Bus from all countries nearby! Look at Flixbus or Alsa. I know many come from Dubrovnik, Croatia.

As far as roads and cycling in Albania I’d say most were great (October 2023). I found lots of roads with a shoulder (more than expected) and drivers seemed to go around no problem. More bike lanes in cities then other Balkan countries yet Tirana was still hell to get into. Gravel roads were not great but offered great views. A lot of the roads seemed recently paved or almost done. Road to Theth, done completely – road Korça to Permet, in the process of having an amazing road – road to Lake Koman hopefully next on the list!

Guided Cycle Tours in Albania (or rentals)

Street Art in Tirana

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