Sarandë just after sunset

Three years ago, in 2023, my friend Francis sent me a photo of an upcoming Albanian beach resort saying how beautiful it looked. I clicked on the link to find out where it was and kept that name - Ksamil - in mind, ever since.

I held an intrigue for Albania due to the simple fact I did not know much about it and had never considered visiting there, but now it was on tourists' radars and decided to make it happen for summer 2026.

I must have changed my itinerary for this summer trip at least eight times (even paying Ryanair £40 to change my flight, not to mention abandoning a couple of very cheap flights to and within Italy for an earlier iteration of my holiday plans where I was going to get the overnight ferry from Brindisi in Puglia to Vlorë in Albania).

Finally, a week before takeoff, I was set to go with the following plan:

• Fly to Corfu, spend one night and most of the next day there
• Hydrofoil boat from Corfu over to Sarandë; spend three nights there including a day in Ksamil
• One day/night in Gjirokastër
• Three nights in Tirana 
• Fly home from Tirana to Liverpool

There had also been a day trip to Ohrid, Macedonia, booked and paid for but I re-evaluated and decided to give it a miss this time.

[Read about how I got from Corfu to Sarandë via boat in a separate blog entry here]

Sarandë

5:30am sunrise from my balcony in Sarandë

Mobile Phone Data in Albania

Albania is a country on the Balkan peninsula, and is not part of the European Union. 

This means that most UK mobile phone network plans don't include data roaming in Albania so it is a good idea to buy a valid E-SIM. There are plenty to choose from online and some may be cheaper than the one I purchased but I can recommend this one by Saily for its simplicity and coverage. (NB: I am not affiliated with Saily, it just worked well for me!)

I paid £10 for 5GB which you can use within 30 days of activation. 

This meant I could freely use Google Maps (essential; not always accurate in certain parts of Albania, I found!) and occasionally look at social media and use Whatsapp but without excessive video viewing (which, why would you want to spend precious relaxation time glued to your phone screen? I often have to tell myself to put the phone down!)

Albanian Currency- LEK

The Albanian currency is the LEK and it is a closed currency, meaning you can only withdraw or exchange it once in the country. They do widely accept Euros, so I used Euros for my first evening in Albania until I made it to an ATM to withdraw LEK the next morning. The ATMs charge around 5-7 Euros for each withdrawal so maybe consider withdrawing all you will need at once, however, I withdrew cash from my Monzo account and unless I'm mistaken, I don't think I was charged any ATM fees.

After arriving in Albania around 9pm, I wheeled my suitcase down the busy, illuminated promenade and the throngs of holiday makers out for drinks, food, or the evening xhiro (an Albanian tradition of an evening walk out with family/friends).

It reminded me of teenage holidays to Wales in the summer, when we would be pestering our parents for endless coins for the arcades and other cash-grabs, only hotter.

I was too tired to stop and just wanted to reach my apartment and have a glorious shower before bed.

The owner of the apartment met me and asked for cash for my three-night stay. He looked surprised that I didn't know it was cash only, even though I had booked it through Booking.com. Fortunately, he just so happened to have a British bank account so I could send him the money via bank transfer.

The next morning, I annoyingly woke up at 5:30 even though I needed a few hours more for energy. I knew I wasn't going back to sleep with the heat and light coming through the window, so I decided to go and watch the sunrise from the balcony (pictured above). 

Sarandë is a city built on hills so the first thing to note is that it is not a great destination to visit for the elderly, those with small children, or those with restricted mobility.

Adding to the hilliness, the streets are impractical and often not fit-for-purpose, with cracked pavement, bumps, trees in the middle of a narrow path, and cars parked right over a street so you can't get past unless you walk in the road (and there is constant traffic).

Popular tourism is fairly new to Albania and it seemed that much of Sarandë was being demolished or rebuilt, which makes sense if they are gradually making it more pedestrian-friendly to cope with the increased numbers of tourists both from within Albania (as many Albanians head to the south for their holidays in summer).

Make sure you bring comfortable trainers with a decent grip otherwise you will slip and trip over the broken surfaces!

I was intrigued by the half-demolished place and its statues in the above photo- what had it been?

I made my way down to the coast (Sarandë looks out over the Ionian Sea with the island of Corfu in sight) in need of a strong coffee and some breakfast.

A double espresso came out quite differently to what I am accustomed to in Italy, and I was glad. I needed a strong one this morning! Everywhere I went in Albania, an espresso cost just 100 Albanian LEK (roughly £1) and every single one was good.

Breakfast menus in Albania tend to offer omelettes, full-English style breakfasts and Albanian variants, and pastries. I opted for petulla, fried batter pillows which came out piping hot with cubes of white cheese to fill them (similar in concept to the Italian gnoccho).

I didn't take a photograph as they weren't photogenic, and there were far too many for one. They cost around £3 so imagine how cheap shared between two people! The combination of slightly sweet batter with the saltiness of the white cheese and the heat with the cool was a perfect combination. If you're in Albania, definitely try the petulla for breakfast.

After breakfast, I needed to stock up on essentials for my apartment as the heat was oppressive and the climb up to the apartment was bothersome, so I popped in the shop to get some water (it's not advised to drink tap water in Albania), fruit, and fizzy drinks and crisps for the balcony. 

Any holiday in Europe usually comes with Lays crisps in flavours that vary country-to-country, but in Albania I became hooked on Replays. There was a highly commendable array of crisps in the supermarkets, let me illustrate:

The chilli flavour were my staple- trust me

The Beach

The public beach in Sarandë is free to access but it is a shingle beach, however, that is no problem when you just put your towel down. 

I was in Sarandë very end of July and temperatures ranged between 30-34 celsius.

Strangely, it felt hotter than this (maybe with all the uphill walking) so a few hours by the sea were much welcomed by the first afternoon.

I pitched my place and read my Annie Ernaux book and sipped a can of Greek beer; it felt goood to finally lie down and relax for a time after the plane, boat, and lugging my suitcase uphill and waking up at 5:30!

After a few hours, it was time to head back to the apartment for a shower, hair wash, change of clothes, and to live out that holiday meme of sitting on the balcony with your hair in a towel, packet of Lays (Replays in this case) and a Fanta Limón (a can of 'ivi' in this case- special mention also to 'Bravo' cans in Albania). It's so simple but it's something I crave so much through the long, dark winters.

Sunsets in Sarandë

One of the main places you will read about when researching a trip to Sarandë will be Lekuresi Castle. I had it down in my notebook as a high priority, namely for the famed sunsets from its panoramic view. 

I drive in the UK and have driven in Spain and Italy but with company. I would not drive abroad alone in case something happened. I am more than happy taking public transport in lieu of hiring a car, but be warned that Albania does not have a national train line. Public transport can be very unpredictable with buses stopping wherever is more convenient than the designated bus stop and at times differing from timetables. I looked into a taxi to the castle which would have cost 45 euros each way, or hiking, which would have taken 1.5 hours each way. I thought, no problem, I will take water and hike. In the end, I read so many reviews saying this was a nightmare apart from incredible views, and that the owner of the restaurant at the castle keeps a monkey in a cage for entertainment, so I decided no, I won't be going there after all.

So, I Googled where else would be a great place to watch the sunset in Sarandë, and I was very glad of this decision.

*

I highly recommend dinner at JULIA Rooftop Bar (I was lucky to get a table for one without a reservation but I would suggest booking ahead to secure one). Quite frequently, I read online how many women who travel alone are happy to do most things but feel some intimidation at dining alone. I understand this as dining out is a social occasion, however, if you are in a foreign country to absorb the culture, dining out is one of the best ways to do this and you shouldn't miss out! The only place I have ever felt hostile looks for doing this was in Vienna, but not once in Albania.

Do it! Take a book with you and just blend in to the environment, nobody is interested after maybe a first curious look, and I promise you that it will form part of your best experiences and memories of your trips.

I arrived around 8pm on the 1st August, which was just in time for sunset. 

The restaurant is beautifully laid out up on a rooftop terrace with a panoramic view of the bay. Staff were welcoming and friendly and treated me no differently as a solo diner to the other groups. It was fairly quiet at that time, and I enjoyed a beautiful glass of white Albanian wine and oysters as I watched the sun melt over the hills during possibly the best golden hour I've ever seen. All that battling through passport control queues before and after the ferry to Albania, the steep, uphill climbs dragging a suitcase up broken paving slabs and sweating and feeling annoyed was ALL worth it once I was sat up there with that view, that wine, and those oysters- what a privilege!

The ambient Ibiza-chill style background music then suddenly stopped and cut to Bruno Mars' 'Marry You'.

A woman was stood against the glass panelling looking out over the bay, fanning her hair out and posing for a photo-op. Usual Instagram behaviour.

Then, the man she was with got down on one knee, holding a bouquet of red roses.

Her friend stood prepared with a camera, as did one of the waiters.

This was it, this was the first heterosexual wedding proposal I would witness in real life (I was present in a gay bar once when two women got engaged).

The woman turned around, and had such a muted reaction, it was peculiar. I tried not to stare but onlookers watching is to be expected in a public proposal! The man then put the red roses down and pulled out a box and presented her with a ring. I don't know if she was in a state of shock, or embarrassment at the public location, or wasn't quite ready for that step, or just not the most outwardly expressive person and may have been elated inside, I don't know, but I genuinely wasn't sure if I was watching social media promotion or a genuine proposal. Her face was like the emoji with a horizontal line for a mouth.

Either way, I still got goosebumps and felt a tear come to my eye as I did when I saw the other proposal, and hoped it was genuine and that both parties were equally as happy and go on to live a great married life together.

So there we go, I witnessed my first male-female wedding proposal in Sarandë, Albania, and what a stunning location for it!

The view over the bay after sunset (the photo which is now my laptop wallpaper)

Ksamil

The next morning, I packed a beach bag with towel, sun cream, books etc and followed Google Maps along to Sarandë station to catch the bus to Ksamil.

Of course, nothing was clearly signposted or labelled, and Google Maps could not direct me to the precise spot.

I saw a congregation of people so walked over and heard people of various languages saying "Ksamil" so decided this must be it; there were already passengers on the bus so we piled on and stood in the aisle. I tried to pay the driver but he said something I didn't understand. 

The August roads meant the 15-minute journey was more like 50 minutes (another reason to visit out-of-season!) and we were cramped and unbearably hot the whole way. Around 30 minutes into the journey, a man at the front of the bus started to ask passengers for the 2 euros 50 fare in cash only. "No, surely he isn't going to make his way down this bus...no, he is!" I said out loud to the guy behind me. We watched in disbelief as he proceeded to somehow bend and weave his way down the bus, argue with an irate family, and keep his cool as he collected the coins from every passenger and counting out change.

Finally, I heard a shout of "Ksamil!" (pronounced sam-il) and jumped off the bus and took an audible gasp of fresh air, relieved to be off that bus.

Finally in Ksamil

So here I was in Ksamil, three years after my friend Francis had sent me that photo.

Everything I read online said to not bother sleeping in Ksamil as it's packed in the day and nothing to do except go clubbing in the night. Once I was in Ksamil, I started wishing I had stayed here instead of Sarandë. However, staying this far south of the country didn't make sense for my northwards journey to Gjirokastër then Tirana, hence why I stayed in Sarandë.

I stopped off for a much needed espresso and breakfast at a bar with a great view (I am sorry because I have tried to trace back through photos and Google Maps to see what it was called to no avail).

Now, on to the beaches.

All you will read about online is how crowded the beaches of Ksamil are in August and that is true to some extent.

As you walk along the coastline, you will see numerous beach clubs like the ones pictured above where they offer a sun bed (some even offer those fancy four-poster bed types) for around 25 euros.

This is lovely, and if I was with friends, it would have been a lovely way to base ourselves for the day, but when I'm on my own I sometimes prefer to go for a simpler option as then you're not tied into one place after paying etc. 

I walked on towards Ksamil's public beach where I doubted I would even get a space, but while it was indeed busy, there was still enough space to plonk down with my towel and sunbathe/swim for a few hours. 

Ksamil- The 'Maldives of Europe'?

You will see this much-debated PR comparison everywhere online so I want to set out how I perceived this label.

I have not been to the Maldives bur have seen photos and I see why they've adopted this comparison due to the crystal clear waters and white sands. There are some times you forget you are in Europe as it looks quite different to golden sandy beaches in the Algarve, for example.

'The Maldives of Europe' is not to be taken literally; the surrounding area is not and it is obviously very distinct from the Maldives culturally and geographically. However, the point is being made about the crystalline waters and the colour palette, so take it on that basis. Ksamil may be overcrowded but it is undeniably beautiful- what a treat for the eyes and how cheap to travel to such a place and enjoy it for free sat on a towel on the sand!

No photos of the famous swing-in-the-sea or hand sculpture here, I dodged the beach clubs for a free stretch of sand. 

Considering it was August, I did not hear English spoken once whilst on the beach, and it very much felt like where Albanian families from all over the country come on their holidays.

I am not a strong swimmer but swimming is something I have been embracing more this year- swimming in the Ligurian Sea in Lavagna, Italy, in May, and swimming at my local pool of an evening after work. 

Swimming in the Ionian Sea was- as you'd imagine- a beautiful experience. There aren't many things in this world that feel as freeing as swimming in the sea, and I am gladly becoming a more confident/stronger swimmer gradually this year. My mum hates when I say this as she took us swimming often as children, but I just didn't enjoy shivering in changing rooms in the winter when the school would take us, and associated swimming with earache and coldness.

The last bus back to Sarandë was scheduled for 19:30 but I did not want to risk the last bus arriving and it being too packed to get on, so I took myself off an hour earlier and caught the 18:30 bus, dreading the crammed endurance test.

Happily, the bus was only half full, making for a much calmer return to Sarandë, where I got an early night for my onwards journey to Gjirokastër the next morning. 

I would certainly return to the 'Albanian Riviera' of Sarandë and Ksamil but it would have to be in my May half term holidays as those passport control queues in Corfu and Sarandë before and after the ferry were horrendous. Maybe it was just bad luck that evening with a backlog of passengers, or maybe that's just August.

I think I would stay in Ksamil next time to enjoy the stunning sea and beaches for longer, and to dodge all that uphill and chaotic walking in Sarandë.

Have you been to either? What did you think? Would you return? I'm intrigued to hear from more people who have been and what they thought.

Leave your comments in the box below!

Coming up next: Gjirokastër