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The Albanian Riviera & Gjirokastër: A 2-Day Tour from Tirana
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2 Days
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Max People : 8
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Pickup: 07:30 AM
Description
Quick answer: This is a 2-day, 1-night guided tour from Tirana combining a full afternoon and evening in Gjirokastrër one of only two UNESCO World Heritage cities in Albania with a second day road trip through the full length of the Albanian Riviera, taking in the Blue Eye spring, Sarandë, Porto Palermo Castle, and the Llogëra Pass, all from €200 per adult. The tour runs daily, children travel free, is capped at 8 seats per departure, and includes a hotel night in Gjirokastrër.
Who This Tour Is For
This two-day trip covers the two things that define southern Albania as a travel destination: Gjirokastrër, the so-called City of Stone, whose Ottoman-era old town of slate-roofed towers and cobbled bazaar streets is unlike anywhere else in the country; and the Albanian Riviera, 120 kilometres of Ionian coastline that runs from Sarandë in the south to the Vëlosë peninsula in the north, with mountain passes, hidden coves, and clifftop castles in between.
Doing both in a single overnight trip makes sense geographically Gjirokastrër sits in the mountains of the interior, roughly halfway between Tirana and the Riviera and it makes sense as an experience: arriving in the old town in the afternoon, spending the night inside one of Albania’s most atmospheric cities, then heading to the coast the following morning gives each destination the time and mood it deserves.
It suits first-time visitors to southern Albania, history and architecture lovers, road trip enthusiasts, and travelers who want to cover the south’s highlights without the logistics of planning their own route, transport, and hotel.
• Gjirokastrër Castle one of the largest fortresses in the Balkans, with a Cold War-era captured aircraft in its courtyard
• The Skenduli House a beautifully restored Ottoman tower house in the heart of the UNESCO old town
• The Old Bazaar of Gjirokastrër and byrek at the city’s oldest bakery
• The Blue Eye spring (Syri i Kaltër), one of Albania’s most iconic natural landmarks
• A walk along the seafront promenade in Sarandë with views toward Corfu
• Porto Palermo Castle a triangular Ottoman fortress on a rocky headland above the Ionian Sea
• The Llogëra Pass, with sweeping panoramic views over the Albanian Riviera from 1,000 metres
• A night in Gjirokastrër, one of only two UNESCO World Heritage cities in Albania
Good to Know Before You Book
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Duration |
2 days, 1 night |
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Starting price |
From €200 per adult |
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Children |
Free of charge |
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Maximum seats |
8 per departure |
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Departure |
Daily |
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Departure point |
Tirana |
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Accommodation |
1 night in Gjirokastrër, included |
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UNESCO sites |
Gjirokastrër Old Town (UNESCO World Heritage) |
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Optional add-on |
Travel insurance €20 |
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Best for |
First-time visitors to southern Albania, history lovers, road trip enthusiasts |
Price table
1 Person 125 Per person
2 - 2 Person 70 Per person
3 - 3 Person 65 Per person
4 - 4 Person 63 Per person
Notes
Tour price:
Tour price currency is set to pay in Euro. The price is quoted per person per tour all inclusive and is always updated to ensure you get the best price, we are 100% guarantee it.
Children Policy:
0 - 05.99 Free of Charge.
6 - 11.99 pay 50% of tour price.
12 & + pay full tour price as an adult person.
If your tour includes flight tickets, then an extra charge for child rate may apply.
Deposit and Payment:
A Full payment is required at the time of confirming your booking and can be paid by credit or debit card (Visa/Master card) via a payment link will sent to you.
Tour Voucher:
After confirming your tour, we will email you Liberty Travel voucher with final confirmation and contact details of your tour manager, customer care and additional information for your convenience. Please print this voucher and bring with you.
Cancellation Policy:
Misr Travel doesn’t charge a cancellation for tours and excursions cancelled for force majeure or reasons beyond control. You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund minus any administrative fees.
Price Includes
Return transport from Tirana
1 night hotel accommodation in Gjirokastrër
Guide throughout both days
All stops as listed in the itinerary
Price Excludes
Meals and drinks (except breakfast at the hotel)
Museum and site entrance fees (paid on site)
Gratuities
Personal purchases
Optional travel insurance (€20, available at booking)
Itinerary
The tour departs Tirana in the morning and drives south through the Albanian highlands toward Gjirokastrër, with stops along the way before arriving in the city in time for an afternoon guided visit. Gjirokastrër’s old town is built on a steep hillside above the Drino Valley, with the 12th-century castle dominating from the summit and Ottoman-era stone tower houses stepping down the slope below it. The guided visit centres on the castle one of the largest in the Balkans and now home to a National Arms Museum whose walls enclose a courtyard containing, among other things, a captured American military aircraft from the Cold War era, a relic of Albania’s particularly tense relationship with the outside world during the communist period. From the ramparts, the views over the valley and the surrounding Gjerande mountains are exceptional. Below the castle, the Old Bazaar offers a well-preserved stretch of Ottoman commercial architecture arched stone shopfronts, workshops, and guesthouses that have been trading on this hillside for centuries. The tour includes a visit to the Skenduli House, one of the finest and best-restored examples of a traditional Gjirokastrër tower house, whose layered stone construction and carved wooden interiors represent the domestic architecture of the Albanian Muslim bey class at its most refined. The day ends with a byrek the flaky filled pastry that Gjirokastrër’s oldest bakery does better than almost anywhere else in the country before checking in to the hotel for the night.
After breakfast, the tour heads south from Gjirokastrër toward the coast, with the first stop at the Blue Eye (Syri i Kaltër) a deep freshwater spring set in a forest clearing whose extraordinary blue colour comes from water rising under pressure from an underground river. No diver has yet reached the bottom; the spring simply wells up from the dark, impossibly blue, into a pool that feeds the Bistrica River. It is one of Albania’s most visited natural landmarks, and rightly so. From the Blue Eye, the route continues to Sarandë, the main coastal city of the Albanian south, with its broad seafront promenade and views across the Ionian Sea toward Corfu. There is time for a walk along the waterfront and lunch before continuing north along the Riviera. The afternoon stop is Porto Palermo Castle, a triangular Ottoman fortress built directly on a rocky headland jutting into the bay accessible only by a narrow causeway and with water on three sides. It was built in the early 19th century under Ali Pasha of Ioannina, and later used as a submarine base during Albania’s communist period. In 2014 the Huffington Post ranked it first among fifteen undiscovered European destinations, and it remains one of the most dramatically positioned fortifications on the entire Adriatic and Ionian coast. The final stop before the return to Tirana is the Llogëra Pass, a mountain road that climbs to around 1,000 metres above sea level with panoramic views over the Ionian Sea and the full sweep of the Riviera below. It is one of the great scenic drives in Albania, and an extraordinary way to close a day that has already covered a spring, a port city, and a clifftop castle.
FAQs
Day 1 covers a guided afternoon and evening in Gjirokastrër, including the 12th-century castle, the Skenduli House, the Old Bazaar, and an overnight hotel stay. Day 2 is a road trip through the Albanian Riviera taking in the Blue Eye spring, Sarandë, Porto Palermo Castle, and the Llogëra Pass, before returning to Tirana.
Gjirokastrër is a UNESCO World Heritage city in the mountains of southern Albania, known for its exceptional collection of Ottoman-era stone tower houses, its 12th-century hilltop castle, and its well-preserved Old Bazaar. It is one of only two UNESCO World Heritage cities in Albania the other being Berat and is often called the City of Stone for the grey limestone that defines its architecture.
The Albanian Riviera is a 120-kilometre stretch of Ionian coastline running from Sarandë in the south to the Vëlosë peninsula in the north, flanked by the Ceraunian Mountains on one side and the sea on the other. It is one of the least developed and most scenically dramatic coastlines in the Mediterranean, with mountain passes, hidden beaches, and a handful of historic sites including Porto Palermo Castle scattered along its length.
No. The Blue Eye entrance fee is paid on site and is not included in the tour price. Your guide will advise on the amount on the day.
Yes. One night’s hotel accommodation in Gjirokastrër is included in the €200 per adult price.
Breakfast at the hotel on Day 2 is included. All other meals and drinks including lunch and dinner on Day 1 and lunch on Day 2 are at your own arrangement and expense. There are restaurants in the Gjirokastrër Old Bazaar and along the Riviera at each stop.
Each departure is capped at a maximum of 8 seats, ensuring a small-group experience throughout both days.
This tour stays entirely within Albania, so no border crossing is required. A valid ID or passport is always advisable when travelling, however, and will be needed for hotel check-in in Gjirokastrër.
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