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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 : 15
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Pickup: 07:30 AM
Description
Gjirokastër and Albanian Riviera 2 Day Tour
This 2-day, 1-night guided tour from Tirana combines an afternoon and evening in Gjirokastër, one of Albania’s two UNESCO World Heritage cities, with a full second day exploring the Albanian Riviera. The route includes the Blue Eye spring, Sarandë, Porto Palermo Castle, and the Llogara Pass, with prices starting from €200 per adult. The tour operates daily, children travel free, departures are limited to 8 passengers, and one night in a hotel in Gjirokastër is included.
Who This Tour Is For
This two-day journey brings together two of southern Albania’s defining destinations: Gjirokastër, known as the City of Stone, where Ottoman-era tower houses, slate roofs, and cobbled bazaar streets create one of the country’s most distinctive historic settings; and the Albanian Riviera, a spectacular stretch of Ionian coastline extending from Sarandë in the south toward the Vlorë region in the north, with mountain roads, secluded bays, and historic castles along the way.
Combining both destinations in one overnight tour also works naturally from a geographic perspective. Gjirokastër lies inland in the mountains, making it a convenient stop between Tirana and the Riviera. From arriving in the old town during the afternoon and staying overnight, to continuing toward the coast the following morning, the itinerary allows enough time to experience each destination without rushing through the highlights.
The tour is particularly suited to first-time visitors to southern Albania, travelers interested in history and architecture, road trip enthusiasts, and anyone who wants to explore the region’s main attractions without organizing the route, transportation, and accommodation independently.
Tour Highlights
• Gjirokastër Castle, one of the largest fortresses in the Balkans, with a captured Cold War-era aircraft displayed in its courtyard
• Skenduli House, a beautifully restored Ottoman tower house in the heart of the UNESCO-listed old town
• The Old Bazaar of Gjirokastër and traditional byrek from one of the city’s oldest bakeries
• The Blue Eye spring, Syri i Kaltër, one of Albania’s most famous natural landmarks
• A walk along Sarandë’s seafront promenade with views across the Ionian Sea toward Corfu
• Porto Palermo Castle, a distinctive triangular Ottoman fortress overlooking the Ionian Sea
• The Llogara Pass, offering sweeping views over the Albanian Riviera from around 1,000 metres above sea level
• An overnight stay in Gjirokastër, one of Albania’s two UNESCO World Heritage cities
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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Maximum seats |
8 |
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Tour type |
Private |
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Departure point |
Tirana |
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Accommodation |
1 night in Gjirokastrër, included |
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Best for |
First-time visitors to southern Albania, history lovers, road trip enthusiasts |
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Group Size |
Price |
Per |
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8 Persons |
€200 |
Per person |
Group Rates
Prices may vary depending on the final group size, date, availability, and booking conditions. The current published website price should therefore be used as the reference starting rate.
Children Policy
Children aged 0–2 years travel free of charge.
Children aged 6–12 years pay 50% of the applicable tour price.
Children aged 12 and above are charged the full adult price.
Payment and Booking
Full payment is required when confirming the booking. Payment can be made by credit or debit card through a secure payment link provided during the booking process.
Once the booking is confirmed, travelers receive a tour voucher containing the final confirmation, tour manager and customer care contact details, as well as other useful information for the trip.
Cancellation Policy
Liberty Travel does not charge a cancellation fee for tours and excursions cancelled due to force majeure or circumstances beyond the traveler’s control. For standard cancellations, the tour can generally be cancelled up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund, minus any applicable 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)
Travel Styles
Cultural
Nature & Adventure
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.
From
200€
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