Albania, the ideal place for explorers. Tips, budget, route

Albania for explorers, in a nutshell: we drove from Bucharest through Bulgaria and Greece , with a base in Himara. A week cost us about 1.000 euros, of which 300 euros was accommodation for six nights. We covered over 2.600 kilometers.

We were supposed to get to Albania last decade or even earlier, when we were still calculating and imagining a wonderful motorcycle trip through the Balkans. It wasn't to be. We tore up the plan and ended up in pieces here and there. Around 2019 I remembered and said: okay, we'll get there next year, dead and cooked. But then Sars-Cov-2 came along, which froze everything. A year later I couldn't wait any longer and said that the time had really come. I adapted the old plan to one for the car, booked a room and, on the road. But the road was short and ended before Giurgiu. A sharp object that fell from a truck punctured a pipe from our tank and we had to turn back. A year and a half later, barely, we succeeded.

The route from Bucharest to Albania

We set off in the evening, around 9:00 p.m. Route: Bulgaria – Greece – Albania. It took us about ten hours to reach Kakavia, where we finally stepped into the land of the eagles. It's not for nothing that the Albanians call themselves that. Immediately after the border, we felt like we were walking through the air, suspended in the clouds. We had arrived in a long, smooth valley, bordered by fierce, bare, dry mountains. The straight road ended abruptly in a winding, narrow road. It climbed steadily and mercilessly for us, the weary hikers. We drove like this for about 30 kilometers, until we hit the plateau and then finally the sea. From there it was a dream, from all angles. Almost dizzying turns on the coast, always with the azure of the Ionian Sea on the left. The road was good, wide in the curves. We kept it that way for about 60 kilometers, until we reached Himara, our base, the place from where we would start our exploration.

Himara, our base for Albania

Himara looks like a Greek town at the entrance. Beach on the left, a hill full of stone houses on the right. The alleys are so steep that your knees hurt just looking at them. The locals, of course, ride them on scooters, smoking.

After 24 hours of sleeplessness, I slept soundly. About 3 hours. When I woke up, I walked towards the old town, perched on another hill, about 3 kilometers of steep climb. But up there it's magnificent. The town, a former fortress, is tiny, and as anyone who has been there says, you have to walk around at sunset, when it's golden in the sun. It's a labyrinth with one and a half meter wide streets and stone houses, each a miniature fortification. It has two hard-to-find cafes and two churches, one from 1100. It's still inhabited. The view from the top is, like everywhere in Albania, splendid.

Albania's beaches for explorers: Gjipe, Filikurit, Livadhi

The first stop in Albania for the explorers was Gjipe, which is at the end of a high canyon, about 30 minutes by car. But to get there you have to pass a trial by fire. It's at the end of a two-kilometer rocky path, impossible to travel on anything other than a motorbike or off-road vehicle. Only few dare to do so. And that's a good thing, because in the end the reward outweighs the suffering. The canyon is like a huge shelter. The beach can fit over a hundred people and is somewhat arranged, with three small reed terraces and sun loungers. You can rent kayaks or stand-up paddle boards.

You have an even bigger challenge to overcome if you want to reach Filikurit. The steep hill and the orchard full of thistles are nothing compared to the last 10-15 meters. There you go down a rock wall to the patch of sand. You have a rope to help, but it's good to have some climbing skills to get down in one piece. We didn't dare, it was dark. A Czech family with three children was already camping down there.

Closer to our base, about a ten minute drive, several hundred meters long, was Livadhi beach. Much wider, also guarded by rocks, but gentler. Rumor has it that the water is the cleanest there, but we didn't notice that there was any big difference between all five beach areas close to the city.

Why Albania is the ideal place for explorers

The best route in Albania for explorers is the coastal path. It connects the beaches for several dozen kilometers. You need good feet, willpower and suitable slippers. Liviu and I only went from Himara to Livadhi. Awesome! Sometimes through the thick pine forest, sometimes on the rocks on the shore.

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We also took a walk around the surrounding towns. All old, medieval settlements, with stone houses, hanging as if by hand on hills or rocks. Each has its own old tree that the locals take care of like a child, even in the villages in the mountains. About 100 kilometers from Himara, between the mountains, is Gjirokaster. It is an even older fortress, a UNESCO site, among the best-preserved cities. Streets upon streets upon streets with restaurants and shops of the descendants, descendants, descendants of those who built the settlement. 

Mountains of Albania: Cika and Pilur-Kallarat

But I went to Albania to climb a mountain . Cika, a not very high peak (2044 m) that seems to be born from the sea. I learned the poorly marked path by heart and I think I could walk it without getting lost even with my eyes closed. But since Liviu, Albania and I are a reckless trio… it was not to be. Cika caught fire right when we arrived. It smoked for five days, until the Greeks came with two planes and put out the fire. I monitored the situation every evening from the terrace of the guesthouse where we stayed. We were over 30 kilometers away and I couldn't see the flames, only the smoke. It still looked like hell.

To satisfy our hunger and banish the bitterness, we climbed another mountain, another path. And it was a dream. As arid as it is, the mountain is pure life. There I saw two pairs of mountain eagles. I felt like crying. You can still see eagles in Albania. I also saw various other birds, lizards, insects of all kinds, and a herd of goats herded by a capable dog. It sensed us in every direction we took, even though we struggled not to make any noise and we were hundreds of meters away.

People from Albania

Maybe because it took us years to get there, we went without any expectation and after two years in which we didn't stray too far from home. The people are gentle, almost meek, and very jumpy. They jump to help you before you even know you're stuck. A young mother offered to call the accommodation for us. She even took us there in her car, with a grumpy baby in the back. We didn't know yet that we were lost. On the mountain, when we didn't find the path, two villagers stopped the car. They shouted and waved at us until we understood which way to go. Many stopped to ask if they could help, even though they only knew Albanian and a few broken words. Curiously, many knew the expression "goodbye".

And, because it is a country still at the beginning of its tourist journey, it is full of foreign "explorers". Albania for explorers is not a slogan, it is the reality on the ground. On the locals' beach, around 10:00, the old people retired. All kinds of languages ​​began to be heard: Danish, Hungarian, English, Spanish, French, Italian. I also met two Romanians. Wherever I went, foreigners greeted me with a wide, knowing smile. And the tourists were of all kinds, from backpackers, to parents with small children, to young couples, to retirees.

Albania is a poor country. And it shows.

You can see it in the dilapidated blocks of flats, without running water, in Himara. And in the cars that are decades old, most of them in traffic. But the roads to the tourist places are good. The old towns are being rebuilt, and the works are in many places. And the nature, the nature is still wild for the most part. It has about 450 kilometers of coastline, with many beaches untouched by man and 80% of the territory is mountainous, roamed only by goats and sheep. I want to believe that the step taken towards the EU will bring them to the Union. They need help and they deserve it.

Budget: how much does Albania cost for explorers

As for the prices, the one-week vacation cost us about one thousand euros. The most expensive slice of the total was gasoline, I did more than 2.600 kilometers. Accommodation was 300 euros for six nights, in a studio. Probably in Ksamil or Saranda, the pearls of the crown, it is more expensive.

If you prefer Greece, also see the most beautiful beach in Thassos.