Hello Albania

The next part of our adventure is a month driving around Albania. I had a cunning plan to fly from Marrakech to Milan, then catch a connecting flight to Tirana.
Unfortunately, the part of the planRead more
Durrës Beach

Picked up the rental car and headed for the coast. Driving in Albania is... challenging. The roads could use a bit of TLC and you're constantly dodging motorbikes, people, tractors, carts, dogs, andRead more
Chilling on the Beach

We've been on the go for a few months and the objective of this week was to just chill and relax.
Fairly easy to do with walks along the beach and cheap wine/beer.
So here are a few happy snaps ofRead more
A Visit to Durres

There are a few things to see in Durres, so we thought we'd drive up to visit. Because it was supposed to rain on Monday, we decided to head up on Sunday. Ok, that was not a good idea. Remember I saidRead more
The City of a Thousand Windows

Left Durres Beach this morning to visit Berat, known as the City of a Thousand Windows. And you can see why. And before you ask... no, I didn't count them.
We were hungry when we arrived and decidedRead more
Berat Castle

Lovely day today, so after breakfast we headed up the hill to see Berat castle. We expected a bunch of old ruins, but were surprised to find an entire little town nestled amongst the old castle walls.Read more
Lazy Day in Berat

The wind and rain came through today, so we just went for a drive up into the mountains. Hoping to get some hikes in, but the rain didn't let up. Still a fascinating day with new sights andRead more
Apollonia and Vlorë

Left Berat this morning to head to the southern coast. On the way, we stopped at the Apollonia Archaeological Park to see the ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia.
It was really interesting, butRead more
A Dreary Day in Vlore

Stormy weather in Vlore today, so not a good day for going out.
Not overly heavy rain, but it's blowing an absolute gale.
Looks like a mostly sit-inside day... have to find that bottle of wine.
St. Mary's Monastery on Isla Zvërnec

The sun came out today (yay!), so after breakfast we drove up to Isla Zvërnec, a small island in Narta Lagoon just north of Vlore. The lagoon isn't deep and there's a walkway between the mainland andRead more
Vlore to Sarande

A rainy day for our trip down the coast to Sarande. We had the option of the quick highway route of 2 hours or the coastal road at 3.5 hours. We took the slow one, of course.
The road has many twistsRead more
Butrint Archaeological Centre

Another nice day in the south of Albania so we went for a drive down to the Butrint National Park, which has one of the most important archaeological sites in the country. It's history goes back toRead more
Lazy Day in Sarande

Today is our last day in Sarande before heading inland, so took advantage of the nice weather for another stroll or two along the boardwalk and sample of the food. It's been a nice, relaxing stay, bRead more
The Blue Eye

We checked out of our unit and headed inland, stopping first at the castle on the hill behind Sarande to get some views overlooking the city.
Our objective today was to visit The Blue Eye on the wayRead more
Gjokaster

A rainy day in Gjokaster today, but not so heavy that we couldn't walk around the town for a while. We spent a couple hours in the castle, which was interesting. And finally, we found our motorbikeRead more
Gjokaster to Përmet

Woke up to a beautiful day, so we were keen to continue our journey through the mountains.
After breakfast we backtracked a bit to visit Hadrianopolis, an ancient Roman city named after the dude whoRead more
Bënjë Thermal Bath

Today we paid a visit to the thermal baths just south of Permet. The sulfer springs have a whiff of rotten eggs about them, but they are crystal clear and warm (24C). Sometime in the past, someoneRead more
Permet to Korce

Today we drove to the town of Korce. It's only a 135km from Permet, but Google said it would take over 3 hours, so we knew we were in for some fun mountain driving.
There were a lot of hairpin turns,Read more
Korçë

There's not heaps of sites to visit in Korçë, but it's a fascinating place. Most of the places we've visited so far have been smaller towns and villages, Korçë is the first reasonably sized cityRead more
Pogradec

We drove north to the town of Pogradec on the southern shore of Lake Ohrid, which is a pretty good size at 20 kms long and 14 kms wide. It makes for a lovely setting with the still water andRead more
Shkodër

The next stop on our Albanian journey is the town of Shkodër in the north, on the shores of Lake Shkodër. We walked through the city to Rozafa Castle, a former Illyrian stronghold overlooking theRead more
Theth

Today we went for a drive up into the Albanian Alps to visit the small village of Theth.
It was a fairly slow drive with some very impressive hairpin curves, but some beautiful landscapes to be seen.Read more
Krujë

Next stop is Krujë, a small town on the side of the mountains not far north of Tirana. The town is dominated by Krujë Castle, which has magnificent views to the coast.
Tirana

The last stop before we leave Albania, Tirana is a bustling city of 900,000 people. They cater more for tourists here with lots of museums and tours.
Most museums deal with the history of communismRead more
Goodbye Albania (Missing You Already)

Well, Albania has been an enjoyable experience to say the least. It's a beautiful country with wonderful people. They've had a pretty tough time of it from the communist era, but they are slowlyRead more
Traveler
Woohoo! 🙌🏻
TravelerI’m tuned! 😂
Anywhere you eat in Italy is great 😊 [Francesca Crocco]
Traveler
Hey there my little penguins 😊