How we spent a week in Albania
At the end of September 2025, we spent a week on the Albanian Riviera, close to Corfu. We were based in the town of Dhermi but travelled to Himare, Sarande, and other small towns in the area. These were our highlights of the week.
Things to do in the Albanian Riviera
The Albanian Riviera is famous for its stunning beaches, mountainous backdrop, and crystal clear waters. The best way to see and do everything along the coast is to hire a car, which we did at Tirana airport – a 3 hour drive from Dhermi. We were there for seven days at the end of September, when the weather was still perfect for heading to the beach, but also cool enough for walks around the old towns.
These were our favourite things to do in a week in Albania:
Go to the beaches on the riviera
Visit the traditional towns
Take a boat trip
Visit the historic monasteries
Check out our full itinerary for a week in Albania here.
The best beaches in Vlore, Albania
During our week in Albania, going to the beach (or relaxing by our pool) was probably our main activity. We were within walking distance of a beach, but we wanted to explore the area so we visited as many as we could. These were some of our favourites.
Dhermi Beach
Dhermi beach is a long, easily accessible beach that runs along the main strip in the small town of Dhermi. In mid-summer, there are a few music festivals hosted here so it’s well set up for eating and drinking. We chose sunloungers at the south of the beach, close to Azul Beach Bar, as it was a bit quieter than the areas in the middle of town. Parking here cost about €5 for the day, and it was €15 for two loungers with an umbrella and table.
Later in the week, we came back to Dhermi beach and got sunloungers further into town, near 2Lips bar. We got a better deal here, where it was closer to €7 for two beds with an umbrella and table although they were worse quality.
Amar Beach
Amar Beach is about a 15-20 minute drive from Dhermi, near the new Green Coast development in Palase. The beach here is stunning and feels very secluded compared to Dhermi. Like Dhermi, it was about €15 for two loungers with umbrellas and a table, and we spent most of the day here sunbathing and swimming. There are a couple of bars and restaurants here, but we had a takeaway lunch at Summer Dream Restaurant Terrace. It’s also easy to park for free nearby, and we walked less than 10 minutes to the beach from our car.
Jale Beach
We drove south down the coat to the beautiful Jale beach on our fourth day in Albania. The coastline here really is stunning and the beach is amazing and peaceful… For now! There are so many developments coming up around Jale that I’m not sure the relatively small beach is going to be able to handle the amount of tourists they’re aiming to cater to.
Nevertheless, on our visit it was fairly quiet. Parking cost about €5 for the day, and we got a take away pizza lunch from Bazz Beach Bar. There are quite a few options for food here, as well as showers if you need them.
We relaxed on sunloungers and in the sea for about 5 hours here before heading back to Dhermi, and it was a great day out. Although the beach is fairly long, it’s curved so it has a quaint, bay-like feel to it which we loved.
Gjipe Beach
We actually didn’t go to Gjipe Beach, as it’s a 25 minute walk through a canyon and on the day we considered going, the temperature was over 30ºc so we decided to stay closer to home. But by all accounts, this is a stunning beach that feels far more peaceful and secluded than others in the area thanks to the fact that it’s harder to get to.
Where to eat in the Albanian Riviera
There are endless places to eat and drink in Dhermi and the surrounding area, but the menus are very similar everywhere. I was expecting more Greek food due to the proximity of Albania to Corfu and other Greek islands, but it was actually more influenced by Italian, with lots of sea food.
The restaurants were mostly pretty good, but it did get very samey eating from almost identical menus everyday. Also, the Albanian Riviera is not as cheap as you’d expect, and many restaurants were close to London or Ibiza prices, especially for cocktails and dinner.
Despite this, we found loads of great places to eat. These were some of our favourites.
For lunch
Azul Beach Bar, Dhermi (about 800 LEK/£7 for a Caesar salad)
Summer Dream Restaurant, Amar Beach, Dhermi (about 600 LEK/£5.50 for a Greek salad)
Himara ’28, Himare (about 700 LEK/£6 for Greek salad, 1400 LEK/£12.50 for a seafood linguine)
Bazz Beach Bar, Jale Beach (800 LEK/£7 for a margarita pizza)
Frisco, Sarande (about 640 LEK/£5 for a Greek salad)
For dinner
The Yacht Club/Noah on the Beach, Dhermi (expensive for what it was, but great views over the sea)
Luciano’s, Dhermi (not cheap but great service. The bill for 8 people eating two courses each with plenty of wine was still below £100 per person)
AMAREA, Dhermi (about £250 total bill for 8 people having a starter, main, and drink each)
Do you need to rent a car in Albania?
I know people who have visited Albania and relied on public transport alone. But in the Riviera, having a hire car is definitely the best option. It’s fairly remote and I’m not sure how reliable the local buses would be. We drove 3-4 hours from Tirana airport, which would have been very expensive in a taxi, and it meant we had the freedom to go anywhere we wanted, whenever we wanted.
We hired a car from Capital close to Tirana Airport. The person who gave us our car really hammered home how likely it is to damage a hire car in Albania and how the police are unlikely to help or rush to assist you if you get in any trouble. But from our experience it’s still best to get your own excess insurance from a website like Car Hire Excess, which works out much cheaper than what’s offered by car rental companies. Fortunately, we had no problem and no accidents, and returned our cars without incident.
Things you need to know about the Albanian Riviera
I loved our week in Albania, but there were a few things that I was not prepared for. I don’t bring this up to put you off visiting Albania. If it’s been on your list for a while, you should go! But be aware of these things that came as a bit of a surprise to me:
It’s really expensive (prohibitively so)
There’s so much development happening
The people aren’t very friendly
Some of the towns just aren’t very nice…
The nightlife isn’t there
The infrastructure is lacking in all areas
The service and quality of the restaurants do not back up the price
I realise that these points all sound quite petty! But if you check out my blog Things you should know before you visit the Albanian Riviera, you can read a full explanation of why I think these things are worth raising.
You could argue that “it’s expensive,” “the infrastructure is lacking,” and “the service and quality don’t back up the price” are very similar arguments, but there are nuances, and they did affect our experience in Albania.
Once again, I’m not saying don’t go! But be aware of these little issues that (in some cases) became bigger issues for us during our week in Albania.
What to pack for a week in Albania
This is what I packed for a seven days in Albania in September:
Six tops
Two dresses
One pair of loose trousers
Two pairs of shorts
A skirt
A sun hat
A pair of sandals
A pair of trainers
Sunglasses
A beach towel
Regular daily toiletries + SPF
If you want to see my full packing list for a week in Albania, check out my blog here.