Seven days is the sweet spot for Albania. Long enough to see the country’s extraordinary range — UNESCO Ottoman towns, Adriatic and Ionian beaches, ancient ruins, mountain villages — without rushing. Too short to also do the northern Alps (those need their own dedicated 4 days), so this itinerary is a tight southern loop that returns you to Tirana Airport without backtracking.
The whole route is around 950 km of driving spread across 7 days, with plenty of slack for swimming, eating, and stopping at every viewpoint. Pick up your rental at TIA, and budget €60–€80 per person per day for mid-range accommodation, food, and fuel.
The route at a glance
- Day 1: Pick up at TIA → Tirana
- Day 2: Tirana → Kruja → Berat (overnight Berat)
- Day 3: Berat → Apollonia → Vlorë → Llogara → Himarë (overnight Himarë)
- Day 4: Himarë (Riviera beach day, overnight Himarë)
- Day 5: Himarë → Borsh → Saranda → Ksamil (overnight Ksamil/Saranda)
- Day 6: Butrint → Blue Eye → Gjirokastër (overnight Gjirokastër)
- Day 7: Gjirokastër → Tirana → TIA drop-off
Day 1 — Tirana
Land at TIA, pick up your rental car (we recommend Full Casco given the mountain driving ahead), and drive 25 minutes into Tirana. Park in a paid garage near the centre. Spend the afternoon walking Skanderbeg Square, climbing the Pyramid of Tirana, and exploring the colourful Blloku district. Dinner at Mullixhiu or Oda. Sleep in Tirana.
For full Tirana details see our Tirana city guide.
Drive time today: 25 min from TIA.
Highlight: sunset from the top of the Pyramid.
Day 2 — Tirana → Kruja → Berat
Leave Tirana at 9 a.m. Drive 45 minutes north to Kruja, the historic capital of Skanderbeg’s 15th-century resistance. Visit the castle and the Skanderbeg Museum, wander the Ottoman bazaar, and have an early lunch on a terrace.
Then drive 2.5 hours south to Berat via the SH4. Check in to a guesthouse in Mangalem or in the inhabited castle. Spend the afternoon in the castle (Onufri Museum, sunset over the valley). Dinner at Onufri Restaurant or Mangalemi Hotel.
Drive time today: 3.5 hours.
Highlight: sunset from Berat Castle.
Day 3 — Berat → Apollonia → Vlorë → Llogara → Himarë
Walk Berat’s Mangalem and Gorica quarters in the morning. Then 1 hour to Apollonia, the Greco-Roman ruins. Allow 1.5 hours there. Drive 45 min to Vlorë for a seafood lunch on the seafront.
Now the most beautiful drive of the trip: take the old SH8 over Llogara Pass. Stop at the summit viewpoint for the iconic Riviera panorama. Descend to Himarë through the hairpin bends. Check in to a Himarë seafront guesthouse. Dinner at one of the harbour tavernas — order grilled octopus.
Drive time today: 5 hours including stops.
Highlight: Llogara Pass viewpoint.
Day 4 — Riviera beach day from Himarë
A pure beach day. Choose two of:
- Gjipe Beach — drive 20 min north and hike down. Wild canyon-mouth pebble cove.
- Filikuri Beach — boat from Himarë port; the clearest water on the coast.
- Llamani Beach — 10 min north of Himarë, hidden under cliffs.
- Porto Palermo — 30 min south, swim at the castle bay.
Lunch on the beach, swim, read, repeat. Sunset drink at Llamani. See our best beaches in Albania for full details.
Drive time today: 30–60 min total.
Highlight: the swim at Gjipe.
Day 5 — Himarë → Borsh → Saranda → Ksamil
Slow drive south. Stop at Borsh — Albania’s longest beach, backed by ancient olive groves. A second swim and a lazy lunch.
Continue to Saranda, then 15 km on to Ksamil. Check in to a Ksamil hotel. Late afternoon swim to one of the four Ksamil islands. Dinner at a beachfront taverna with the islands lit up at twilight.
Drive time today: 1.5 hours net + stops.
Highlight: swim to Ksamil island #2.
Day 6 — Butrint → Blue Eye → Gjirokastër
Big history day. Start at 8 a.m. at Butrint National Park (UNESCO), allow 3 hours for the full circuit. Drive 1 hour to the Blue Eye spring for an early lunch and the famous photo.
Then 1 hour to Gjirokastër. Check in to a stone-house guesthouse in the old town. Spend the afternoon in the castle and the Old Bazaar. Visit the Skenduli or Zekate Ottoman house. Dinner at Taverna Tradicionale — order the qifqi.
Full context in our Berat & Gjirokastër UNESCO guide and the Saranda & Ksamil guide.
Drive time today: 3 hours net + stops.
Highlight: sunset from Gjirokastër castle ramparts.
Day 7 — Gjirokastër → Tirana Airport
Coffee in the Old Bazaar, then drive 4 hours back to Tirana via the SH4. The drive is uneventful but well-paved. Arrive at TIA with time to refuel near the airport, drop off the car, and clear security calmly.
Drive time today: 4 hours.
Highlight: the satisfaction of having seen the country.
Total fuel and driving cost
~950 km. At 6.5 L/100 km in a small petrol rental, that’s ~62 litres. At €2.05/L, around €127 in fuel. Add €5 for the Rrëshen-Kalimash tunnel toll if you take that route (you won’t on this loop). Total petrol: about €130.
What about the north?
We deliberately don’t cram Theth and Valbona into 7 days — they deserve their own trip. If you have 10–11 days, add 4 nights for the Alps loop after Day 7. See our Albanian Alps hiking guide.
Variations
- Beach-heavy week: skip Berat and Apollonia, spend extra nights in Himarë and Ksamil.
- Heritage-heavy week: add a night in Berat and a night in Korçë (off the main route, but worth the detour for its food and Lake Ohrid).
- Family with kids: swap the long Llogara drive for the new Llogara tunnel and base 3 nights in Ksamil for easier swimming.
Final tips
- Pick up at TIA, drop off at TIA. Same-location returns are cheaper than one-way drops.
- Add Full Casco. Llogara Pass and the Berat–Gjirokastër road both have stretches where chip-and-scratch incidents are common.
- Book guesthouses 4–6 weeks in advance for July/August.
- Carry €200–€300 in lek for guesthouse cash payments and small village restaurants.
- Pace yourself. Don’t over-schedule. Albania rewards slow travellers.