Albania is fairly new to tourism and one of Europe’s best kept secrets. Hikers and nature lovers will love the Accursed Mountains, beach lovers can head to the resort-dotted Albanian Riviera along the Mediterranean Coast, and history buffs can visit the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Butrint. In the city of Tirana, there’s a café culture and busy nightlife. You can visit all of the best Albania beaches here. Continue reading our Albania Travel guide and plan your trip today!
Albania Weather – When to Visit
Albania weather is wonderful in the Spring. In March it’s starting to get warm, the flowers are blossoming and there are almost no visitors.
In March you pretty much have the UNESCO sites to yourself. The weather is cool, making it a great time for wondering around.
May is the start of summer and European vacationers are flocking here. Although it is still uncrowded compared to other European destinations. For beach goers, this is the best time to take advantage of the hot Albanian climate and the wonderful Albania beaches.
Best Albania Beaches
Borsh Beach
Borsh beach is the place to go if you are looking for a quiet natural but still breathtaking place to relax. The place is so pristine and beautiful that creates the illusion of an amazing beach that was discovered yesterday. With the mountains surrounding the long beach, it makes the beach looks like it will never end.
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Dhermi Beach
On Dhermi beach you will find various pebbles, some nearly like sand. The water is clean and deep with a very nice blue color. There are plenty of restaurants, and the beach has umbrellas and chairs to relax on. For explorers, there are lots of coves and smaller bays further along the beach.
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Gjipe Beach
GJipe beach is the perfect place to go if you prefer to enjoy the nature and don’t want to fight the crowds. To reach the beach requires a nice 30-minute trek through the forest that offers fabulous views of the coast. There’s rarely a crowd here. Despite the seclusion, there are a few amenities like a snack vendor and some straw huts, but you’ll definitely feel like you’re in a personal paradise.
Zvernec Beach
Speaking of personal paradise, Zvernec beach has beautiful landscape, clear blue water, and a small island which can provide you with the perfect beach vacation experience. The island includes an 18th century monastery in the middle of a pine forest, accessible only by a wooden bridge. You can camp and hike here, as well as just lounge and swim here.
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Palasa Beach
Here you will find a combination of white sand and rock on the beach. There is very little development here. There are a few restaurants and cafes, and one nightclub that often draws a crowd, but Palasa is the beach for those whose want to avoid the crowd. The beach offers pristine waters, camping options, and a quaint village to visit. Llogara National Park is also nearby.
Best Albania Restaurants
Piazza $11 – 30
This standout restaurant serves playfully presented seafood with a modern Italian flourish. Think scallop compote served in the shell and slow-baked fish cooked with vegetables. People come from as far as Tirana to eat here, so it’s worth booking a table. Telephone: 355 052 237601 Web: Piazza
Rapsodia $11 – 30
Chef Alfred Marku builds his daily ‘Kilometre Zero’ menu from a combination of foraged ingredients, homemade cheese, and products from the local livestock and arable farmers’ cooperatives. Telephone: 355 682 947771 Web: Rapsodia
Uka Farm $11 – 30
Guests can enjoy fresh, flavorful vegetables and locally sourced cheese, meat and quality homemade wine. The Food is served very fast and warm, and you can literally taste the farm, with a warm atmosphere that is very relaxing. Telephone: 355 67 203 9909 Web: Uka Farm
Spaghetti Luli Under $10
If you want an intimate, small and feel like home this is the place. It’ s a family run business and the cook is Luli a chef with more than 20 years of experience in Italian cusine. She has dedicated this place to only pasta making, which is fresh made by her at the best price. Telephone: 355 69 935 4614 Web: Spaghetti Luli
NEPS $11 – 30
Great restaurant with very fresh food, very professional and friendly wait staff! Breakfast is also very good! Highly recommended for quality, quantity and price. Telephone: 355 69 460 9111 Web: NEPS
Best Albania Tours & Activities
Best Albania Bars & Clubs
Radio Bar Tirana
Radio Bar is a unique place in Tirana, especially for retro lovers and artists. It is also well known for cocktails, good music and nice staff. Web: Radio Bar Tirana
Jericho Cocktail Bar Saranda
Great cocktails, great selection, great views and good prices. Web: Jericho Cocktail Bar Saranda
ROX Cafe Bar
A great place to relax with a drink or two in a nice ambiance. Some nights they also have live music or a DJ playing until the early hours. Telephone: 355 68 437 1000 Web: ROX Cafe Bar
Hemingway Tirana
Great little bar, great staff and live jazz music. Very unique bar. Web: Hemingway Tirana
Illyian Saloon
Illyrian Saloon is a new bar inspired by the culture and traditions of ancient Illyrians. With just the right mix of good drinks, good music, history and pagan traditions. Telephone: 355 69 211 6800 Web: Illyian Saloon
Best Albania Hotels
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Hi Leahrae
Thanks for sharing Albania travel guide .I like the way you included all the information including this stunning video .I could not resist but to watch the entire video for 8 minutes .Every second of it I felt as if I was in Albania enjoying the different beaches .You motivated me so much that my next holiday is certainly going to be Albania .Thanks for sharing the list of good hotels and I would try one of them .
Thanks and regards,
Gaurav Gaur
You are very welcome. Yes, the video does tend to really get you excited about vacationing to Albania 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
Wow, what stunning beaches and mountains there are in Albania! I would love to enjoy these relaxing scenes for a day or two and then spend more time getting to know the history of the area. Visiting the Lekursi Castle sounds dreamy! A cooking class seems like a great way to really immerse yourself in the local culture and customs! Thanks for all these great recommendations for travel to Albania!
You are very welcome Aly. I am glad you enjoyed and thanks for visiting!
Hello Leahrae,
This is such a nice treat to come across your article on beaches in Albania, the beaches looks like a fantastic place to be at right now! I love how its situated by the Mediterranean Sea which has such lovely shades of blue waters, rolling hills and rocky cliffs, which is always a sight to see in Europe.
I am quite a beach person having also grown up visiting beaches almost every other day, and it has always been one of my travel dreams to visit a beach situated by the Mediterranean waters, and Albania could be one of those places to go to in the future!
Just wondering, are there any hotels/staycations by Zvernec Beach or on the island? Looks like a calming getaway that I would really be interested to visit in the holiday season, as some peaceful R&R by a beach and recreational hiking is something I would appreciate.
You have certainly sparked my curiosity into Albania’s cuisine, which seems quite alike to many European types of foods. Any recommendations on which dishes to try by Albania’s coast side? 🙂
Again, thank you for introducing this travel guide on Albania’s beaches, showcasing some breathtaking views of Albania and providing an itinerary of beaches to visit, activities, restaurants and more! Hope to see more wonderful places from you!
Okay the best choice and closet to Zvernec Beach is going to be the Ecuador Resort. As far as things to try, you must try the Byrek (a tasty salty pie made with filo pastry), Fergese (made with peppers, tomatoes & cottage cheese), Tavi Kosi (quiche-like dish made with lamb, eggs and yogurt), Trilece (cake made with three milks), and Qofte (grilled meatballs). All of these must be tried while in Albania 🙂
Hi, I have to say that Albania is one of those places that fascinate me. When I was living in Europe and working mostly in the TV journalism field in the late 1980s, Albania was one of those dark and impenetrable places. Every so often an article would appear in a magazine revealing how difficult life was there and the extremely oppressive nature of the ultra-strict communist regime still in power. I remember there was a famous monument somewhere in Tirana that the communists put up. It had the writing in the local language that said something along the lines “We would rather starve than compromise our socialist ideals”. Sadly I think many in that country did perish. I think the overall effect of 70 odd years of communist rule pretty much resulted in holding the place back and slowing down 20th-century development. It also acquired the unfortunate reputation as being a recruiting ground for hit-men. Now I am sure all has changed for the better. In all probability, the people and culture are still mostly rural. I for one would love to visit. The recommendations you make on the best times of year to visit are very well noted. Thanks for this excellent guide. Best regards, Andy
You are welcome Andy and yes, Albania has changed making it a great vacation destination. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
I have never been to Albania but always wanted to visit. Hopefully the lockdown will be over soon and we get to travel freely again. Dhermi Beach Is so beautiful and I love the fact that there are many things to do around there as well. I would love to do the Full-Day Jeep Safari in Rodon, that sounds like the activity that both my husband and I would like. Thanks for sharing these itinerary, cannot wait to visit.
You are welcome and I am glad you enjoyed your visit to my Albania Travel Guide. Thanks for visiting and taking time to leave me comments.
Hello there! This is a great post! I never thought of traveling to Albania before but after reading through and seeing all those amazing pictures, just wow. I don’t think I have ever been near waters where it is so blue or clear in my life. I always have this habit of wanting to see what is dwelling within waters so scuba diving or snorkeling would be something I would like to try here. Definitely going to make it a goal to travel there some day, perhaps when COVID-19 has calmed down some more. Thanks for this!
You are welcome Mike. Personally I live on the beach, and I don’t like snorkeling LOL I don’t want to know what is in the water in fear that I might not want to go for a swim again. I love the beach and I enjoy getting in the water….just not looking at the marine life 🙂
Wow, I learned a lot about Albania and never really thought about it before this guide. I didn’t even know it was a tourist type of country. It looks and sounds beautiful, and surprisingly affordable once you actually get there. I decided to look into Albania a bit more after reading this and learned that shaking your head means yes, and nodding means no! So I guess we should be mindful of that if we visit. 🙂
Yes you will Max 🙂 Sounds like Albania is now on your bucket list. Thanks for visiting my Albania Travel Guide.
You have certainly made the Albanian coast look like the place to visit.
The sea and sand of Borsh beach is so so inviting and as you say, it looks like it goes on for ever.
When I am on holiday I love to see the area and learn the history so the tours are certainly of great interest.
I think that I would really enjoy he Berat day tour and the ancient monuments tour sounds super.
How well is English spoken in the tourist areas?
I can’t wait to get there.
English is widely taught in the schools, therefore you will find it easy to communicate and there will be plenty of English speaking locals.
Thanks for sharing this Albania Travel Guide with us. Those beaches look absolutely incredible and all of the key destinations you listed to visit some intriguing. Sounds like a nice spring break location to visit and the hotels in the area don’t sound too expensive either which is another plus. Putting this down on the bucket list.
Great Rachel, great bucket list destination. Thank you for taking the time to leave me comments.
Hi, I’ve just gone through this amazing tourism post about Albania Travel Guide. I like travelling and touring so much and Borsh Beach has already taken my attention so much. I like natural and mountainous places and it looks like Borsh Beach meets my personal preferences as clearly explained in this post. Thanks for sharing this wonderful and helpful information about Albania Travel places and I’ll also be sharing this post too to spread the word.
Thanks so much and so glad you enjoyed my Albania Travel Guide.
Hello Leahrae, I’m so glad that you wrote this article about Albanian destinations to visit. I am Albanian, and I live in Tirana, and many if your recommendations here are my favourite beaches and restaurants, too. Thank you very much for promoting and sharing such helpful information about my country, and about our citizens that welcome everyone who likes to visit our country.
I’m going to share your article on my social media.
Best
Alketa
Great Alketa! I am glad you enjoyed and approve 🙂 Thanks for visiting Beach Travel Destinations.
I never considered visiting Albania so I was glad to run across this article. It looks like a beautiful place with lovely beaches and beautiful weather!!!! I know we’ve spoken in the past about how much I love to learn the history of the place where I’m going so this would be no different. I would love to take the Berat Day Tour and Jeep Safari in Rodon. Are there any tours of the castle?
I found just the tour for you Cynthia, the Private 3 Day Tour in Albania, Beach, Castles & Archaeology, and the prices start at $80 which is a deal! Let me know if you need any other information.
I just finished watching the video about the different Albania beaches and I instantly fell in love. I love the music, the scenery, and the water. I wish I could jump on the plane right now and take a dive. My husband loves fishing. So I can only image what kind of fishing people do out there? Did I read that right? You mentioned that the Albania beaches are in Europe? I lived in Germany for years and would’ve never thought that these beaches where there. I knew I loved it there for a reason. Thanks for sharing this vacation spot. Another one destination that I can add to my list.
Yes, Albania is part of Europe. 🙂 I know, most don’t really know where it is. LOLGlad you enjoyed and thanks for stopping by.
Wow! This was an amazing site to review. I got captured in all the wonderful pictures and the views from the beaches and hotel rooms. Surprisingly affordable stays for sure! I would love to take my Wife on a trip to Albania. I had no idea where it was and had to look it up on the map and finally could see what an awesome destination this is.
It is an awesome destination 🙂 You and your wife would have a fantastic time! Thanks for visiting my Albania Travel guide.