This is basically an extended Albanian highlights tour which is devised for travellers who can save considerable travel costs by flying to Corfu, or those who would like to combine a Corfu holiday with an Albanian discovery tour. In addition to the major highlights visited, this tour includes also the south eastern part of Albania which offers a combination of cultural monuments, magnificent natural landscapes and tasty cuisine.
Location: Albania and Greece
Duration: 6 days - 5 nights
Meet with our guide at the Saranda airport and continue to Gjirokastra. Time permitting, we will stop at the Blue Eye spring on the way for a short visit at this beautiful natural monument (Note. Walking 1km each way maybe involved). Overnight in Gjirokastra Hotel 3*Superior.
Gjirokastra is a museum town under the protection of UNESCO as a World Heritage Site with beautiful and very distinct architecture. Afterwards drive to Gjirokastra where we will visit the fortress of Gjirokastra, part of which was turned into a political prison for dissidents of the regime and the Arms Museum. Visit to the Ethnographic Museum, which is also the house the Albanian dictator was born in. Afterwards depart for Berat, one of the most visited and characteristic towns in Albania under the protection of UNESCO as a patronage of humanity for its architectural uniqueness. Berat castle is of particular interest as people still live within its walls in their traditional houses, as have their ancestors for centuries. The castle used to have over 40 churches of which 7 still remain including St. Mary’s church turned into Onufri Museum. We visit the Castle and the Onufri Museum. Accommodation in Berat in Mangalem quarter Hotel 3* Superior.
After breakfast drive to the capital Tirana. On the way we stop for a quick visit at the Elbasan castle. In Tirana we take a driven tour of the major sites of Tirana, including the colourful buildings for which the Albanian capital is now popular for. The dull grey communist architecture buildings have been transformed into modern art canvases through splashes of bright colours and abstract shapes. An ingenious way to uplift the facades of buildings and the moods of the inhabitants. We will also visit the National History Museum which gives an extensive account of the countries journey through the enturies. Overnight in Tirana, 3* superior hotel
On the fourth day we drive to Pogradec on the shores of Lake Ohrid with a visit at village of Tushemisht where the old fishing villa of the dictator is situated. Overnight in Pogradec in Hotel 3* superior
After breakfast we drive to Permet following the magnificent valley of Vjosa river. A half an hour walk to visit the beautiful Leusa church is possible. Overnight in Permet Hotel 3*.
After early breakfast our guide will accompany you to the port to take the ferry to Corfu.
Best months: March, April, May, June, Septemmber, October, November
Note: The above dates are for orientation purposes, to help people book on the same dates, and pay the cheaper price. However we will run this tour on other dates as per clients’ requests.
I'd like to thank you Ilia again in my name and in the name of the group you guided during our trip to Albania. The tour became a fascinating experience to all of us, due to the depth of your historic insight, your general knowledge and your reach English language. Your ability to organize and your attention to every little detail made us all feel secure and free during the whole tour. We felt connected to you, and you connected us to the beautiful sites and landscapes of Albania. It was as though we have known you for many years. If you fulfill your dream and come to Israel, I would be delighted and honored to host you here. Best Regards
My wife and I we were very impressed by the beauty of the country, the history, the people, the safety (! - very important) , the tourist accommodation and the price/quality ratio in Albania. We are very satisfied with the quality of services rendered by Roland- our (French-speaking) guide.
I am just writing to thank you for organising the most excellent l tour of Albania for me. I had a wonderful time throughout and all the arrangements worked perfectly; I loved your country and its people, and I particularly enjoyed the company of my driver, Kledi. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending to anyone Albania as a destination for a holiday, Albania Holidays as the company to organise such a holiday, and Kledi as the ideal driver/guide to take them around.
When leaving my country I didn't know what to expect: by my knowledge in communist times your country was the lowest developed from all of Europe and you only had time trying to match up for about twenty years! I couldn't imagine the effect of painting the grey communist buildings in bright colours. So I was pleased by the result: Tirana looked great. A happy, peaceful, safe city, the feeling I got in almost every place we visited. Trying not to see the rubbish people had dropped, I enjoyed the environment, nature is very beautiful. We had a very skilled driver, never taking unnecessary risks or owefully bad roads The people in the hotels were helpful; the rooms clean-at-the-eye; breakfast o.k. but we wondered if there is no other bread than the all-over served big, a little dry white ones? Our guides -Gerd and Ed-jon - tried to show us everything that possibly could interest us and - very important! - spoke very good English. Thanks to Ed-jon we knew what we saw in the museums: it is a pity there are very few texts translated in English and I fear there are only a few western Europeans that can understand your language I liked my trip: for a group history teachers there was a lot to discover, but the only not historian in the group was a little disappointed, for her the cultural part of the trip was not spectacular. May I suggest to tell your guides to give the members of their groups more choices for dinner when the restaurant chosen offers that opportunity (paying some extra often is no big problem!) [for instance: some people in my group refused to eat salads or other not boiled food, fearing travelers diseases] In the hope of returning once to see in what way your beautiful has developed the next ten, fifteen years
