The Best beaches on Albanian Riviera

The Rear View Mirror published an article about the beautiful Albanian riviera, suggesting the best beaches everyone should see, stay and relax throughout the summer.
"The Albanian Riviera stretches from the southern side of the Llogara National Park down towards the Greek border at Butrint National Park and Ksamil. Not surprisingly, this section of the southern Albanian coast is the most popular destination for tourists in Albania".. There are four main towns on the riviera where you’ll most likely want to stay. There are plenty of smaller beach towns and villages in between but the bigger towns obviously have more facilities, cafes, restaurants and nightlife" the article says.

Here is what you can expect when staying on the Albanian Riviera:
 

KSAMIL

Ksamil is the southernmost beach town close to the Greek border and opposite the Greek island of Corfu. Here you’ll find white sandy beaches, the beautiful Ksamil Islands and a very chilled beach community. It’s part of Butrint National Park and the city of Saranda. Ksamil has one of the best beaches (it gets extremely busy in summer), excellent seafood restaurants and some nightlife. Being close to the Butrint archeological site is a bonus.

HIMARA
Himara is a small town and the most central of the riviera beaches making it perfect to use as a base for exploring the entire Albanian Riviera. There are many smaller beaches around Himara so it’s an especially good choice if you’re looking for a quiet place to swim and secluded beaches and coves. Himara is also in close proximity to Porto Palermo, home to a small castle, beach and an abandoned Soviet submarine base.

DHERMI
Dhermi is one of the most popular beaches in Albania due to the turquoise water and shady pine tree covered beach. There’s more accommodation than in Himara and is particularly attractive to younger Albanians with many nightlife options. It’s not the quietest destination and in my opinion is too built up. I personally prefer to stay in Himara which is only 30 minutes away.

SARANDA

Saranda is the biggest city on the southern Albanian coastline. It’s massively built up with ugly high rise apartments, many of which sit empty. The newer area away from port (in the south of the city) has poor infrastructure and services but the most awesome sunsets and lowest prices. However, Saranda is a great place to use as a base for visiting Butrint National Park, Ksamil, Blue Eye Spring and Gjirokastra. The beaches in Saranda are not nice and I suggest getting away from the city if you want to swim.

Original article:
http://www.rearviewmirror.tv/where-to-stay-on-the-albanian-riviera/

Daily Sabah: Albanian Riviera offers unexpected experiences to visitors

Daily Sabah, a nationwide publication based in Turkey has published the article about Albanian Riviera. Ernest Whitman Piper is the journalist who saw and wrote about the beautiful beaches of our country.

“Snuggled between the Adriatic Sea and the Balkan Mountains, Albania has just as good a Mediterranean Riviera, with comparatively fewer tourists and Mafiosi, and is about a zillion times cheaper. It's got a pinball history of tribal conflict, time under the Ottoman reign, and paranoid, isolationist midcentury Communism. What's not to like?”, says Piper. 

Durres -Albania Holidays

 

 

 

Durresi : After arriving at the Airport of Tirana, they head to coastal town of  Durresi: “The coastline upon first glance was a rugged thing, pale jagged rocks jutting out above green slopes. It was astonishing: parabolas of green earth curved up and closed us into the valley.”

Himara: The town of Himare was a single avenue along a walled beach, with a tangle of residential backstreets sliding up the coastal slope.

Himara-Albania Holidays

Borsh: Our next stop was through the village of Borsh, where the men were selling milk from tractors in the road. A bunch of hollowed-out resorts stood on either side of the single lane road, and we followed a dirt path through what looked like a jungle to the beach. Finally, a real beach, although still completely deserted. There was a small cafe/bar and some beach chairs and we took out our shorts and read books on the beach chairs.

Borsh -Albania Holidays

Saranda: We almost didn't stop in Sarande, but they had a neat castle (called Lekures). It's situated right outside the city proper on a summit overlooking the coastline.

Our trip across the Riviera had to stop here, since Sarande was the last town before the Greek border and we were out of driving time. But if you wanted to extend your trip a little bit, there are a few good cultural options outside of Sarande. There's the ancient city of Butrint, a UNESCO world heritage site. It's the remains of a Roman city, stone pillars and standing churches on a forested peninsula. There's also the Monastery of Forty Saints, or the Ksamil islands, or the ancient town of Finiq (named for the Phonecians, naturally). We were overloaded on concrete, so we opted for the Blue Eye Spring as a change of pace. I find it amazing that one can traverse the entire Albanian Riviera, stay in derelict hotels where all the plaster flakes off in huge chunks, have a beach to yourself, and then go visit some long-ignored Roman ruins and hike all over them.

Saranda, view from Lekursi Castle

See original article: https://www.dailysabah.com/travel/2017/07/01/albanian-riviera-offers-unexpected-experiences-to-visitors