Grand Tour Albania – 10 Days

Once arrived at the airport, an Smart Tour Albania agent will be there waiting to take you to your hotel.Later we will take a walking tour through the city’s most known spots like Scanderbeg Square, The Clock Tower, the Mosque of Tirana, etc. We will also walk to the Blloku district before stopping in a nice restaurant for dinner, and then return to the hotel for the night.

Optional:
After dinner, people can go for a drink in “Blloku” – once the district of the communist elite, it is now the best place for the best bars. In case you arrive earlier in the day, you can visit the national museum.
Overnight in Tirana

After breakfast we will drive to Rozafa Castle (fortress of Shkodra) – at the entrance of the town, 3km south of the city center, located on rocky hill 133m high. It is one of the biggest and most famous castles in Albania. The Rozafa castle has a fascinating history, that relates to one of the most beautiful of Albanian Legends.

Archaeological excavations have yielded finds extending from the early Bronze Age until the present day. Within its massive defensive walls stand the Church of St. Stephen, several Venetian administrative buildings, a belfry, and some medieval rooms.
Later we will drive to Shkodra Lake – on the border of Montenegro with Albania is, in fact, a former sea bay that was cut off from the Adriatic when the sea levels dropped, thousands of years ago.

The lake is the largest in the Balkans at 41km long and with the surface between 370-530 km2. As its depth is up to 60 meters, the bottom of the lake is well below sea level, making it a so-called crypto depression. Shkodra Lake is one of the largest bird reserves in Europe, having some 240 bird species inhabiting its shores, including some of the last pelicans in Europe, and thus popular with birders.

Afterward, we will walk in the city and visit Catholic Cathedral (Kisha e Madhe) – one of the biggest catholic cathedrals in Balkans dedicated to St. Stephen. After it’s reconstruction in 1991, the cathedrait was inaugurated by Mother Theresa and two years later it was visited by Pope John Paul II. Inide of the cathedral is a copy of the Turin Shrout.

– Continue to Kruja city. There we will explore Skanderbeg’s and the Ethnographic Museums. At the castle of Kruja which was the epicenter of the legendary Albanian resistance to the Ottomans, led by national hero Skanderbeg in the 15th century, we’ll see a copy of the helmet and the sword of Scanderbeg in the main hall, the flags, and stems of important families of that time who supported the national hero. In the meantime, the National Ethnographic Museum is located in an old building of the Toptani family, built-in 1764 in the courtyard of the medieval castle, in front of the National Museum of Scanderbeg.

The walls of the museum have 250 years original morals, ceilings carved in wood, very rare furnishings, old-style rugs, and traditional costumes. Inside the house is a steamy Turkish bath, one of the only left in Albania. The museum has also 1,200 original objects which are living proof of old Albanians’ lifestyle and traditions, mostly in XVIII-XIX centuries.

After that free time to visit Bazaar of Kruja with souvenirs. In the evening we’ll Visit Sari Salltik (small mosque) on edge of the mountain 1176 m, there is a cave with a depth of 20 m and a height of 3-4 m.
– Overnight in Kruja

After breakfast, we depart to Durres Amphitheatre. The amphitheater was built at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. The amphitheater was used for performances until the 4th century AD. An early Christian chapel was constructed on the amphitheater in the second half of the 4th century.

The chapel was initially decorated with frescoes; in the 6th century, mosaics were added. Marin Barleti described the monument as ‘well constructed’. The amphitheater is included on the tentative list of Albania for inscribing it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Later we will drive to Berat city “the city of a thousand windows”. Berat is the best-preserved historic town of Albania also protected by UNESCO. In Berat we visit the Castle and the Onufri Museum. Berat castle is of particular interest as people still live within its walls in their traditional houses, the same as 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. Onufri was a famous Albanian Icon master painter of the 16th century who painted many orthodox churches in Albania and Greece, using a special red color. Also, we will visit the neighborhood “Mangalemi” and ‘Gorica’ , old bridge of Gorica and the nice river of Osumi .
– Overnight in Berat

Today the group will leave Berat, directed to Ardenica, the 13th-century orthodox monastery of Ardenica, place when the Albanian national hero Scanderbeg was celebrated in the 15th century. After that, we will visit the ancient Roman ruins of Apollonia, the Byzantine Monastery of St Mary. – one of the most important cities in Roman times.

Continue to Vlora city and visiting the original house where the first independent Albanian Government had its offices than visiting the castle of Kanina near Vlora City, 10 minutes drive from Lungomare take us to this breathtaking place where we can see the whole city from the castle and an unbelievable view of Vlora bay and Narta Lagoon.

There is a good and panoramic road to take us to this very historical landmark.
– Overnight in Vlora

After breakfast travel to the Llogora National Park (1050 m), from there you can see the Greek island of Corfu with few deserted Greek islands on the horizon. Like most of the Albanian coast along the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea, Llogara belongs to one of the most significant areas of the country, specifically due to climatic conditions and on the other hand due to the topography of this area.

Moreover, the park is heavily forested, mainly with pine, oak and fir trees growing on limestone and dolomite. We will take a short walk on an old military road, to enjoy the stunning views of the Albanian Riviera. On a clear day, you can see the Greek island of Corfu with few deserted Greek islands on the horizon.

After the walk, we will relax and have lunch in a panoramic restaurant in Llogora, specialized in lamb roasted on a traditional spit and other tasty mountain dishes.

For the rest of the day, we will visit and swim in Dhermi Beach one of the best beaches in Albania with crystal water and beautiful nature and visiting the old village and the church of St. Mary with some interesting frescoes in Dhermi.
-Overnight in Dhermi

Starting the day during the Riviera coastline, a place where the sun stretches across the deep sea, where there are splendid configurations or rocky and isolated small beaches , and the mountains and hillsides are covered in Mediterranean vegetation with charming villages constructed between the mountains and sea.

Visiting the Porto Palermo castle, a 19th-century fortress in the bay of Palermo, watching the splendid bay of Palermo once served as an important secret submarine base during the regime days.

Toward to the best heritage site in Albania BUTRINT . The ancient Butrint ,the most important archaeological discovery in Albania, part of the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1992, Butrint is only 18 km away from Saranda and includes such sights as the Askelapius temple, the theater, the stoa, the portals, the baptistery, the Venetian fortress, and more.

The ecosystem surrounding the area is a national park, offering you the opportunity to walk in a real Mediterranean “jungle”.
Drive back to Saranda city, Free time
-Overnight in Saranda

After breakfast, we’ll visit Syri i Kaltër – known as “The Blue Eye.” A popular tourist attraction, the clear blue water springs from more than fifty-meter-deep pool. surrounded by mountains and of the forests.

Continue to visit Gjirokastra city, one of the most beautiful Albanian historic towns – inscribed into the UNESCO world heritage list.

During the day we will visit the Argjiro castle (13th century), and the nuclear bunker (of the Communist dictatorship), house of Enver Hoxha now days is transformed like an Ethnographic Museum of Gjirokastra and Ismail Kadare house (reconstructed) with a lot of history of the most famous Albanian writer.

– Overnight in Gjirokastra
– Overnight in Korca

Today’s drive will bring us further along the stretch of the Vjosa river valley and the forests of Leskovik. Nature and fresh air will accompany us throughout the journey until Voskopoja. Voskopoja is one of the most important towns in the Balkans during the beginning of the 18th century,

The village was once a city of some 28,000 people and now there are 2,500 people in the surrounding villages and Voskopoje. It was a center of religion and abounded in churches. Some eight churches still exist.
In the afternoon, we will visit Korca city and have a walk into the city
– Overnight in Korca

Visit the well-preserved Museum of Medieval Art , it was established back in 1980 and houses some 7,000 items of immeasurable historical and cultural significance. Stone, metal, wooden, and fabric items from Albania’s iconography are presented.

Also, collections of paintings from the Korça school, are on display here, as well. Housed in what was the Korça Cathedral, the museum is a must-see attraction for history and art lovers. And then visiting the Mirahori mosque one of the oldest in Albania, the reconstructed old bazaar and the Church at Mborje, built in the 14th century also one of the oldest in Albania.

Continue to Pogradec city and the Ohrid lake, Lake Ohrid, straddles the mountainous border between southwestern Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe’s deepest and oldest lakes, preserving a unique aquatic ecosystem that is of worldwide importance, with more than 200 endemic species.

The importance of the lake was further emphasized when it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1979 and when, in 2010, NASA decided to name one of Titan’s lakes after Lake Ohrid
On the way to Tirana we will visit Elbasani Castle and in the evening we are back in Tirana
– Overnight in Tirana

– After breakfast, we are free to explore until the time of transfer to the Airport