Albania in 4 Days: Tirana, Berat & the Riviera

This Albania 4 day itinerary is built for a long weekend: land in Tirana, spend a day in UNESCO Berat, grab a taste of the Riviera on the Ionian coast, and loop back to fly out. It covers about 410 km of driving over the four days and needs a rental car - four days is too tight to do this by bus without wasting half of it at furgon stops. Think of it as the highlights reel: the capital, one perfect old town, and one day of turquoise water, without the long haul to the far south. If you are still weighing lengths, our guide to how many days you need in Albania sets this long weekend against the week and beyond.

If you have a full week, you would keep going past the Riviera to Saranda, Ksamil and Gjirokastër - that is our Albania 7-day itinerary, and with more time still the full Albania road trip. This one is the version that fits a Thursday-to-Sunday or a bank-holiday weekend and still leaves you feeling like you saw the best of the country.

How the four days work

The shape is a rough triangle: Tirana in the centre-north, Berat inland to the south, the Riviera on the coast, and back. You drive on two of the four days and sightsee on the other two, which keeps it from feeling like a car marathon. Pick the rental up in Tirana at the start of day two - you do not want it sitting in a paid city garage while you walk the compact, walkable centre on day one.

Before you book the car, read our guide to renting a car in Albania - the daily rate is cheap, but the insurance excess and the deposit are where the real money sits, and they are worth getting right on a short trip where you have no slack to argue at a counter.

Day 1: Tirana

Land, drop your bags, and give the capital an afternoon and evening on foot. Tirana is young, colourful and compact: Skanderbeg Square at the centre, the recently reopened Pyramid of Tirana, the painted apartment blocks of Blloku, and the cable car up Mount Dajti for a view over the whole valley if you have the time. It is also your last easy chance to stock up before the smaller towns south.

Do not collect the car today. The centre walks in an afternoon, parking is a hassle, and a rental sitting in a garage overnight is money for nothing. For a full rundown of the sights, neighbourhoods and where to eat, see our guide to the best things to do in Tirana.

Day 2: Drive to Berat

Collect the car in the morning and drive south to Berat, about 120 km / 2 hours on the SH4 (south toward Durrës, then east near Lushnjë). The road is one of the better ones in the country - recently repaved for much of the way - so it is an easy morning’s drive that leaves the whole afternoon for the town.

Berat is the reason this itinerary exists. The “city of a thousand windows” stacks tiers of white Ottoman houses, each with rows of wide windows, up two facing hillsides above the Osum river. Walk the cobbled Mangalem and Gorica quarters, cross the seven-arched Gorica bridge, and climb to the Kala - a castle that is still a lived-in neighbourhood, with churches, homes and the Onufri icon museum inside its walls.

A practical note on money: entry to the castle grounds is now free - the old 300 ALL gate fee has been waived, though it is worth confirming locally, as these things drift. The Onufri icon museum inside charges around 300-400 ALL. Bring cash either way - cards are no use up on the Kala. Our Berat travel guide covers the sights, the Osum canyon day trip and where to stay in detail.

Where to stay: sleep inside or just below the old town, ideally a restored Ottoman guesthouse in Mangalem or Gorica, so you can walk the lanes after the day-trippers leave.

Day 3: Over the Llogara Pass to the Riviera

This is the day you swap stone for sea. From Berat, head west to the coast at Vlora (about 83 km / 1.5 hours), then climb the Llogara Pass - a switchbacking road to around 1,000 m where the whole Albanian Riviera suddenly drops away below you into the Ionian. All in, Berat to a Himara base is roughly 140 km / 2.5-3 hours of driving.

Since 2024 there is a choice at the top: the Llogara Tunnel (5.9 km, opened July 2024) now cuts under the pass, with a car toll of about 250 ALL, cash - or the old pass road right beside it, still free and still the better view. Take the pass for the drama unless the summer queue is bad. Over the top you reach the first Riviera beaches: Dhermi and Drymades for an afternoon swim, then a night in Himara, the most balanced base on the coast, with a harbour, real restaurants and beaches you can walk to.

For the wider picture of the coast, see our guide to the Albanian Riviera, and for where to sleep across the whole trip, where to stay in Albania.

Day 4: Drive back to Tirana

From the Riviera it is roughly 150 km / 2.5 hours back to Tirana via the coast road and the SH4 through Fier (the Fier bypass has cut this time noticeably), closing the loop and returning the car before your flight. It is a comfortable half-day if you leave in the morning.

One honest caveat: in July and August, weekend afternoon traffic between the coast and Tirana can add 30-60 minutes. If you are flying out on a Sunday evening, leave the coast before mid-morning rather than lingering for a last swim and then racing the traffic - build in buffer for the airport. Our note on the best time to visit Albania has more on the peak-season crowds.

Distances at a glance

Day	Leg	Roughly	Drive time
1	Tirana (on foot)	-	-
2	Tirana → Berat	~120 km	2 h
3	Berat → Riviera (via Llogara)	~140 km	2.5-3 h
4	Riviera → Tirana	~150 km	2.5 h

That is about 410 km of driving across four days - two easy driving days and two on foot, which is the balance that makes a long weekend here work.

Is four days enough for Albania?

For a first taste, yes - if you accept it is a taste. Four days gets you the capital, one of the country’s two great UNESCO towns, and a real day on the Riviera, all at a pace that is busy but not brutal. What it does not get you is the deep south: Saranda, Ksamil, Butrint and Gjirokastër all sit two to three hours beyond the Riviera, and cramming them in would turn this into a driving trip with the sights out the window.

If those are on your list, give the country a week and follow the longer loop instead. Two ways to extend from here:

• Push south from the Riviera to the far coast on our full Albania road trip.
• Skip Berat and make the coast the whole focus with the Albanian Riviera road trip from Vlora to Saranda.

Practical tips

• Car first. This loop only works with a car; four days by bus loses too much time. Book ahead in summer and check the excess and deposit - see how to rent a car in Albania.
• Carry cash. The currency is the lek (ALL). You will need it for the tunnel toll, the Onufri museum in Berat, parking and beach cafés; cards work in hotels and bigger restaurants.
• When to go. Late May-June and September-October give warm sea, open roads and thinner crowds; July-August are hottest, busiest and priciest.
• Drive the pass in daylight. The Llogara switchbacks are steep and slow - do them by day for the view, and keep the tunnel in reserve.
• Book beds ahead in peak. Berat’s old-town guesthouses and Himara’s rooms fill fast in July and August.

Read also

• Start here: the best things to do in Tirana.
• The anchor town: our Berat travel guide.
• The coast: our guide to the Albanian Riviera.
• More itineraries: all our Albania routes.
• Where to sleep: where to stay in Albania.