Albania Road Trip Itinerary: 8-Day & 10-Day Loop

This is the classic Albania road trip: a one-week-plus loop south from Tirana through Berat, over the Llogara Pass to the Albanian Riviera, down to Saranda and Ksamil, and back up through Gjirokastër. It’s best done with your own car - distances are short but the coastal and mountain roads are slow and scenic, and a rental frees you from sparse rural bus timetables. Plan on 8 days to do it without rushing (6 if you’re quick), covering roughly 600-650 km in total. Have 10 days? You have two good ways to use the extra time - slow the same loop down on the beaches, or bolt on the northern mountains - and the 10-day version is spelled out in its own section below. Deciding how long to give the country? Our guide to how many days you need in Albania lays out each length side by side.

Below is a day-by-day plan with what to see at each stop, where to sleep, and the driving times between them. All distances and times are road estimates - mountain and coast roads in the south are slower than the kilometres suggest, so always pad your timings.

Why drive Albania (and how this loop works)

Albania rewards a car more than almost any country in the Balkans. The headline sights - inland UNESCO towns, a wild Ionian coastline, an archaeological park near the Greek border - sit in a rough triangle that public transport stitches together only awkwardly. With your own wheels you can cross the Llogara Pass in golden light, stop at a Riviera cove that has no bus stop, and swing inland to the stone city of Gjirokastër on the way home.

The loop here’s built as a circle so you end where you started - handy if you fly in and out of Tirana and return the car there. If you’re short on time, trimmed versions of this drive work well: for a long weekend, our Albania 4-day itinerary keeps Tirana, Berat and a taste of the Riviera and loops back; for a week, the Albania 7-day itinerary reaches Saranda and the far south; and if the coast is all you’re after, the Albanian Riviera road trip runs Vlora to Saranda along the SH8. Otherwise the full round trip via Gjirokastër is the better experience. Before you book, read our full guide to renting a car in Albania for costs, insurance and the local driving quirks.

Day 1-2: Tirana

Start in the capital, where you’ll most likely land and pick up the car. Give Tirana a day before you drive: it’s a young, colourful city built around Skanderbeg Square, with the painted apartment blocks of the Blloku district, the recently reopened Pyramid of Tirana and the cable car up Mount Dajti for a view over the whole valley. It’s also your last easy chance to stock up before the smaller towns south.

A practical first move is to collect the rental car on your second morning rather than day one - you don’t want a car sitting in a paid city garage while you walk a compact, walkable centre. For the full rundown of sights, neighbourhoods and food, see our guide to the best things to do in Tirana.

Where to stay: central Tirana, around Blloku or the New Bazaar (Pazari i Ri), puts you in walking distance of the restaurants and bars.

Day 3: Berat - the city of a thousand windows

From Tirana it’s about 120 km / 2-2.5 hours south to Berat, the UNESCO World Heritage town whose tiers of white Ottoman houses, each with rows of wide windows, climb two facing hillsides above the Osum river. Walk the cobbled Mangalem and Gorica quarters, cross the old stone bridge, and climb up to the Kala - a castle that’s still a lived-in neighbourhood, with churches and the Onufri icon museum inside its walls.

Berat is an easy half-day of sightseeing plus an overnight; with more time you can add the Osum canyon or a wine tasting in the surrounding hills. Our Berat travel guide covers the sights, day trips and where to stay in detail.

Driving note: the Berat road is straightforward two-lane highway. There’s no train; if you weren’t driving you’d be on a bus or furgon.

Day 4: Vlora, the Llogara Pass & the Riviera

This is the day the drive earns its reputation. Head west to Vlora (roughly 130 km / 2-2.5 hours from Berat), the gateway where the coastal road south begins. From Vlora the road climbs the Llogara Pass - a switchbacking ascent to around 1,000 m through a national park, with a viewing platform where the whole Albanian Riviera suddenly opens up below you, the mountains dropping straight into the Ionian.

Over the pass you reach the Riviera proper: Dhërmi, Himara, Gjipe and a string of pebble coves and turquoise water. Plan to drive this stretch slowly and pick a beach village to stop in - many of the best coves have nowhere to park a tour bus, which is exactly why the car pays off here.

Where to stay: Dhërmi or Himara make a good Riviera base for the night, breaking the drive between Vlora and Saranda.

Driving note: the Llogara switchbacks are steep and can be busy in peak summer; drive them in daylight and don’t rush. The Llogara Tunnel - a roughly 6 km tunnel under the pass - opened in July 2024 and speeds this section up: it has been free since it opened: a tariff of about 250 ALL one way (500 ALL round trip) was approved in April 2026 but was still not being collected when Albanian media checked on 18 July 2026. The old pass road stays open too, and for the view it’s still worth taking at least one way.

Day 5: Saranda

Continue down the coast to Saranda (about 130 km / 3-3.5 hours from the central Riviera, with stops). The biggest town on the southern coast, Saranda is the practical hub for the far south: a long seafront promenade, ferries to Corfu, and easy access to the Butrint archaeological park, the Blue Eye spring and the sunset view from Lekursi Castle on the hill above town.

Base here for two nights so you can fit in Butrint and the Blue Eye without a rushed beach day. The full breakdown of beaches, day trips and logistics is in our Saranda travel guide.

Day 6: Ksamil

Just 20 minutes / ~17 km south of Saranda, Ksamil is the postcard end of the Riviera: shallow turquoise bays and a cluster of tiny offshore islands close enough to swim or paddle out to. It’s the busiest beach scene in Albania in July and August, so come early for a spot. Many travellers stay in Saranda and visit Ksamil as a day trip, or base directly in Ksamil for the beaches.

Combine the morning at Ksamil’s beaches with an afternoon at nearby Butrint, which sits on the same peninsula just south - see our Butrint National Park guide for the ruins and visiting tips.

Day 7: Gjirokastër - the stone city

Turn inland for the last major stop: Gjirokastër, about 55-60 km / ~1-1.5 hours north-east of Saranda. The “stone city” is a UNESCO town of grey slate-roofed Ottoman houses climbing a steep hillside under an enormous castle that holds a weapons museum and wide views over the Drino valley. Wander the old bazaar, visit a restored Ottoman tower-house, and try the local qifqi (rice-and-egg balls).

It’s an easy overnight, and a fitting last stop before the drive back to Tirana.

Day 8: Drive back to Tirana

From Gjirokastër it’s roughly 230 km / 3.5-4 hours back to Tirana via the inland highway, closing the loop and returning the car. If you have an extra half-day, you can break the drive with a stop near Fier at the ancient ruins of Apollonia, or simply build in buffer time for the return and your flight.

Stretching it to 10 days

Eight days is enough to drive the loop without feeling rushed, but 10 is the sweet spot for most people - it buys you two spare days, and there are two very different ways to spend them. Which you pick depends on whether you came for beaches or mountains.

Option A - slow the same loop down (easiest). Keep the exact route above and add the two nights where the drive fights you most: a second night on the Riviera (so the coast between Vlora and Saranda becomes a full beach day rather than a transit leg) and a second night in Saranda or Ksamil (so Butrint, the Blue Eye and a proper swim day don’t get crammed into one). This is the low-effort 10-day plan: same distances, no extra long drives, just less clock-watching. It suits a first Albania trip in July and August, when the heat makes rushing miserable anyway.

Option B - add the northern mountains (the bigger trip). This is the version I would push anyone with the legs for it toward. Instead of closing the loop straight back from Gjirokastër, drive north past Tirana to Shkodra (about 100 km beyond the capital), then up into the Albanian Alps. Two extra days lets you do the classic northern circuit: the Lake Koman ferry through a flooded canyon that feels like a fjord, a night in remote Theth, and, if you have the third day, the Theth-to-Valbona hike over the pass. It turns a good beach-and-history loop into a two-halves trip that shows off the wild side of the country the southern loop never touches.

A couple of honest caveats on Option B. The northern roads and the ferry logistics are slower than the map suggests, so 10 days is tight for the full Theth-Valbona crossing - if the Alps are the priority, 12 to 14 days is more comfortable, or drop a southern night to fund a third mountain day. And the north is a summer add-on: the high passes and guesthouses effectively close from roughly November to April. For the day-by-day of the mountain leg, our Theth travel guide, the Lake Koman ferry guide, the Shkodra guide and the Theth-to-Valbona hike cover it in detail. If a full circuit is more than you want, the how many days in Albania guide weighs the 7, 10 and two-week options against each other.

Option C - keep driving past the border. Ready for the big one? If the itch is to cross into the neighbours rather than double back to Tirana, the same rental can carry you out of Albania entirely: our Balkan Grand Loop turns this trip into a four-country, ten-day circle through North Macedonia, Montenegro and Croatia and back, with the Green Card and border paperwork spelled out.

Distances at a glance

Total driving is around 600-650 km over the loop - short distances, but slow, scenic roads, so don’t pack the days too tightly.

Practical tips for the drive

A few things worth knowing before you set off:

• Car rental. Book ahead in summer; a small car is fine, but check insurance and excess carefully. Full details are in our car rental guide.
• When to go. The Riviera season runs roughly May to October; July-August are hottest and busiest, while late May-June and September-October give you warm sea, open roads and far fewer crowds. See our guide to the best time to visit Albania.
• Roads. Main highways are good; coastal and mountain sections (especially Llogara) are slow and winding. Drive the passes in daylight, watch for livestock on rural roads, and fuel up before remote stretches.
• Money. The currency is the Albanian lek (ALL); carry cash for small guesthouses, parking and beach cafés, though cards work in larger hotels and restaurants.
• Insurance. Make sure you’re covered for both driving and travel - read our Albania travel insurance guide before you go.

What’s nearby and read also

• Browse all our Albania road trips and routes for more itineraries.
• Starting point: the best things to do in Tirana.
• Inland UNESCO stop: the Berat travel guide.
• The southern hub: our Saranda travel guide.
• Getting the car sorted: how to rent a car in Albania.