4-Days UNESCO Towns and Albanian Riviera Tour
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- Private Tour
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This tour is perfect for those who are interested in discovering the most famous castles national parks, archeological sites, and a lot of free time in the amazing beaches of Albanian Riviera in 4 days/5 overnights. You will visit 5 ancient Castles (2 of them protected by UNESCO), 2 archeological sites one national park and a lot of exotic beaches, the Adriatic and Ionian seaside, taste traditional meals and sightseeing in old towns.
Itinerary Details
Operated by: Enjoy Travel
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Day 1 Tirana - Belsh - Berat - Gjirokastra (Lake and History day)
Stop At: Skanderbeg Square
In Tirana you will visit the main Boulevard in the center, the Gallery of Arts, the Skanderbeg square, the main Boulevard, the Mosque, the Bunker, the Pyramid, Mother Theresa square, blloku area which is also the most frequented area of the city, the national park of Tirana, and the Mosaic of Tirana. you will visit the National Historical Museum if you would like.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At:
The small town of Belsh sits in the middle of many small lakes. It is mainly agricultural land, and there seems to be no immediate reason for the tourists to venture here. But sometimes, when the weather is not quite good enough to visit dramatic mountains, or if one tires of the beach…
Duration: 2 hour
Stop At: Enver Hoxha Pyramid
Designed by Enver Hoxha's daughter and son-in-law and completed in 1988, this monstrously unattractive building was formerly the Enver Hoxha Museum and more recently a convention centre and nightclub. Today, covered in graffiti and surrounded by the encampments of Tirana's homeless, its once-white marble walls are now crumbling, but no decision on whether to demolish or restore it has yet been reached. The pyramid is during our sightseeing and we will stop 10 minutes for explanation
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Berat
The city of berat with its Castle known for the history and authentic culture
Duration: 2 hour
Day 2 Gjirokastra - Saranda
Stop At: Gjirokaster
The lovingly restored Ottoman-era Skenduli House has been in the hands of the same family for generations (apart from a few years during the communist period when the government took it over), and you'll most likely be shown around by a member of the family. Dating from the early 1700s, but partially rebuilt in 1827, the house has many fascinating features, including a room used only for wedding ceremonies and which has 15 windows, many with stained glass. You will visit the house with a guide.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Skenduli House
The lovingly restored Ottoman-era Skenduli House has been in the hands of the same family for generations (apart from a few years during the communist period when the government took it over), and you'll most likely be shown around by a member of the family. Dating from the early 1700s, but partially rebuilt in 1827, the house has many fascinating features, including a room used only for wedding ceremonies and which has 15 windows, many with stained glass. You will visit the house with a guide.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Gjirokastra Bazaar
the Castle of Gjirokastra is all that can be seen, rising majestically over the city. Like a giant ship made of stone, it extends across the 1100-foot-high hillside on which it was built during the 4thcentury. A monument to nearly two thousand years of Albanian history, this castle is nowadays one of the most visited places in Albania. You will spend around 2 hours in the castle including the time to go and to come back.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Butrint National Park
After lunch, you will start visiting the top archaeological sites of Butrint inside: Butrint (Butrint in Albanian) from ancient Greek was an ancient Greek city and later Roman and a bishopric in Epirus. Inhabited since prehistoric times, Buthrotum was a city of the Greek Chaonian tribe, later a Roman colony and a bishopric. It went into decline at the end of Antiquity, before being abandoned in the Middle Ages after a major earthquake flooded most of the city. Hotel check-in and free time by the sea Saranda, which is the unofficial capital of the Albanian Riviera, and over the summer months, it seems like half of Tirana is moving here to enjoy the lively beach and the lively nightlife along its crowded seaside promenade.
Duration: 1 hour
Day 3 Saranda - Albanian Riviera - Llogara - Vlora
Stop At: Qeparo Beach
Setting off from Himara, the road is only 13 km long and full of the beautiful Mediterranean views for which the Ionian Coast is so famous for. The locals say that Qeparo’s name comes from the cypress tree, which are so common in this area. Unlike the many rocky beaches of the south, Qeparo Beach has fine sand, and the sea is shallow for the first few meters, making it different from the immediate depths of Dhërmi and Jali. It’s for this reason that Qeparo is such a family favorite. There’s also a very quaint old pier which has been built on the large rocks that lay there.
Duration: 3 hour
Stop At: Porto Palermo Castle
On the way to Himara near the Ionian sea, in a picturesque bay just south of Himara, this 19th-century fortress, also known as the Castle of Ali Pasha, makes for an interesting stop-off along the coastal road. The fortress itself is eerily dark inside, but it's well worth paying to wander around and explore the battlements, which have superb sea views.
Duration: 2 hour
Stop At: Llogara Pass
The Llogara Pass is a high mountain pass within the Ceraunian Mountains along the Albanian Riviera. It connects the Dukat Valley in the north with Himarë in the south. You will have a short stop for pictures of the amazing Albanian Riviera.
Stop At: Vlore
The Monument of Independence is a monument in Vlorë, Albania, dedicated to the Albanian Declaration of Independence and worked by Albanian sculptors, Muntaz Dhrami and Kristaq Rama. It is found in the Flag's Plaza, near the building where the first Albanian government worked in 1913. You will have one 10 minutes stop on this historical center of Vlora.
Duration: 30 minutes
Day 4 Vlora - Durres - Tirana (Beach and History Day)
Stop At: Durres Amphitheatre
The Amphitheater of Durrës remains one of the most majestic of the ancient world and one of ten most beautiful Roman amphitheaters. Widely recognized among enthusiasts of Antiquity, it is a pearl of the Balkans that is slowly making its way out of the shell. Discovered relatively recently, in 1966, its unearthing occurred in a slightly comical way by Vangjel Toçi. Legend has it that Vangjel, an archaeologist and resident of Durrës, happened upon a fig tree which had fallen a few meters below ground level. Curious and inquisitive, he insisted that the area undergo excavations. Rightly so, for underneath was lying the long-sought-after Amphitheater.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Durres Castle
On the way to the Amphitheater, the visitor cannot miss the City Walls, built-in blocks that have managed to survive until this very day. Those who have governed the city throughout the ages have left their mark on the way the surrounding walls were used as, ultimately, they were a security system that protected the city from various conquests throughout history. The massive walls seen today were built by Anastasius I, the Byzantine emperor of the 4th century A.D, who defended the city from invaders. The walls’ original height of 18 meters and considerable breadth provided an advantage against enemies of the time. Later, it was emperor Justinian who reinforced the surrounding walls by placing small observation towers above them
Duration: 1 hour
Day 1 Tirana - Belsh - Berat - Gjirokastra (Lake and History day)
Stop At: Skanderbeg Square
In Tirana you will visit the main Boulevard in the center, the Gallery of Arts, the Skanderbeg square, the main Boulevard, the Mosque, the Bunker, the Pyramid, Mother Theresa square, blloku area which is also the most frequented area of the city, the national park of Tirana, and the Mosaic of Tirana. you will visit the National Historical Museum if you would like.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At:
The small town of Belsh sits in the middle of many small lakes. It is mainly agricultural land, and there seems to be no immediate reason for the tourists to venture here. But sometimes, when the weather is not quite good enough to visit dramatic mountains, or if one tires of the beach…
Duration: 2 hour
Stop At: Enver Hoxha Pyramid
Designed by Enver Hoxha's daughter and son-in-law and completed in 1988, this monstrously unattractive building was formerly the Enver Hoxha Museum and more recently a convention centre and nightclub. Today, covered in graffiti and surrounded by the encampments of Tirana's homeless, its once-white marble walls are now crumbling, but no decision on whether to demolish or restore it has yet been reached. The pyramid is during our sightseeing and we will stop 10 minutes for explanation
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Berat
The city of berat with its Castle known for the history and authentic culture
Duration: 2 hour
Day 2 Gjirokastra - Saranda
Stop At: Gjirokaster
The lovingly restored Ottoman-era Skenduli House has been in the hands of the same family for generations (apart from a few years during the communist period when the government took it over), and you'll most likely be shown around by a member of the family. Dating from the early 1700s, but partially rebuilt in 1827, the house has many fascinating features, including a room used only for wedding ceremonies and which has 15 windows, many with stained glass. You will visit the house with a guide.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Skenduli House
The lovingly restored Ottoman-era Skenduli House has been in the hands of the same family for generations (apart from a few years during the communist period when the government took it over), and you'll most likely be shown around by a member of the family. Dating from the early 1700s, but partially rebuilt in 1827, the house has many fascinating features, including a room used only for wedding ceremonies and which has 15 windows, many with stained glass. You will visit the house with a guide.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Gjirokastra Bazaar
the Castle of Gjirokastra is all that can be seen, rising majestically over the city. Like a giant ship made of stone, it extends across the 1100-foot-high hillside on which it was built during the 4thcentury. A monument to nearly two thousand years of Albanian history, this castle is nowadays one of the most visited places in Albania. You will spend around 2 hours in the castle including the time to go and to come back.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Butrint National Park
After lunch, you will start visiting the top archaeological sites of Butrint inside: Butrint (Butrint in Albanian) from ancient Greek was an ancient Greek city and later Roman and a bishopric in Epirus. Inhabited since prehistoric times, Buthrotum was a city of the Greek Chaonian tribe, later a Roman colony and a bishopric. It went into decline at the end of Antiquity, before being abandoned in the Middle Ages after a major earthquake flooded most of the city. Hotel check-in and free time by the sea Saranda, which is the unofficial capital of the Albanian Riviera, and over the summer months, it seems like half of Tirana is moving here to enjoy the lively beach and the lively nightlife along its crowded seaside promenade.
Duration: 1 hour
Day 3 Saranda - Albanian Riviera - Llogara - Vlora
Stop At: Qeparo Beach
Setting off from Himara, the road is only 13 km long and full of the beautiful Mediterranean views for which the Ionian Coast is so famous for. The locals say that Qeparo’s name comes from the cypress tree, which are so common in this area. Unlike the many rocky beaches of the south, Qeparo Beach has fine sand, and the sea is shallow for the first few meters, making it different from the immediate depths of Dhërmi and Jali. It’s for this reason that Qeparo is such a family favorite. There’s also a very quaint old pier which has been built on the large rocks that lay there.
Duration: 3 hour
Stop At: Porto Palermo Castle
On the way to Himara near the Ionian sea, in a picturesque bay just south of Himara, this 19th-century fortress, also known as the Castle of Ali Pasha, makes for an interesting stop-off along the coastal road. The fortress itself is eerily dark inside, but it's well worth paying to wander around and explore the battlements, which have superb sea views.
Duration: 2 hour
Stop At: Llogara Pass
The Llogara Pass is a high mountain pass within the Ceraunian Mountains along the Albanian Riviera. It connects the Dukat Valley in the north with Himarë in the south. You will have a short stop for pictures of the amazing Albanian Riviera.
Stop At: Vlore
The Monument of Independence is a monument in Vlorë, Albania, dedicated to the Albanian Declaration of Independence and worked by Albanian sculptors, Muntaz Dhrami and Kristaq Rama. It is found in the Flag's Plaza, near the building where the first Albanian government worked in 1913. You will have one 10 minutes stop on this historical center of Vlora.
Duration: 30 minutes
Day 4 Vlora - Durres - Tirana (Beach and History Day)
Stop At: Durres Amphitheatre
The Amphitheater of Durrës remains one of the most majestic of the ancient world and one of ten most beautiful Roman amphitheaters. Widely recognized among enthusiasts of Antiquity, it is a pearl of the Balkans that is slowly making its way out of the shell. Discovered relatively recently, in 1966, its unearthing occurred in a slightly comical way by Vangjel Toçi. Legend has it that Vangjel, an archaeologist and resident of Durrës, happened upon a fig tree which had fallen a few meters below ground level. Curious and inquisitive, he insisted that the area undergo excavations. Rightly so, for underneath was lying the long-sought-after Amphitheater.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Durres Castle
On the way to the Amphitheater, the visitor cannot miss the City Walls, built-in blocks that have managed to survive until this very day. Those who have governed the city throughout the ages have left their mark on the way the surrounding walls were used as, ultimately, they were a security system that protected the city from various conquests throughout history. The massive walls seen today were built by Anastasius I, the Byzantine emperor of the 4th century A.D, who defended the city from invaders. The walls’ original height of 18 meters and considerable breadth provided an advantage against enemies of the time. Later, it was emperor Justinian who reinforced the surrounding walls by placing small observation towers above them
Duration: 1 hour
