Trips & Tours: Highlights of Albania

Meet and greet group at Tirana airport and transfer to Hotel. The welcome dinner at the hotel will also serve as an informal occasion of getting to know each-other and an informative session with the Albanian Tour Leader.

After breakfast, depart for Vlora. On the way we stop at the Monastery of Ardenica, supposed to have been built in the middle ages, as argued by a stone in entrance dating back to the 1417. However the first building belongs to the beginning of XVIII century. Today inside the church you can admire icon paintings of 1743-1745, by Albanian artists such as Konstandin and Athanos Zografi, as well as Konstandin Shpataraku.

Proceed to the ancient city of Apollonia situated on the famous Via Egnatia - one of the most important cities in Roman times. The Roman Emperor Augustus Octavian studied here. Visit the city and the Orthodox monastery turned into archaeological museum of the site. Afterwards we continue to Vlora where we visit the Independence Museum, situated in the original house where the first Independent Albanian Government had its offices. Afternoon & evening at leisure.
 

After an early breakfast we depart for Saranda. Drive on the spectacular Albanian Riviera looking down at the Ionian Sea. Breathtaking sceneries await us at the Llogara pass - 1000 m above sea level and on several bends on the way to Saranda. After lunch we visit the ancient city of Butrint a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was first settled by Greek colonists and was continuously inhabited for centuries forming archaeological layers of passing civilizations. It is situated in a beautiful peninsula among dense vegetation adding to its appeal and attraction. Dinner will be organized at Lekursi castle overlooking the bay of saranda and the island of Corfu just a few miles in front of us.

After early breakfast we drive to Berat. We stop in Gjirokastra, a UNESCO site and museum town, with beautiful and very distinct architecture. Visit the Fortress which is used as the venue for the National Festival of Folk Song and Dance and has an arms museum with weapons from WW I. Next we visit the Ethnographic Museum which is also the house the Albanian dictator was born in. If on time just before arriving in Berat we stop at a local winery for some wine tasting. Afterwards we check in at the hotel and the group is then left at leisure to explore Berat.

After breakfast 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, as have their ancestors for centuries. The castle used to have over many churches of which 7 still remain including one turned into Onufri Museum. Onufri was an Albanian Icon master painter of the 16th century who painted many orthodox churches in Albania and Greece. Afterwards we depart for Durresi one of the oldest (founded in 627 B.C.) and most important cities in Albania. After lunch we visit the Amphitheatre situated in the middle of the modern city in an inhabited area, and the Archaeological museum rich in artefacts found in the city and its suburbs.

After breakfast we drive to Kruja - the centre of Albanian resistance against the Turks under our national hero Scanderbeg. He kept them from crossing into Western Europe for 25 years, thus earning the title “Protector of Christianity”. We visit the Skanderbeg Museum, a very rich Ethnographic Museum and the Old Bazaar. After lunch we depart for Tirana where we take a tour of the major sites and visit the National Museum of History with an in-depth historical insight of Albania from prehistory to present day. Farewell dinner in a local traditional restaurant.

After breakfast you are free to explore until transfer to the airport. We bid you farewell hoping to welcome you soon for exploration of other parts of the country.