Ultimate Guide to Ksamil, Albania
Albania is part of the Balkans situated between Montenegro and Greece. In the north you have the Albania Alps offering amazing landscapes and adventure opportunities. In the south, you can relax along the Riviera swimming in the turquoise water.
Although Albania is less developed than its other Balkan sister Croatia, you can tell it will become a very popular tourist destination in the next 5 years. Currently, it’s a very affordable country and the perfect link between Croatia and Greece.
So here’s everything you need to know about the Albanian Riviera, in particular Ksamil.
Getting to the Albania Riviera
You have two options to get to the south of Albania. You can either fly into Triana and get a 5.5 hour bus. If you choose this option, book a private shuttle over the public bus. They often overbook the public bus and they aren’t the safest vehicles which makes it an awful drive. A private shuttle from the airport is about €100 for 2 people and has air conditioning which is a must in the Albanian summer. The private shuttle will drop you directly to Himarë, Sarandë or Ksamil.
Option 2, the better, faster and more expensive option, is flying into Corfu and getting the fast ferry to Sarandë. The airport is about 20 minutes from the port and there is a public bus that travels between the two for €2 per person. The ferry takes about 30 minutes and if you’re travelling to Ksamil it’s another 30-minute public bus or 20-minute taxi.
Where to stay in Albania
There are plenty of beautiful areas to stay in along the Albanian Riviera. We stayed in Ksamil, a smaller town 20 minutes from Sarandë, famous for its beaches and crystal-clear water. We wanted to relax and spend our days by the water so Ksmail was the obvious choice. Ksamil has so many beach clubs, is quieter than Sarandë and has amazing restaurants.
We stayed at Hotel AlMar which was about a 3-minute walk to the beach and about 5 minutes into the centre of town. Our room overlooked the ocean, had air conditioning and included a great breakfast. It cost us €46 a night.
If you want to be in a busy area with more nightlife and access to other parts of the Riviera, I’d recommend Sarandë. Sarandë is the port town so there are more tourists and a lot of the day trips leave from there. There are more clubs and bars with the beach clubs located outside of the main area.
Things to do in Ksamil, Albania
The best thing you can do in the Albania Riviera is RELAX!! It was so nice to just switch off, drink €6 cocktails and not be travelling and trying to sightsee. Some of the things we did:
Beach clubs: Obviously we spent all our days at the beach clubs along the Ksamil coast. The beach clubs are built over the water and there are sooo many to choose from. We ended up going to Orange Beach Club the most because it was close to our accommodation and had the best vibes but you can walk along the coast and find one you like the vibe of.
At Orange Beach Club, 2 lounges and an umbrella cost €20 for the day and the cocktails were €6, insane considering we’re at a beach club over the water. You can also bring your own food to the beach club or get takeaway from another restaurant and bring it in - they’re super chill.
Hire a boat: One of the best things we did in Ksamil was hire a boat for the day. We brought our own food and drinks and spent the day exploring the coastline. It was amazing because we could swim in places that were completely secluded. The only restriction is you can’t drive to Corfu, Greece.
We hired our boat through Ksamil Albania and you can WhatsApp them at +355 69 674 5801. They have boats to hire from €130 for 30 HP - €300 for 150 HP and they all fit up to seven people. Fuel is charged on top of the hire price based on your usage.
Blue Eye: If you’re staying in the Albania Riviera, you must visit the Blue Eye. The Blue Eye is a natural, freshwater spring located in the hills behind Sarandë. We got the public bus from Ksmail for €1 each and then caught a bus from a company called Butrinti located on the corner of Rruga Vangjel Pandi and Rruga Onhezmi near the old Saranda bus stop. We got the 10:30am bus, which took about 40 minutes, and the 2:30pm return bus. This gave us plenty of time at the Blue Eye and cost about €5 each. Alternatively you could get a taxi for about €40 return which would give you more flexibility and is a much more comfortable option.
Once you get to the Blue Eye, you have to pay €0.50 to enter the park. The park has been developed in response to tourism with a pathway and train line and you can hire scooters if you don’t want to walk the 20 minutes. Once you get to the Blue Eye there is a gift shop, post office, restaurant and toilets. You can also swim in the water which is very cold but absolutely beautiful.
Important Information for travelling to Albania
Cash is the preferred payment method in Albania. They accept euros or Albanian Lek and there are heaps of ATMs.
In Albania Clust is Uber. They also have heaps of Taxis and you can call a taxi.
We found that our EU eSim card didn’t work in Albania. You may have to purchase another eSim while in Albania.
Safety is a hot topic in Albania and truthfully we felt safe the entire time. In Ksamil everyone was so thankful that we were visiting and they worked really hard to make our time enjoyable and were extremely hospitable.
