A week had already passed in this beautiful country. I had seen some fascinating pictures of the Albanian beaches and hence was excited to explore the Albanian Riviera and indulge in some “me” time on the beach.
Located in the Ionian Sea coast, between Vlore in the north and Sarande in the south, the Albanian Riviera spans approximately 150 km, offering pristine beaches and stunning mountain landscapes. Starting from Ksamil in the extreme south also known as “The Maldives of Albania” which is quite popular and more of a leisure and luxury destination, you move up north where the big commercialised city of Sarande is located. Sarande can be a nice pit stop but I wouldn’t recommend staying there. Rather I would recommend you to explore other smaller beautiful and less commercial enchanting gems like Dhermi, Borsch and Himare which are all in the close vicinity. These places are also known to have some good beach side music festivals during summers.
My destination was Himare as I had read a lot about it. It is the largest town in the Riviera having a predominantly ethnic Greek Community. It has a castle in its old town and a few orthodox churches as well. I was looking forward to enjoying some beach relaxation.
The travel route from Gjirokaster to Himare is a bit complicated as there is no direct transportation. You have to go to Sarande first and from there you go to Himare. Many of the travellers I met were hitchhiking, so even I planned to hitchhike one part of the journey. The bus to Sarande leaves at 7 am from the main bus stop. It was a mini bus that costed around 500 Lek (4 Pound / 450 INR). It was a 2 hours’ journey through winding mountain roads. I reached Sarande at 9 am and had to wait for 3 hours for the bus to Himare. My hostel folks were kind enough to pack breakfast for me. I went to the beach and had the packed breakfast there. It was a lovely sunny morning and I really enjoyed watching the sea. A little while later I tried my first attempt at hitchhiking but remained unsuccessful even after several attempts. So I adhered to my schedule and took the bus at 12pm costing around 500 Lek again. It was a short and beautiful ride along the coast with the pristine Ionian Sea one side and the mountains on the other. I met a few German travellers on the bus who were travelling to Himare and coincidentally they were all staying in the same hostel.
We reached Himare around 2 and the hostel was a 10-minute walk from the bus stand. I had booked the Sun Bakers Hostel which was owned by the same company who runs the “Trip n Hostel” in Tirana. It is a cool and vibrant place to chill out. We had lunch at the local cafe and went down to Potami beach right outside our hostel. We played some volleyball and other beach games with a nice swim in the sea. But soon the weather flipped and we had to return to our hostel as the waters got choppy.
While speaking to some fellow travellers in the hostel, I came to know that the Theth-Valbone Hike I was planning to undertake was shut. So I had to quickly alter my travel plans. I decided to extend my stay in Himare by a day as I wouldn’t be visiting Valbone. In the evening, I visited the same beach again to watch the sunset and played some more games at the hostel before retiring for the night.
Himare has many beaches like the Himare beach and Potami right in the city. If you go north, you have Livadi beach which is again quite commercialised; Gjipe and Jala are very beautiful. Down south you have Filikuri beach where I was heading to and the Llamani beach – again a tourist hot spot. You have a number of other small beaches and caves along the coast; it’s just that I have named a few prominent ones.
You can either take a Kayak for the entire day to go around all the caves and beaches or take a Scooter/ATV to explore the spots. I would highly recommend taking a kayak as most beaches and caves are inaccessible by foot and you can reach there only with the help of a kayak or a boat. You have the option of taking speed boats too which show you the beaches and caves. But if you want to explore at your own time and pace then Kayak is the best way to go.
The next morning after a heavy breakfast we left for Filikuri Bay. This beach is only accessible through a steep hike or a kayak. Me and my co – travellers decided to hike to the beach spend the whole day there. We got some food and beverages from the local store and started the hike. Searching for Filikuri Bay on google maps gets you there easily. It is essential that you wear really sturdy and comfortable footwear as in the end you actually do some rappelling and rock climbing. You have strong ropes that already attached. These give good grip but the last stretch can get a bit treacherous as there are chances you might slip. But this is the best part about this beach – the hike. Often people tend to skip this beach because of the hike and hence it is quiet and secluded. It took us around 25 minutes to reach there.
Crystal clear waters, the blue sky and the shore adorned with white rocks and white sands was simply breath-taking – it felt straight out of a movie. The water is so clear that everything under is clearly visible including corals. Snorkelling alongside fishes, urchins and other kinds of marine life was so relaxing and rejuvenating. I wish, I could have captured the underwater life but I guess that’s for the future. Throughout the day, there was hardly any crowd, so as I said earlier the beach was really calm and quiet. Overall although the day was quite refreshing, it also proved to be a bit tiring due to the hiking and swimming. We planned for an early dinner at this Greek tavern restaurant recommended by the hostel. As I mentioned earlier, Himare has a sizeable Greek population, so one might find a lot of Greek stuff.
The restaurant called Taverna Stolis, is just outside the main city, a quick stroll from the hostel. It has a lovely ambience and you can catch a decent view of the sunset as well. But if you want to have a good view of the sunset while enjoying your meal, then head to the Sunset restro bar which is on the way to Filikuri or you can sit on the main Himare beach in one of the shacks or cafes. The staff is really warm and hospitable and they gave us some raki on the house.
I ordered the Moussaka, which is a very common and well known dish in the Balkans and Middle East. I can say it is somewhat like a lasagna. The stuffing changes according to the region, but aubergine and potato are common. The Greek style was made with a layers of potato, aubergine and minced lamb. It’s a must try dish I would say. It was very flavourful with an exceptional taste. The restaurant isn’t that expensive and has good portion size. The awesome dinner was followed by an amazing hostel party.
With little sleep, feeling dehydrated and exhausted, I was undecided of what I was going to do the next morning. Luckily, I met this group of people at the breakfast table who I had met in Berat and they invited me to join their plan. I said yes without even knowing what the plan was. Without even letting me finish my breakfast, they “Kidnapped” me in a car and took me somewhere. Rubin, the owner of the hostel was taking us for the “plan”. He was a really sweet guy, who took us around and helped whenever we needed anything. I was so tired, I just took a quick nap. When I woke up, we were at a convenience store picking up some food for the day. That’s when I got to know that the plan for the day was “Cliff Jumping”. Rubin knew of a place and he was taking us there. I was really confused and excited at the same time as I was clueless about this. I have always been scared of heights and I thought cliff jumping would be a great way to overcome my fear. It was a 30-minute drive from the hostel to a point from where we had to walk downhill to a small beach. The beach has small cliffs from where you can jump. The walk took another 30 minutes and we finally reached the place. The cliff was 8m high but did not look high from the shore.
But when I reached the top and looked down, I was just like, “Holyshit, this looks really high and I think I should not do it.” With my heart racing and my feet trembling on the edge, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and just jumped. After the first jump, I felt like I had accomplished something really big – victory over my fear; and then I was confident enough to do it 10 more times. It was a great feeling and ticked a big thing off my bucket list! Unfortunately, I don’t know the beach’s name and there was no reception as well to locate it on the maps. I can just say it is near Livadi Beach. Surprisingly, many people know about this place as there were many tourists and families visiting this tiny beach to spend their day.
After spending the whole day, Rubin came to pick us up and we drove back. On the way back, we saw the Himare Castle from outside as well. Have heard this too is a good spot for capturing sunsets.
At night, we went to the same restaurant for dinner as it was close by and we were really tired after a long day of jumping. Post dinner, I packed my bags as it was time to leave this lovely place and hostel. I was going straight up to the northernmost part of Albania in the Albanian Alps from the south. It was going to be a very long day of travelling with an early morning bus to catch. The group was also heading up north to the same destination; so we were travelling together once again.
I had a refreshing and eventful time in the Albanian Riviera and I wish to come back here for sure in the future. From ‘beaches straight to the mountains’ – that’s how my trip further was going to change. I paid 3500 Albanian Lek (29 Pounds / 3100 INR) for 3 nights which is quite nominal and worth the experience.
Himare had been such a blast that I didn’t realise 10 days had gone by and I was entering the final week of my trip with a new challenge coming my way in the Albanian Alps!
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