Explore Northern Albania Without a Car 🌍 🌺
Daily Itinerary
Day 1 - Tirana
Where to eat?
Blloku is a nice area in Tirana to go for a lunch, dinner, breakfast, or just a drink :)
☕️ Breakfast at Coko
Coko offers great breakfast, including pancakes, eggs, juices and coffee. Also, the place is located in a nice area, with lots of different places to eat and drink.
🍽️ Dinner at Oda
What to do?
Tirana offers lots of different things to see and do. I have highlighted just a few :)
📍Pyramid of Tirana
A cool monument to visit, which gives you a great view over the city!
📍Pazari i Ri
Lovely cultural market. Reminds me a bit of the Mercado de La Boqueria in Barcelona, definitely worth a visit.
📍Skanderbeg Square
Historical square in the very city centre!
📍Grand Park of Tirana
Beautiful park to go for a walk or run! There are different cafes located in the park where you can grab some refreshments as well.
📍Murat Toptani Street
Nice street to go for a walk, with no cars:) Grab a drink, an ice cream or something to eat!
📍Et'hem Bej Mosque
Where to stay?
We stayed at two different hotels, both were good!
🛌 Hotel Theatro
Nice location, and good breakfast!
🛌 Queen's Luxury Apartments
Great location to the Blloku area and the park, as well as a friendly owner. No breakfast, but lots of options close to the apartment, either in the same building or on the other side of the street.
Day 2 - Tirana & Shköder
After exploring the city of Tirana, you can head North to Shkoder.
🚌 How to get from Tirana to Shkoder?
You can grab a taxi from the city centre to the bus station. The bus ride from Tirana to Shkoder costed around 4 euros, and took around 2 hours.
We arrived Shkoder around 5:30, and walked for a few minutes to the Hotel Chicago where we stayed.
Where to stay in Shkoder?
🛌 Hotel Chicago
I really recommend this hotel. Very affordable (we payed around 60 euros a night) and a great location. The hotel also has a nice rooftop terrace.
Day 3 - Lake Komani
🚌 How to get there?
Most of the hotels in Shkoder arrange buses to Lake Komani. We asked for a bus the next morning as soon as we arrived, which costed around 6 euros. The great thing about the Hotel Chicago was the possibility to leave our luggage there, so that we just brought with us the bare minimum for the next day in Lake Komani. When we arrived Lake Komani, we waited for an hour before a boat from our hotel (Riverside) picked us up. The boat ride took around an hour to the place we stayed.
Where to stay?
🛌 Riverside Komani Lake
What to do?
Shala River
Take a boat trip to Shala river. This unique place has different guesthouses where you can eat or drink. You can also go for a swim or just relax.
Kayakking
Go for a kayak trip in the turquoise water. The place we stayed at offered kayaks for free.
Relax
There is not heaps of things to do, especially if the place you are staying is located away from other places. Bring a book, playing cards, or just simply relax.
🍽️ Where to eat?
We had dinner and breakfast at the place we stayed, and lunch in Shala River. If you want snacks for the evening, this is something you should bring from Shkoder :)
Day 4 - Lake Komani & Skhöder
The next day the boat and bus back to Skhoder left quite early (8:00), make sure to arrange with the bus all the way back.
🍽️ Where to eat in Skhoder?
Hotel Chicago had great pizza, with a lovely view over the Ebu Bekr Mosque.
You can also go for a walk in the street Rruga Kole Idromeno, with lots of different opportunities for food and drinks.
Want to go to Theth the next day?
If you want to go to Theth the next day, make sure to arrange a bus at the hotel you are staying at.
Day 5 - Theth
How to get there?
We arranged a bus with Hotel Chicago early the next morning. The road is better then the one to Lake Komani, with stunning view over the mountains. Make sure to arrange the bus back home to Skhoder as well!!
Where to stay?
🛌 Gurra Family Guesthouse
What to do?
📍Kisha e Thethit
Beautiful church just a short walk from the centre.
📍Blue Eye Theth
Stunning waterfall and hike. You can either go along the road or take the path. The hike is longer than expected, gladly you are able to buy something to eat/drink a few places along the way.
📍Waterfall Theth
Stunning waterfall hike, around 45 minutes from the centre of Theth. You can go passed the waterfall on your way to the Blue Eye as well.
Day 6 - Theth
After a lovely breakfast at The Gurra Family Guesthouse, we went for a hike!
Hike to Valbona Pass
📍Valbona Pass
The hike took us around 6 hours, with stunning views over Theth and the Valbona valley. Lots of people walk from either Valbona to Theth or opposite, but the hike up and down offers the same view. The hike starts north/east in Theth. Just follow the river, and turn right after all the guest houses. On hour from the summit there is a cafe as well, where you can buy some refreshments.
🍽️ Where to eat?
We had one dinner at the Gurra Family Guesthouse, and one dinner at a pizza place. For lunch, we went to the guesthouse next to Gurra.
There is also a small shop in Theth were you can buy snacks and refreshments:)
Day 7 - Theth to Vlöre
The next day was a "bus-day". After enjoying the great breakfast at Gurra Femily Guesthouse, we took the bus from Theth to Shkoder around 10, and got dropped of the same place as the bus to Tirana left (one hour later). We took the bus to Tirana, and arrived at the same bus terminal as we left from the last time. The last bus to Vlore left around 16, and 2/3 hours later we arrived in Vlore.
After some days with lots of travelling and packed program, we enjoyed some lazy days in Vlore. To get from Vlore to the airport in Tirana we took a taxi, which costed around 100 euros (recommend to decide on a fixed price).
Where to stay?
🛌 Inn Hotel Vlora
Amazing hotel, with wonderful view, beach and food! A bit expensive, but definitely worth it!
Enjoy your trip to Albania!
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions:)
All the best 🫶🏽
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