Standard 8 day tour Albania - including 3 Unesco sites

Welcome to Albania! Upon your arrival at Mother Teresa Airport in Tirana, you will be transferred to your hotel. If time allows, we will embark on an afternoon sightseeing tour of Tirana, starting from the Skanderbeg square. We will visit the National History Museum, Ethem Bey Mosque, and the Clock Tower. Our walking tour will continue to the main boulevard, the Pyramid building, and the Block area. Overnight stay will be in Tirana.

We begin our day with a journey towards Ardenica to visit the 13th-century monastery built by the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos. Our next stop is Apollonia, one of the most known cities in the Adriatic basin, where we will explore ancient monuments like the theatre, the Monument of Agonothetes, the Agora, the Mosaics House, and the church of Saints Mary. We end our day in the southwestern city of Vlora, where we will spend the night.

After breakfast, we continue our journey towards Saranda, passing through the beautiful Llogara Park and the charming villages of the Albanian Riviera. We will make a short stop at Porto Palermo, where we will visit the well-preserved castle. Our next stop is Butrint, a UNESCO protected ancient site, where we will explore the theatre, the temple of Asclepius, the Baptistery, the big Basilica, and the Venetian castle. We will spend the night in Saranda.

After breakfast, we will stop to visit the beautiful natural spring of the Blue Eye. We then travel to Antigonea, an ancient city located on a hill about 600 meters above sea level. Here, we will explore the Agora and a Stoa, and marvel at the ancient coins found in excavations. Our next stop is Gjirokastra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its well-preserved Ottoman architecture. We will visit the castle, which offers great views over the city and houses some old armory and a recovered US Air force jet from communist time Albania. We will spend the night in Gjirokastra.

In the morning, we continue our sightseeing of Gjirokastra. We will visit the ethnographic museum, situated in the Palorto Quarter, which is the best preserved district in the old town of Gjirokastra. As we leave Gjirokastra, we travel towards Berat, another UNESCO protected town, where we will spend the night.

After breakfast, we explore Berat. We start from the lower part of the town, crossing the 18th-century stone bridge of Gorica, which connects the two historical neighborhoods of Berat. We then visit the castle built on top of the hill, and the Onufri Museum, located in the cathedral 'Dormition of St. Mary'. In the afternoon, we travel back to Tirana for an overnight stay.

In the morning, we depart for the medieval town of Kruja. Here, we will visit the castle housing the national Historical museum and the Ethnographic museum. After some free time at the typical bazaar, we transfer to Shkodra. We visit the Rozafa castle, overlooking the surrounding area, and walk in the historical pedestrian street. In the evening, we return back to Tirana for an overnight stay.

After breakfast, we check out from the hotel and transfer to the airport. If time allows, we will visit BunkArt2, an ex-communist bunker turned into a museum showcasing the history of the country during the communist period.