Experiences in Albania
Carefully selected experiences led by people who call Albania home, from short half-day tours to fully private multi-day journeys across the country.
10 day tours available
Cape of Rodon & Duka Winery
Cape of Rodon, Albania
A scenic coastal day trip along the Adriatic to the historic Cape of Rodon, home to Skanderbeg's 15th-century castle and a peaceful seaside church. Continue to Duka Winery for a guided tasting of Albanian wines paired with local delicacies in the vineyards.
Bovilla Lake Tour
Tirana
Most people don't know this exists. A turquoise mountain reservoir sitting in the hills just outside Tirana, completely undeveloped, no crowds, backed by pine forest and limestone peaks. We drive up in the morning, hike through the pine forest to the reservoir viewpoints, and end the day at a farm-style restaurant tucked into the hills with views down to Tirana.
Shala River, Private Boat
Northern Albania
The Shala River is one of those places that stops people mid-sentence. Sheer limestone cliffs dropping straight into turquoise water. The only way in is by boat. No road. No crowd. No noise except the water and the engine. We go on a private boat, not the public ferry that everyone else takes. Your group, the river, and the cliffs. You arrive at Shala Beach, which is exactly what it sounds like: a pebble beach where the river opens out, with a small restaurant on the bank and the clearest water in Albania for swimming. You'll stay there most of the day. It's worth the 6:00am start.
Free Walking Tour, Tirana
Tirana
Most people arrive in Tirana without a clue what they're looking at. A square full of colourful buildings. A big mosque. A weird concrete pyramid. Two and a half hours later, they get it. This walk takes you through the centre of Tirana, from Skanderbeg Square through the government quarter to the Pyramid, through Blloku, and ending at Grand Park, and tells you the story of a country that went from one of the world's most isolated dictatorships to one of Europe's most surprising cities in thirty years. It's a free walking tour. You tip what you feel it was worth. We think you'll feel it was worth quite a bit.
Berat Day Trip
Berat
Berat has been on every list of the most beautiful cities in the Balkans for a reason. It's the kind of place where you arrive planning to spend two hours and leave wishing you'd booked a room. The old city climbs two opposing hillsides, Mangalem on one side, Gorica on the other, connected by a medieval stone bridge over the Osum River. Above Mangalem, the castle walls enclose an entire neighbourhood that has been continuously inhabited since the 4th century BC. The Onufri Museum inside the castle holds a collection of 16th-century Byzantine icons that shouldn't exist in a building this size. You'll spend the morning at the castle, Onufri Museum, and the old churches. Lunch is at a riverside restaurant below the old city, grilled fish, local wine, the sound of the Osum below. The afternoon is yours to wander. Berat takes a long day. It's worth every minute.
Kruja - Castle, Cave & Bazaar
Kruja
Kruja is where Albania's story gets interesting. This is Skanderbeg's city, the medieval general who united the Albanian clans and kept the Ottoman army out for a quarter century, until he died and the Ottomans swept in anyway. His fortress still sits on the hillside, looking down at the valley below, exactly where it's been for six hundred years. But Kruja isn't just history. The old bazaar is one of the best in the Balkans, covered Ottoman trading halls full of handmade carpets, copper, silver, antiques. Above it, a Bektashi tekke and a holy cave carved into the mountain. Below it, a lunch waiting for you. Forty-five minutes from Tirana. A half day packed with stories.
Shkodër & Lake Skadar
Shkodër
Shkodër is Albania's second city and its most northern, closer in feel to Montenegro than Tirana, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe. The fortress above it, Rozafa Castle, was built and rebuilt by Illyrians, Romans, Venetians, and Ottomans. The views from the ramparts take in the Drin River, the mountains of Montenegro, and Lake Skadar stretching below, the largest lake in the Balkans. After the castle, the drive to Shiroka follows the lakeshore through villages where flamingos and pelicans feed at the water's edge in the morning. Lunch at the Shiroka waterfront is one of the highlights of the trip, fresh lake fish, white wine, the mountains reflected in still water. An optional private boat ride (add-on, approx €10/pp) takes you across to the lake's most beautiful bay. Back in Shkodër before heading home, the Marubi National Museum of Photography contains the oldest continuous photographic archive in the Balkans, Albanians from the 1850s onwards, shot in a studio that's still standing. It's 45 minutes you won't regret.
Apollonia & Berat - Two UNESCO Sites in One Day
Apollonia & Berat
Apollonia was one of the most important cities in the ancient Greek and Roman world, a port and intellectual centre that Caesar chose as a base during the civil war. He wrote here. Augustus studied here. Today it's a hilltop scattered with columns, a monastery built on top of a temple, an olive grove that's been producing oil for two thousand years, and a remarkably good museum of the finds from the site. From Apollonia, the road goes south to Berat. You know the famous photograph, the Ottoman houses stacked up the hillside, every window reflecting the one below it. The castle above is still inhabited. The Onufri Museum inside the castle walls holds a collection of 16th-century icons that no building this size should contain. Lunch is in Berat at a riverside restaurant. The afternoon is a walk through the old city before the drive home. This is a big day. It rewards you accordingly.
Airport Transfer, Tirana International Airport
Tirana
Private door-to-door transfer between Tirana International Airport (TIA) and your accommodation in the city. Your driver tracks your flight, meets you at arrivals with a name board, and handles your luggage. No waiting, no shared shuttles, no stress. Works both ways, we also do drop-offs for departing flights.
Private Intercity Transfers
Albania
Private transfers between Tirana and destinations across Albania and the region. One price covers the whole vehicle, standard car for up to 4 passengers, minivan for up to 7. Select your route and passenger count and the price updates automatically. All return journeys are the same price. We also cover cross-border routes to Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.