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🇦🇱Things to Do in Albania
From the Albanian Riviera's beaches to the UNESCO-listed old town of Berat - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.
Travel guide - last updated September 2026
Albania spent decades closed off under one of Europe's most isolated communist regimes, and only opened to real tourism in the 1990s - which means its Adriatic and Ionian coastline remains considerably less developed and less crowded than Croatia or Greece just across the water. Here are 6 places worth building a trip around.
Top attractions
The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.
Albanian Riviera
A stretch of Ionian coastline south of Vlore, with beach towns like Himare, Dhermi and Ksamil offering water comparable to Greece's Ionian islands at a fraction of the development and price.
📍 Himare, Dhermi & Ksamil, Albanian Riviera
🚉 Albania's railways barely function: furgon minibuses and coaches run the coast road from Sarande and Vlore to Himare and Dhermi, and the SH8 over the Llogara pass is the only route through.
Berat
Known as the 'City of a Thousand Windows' for the stacked Ottoman-era houses climbing its hillside, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a castle overlooking the whole town.
📍 Berat
🚉 Buses from Tirana's southern terminal take about two and a half hours to Berat, dropping you a 15-minute walk from the Mangalem quarter and the climb to the castle.
Butrint
An archaeological site layered with Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian ruins, set in a national park near the Greek border - a UNESCO World Heritage site considerably less visited than comparable ancient sites elsewhere in the Mediterranean.
📍 Saranda
🚉 Buses run from Sarande to Butrint every hour, taking 30 minutes along the lagoon road - the ancient city is a short walk from where they stop.
Tirana
Albania's colorful capital, where many communist-era apartment blocks have been repainted in bright colors as part of a deliberate post-communist rebranding effort, alongside the Bunk'Art museum inside a former nuclear bunker.
📍 Tirana
🚉 Tirana has no metro; city buses cover the ring roads, and the centre around Skanderbeg Square is walkable, with the Dajti Ekspres cable car climbing the mountain from the eastern suburbs.
Gjirokaster
A UNESCO-listed Ottoman-era hill town of stone houses with distinctive slate roofs, and the birthplace of former communist dictator Enver Hoxha.
📍 Gjirokaster
🚉 Buses from Tirana take about four hours and from Sarande one and a half; the stone town climbs steeply from the main road, so a taxi up to the castle saves the legs.
Lake Komani
A dramatic reservoir in northern Albania, crossed by a scenic ferry through steep mountain gorges, often compared to a smaller-scale Norwegian fjord.
📍 Koman, near Shkoder
🚉 The ferry is the attraction: a minibus from Shkoder reaches the Koman dam early each morning, and the boat then takes three hours up the flooded canyon to Fierze.
Mark Albania, get the stamp
In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.
Open MyPassportStoryPlanning questions
How many days do you need in Albania?
A week covers Tirana, Berat and a stretch of the Riviera well. Ten days lets you add Gjirokaster and Butrint in the south.
What's the best time to visit Albania?
May-June and September have warm weather without peak-July/August crowds and heat on the Riviera. Summer is hot and can be very busy at the more popular beach towns.
Is Albania good for a first-time visit?
Yes - it's increasingly well set up for tourism, particularly along the coast, and remains one of the more affordable countries in Europe to visit.
Do I need a visa to visit Albania?
Many nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the EU, can visit visa-free for short tourist stays; other nationalities need a visa arranged in advance. Check the official visa information for your nationality: punetejashtme.gov.al.
What are some things to do in Albania on a tight budget?
Albania's beaches (outside a few developed resort strips) are largely free, walking Berat's and Gjirokaster's old towns costs nothing, and it remains one of the cheapest countries in Europe for food and accommodation.
Can I rent a car in Albania, and what licence do I need?
Yes, and with the railways effectively gone, it is the most flexible way to travel. EU licences are valid as issued; other visitors need an International Driving Permit alongside the home licence. Minimum age is usually 21 with a credit card. Mountain roads such as the Llogara pass and the route to Theth are steep and narrow, urban driving is assertive, and unlit vehicles and livestock on rural roads make night driving a bad idea. A green card is needed for crossing into neighbouring countries. Official visitor information is published by the National Tourism Agency at albania.al.