Adventure · Durrës
Southern Albania in Five Days: Berat, Osumi, Gjirokastra and the Ionian
5 days / 4 nights · From €620 per person · Max 10 guests
About this trip
Two UNESCO towns, a canyon you walk through the middle of, the Blue Eye spring and two days on the coast — the whole south without doubling back on yourself.
Meeting point: Durrës, Volga Square — beside the Venetian tower, 07:00 on day one
Most southern Albania itineraries are a list of stops on the same road, driven twice. This one is a loop: inland through the mountains on the way down, back along the coast on the way up, so nothing is seen from the same direction twice.
It takes in both UNESCO towns — Berat, where a thousand Ottoman windows face the same hillside, and Gjirokastra, built out of the same grey stone as the mountain it stands on — and puts a canyon and a spring between them so the days do not all feel like museums.
The middle day is the one people remember
Day two is spent inside the Osumi canyons, walking and wading a river between walls that close to eight metres apart in places. Wetsuits and boots are provided. It is not technical, but it is not a stroll either, and it is the reason the group is capped at ten.
The last two days are on the Ionian, and deliberately unstructured: two bays, a fortress, and as little scheduling as we can get away with.
Your itinerary
Durrës to Berat, the town of a thousand windows
Inland through the Myzeqe plain and up to Berat by early afternoon. The Mangalem quarter, the castle that is still an inhabited neighbourhood, and the Onufri icon museum inside it. Night one in a restored Ottoman house.
The Osumi canyons
A full day in the river. Twenty-six kilometres of canyon, walls up to eighty metres high and eight metres apart at the narrowest point, waterfalls at the far end. Wetsuits, boots and helmets provided. Back in Berat for the second night.
South to Gjirokastra, the stone city
Over the Vjosa valley to Gjirokastra. The bazaar, the castle with its cold-war spy plane, and a tower house you can walk through room by room. Night three inside the old town.
The Blue Eye, Butrint and down to the sea
The Blue Eye spring early, before the coaches — fifty metres deep and nobody has reached the bottom. Then Butrint, where three empires left their buildings inside three hundred metres, and the first swim at Ksamil. Night four on the coast.
The Riviera, north with the light behind us
Porto Palermo fortress in the morning, a long lunch above Himara, and the Llogara pass in late afternoon light — driven north, so every viewpoint is on your side of the road. Back in Durrës by 21:30.
What's included
Included
- Four nights: two in Berat, one in Gjirokastra, one on the coast
- All transport, Durrës to Durrës
- Osumi canyon day with wetsuit, boots, helmet and mountain guide
- Four breakfasts and three dinners
- Entry to Berat castle, Gjirokastra castle, the Blue Eye and Butrint
- Licensed guide throughout
Not included
- International flights
- Lunches
- Travel and adventure-activity insurance
- Single-room supplement
- Gratuities
Frequently asked questions
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