The 17 Most Stunning Beaches in Albania
![A beach near Lukova in Vlora county, on the Albanian Riviera](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/20x11/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pxrb43-1.webp)
From sandy lagoons and unspoilt sands to the glories of the Albanian Riviera, here is Culture Trip’s selection of the most stunning beaches in Albania.
Albania’s southern coastline is a photogenic corner of the country: a place of hamlets woven with cobblestoned streets and small Orthodox churches speckling the terrain. Inland there’s more in store – peaceful natural springs near Saranda, lake shores near the Macedonian border. Most importantly, beautiful beaches are in no short supply, rivalling nearby Greece with their white purity and transparent Adriatic shallows, where you can holiday for half the price.
1. Himara
Natural Feature
![Potami Beach, Himara, South coast, Albania, Europe](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/rrgb1c.webp)
This might just be Albania’s best-loved beach town, a gash of tropical blue glimpsed as you crest the dramatic Llogara Pass and see it spread below. It’s certainly one of the most frequented beauty spots along the Albanian Riviera, but despite that it hasn’t lost its charm. There are several corkingly lovely stretches near the town, among them Livadhi, a bay of fine white pebbles edged by olive trees; and Potami, attractively spread between the sea and a river.
2. Borsh
Natural Feature
![Vie on the Borsh Beach in Albania. Stony beach on the Adriatic Sea. Mountain in the background.](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pxptp8.webp)
3. Saranda
Natural Feature
![Aerial view of Saranda, Albania](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2a0hkp8.webp)
Pop to Saranda en route to our island-hopping Greek odyssey, starting off in Athens and finishing in Santorini.
4. Vlora
Natural Feature
![Small sandy beach, coast south of Lukova, Albanian Riviera, Qark Vlora, Albania](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pef5t0.webp)
The city of Vlora, the third largest in Albania, commands a bay where the Ionian Sea merges with the Adriatic. A town of historic merit, where independence was forged, it’s your gateway to some of the country’s finest untouched beaches. From Vlora port, with Teuta Boat Tours, you can hit the unspoiled bays of Karaburun and Sazan, but if you’d rather go it alone, drive in a southerly direction and flop on the shores of Radhime or Orikum. Both are textbook examples of Albanian coast, radiating brilliance in toothpaste-white-and-blue.
5. Ksamil
Natural Feature
![Albania, panorama view of Ksamil Beach, Albanian Riviera](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/kgr87n-1.webp)
6. Gjipe
Natural Feature
![Strand Gjipe Beach an der albanischen Riviera bei Himara, Albanien, Europa | Gjipe Beach on the Albanian Riviera near Himara, Albania, Europe](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/r0bftm-1.webp)
7. Drymades
Natural Feature
![Drymades beach, Albania. Summer Ionian sea coast view. People are unrecognizable.](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/hee9ht.webp)
8. Dhërmi
Natural Feature
![Dhermi, Albania, view over the beach](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/p20e1k-1.webp)
9. Insifa
Natural Feature
![Straw Umbrellas on the beach, Albania](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/victor-kravchenko-oajgpgh7yje-unsplash.webp)
If you’re exploring the Cape of Rodon and Dhermi, one of the best places to go swimming in the vicinity is the Insifa Beach. It stands out with its wooden beach cabanas and its excellent restaurant where you’ll dine on delicious fresh seafood (the seafood spaghetti comes highly recommended).
Recommended by Feride Yalav
10. Narta, Zvernec
Bridge, Monastery, Natural Feature
![Sandy beach panorama (Vlore, Albania).. Image shot 03/2018. Exact date unknown.](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/phjmxf.webp)
11. Syri I Kalter
Natural Feature
![The Blue Eye of Kapre, Syri i Kalter i Kaprese, a blue river pool. Theth, Thethi, Albania.](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/f307bb.webp)
Technically Syri I Kalter is not a beach, but a natural spring – the name translates literally as “blue eye”. But that’s not important. This gorgeous, seemingly fathomless spot is the perfect place for an intimate, untroubled swim, in one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the country. It is located along the road between Saranda and Gjirokaster and – believe us – you’ll kick yourself if you don’t stop, only to be teased by postcard images of this amazing natural phenomenon later.
12. Pogradec
Natural Feature
![Colorful boats on the beach at the lake of Ohrid with cloudy sky, Albania.](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/jabgjb-1.webp)
13. Spille
Natural Feature
![Aerial view to beach of Durres, Albania, full of umbrellas and people in summer.](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/t6kr1y.webp)
Lying just south of the port city of Durrës, this 8km (5mi)-long stretch of sand has room for everyone. Most people don’t venture much further than the blocks of sun loungers and parasols closest to the little village centre of Spille, but push along a little bit to the north or south and you’ll quickly find the crowds thin – which makes staking out your own semi-private patch in the sand easy. There are restaurants and cafes strung all the way along, too, so you won’t need to go far for a snack or mid-afternoon espresso.
14. Shengjin
Natural Feature
![Gazebos On Shengjin Beach](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/wr55py.webp)
The trick to getting the most out of this part of Albania’s popular northern coast is to come towards the end of the shoulder season. In late May and early June, the beach of this resort town is a wide, empty swathe of dusty-blonde sand, sloping gently into a shallow, rippling sea. There are plenty of sun loungers about, and you can nab one for around £1, but they’re not packed onto every available square inch of sand, as you’ll find they are in peak summer.
15. Qeparo
Natural Feature
![Village of Qeparo at Ionian Sea coast near Saranda (Sarande), Albanian Riviera, Albania](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/fbcbhh-1.webp)
In the quieter southern end of Albania, this beach is a bit of a hidden treat, with smooth, bone-white shingle sloping into mirror-smooth water with dramatic mountainous views in either direction. It’s rather like having a slice of the Amalfi Coast, but for half the price. It’s both smaller and less accessible than neighbouring Borsh beach, which actually works to its benefit – you’ll be left alone to relax amid the gentle frothing sound of waves rolling up the pebbles, and the music playing in the beachfront apartments behind you.
16. Karpen
Natural Feature
![Reed-covered parasols on the gravel beach, Ionian Sea,](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pckh2c.webp)
It’s like the Seychelles meets the Med here, where palm trees planted in the golden sand shade rows of sun loungers, and a walkway on stilts snakes out across the water to a tiny island and restaurant. It’s a 35-minute drive south from Durrës, and most sun-seekers looking for a beach will have pulled off at Durrës or Golemit, so it’s usually pretty quiet, even in peak season. And if you can’t get to stretch out on one of those rentable recliners, there’s still plenty of beach to go around.
17. Llamani
Natural Feature
![A beach is pictured in Llaman near the city of Vlore](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2cym942.webp)
Wedged into a gap in the hills between Himarë and Porto Palermo is this small but perfectly formed beach: a must-stop at the southern end of the coastline. The water is so clear it feels as if you’re looking through a magnifying glass as the shallows idly lap the fine shingle. In peak season, tiki parasols shade rows of sun lounges laid out on the central swathe of beach, while there’s space at either end to lay your towel down if you don’t fancy forking out the small fee.
Alex Allen contributed additional reporting to this article.