Albania itineraries: 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 weeks

Pick the length by how many bases you are willing to move between, not by how many places you want to see. Each transfer between southern towns costs roughly half a day once you count waiting for the furgon and finding your room.

This is the route most first-time visitors should take. It runs one way, so you never repeat a bus leg, and it ends at a ferry port if you want to continue to Corfu.

Day 1–2, Tirana: Skanderbeg Square, Blloku in the evening, and Bunk'Art 1 combined with the Dajti cable car in one morning. Day 3, bus to Berat (about 2.5 hours, 2026 estimate) and sleep inside the castle quarter for the evening light. Day 4, bus on to Gjirokastër, roughly 4–5 hours with a change, and take the castle and bazaar the next morning. Day 6, bus to Sarandë (about 1.5 hours) for Butrint and Ksamil. Day 7, ferry to Corfu or bus back to Tirana.

If you have only five days, cut Berat and go Tirana → Gjirokastër → Sarandë. If you have seven days and no interest in ruins, swap Sarandë for Himarë and spend the last three nights on pebble coves instead.

Two weeks is enough to add the Albanian Alps, which most one-week trips have to skip. The northern section only works from June to September, when the Koman lake ferry and the Valbona–Theth pass are running.

Start in Shkodër (1 night) for Rozafa castle, then take the Koman lake boat and a minibus to Valbona (1 night). Walk the Valbona–Theth pass the next day, about 6–8 hours, and stay 2 nights in Theth. Return to Tirana for 2 nights, then repeat the southern route: Berat 2, Gjirokastër 2, and 4 nights split between Himarë and Ksamil.

The weak point is the transfer from Theth back to Tirana, which eats most of a day. If the weather turns, skip the pass and go back via Shkodër instead of waiting it out.

Three weeks lets you add the east and the north coast without cutting the south short. Take the 14-day route and insert Korçë and Pogradec between Gjirokastër and the Riviera, or run the country clockwise: Tirana, Shkodër, the Alps, back through Tirana, then east to Korçë, south to Gjirokastër, and out along the coast to Vlorë.

Korçë is a cool highland town worth a night for the beer and the old bazaar; Pogradec on Lake Ohrid is a two-night stop if you want swimming and a slower pace. On the coast, give Himarë or Ksamil three or four nights rather than one, because the best days here are the ones with nothing planned.

Three weeks also makes off-season travel realistic. In April, October or November, drop the Alps entirely and spend the extra days in Berat, Gjirokastër and Korçë, where the weather is still workable.

Distances in Albania are short but driving times are long. Mountain roads are slow, and the coast road over the Llogara pass is winding; only drive it if you are comfortable with that. Buses and furgons cover the main routes and are cheap, but they rarely run to a published timetable, so plan on leaving in the morning.

Summer on the coast means high prices and full rooms in Sarandë, Ksamil and Himarë; book ahead for July and August. Spring and autumn are better for the towns and for walking. Carry some cash, since smaller guesthouses and furgon drivers may not take cards.

Check your entry rules and your travel insurance before fixing dates, and keep one buffer day before an international flight.