Albania Tours
Highlights of Albania Individual Tour 2012
Highlights: 8 day tour
This individual itinerary introduces the highlights of a holiday in central and southern Albania and is ideal for the first-time visitor.
Price from: £1195 pp
Certainly one of the lasting memories you will have of a holiday to Albania will be of the stunning views, as you drive along the Albanian Riviera. From the Bay of Vlora, travel through the Pass of Llogora, where the landscape seems to dramatically change from Adriatic to Ionian. Where else can you visit an old fortress of Ali Pasha and a secret submarine base tunnelled into the cove by the Soviets?
This individual tour of Albania includes a private car, driver and English-speaking guide for the duration of your trip except for the free morning in Tirana on day 8. You can extend your holiday in Albania with a beach stay in one of the many small hotels located on the beach, south of Durres.
Price Includes:
Return flights in economy class with British Airways direct from London Gatwick. All airport taxes and security charges. Accommodation in three-star hotels on a half board basis (B = Breakfast, L = Lunch). Transfers and transportation throughout. Sightseeing with English-speaking guide. Entrance fees on sightseeing tours.
Notes:
Price per person when 2 people travelling: £1505
Price per person when 3-4 persons travelling: £1405
Price per person when 5-7 persons travelling: £1195
Single room supplement from £135
Price for sole traveller £2335
8 Day Itinerary
FLY TO TIRANA
Fly to Tirana, transfer to hotel for 2 nights.
TIRANA
Begin with a full day city tour. Tirana is located on the site of a Byzantine fortress and has been the capital of Albania since 1920. Included are visits to the Mosque of Ethem Bey, the Clock Tower, the National Musuem, National Art Gallery, Skanderbeg Square, The Martyr's Cemetery, Grand Park and various government buildings. (B,L)
TIRANA TO VLORA
Drive to Kruja. Visit the Skanderbeg Museum set inside the restored castle and wander around the old Turkish Bazaar, which has a wonderful selection of authentic antiques and souvenirs. Drive to Fieri via Ardenica Monastery and tour the Archaeological Centre of Appolonia. Continue to Vlora and stay overnight in a hotel on Vlora beach. (B,L)
VLORA TO SARANDA
Continue along the Albanian Riviera through the Llogara Pass with its stunning views of the Ionian coastline. En route, visit the fortress of Ali Pasha of Ioanina at Porto Palermo. Check-in to hotel in Saranda for 2 nights. (B,L)
SARANDA AND BUTRINTI
Morning visit to Albania's most important archaeological site, Butrinti, and in the afternoon, visit the remains of a monastery of the 40 Saints, from which the modern name of Saranda is derived. Rest of afternoon at leisure. (B,L)
GJIROKASTRA AND BERAT
Drive to the museum city of Gjirokastra, birthplace of the former iron-fisted dictator of Albania, Enver Hoxha. Gjirokastra is a strikingly picturesque town, perched on the side of a mountain above the Drino River. The tour includes the district museum, housed in the building in which Enver Hoxha was born and the pre-Ottoman citadel,a former political prison and now a weapons museum. Continue to Berat for an overnight stay. (B,L)
BERAT TO DURRES
A half day tour of Berat, Albania's second most important museum town and called 'the city of a thousand windows' for the many windows in its red-roofed houses. The tour includes the leaden Mosque, the King's Mosque, the Bachelor's Mosque and the Alveti Tekke, a smaller shrine where the Dervishes once practised. After lunch, drive to Durres for tour of the Roman Amphitheatre and the Archaeological Museum. Depending on your choice, you will either return to Tirana for the last night or stay in a hotel in Durres on the beach. We can add extra nights if you wish. (B,L)
FLY TO UK
Free morning in either Tirana or Durres before transfer to airport for flight back to the UK. (B)
