Highlights of Albania Group Tour

Arrive in Tirana, meet the local guide and group in the arrivals hall and transfer to the charming UNESCO listed town of Berat. En-route, stop in one of Albania's top wineries for a wine tasting session and some paired snacks. Spend the afternoon exploring the lower quarters of Berat passing by splendid Ottoman era architecture, Byzantine churches and elegant mosques. Get to know your group over a welcome dinner this evening. (wine tasting/snacks, D)

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Continue the exploration of Berat and its Upper Quarter this morning. Visit the Kalaja Fortress, the icon museum and the ethnographic museum. Several of Berat’s Orthodox churches have frescoes by the celebrated painter Onufri. Move on to the coast to visit the Island of Zvernec, connected to the mainland by wooden foot bridge and home to a Bynzantine Monastery. Next pass through the coastal city of Vlore before reaching the beautiful Albanian Riviera and the Llogara National Park. Enjoy dramatic views of the coast below as you drive up above the clouds and over the Llogara Pass and on to Llogara National Park for a leisurely walk. Stop to taste delicious locally produced yoghurt and honey before reaching the picturesque Castle of Porto Palermo, built by Ali Pasha of Ioannina in the early 19th Century. The final destination of the day is the coastal city of Saranda for dinner and overnight. (B,D)

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Today head to the far south-west corner of the country and perhaps its most famous tourist attraction, the archaeological site of Butrint. Prospering under Ancient Greek and Roman rule, and abandoned after the Byzantines, the settlement has seen a lot in its 2,500 year history. The site is set within an area of National Park, making the experience of visiting all the more pleasurable. Enjoy some free time in the scenic coastal resort of Ksamil, before heading on to Gjirokaster via the calming and hypnotic blue waters of the Blue Eye Spring. Enjoy another group dinner this evening in Gjirokaster. (B,D)

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Spend the day in Gjirokaster and its surrounds, visiting ‘Labova of the Cross Church’. The Church is one of the oldest in Albania and once contained a relic believed to be part of the true cross of Christ. Get a real taste of Albanian hospitality during lunch with a local family in the village before returning to Gjirokaster for a walking tour. Known by many as the ‘City of Stone’, Gjirokaster comprises hundreds of Ottoman-style tower houses with distinctive stone roofs, wooden balconies and whitewashed stone walls. A walk around the network of cobbled streets will transport you back in time. Visit the vast 13th-century Castle to bring the adventurous tales of medieval rulers and communist atrocities alive. Stop off for a coffee in the best preserved house in town, the House of Skenduli. (B,L,D)

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Travel north from Gjirokaster back towards Tirana, stopping at the ancient site of Apollonia. Explore the remains of this important Greek and Roman city, including its theatre and monastery, before continuing to the Adriatic coast and the historic port city of Durres. Here, visit the historic centre and Roman amphitheatre, one of the largest in the Balkans, before ending the day in the thriving capital of Tirana for dinner and a 3 night stay. (B,L,D)

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Located on the site of a Byzantine fortress, Tirana has been the capital of Albania since 1920. Spend time exploring with your guide, beginning in Skanderbeg Square, the centre of the city. Visit the 18th-century Et’hem Bey Mosque, noted for its colourful frescoes and Ottoman architecture, before continuing to Bunk’Art 2, a former underground bunker now housing exhibitions on Albania’s communist period. There will also be time to explore the surrounding streets and see some of Tirana’s mixture of historic buildings, modern architecture and lively cafés. (B,D)

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Leave Tirana and travel north to Kruja, a hilltop town steeped in history and heroism. Begin with a city tour, visiting the restored castle and citadel- once a key stronghold in the resistance led by Albania’s national hero, Skanderbeg. Explore the Skanderbeg Museum, which brings the story of the Ottoman resistance to life, before visiting the Ethnographic Museum, housed in an elegant Ottoman-era building. There’s time to stroll through Kruja’s atmospheric Old Bazaar, known for its colourful stalls selling local crafts and souvenirs. Return to Tirana in the afternoon for a farewell dinner. (B,L,D)

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After breakfast transfer to the airport for the return flight. (B)