Highlights of Albania: Self-Launched 11-Day Loop from Tirana to Krujë

Land at Tirana International Airport (TIA) and take the official airport shuttle bus or Rinas Express to the city centre (~300-400 lek / £3, roughly 30-40 min). Check into a central guesthouse or budget hotel in the Blloku or Qendra district. Spend the late afternoon wandering Pazari i Ri (the New Bazaar) for produce and a cheap byrek, then visit the House of Leaves surveillance museum (~500 lek / £4.50) if time allows. Evening: eat at a traditional tavë restaurant in Blloku — try tavë kosi or fërgesë — and pick up a local SIM (One Albania or Vodafone, ~£10 for data).

🚌Airport shuttle bus to city centre ~£3; everything else on foot

🛏Guesthouse or family-run budget hotel in central Tirana, private double ~£30-40/night

• →Pazari i Ri open-air market
• →House of Leaves museum
• →Blloku neighbourhood evening stroll

Join a free (tip-based) walking tour of central Tirana — Skanderbeg Square, Et'hem Bey Mosque, the Pyramid and the colourful painted facades — most run at 10:00 and 17:00 and are bookable via GetYourGuide or just turn up. In the afternoon walk to Bunk'Art 2 in the city centre (entry ~500 lek / £4.50) for a gripping look at Albania's communist-era surveillance state, then take bus no. 11 or a short taxi to the Dajti Express cable car (return ~1,000-1,400 lek / £9-13) for mountain views and an easy ridge walk. Dinner back in Tirana; cook or eat cheap from the bazaar if you're budgeting.

🚌City bus to Dajti Express ~£0.40 each way; taxi ~£4

🛏Same Tirana guesthouse

• →Free walking tour of Tirana (tip ~£5)
• →Bunk'Art 2 nuclear bunker museum
• →Dajti Express cable car and Mount Dajti walk

Take a morning bus or shared furgon from Tirana's regional bus terminal to Pogradec on Lake Ohrid (~3 hours, ~700-1,000 lek / £6-9). On the way, or as a stop, visit Elbasan Fortress and the Bektashi World Centre near Elbasan — most travellers break the journey or take a short detour; alternatively visit Elbasan on a separate morning bus and continue onwards. Settle into a lakeside guesthouse in Pogradec, then swim off the concrete beaches and walk the Drilon National Park springs area (~2 km south) for a peaceful afternoon. Dinner of Ohrid trout (koran) at a lakeside restaurant ~£10.

🚌Bus/furgon Tirana-Pogradec ~£7-9 (3 hrs); local walks and taxis

🛏Lakeside guesthouse or small hotel in Pogradec, private double ~£25-35/night

• →Elbasan Fortress (en route)
• →Bektashi World Centre
• →Swim in Lake Ohrid
• →Drilon National Park walk

Morning bus or furgon to Korça (~2 hours, ~500 lek / £4.50). If you want to see Voskopoja's painted churches, hire a taxi for the return trip (~£25-35 for the half-day) or check locally for a shared minibus — the Church of St Athanasius and the village setting are the highlight. Back in Korça, join a short walking tour or self-guide through the Resurrection Cathedral, the Old Bazaar and the Museum of Medieval Art (~400 lek / £3.50 — a real hidden gem). Evening: try baked raki at a local pub and, in season, catch the serenading tradition in the old quarter.

🚌Bus Pogradec-Korça ~£4.50; taxi to Voskopoja return ~£30 (split if possible)

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Korça, private double ~£25-35/night

• →Voskopoja painted churches
• →Korça Old Bazaar and Resurrection Cathedral
• →Museum of Medieval Art
• →Baked raki tasting

This is the big scenic transfer day: buses run Korça-Gjirokastër via Ersekë and Përmet (furgon to Ersekë, then onward connections — roughly 5-6 hours total, ~£12-15) or take the daily direct bus if it's running; check at the bus station the day before. The route crosses the Barmash Pass and follows the Vjosa River through the Kelcyra Gorge — sit on the right for the best views. Alternatively, a group of four can split a private transfer (~£90-110 total) for much more comfort and photo stops. Arrive in Gjirokastër's UNESCO old town by evening, check into a stone-house guesthouse and eat at a local tavern (~£10).

🚌Local buses/furgons Korça-Ersekë-Përmet-Gjirokastër ~£12-15; or shared private transfer ~£25pp if split four ways

🛏Stone-house guesthouse in Gjirokastër old town, private double ~£28-38/night

• →Barmash Pass and Kelcyra Gorge scenery
• →Vjosa River valley
• →Gjirokastër old town evening wander

Morning at Gjirokastër Castle including the weapons museum (~400 lek / £3.50) — the views over the Drino valley are superb. Walk down through the Palorto district to the Ethnographic Museum in the restored Skenduli or Zekate House (~300-400 lek each) for a sense of Ottoman-era life. In the afternoon, arrange a taxi or local driver to Dhoksat village (~25 min, ~£20-25 return) where several families host visitors for home-cooked lunches with homemade wine and honey tasting — book through your guesthouse the night before; expect ~£15-20 per person for a generous farm lunch. Back in town, browse the old bazaar.

🚌Taxi to Dhoksat village return ~£22

🛏Same Gjirokastër guesthouse

• →Gjirokastër Castle and weapons museum
• →Ethnographic Museum / Skenduli House
• →Family farm lunch in Dhoksat village
• →Honey and wine tasting

Hire a taxi for the day (~£45-55 for 4-5 hours, split with travel mates) or use the local bus to Saranda (~£4, 1.5 hrs) plus taxis to the sights. Start at Syri i Kaltër (the Blue Eye) — entry ~50-200 lek, a stunning karst spring with a short boardwalk loop — then continue to Butrint National Park (entry ~1,000 lek / £9) for 2-3 hours among the Roman theatre, baptistery, basilica and thermal baths in a beautiful lakeside forest. Finish in Saranda: check into a guesthouse a few minutes from the seafront, walk the promenade at sunset and eat seafood at a local taverna (~£12).

🚌Taxi day hire ~£50 (split) or bus Gjirokastër-Saranda ~£4 plus local taxis

🛏Guesthouse or small hotel in Saranda, private double ~£30-40/night (higher in August)

• →Syri i Kaltër (Blue Eye spring)
• →Butrint archaeological site (UNESCO)
• →Saranda seaside promenade

Take a morning bus or furgon from Saranda up the coast to Himara (~1.5 hrs, ~£3), stopping for a swim at Himara beach and a wander in the old town. Continue to Porto Palermo to see Ali Pasha's fortress (~£2 entry) and the spectacular Palermo Bay. From Himara or Dhërmi catch a bus towards Vlorë and get off at Llogara Pass (~£4-5) — guesthouses and small hotels sit right by the trailheads. In the afternoon hike Caesar's Trail (~4 km, 1.5-2 hrs, marked and free) or take an easier forest walk; the views over the Ionian are the best in Albania.

🚌Coastal buses/furgons Saranda-Himara-Llogara ~£8-10 total

🛏Mountain guesthouse or small hotel near Llogara Pass, private double ~£28-40/night

• →Himara beach and old town
• →Porto Palermo / Ali Pasha Fortress
• →Caesar's Trail hike in Llogara National Park

Catch the morning bus down to Vlorë (~1 hr, ~£3) and spend an hour or two at Flag Square and the Muradi Mosque before taking a local bus to the Apollonia archaeological park near Fier (~45 min, ~£2.50; entry ~400 lek / £3.50) — a wonderfully quiet Greek-Roman site with a Byzantine monastery. From Fier, catch a bus or furgon to Berat (~1.5 hrs, ~£3). Arrive in the 'city of a thousand windows' in the late afternoon, check into a guesthouse inside or below the castle, and finish with a glass of Berat's native Pulëz or Debinë wine (~£6).

🚌Buses Llogara-Vlorë-Fier-Apollonia-Berat ~£9-10 total

🛏Guesthouse in Berat old town, private double ~£28-38/night

• →Flag Square and Muradi Mosque, Vlorë
• →Apollonia archaeological park
• →Berat old town evening

Spend the morning walking up into Berat Fortress — the Church of St Mary (Onufri Icon Museum, entry ~400 lek / £3.50) has one of the finest icon collections in the Balkans, and the Red Mosque and the Mangalem/Gorica quarters below are endlessly photogenic. Grab a byrek lunch (~£2) then take a bus or furgon from Berat to Tirana (~2.5 hrs, ~£5) and connect onward to Krujë (~1 hr, ~£2) — or take a direct minibus if one is running; ask at the bus station. Check into a guesthouse in Krujë's old bazaar street (~£25-35) and enjoy a farewell dinner of roast lamb or tavë (~£10).

🚌Bus Berat-Tirana ~£5, Tirana-Krujë ~£2

🛏Guesthouse in Krujë old town, private double ~£25-35/night

• →Berat Fortress walking tour (self-guided)
• →Onufri Icon Museum, Church of St Mary
• →Red Mosque
• →Krujë bazaar evening

Get up early to visit Kruja Castle and the Skanderbeg Museum (entry ~400 lek / £3.50) and the Ethnographic Museum before the tour buses arrive — the views down to the coast are excellent. Browse the bazaar for souvenirs (carpets, copper, raki) and grab a coffee. Then take the local bus back to Tirana (~£2, 1 hr) or a direct taxi to the airport (~£20-25), with time to spare for flights out of TIA.

🚌Bus Krujë-Tirana ~£2, or taxi Krujë-TIA ~£22

🛏None (departure day)

• →Kruja Castle and Skanderbeg Museum
• →Krujë Ethnographic Museum
• →Old bazaar souvenir shopping