Albania · Ionian coast
The Albanian Riviera from Corfu
Seven nights from Corfu — Ksamil, Porto Palermo and Himarë, on the emptiest coast left in the Mediterranean.
7 nights · Round trip from Corfu
Twenty miles from Corfu there is a coast almost nobody charters, and the reason is history rather than geography: Albania was closed for forty-five years and the tourism that filled the rest of the Mediterranean simply did not happen here. It is opening now, and the window in which it is both accessible and empty will not last.
The route, day by day
Day 1
Corfu
Board and run south down the east coast, clearing out of Greece at Corfu town or Gouvia. The crossing itself is short — the paperwork is the part that takes the morning.
Day 2
Ksamil
Four small islands in shallow turquoise water, close enough to swim between. Butrint is twenty minutes inland: a Greek, Roman, Venetian and Ottoman city stacked on one site, and a UNESCO listing.
Day 3
Porto Palermo
A near-enclosed bay with an Ali Pasha fortress on a spit in the middle of it, and a Cold War submarine tunnel cut into the rock on one side.
Day 4
Himarë
The Riviera proper: Livadhi and Gjipe beaches, the latter at the mouth of a canyon and reachable only by boat or on a long walk down.
Day 5
Dhërmi
White pebble, clear water, and the Llogara pass climbing a thousand metres behind the beach. The most dramatic backdrop on this coast.
Day 6
Ksamil
Back south with time for Butrint if it was skipped, then clearing back into Greece before the light goes.
Day 7
Corfu
North up the Corfu channel with a last anchorage at Agni or Kalami on the Greek side.
Worth knowing
- No yacht is based in Albania: the coast is sailed from the Greek boats or a positioned yacht
- It is a border crossing in both directions — passports aboard, and it costs part of a day each way
- Marinas are few and new: most nights are at anchor, which here is the point rather than a compromise
- Corfu airport is the practical arrival for both ends of the week
- The coast is emptying-out season by season as it opens; June and September are still close to deserted
Where this route goes
Yachts that sail this route
Itineraries
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