Ten days on this coast is not seven days with more swimming. The coastal spine runs Palasë down to Ksamil, three bases, no repeated legs. It already fits inside a week, and it is written out day by day in the 7-day Riviera route. What ten days buys is three days of something the SH8 cannot reach: the Drino valley, the inhabited castle at Berat, the thermal river at Benjë, and the far-south coves that sit below the road between Borsh and Saranda. Which three you take changes the shape of the whole trip, because two of them are one-way and one is a loop.
Where the three extra days actually go
| Extension | Days needed | Distance from Himara | Fits as | One-way or return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gjirokastër + Drino valley sites | 1–2 | ~100 km, 2–3h | Insert between the Himara and Saranda halves | Either |
| Berat | 2 | 150 km, 3–3h 30m | Front of the trip, before the coast | One-way, strongly |
| Përmet, Benjë and the Vjosa | 2–3 | ~130 km via Tepelenë | After the coast, exiting north | One-way |
| Lukovë, Sasaj and the Kakome coves | 1 | 25–45 km south | Slots into the Himara→Saranda transfer | Return |
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Extension one: Gjirokastër and the valley behind it
Gjirokastër is the UNESCO stone city in the Drino valley, and it is the only inland extension that works as either a long day or an overnight. From Himara it is about 100 km and two to three hours, with one direct bus a day at 12.50€; from Saranda it is 1h 45m–2h at roughly 400–500 ALL, running about three times daily in high season. Castle entry is 400 lek cash, with a further 200 lek for the museum inside, and euros are taken at the gate while cards are not (current visitor reports).
The reason to give it two days rather than one is what sits around it. Antigonea is an open-air hilltop archaeological park about 14 km out above the valley, accessible in daylight hours with no gate. Hadrianopolis, a Roman theatre near Sofratikë, is 14 km south of the town and likewise an open site. Both are exposed ridges best walked in the cooler hours. Neither is on any coastal itinerary, and neither takes more than a couple of hours, which is exactly why they pair.
If you are already coming south through Saranda, the Blue Eye sits on the same inland road and costs 50 lek to enter. Fold it into the drive rather than spending a coastal day on it.
Extension two: Berat, which only makes sense one-way
Berat is the northernmost place this guide covers, and the arithmetic is unforgiving: 150 km from Himara, three to three and a half hours each way, castle entry 700 ALL and the Onufri Museum a further 400 ALL. A same-day return spends six to seven hours in the car for about five on the ground.
The fix is to stop treating it as a day trip. Berat is a start point, not a detour. Fly into Tirana, take the frequent morning bus for around 500 ALL in about 1h 45m, sleep two nights under the inhabited castle and the Mangalem and Gorica quarters, then come south. Berat to Saranda is a direct run of roughly 209 km and four hours, about 14€, with around three departures daily, the first near 08:00 and the last near 13:15. That single move replaces a wasted return leg with a transfer you were going to make anyway.
Extension three: the Vjosa, the hot river and Përmet
This is the extension that feels least like Albania's coast and is the hardest to justify on seven days. From Himara it is roughly 130 km inland: about 80 km and 1.5 to 2 hours to Tepelenë, then 50 km and 45 minutes to an hour north along the Vjosa to the springs. The hardest 30 km is the climb off the coast into the Drino valley: switchbacks and steep drops, though the surface is good and guardrails are in place.
What you get at the end is the Benjë thermal baths: hot sulphur water rising at 30–32°C into pools beside the Lengarica River, under a two-century-old single-arch Ottoman bridge, with the Langarica canyon running about 7 km behind them under 150 m walls. Nothing is charged for access and nobody collects at the road. Weekdays are markedly quieter than summer weekends, when families drive up from Përmet, Gjirokastër and Tirana.
Përmet itself, 7 km past the baths, is the base: the Vjosa is Europe's last large free-flowing river and rafting runs from town, and the local spoon sweets sell in jars along the main road for 300–500 ALL. Two days is the minimum that makes the drive worth making; the Përmet guide sets out the rafting seasons.
The far-south coves a seven-day route drives straight past
Between Borsh and Saranda the SH8 runs above a stretch of shoreline that almost nobody stops for, because the beaches are below the road and mostly unsigned. One extra day here is the cheapest of the four extensions.
- Lukovë. About 1.5 km of pebble and fine shingle reached by an unpaved road down from the SH8, free parking within walking distance, shallow calm water, seasonal sunbed sets around €5–10, showers and changing cabins, no lifeguards.
- Sasaj. In the Piqeras area, one of the last genuinely undeveloped beaches on the coast. No organised sunbeds, no reliable amenities; bring water, shade and water shoes. The Saranda–Himara–Vlora buses run the SH8 above it but stop on the highway, not at the shore.
- Krorëza. No road access at all. Either a boat from Saranda, 30–40 minutes, on day tours running roughly €25–48 per person, or a 5 km coastal hike from Lukovë taking 1.5 to 2 hours.
- Kakome Bay. About 12 km north of Saranda by road, but the approach road has a security gate and the shore is private property, so in practice it is a boat stop. Day boats from the Saranda promenade anchor there through the summer.
Two of those four are boat-only, which means the extra day is best spent as a Saranda departure rather than a drive. It reaches water that the Himara boat itineraries never turn south far enough to see.
Putting ten days in an order that never doubles back
The strongest ten-day shape runs Tirana → Berat → the coast → Saranda, with one inland day inserted mid-trip:
- Days 1–2, Berat. Arrive from Tirana, 1h 45m, ~500 ALL.
- Days 3–7, the coastal spine. Berat to the Riviera, then the Palasë-to-Himara-to-Saranda sequence exactly as the seven-day route sets it out: Llogara, the northern beaches, the Himara boat day, the Porto Palermo and Borsh run.
- Day 8, Gjirokastër. From Saranda, 1h 45m–2h, ~400–500 ALL, with the Blue Eye on the way in.
- Day 9, the far-south coves. A Saranda boat to Kakome and Krorëza, or a car run to Lukovë and Sasaj.
- Day 10, Butrint and Ksamil, then out. Butrint is 18 km from Saranda with buses roughly every 30 minutes at 150–250 ALL; Ksamil is 14 km and 100 ALL further.
Swap Berat for Përmet if rivers interest you more than Ottoman towns. Do not take both on ten days. Berat sits north-west of the coast and Përmet north-east, and putting both in forces a long inland traverse that eats the day you were trying to buy.
What the inland days cost
| Item | Published price |
|---|---|
| Tirana → Berat bus | ~500 ALL (~5€) |
| Berat Castle | 700 ALL |
| Onufri Museum, Berat | 400 ALL |
| Berat → Saranda bus | ~14€ |
| Saranda → Gjirokastër bus | ~400–500 ALL |
| Himara → Gjirokastër direct bus | 12.50€, one per day |
| Gjirokastër Castle + museum | 400 + 200 lek, cash |
| Benjë thermal baths | Free, no gate |
| Saranda boat day to the southern coves | ~€25–48 per person |
The inland extensions are, per day, the cheapest part of a ten-day trip: two of the four headline sites have no entrance fee at all, and the most expensive ticket on the list is Berat Castle at 700 ALL. What they cost is driving time, which is why the ordering above matters more than the budget.
FAQ
Is 10 days too long for the Albanian Riviera?
For the coast alone, yes. The Vlora-to-Ksamil shoreline is comfortably covered in seven days with two base changes. Ten days works when three of them go inland or to the boat-only coves south of Borsh, which is what this plan does.
Can I do Berat and Gjirokastër on the same trip?
Yes, but not as day trips from the coast. Berat is 150 km from Himara and Gjirokastër 100 km. Take Berat at the start, travelling down from Tirana, and Gjirokastër from Saranda at the other end, which turns two long returns into two transfers.
Do I need a car for a 10-day Albanian Riviera trip?
Not for the inland legs. Tirana to Berat, Berat to Saranda, Saranda to Gjirokastër and Himara to Gjirokastër all have scheduled buses with published fares. A car mainly buys you the unsigned far-south beaches like Sasaj and Lukovë, where the buses stop on the highway above the shore.
What is the best month for a 10-day itinerary?
June and September. The inland extensions are uncomfortable in July and August heat: Gjirokastër's exposed hilltop sites, the Langarica canyon, the Berat castle climb. The coastal half prices lower outside the mid-July to late-August peak.
