Everything here is uphill on the way back

The house is 1.7 km south of Himarë town on the coast road, and then up. Sixty metres of it, most of them in the last few hundred metres of track.

—From the town

The way up

From Spile and the promenade, take the coast road south. It runs past Maraçi and Prinos, drops to Potami, and then starts to climb the headland. Where the road forks above Potami, keep left and up — the concrete lane switches back twice and the house is on the seaward side of it, white with a red roof and balconies on two faces.

Walking it from the centre is a little over 1.7 km, and the climb is entirely in the last part of it. In August, with a pack, in the afternoon, this is the hardest thing you will do all day. Go up in the morning or at dusk if you have the choice, and carry water.

Intercity buses along the Riviera stop on the national road in Himarë. From there it is the same walk, or a short taxi as far as a taxi is willing to go.

Open the pin in Google Maps

Aerial view at dusk of a narrow concrete road switching back up a hillside past stone houses and olive terraces — The last of the road, at dusk. It arrives by switchback and it arrives steeply.

—If you drive

There is no parking

A rough limestone track cut into a hillside with scrub on both sides and a flock of sheep coming down it in the distance — The track above the house. It is shared, and not always with cars.

The listing carries no parking, and the lane up is narrow, steep and shared with everyone else who lives on this slope. Most guests leave the car down at Potami or in town and walk the last stretch. If you are arriving with a vehicle, say so when you book rather than after you have committed to the hill.

The track above the house is unsurfaced limestone and is used by more than cars. Sheep have right of way; so does anyone coming down.

—From the door

What is within walking distance

Filikuri
370 m
The cove directly below the house — white limestone, a short pebble strip, no road in and no bar on it.
Potami Beach
620 m
The nearest beach you can simply walk onto: shingle, loungers, a bar, and the last stretch of road before the hill starts climbing.
Prinos Beach
980 m
A small stony bay on the way into town, quieter than Spile and rarely full.
Spile and Himarë town
1.7 km
The town beach, the promenade, the supermarkets and the bus stops on the national road. Downhill going, uphill coming back.

Distances are straight-line from the property, so the road version of each is longer — and in the case of Filikuri there is no road version at all.

A white two-storey house with a red tiled roof and balconies, standing on a stone-walled terrace among olive trees on a dry hillside — The house from above: two storeys, red tile, balconies front and side, stone terracing under it.

—On arrival

Six things to have straight

There is no parking. Leave the car in town and walk up, or arrange it with the property first.
Payment is cash on arrival — no card machine.
Breakfast is cooked to order and charged separately. It is not in the bed rate.
Bunks only. Every room is a mixed dormitory and every bed is sold on its own.
No pets, no cots, no extra beds.
No parties, and no hen or stag groups.

What you get when you arrive