7-Day Albania Highlights Tour with UNESCO Sites and Riviera Drive

• Get picked up at Tirana airport and transfer to the hotel.

• Time permitting, visit the National Historical Museum in Tirana, offering an in-depth introduction to Albanian history from prehistoric times to the present day. Traditional Albanian restaurant suggestions for dinner will be given.

Overnight in Tirana.

• Drive to Shkodra, the most important town of northern Albania and the Illyrian capital in the 3rd century BC.

• Visit Rozafa Castle, from where spectacular views all around can be admired. Experience the supremacy the Illyrians would have felt over their enemies while standing in such an imposing castle. Take a walk in the newly renovated pedestrian area of Italian and Austrian architecture, a testimony to this town's historic links with both countries.

• See the famous Viennese mask factory located near the city of Shkodra. The Venetian masks made in Shkodra are all crafted by hand. They combine traditional techniques with contemporary decoration. The masks have intricate details, bright colours, fancy feathers, gold leaf, and crystals that make them unique pieces of art. They are exported all over the world.

• Proceed to Kruja, the centre of Albanian resistance against the Turks under our national hero Scanderbeg. He kept them from crossing into Western Europe for 25 years, thus earning the title "Champion of Christ" given by the Pope of the time.

• Visit the Skanderbeg Museum, a vibrant Ethnographic Museum, and the Old Bazaar, where the best handmade souvenirs can be purchased.

Return and overnight in Tirana.

• Depart for Vlora, where Albanian Independence was proclaimed.

• On the way, stop at the Monastery of Ardenica, believed to have been built in the Middle Ages, as argued by a stone at the entrance dating back to 1417. In fact, it is said that Scanderbeg was married in the small chapel of Ardenica. Today, inside the church, you can admire icon paintings from 1743-1745 by Albanian artists such as Konstandin and Athanos Zografi, as well as Konstandin Shpataraku.

• Proceed to the ancient city of Apollonia, situated on the famous Via Egnatia, one of the most important cities in Roman times. Due to its fame and importance, it was known as Apollonia Prima, one of 16 ancient cities built to honour Apollo. Caesar chose to send his nephew Augustus Octavian to study oratory in Apollonia, revealing the importance of this ancient city.

• Afterwards, continue to Vlora, where we visit the Independence Museum, situated in the original house where the first independent Albanian Government had its offices.

Afternoon and evening at leisure.

Overnight in Vlora.

• After an early breakfast, depart for Saranda.

• Drive along the spectacular Albanian Riviera overlooking the Ionian Sea. Breathtaking scenery awaits at the Llogara Pass, 1000 m above sea level. Continue to Saranda, making a short stop at the fortress of Ali Pasha, a fortification used to control the sea trade routes.

• Continue past Saranda to the ancient city of Butrint, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most important archaeological discovery in Albania. Legend associates this city with Trojan settlers who fled Troy under the leadership of Aeneas. In fact, the city was first settled by Greek colonists and was continuously inhabited for centuries, forming archaeological layers from several eras of civilization. Apart from the beautiful antique ruins, it has the added benefit of being situated on a beautiful peninsula rich in flora and fauna. After the visits, return to Saranda for the overnight stay.

• Drive to Berat. On the way lies Gjirokastra, a UNESCO site and museum town with beautiful and very distinctive architecture.

• Visit the medieval Castle, which used to be a political prison during the communist dictatorship, and the Ethnographic Museum, which is also the house where the Albanian dictator was born. We suggest the group stop for lunch near Tepelenë at a traditional restaurant (optional) among beautiful scenery.

• In Berat, check in at the hotel, and the group is then left at leisure to explore the town.

Overnight in Berat.

• Visit the Castle and the Onufri Museum. Berat Castle is of particular interest, as people still live within its walls in their traditional houses, as their ancestors have done for centuries. The castle used to have over 40 churches, of which seven remain, including one turned into the Onufri Museum. Onufri was an Albanian icon master painter of the 16th century who painted many Orthodox churches in Albania and Greece.

• Depart for Durrës, one of the oldest cities in Albania, founded in 627 B.C., where we have lunch by the sea (optional).

• Take a sightseeing tour of the Amphitheatre, situated in the middle of the modern city in an inhabited area, and the Archaeological Museum, rich in artefacts found in the city and its suburbs.

After the visits in Durrës, return to Tirana for the overnight stay.

• After breakfast, drive to the airport.

End of our service.