Beaches of Albania | Himare & Ksamil 🏝️

Himare is a relaxed beach town in Southern Albania on Ionian Sea. It’s a beautiful place to spend a few days soaking up the sun, enjoying nearby hikes, delicious seafood, and more. Visiting in late September was absolutely the way to go — we enjoyed warm sunshine, waters still plenty warm to swim, empty rows of sun beds, quiet beaches, and restaurants with plenty of seating available. I think shoulder season is my true favorite season.

Himare Accommodation

We stayed at Hotel Mesun Himare, a lovely family-run hotel overlooking the bay and beaches of Himare. It’s up a steep hill, but is very close to all the restaurants and bars in the main area of the town. The family who owns and runs the hotel is lovely and super accommodating, it’s a very simple spot that is affordable and ideal if you just plan to sleep there. We had two beds, a little walkout balcony, a bathroom and fridge and dining table. All very simple but perfect for two nights.

Things to See & Do in Himare, Albania

Himare Castle

With ancient walls that date back to the 4th century B.C., Himare Castle is one of the main attractions of the beach town and is well worth a visit when you need a break from the sand and sun. It was free to wander around, and there was no line or crowd when we got there. It is a fascinating spot to explore because there are actual houses within the walls, and while the actual “castle” is mostly in ruins, parts of it are still very much inhabited still today. We had really no idea what to expect before we arrived, which I think is what made it more fun to explore and wander the walls, not sure what would be around each corner.

We wandered and ended up finding an actual cafe that was built onto a terrace of a family home, and stopped here for a quick snack of a classic Albanian salad — similar to Greek with feta, fresh tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red pepper and olive oil. We also tried a slice of Ravani — a citrus spongecake soaked in delicious honey. It had an amazing view and was a great stopping point to enjoy a snack.

Gjipe Beach

This beach was a bit of a hike to get to — but it was super beautiful and worth a visit. If you go for a full day, it’d definitely be worth renting a pair of lounge chairs with an umbrella, but since we were there for only a few hours we plopped in the sand. It was a bit busy and more developed than I expected — it’s likely some of the travel content I read about it was a bit outdated, as it was not as quiet as we thought it would be, but I would 100% recommend a visit. Just be aware – it’s a HIKE to get down to it, quite treacherous over some serious rocks. I would not wear flip flops to access this beach. Bring plenty of sunscreen and water also, even if you rent an umbrella, there’s very little shade on this beach in the afternoon.

Himare Restaurants & Bars

Te Varka Beach Bar

We went to this beach bar twice during our short stay in Himare, thanks to its close proximity to our hotel, amazing cocktails, free lounge chairs, and relaxed vibe. They didn’t have food but you could order pizza to the establishment and enjoy that if you wanted, they provided menus of a local place, but we just opted to visit here for pre-dinner drinks. In addition to the classic Aperol spritz, they also had a Hugo spritz, which I hadn’t heard of before but it was delicious — St. Germain, fresh mint, lime, and bubbles. A fantastic summer drink to switch it up.

Beachfront Seafood Restaurant — Soren

This restaurant is fairly small so plan ahead — it fills up at dinner time! We got lucky and scored a table and got to enjoy some delicious seafood and wine with a view of the beach. Soren offers house made fresh pasta and a lot of seafood and meat dishes. It’s a lovely atmosphere and our waiter was super nice. I will say — I was starving and the portion size was a bit smaller than I would have liked — I should have ordered a salad or something to go with it. Mostly up until this point in Albania we had only encountered restaurants that served pretty large portions, so this was a surprise. I survived just fine, but something to be aware of!

Orzo

A cute beachfront cafe, Orzo is a great spot to stop for breakfast. The avocado toast was decent — not the best I’ve ever had but not bad, and the coffee was delicious and strong. The best part is you’re basically on the beach so it’s a nice view, and there were a bunch of cute puppies running around in the sand nearby. While no one likes the idea of stray dogs, we saw a lot of them in Albania and they all seemed well taken care of and fed.

Taverna Velco

Taverna Velco is a Greek restaurant and hotel just up the hill from the water that caught my attention when researching restaurants to eat at in Himare. The food here was incredible and the server was super nice. It’s a beautiful restaurant as well with wooden architecture and artwork adorning the walls. We had lamb, which was unreal, and tried Tirokafteri, a cheesy feta dip that was excellent. Would 10/10 recommend enjoying a dinner here while staying in Himare.

Day Trip to Gjirokaster

A two hour drive inland from Himare is Gjiokaster, a picturesque Albanian town that is great for shopping and a day of exploring. I think you could easily spend a few days here, but we only had an afternoon and it was still great. It’s in a mountainous area, and it’s very hilly in the old town. Parking could possibly be a nightmare, but we ended up lucking out — a lovely local woman let us park in front of her garage for 3 hours for €5, it seems to be a local hustle many people do, so don’t be alarmed. She was super nice, just made it very clear we needed to be back in three hours, which was just fine.

Eat — Te Kalaja Restaurant Gjirokaster

Located near the castle, which is a main attraction, this restaurant was perfect to duck into when the rain started. I had a delicious bean stew of HUGE butter beans, with tomato and spices, it was so good served with bread. The stuffed grape leaves (called japrak in Albania) were also amazing, and the service was great. While we only got to try this place while in Gjirokaster, I can’t recommend it enough!

Shopping & Exploring

Gjirokaster is a great spot for souvenir shopping, With tons of stores offering artisan rugs, tea sets, pottery, artwork, and more, there are many places to duck into to buy some fun, local items. It’s all very affordable and fun to look through. I bought a small rug, some gifts for friends, an espresso cup and saucer, and a bunch more. The whole town is perfect for wandering and checking out various storefronts, while admiring stunning views of the fortified city.

After exploring Gjirokaster for a few hours, it was time to head to our final stop on the Albanian adventure — Ksamil.

Ksamil is a well-known beach destination on Albanian’s southern coast, right next to the border with Greece. It’s a part of a national park, and hosts some stunning beaches and lovely surroundings. It was an ideal place to finish our adventures through the country for a few days.

Ksamil Accommodation — Hotel Memaj

This hotel was perfect! Within a brief walking distance to the beach and restaurants, it had a fantastic pool, large rooms, and a huge balcony. We had plenty of space to relax, and lounging by the pool with a bar and restaurant right off of it was ideal. I would definitely stay at Hotel Memaj again if I was in Ksamil. It was also very quiet, away from the busier beach clubs on the waterfront which was nice.

Butrint National Park

If you love history and ancient ruins, don’t miss out on the national park right next to the beachfront town of Ksamil. Butrint is an archaeological park full of ruins dating back to the 4th century BC. It has an ancient Roman theater, gates, a castle, an acropolis, tons of beautiful foliage, and is home to a lot of wildlife. Get here early — avoid the masses of tour buses that take over the park and instead go off exploring on your own before they arrive. We had a fantastic time wandering around for a few hours; it’s well worth the entry fee.

Lori Beach Bar

A lovely restaurant overlooking a beach with plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas, Lori was ideal for a large lunch after a morning of exploring. I had a seafood pasta, which was great, and Emma had a pizza. I really felt like the relaxing part of our vacation was starting as we settled into Ksamil as our final stop.

Vamos Cocktail Bar

For a drink before or after dinner, I’d highly recommend Vamos Cocktail Bar! They had super affordable drinks, good service, and it was a lively, busy atmosphere. The decor is a ceiling of colorful umbrellas, mixed with tropical notes and a deck of Uno cards on many of the tables. It’s definitely a social spot, and a fun one to stop in for a drink.

After saying goodbye to Ksamil, we made our way to Sarande, where the port is to head to Corfu for our flight back to the U.K. It was an amazing trip exploring Albania, and the beaches were truly the perfect way to end a trip of exploring nearly a whole country from top to bottom. It’s a stunning place with very kind people, great food, amazing mountains, beaches, and nature, and just overall a wonderful travel experience. I would absolutely return to Albania someday, and I am so glad such a special place was my milestone 50th country I’ve visited.

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