Your day starts with a short transfer to Durres city center for approximately 20 minutes. The ancient city of Durres is located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. It is one of Albania’s important ports and its second largest city. Durres was founded in the seventh century BC. The city has a varied and colorful history. It remained in the centre of action during the world wars and the Albanian struggle for freedom. Once arrived at the city center, your tour will start with the visit to the main historical touristic place of the city. You will start from the Venetian tower, going up following the old byzantine walls of the old castle to enter to the most important site of the town, the Roman Amphitheatre.
The Roman Amphitheatre, which is the biggest, oldest and the most splendid monument in Durres, built in the second century BC, it can accommodate more than 1500 people. The amphitheatre is situated in the center of the city of Durres, the main port of Albania, at 35 km distance from the Capital. Today, a part of the arena is occupied by contemporary houses. However, restoration and rehabilitation projects have been prepared in order to integrate this significant landmark in the overall city development. The next visit will be in Bardha Winery for wine taste, located 40 minutes of drive from Durres.
The wine of Albania is characterized by its unique sweetness and indigenous varieties. Albania produced an estimated 17,500 tonnes of wine in 2009. The geographic elevation of Albania makes it a perfect setting for wine production. During the communism era, the production area expanded to some 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres). The Albanian wine industry is striving to re-establish an international presence in line with its long reputation as a quality wine producer.
Among other types of wines, what you will taste is some of the indigenous grapes of Albania such as:
White: Shesh i bardhe, Debin e bardhe,
Red: Shesh i zi, Cabernet Cuvee, Merlot
Shesh i bardhe and Shesh i zi are the two most important vines, accounting for about 35 per cent of the crop, and take their name from the hill village of Shesh 15 km from the capital Tirana.
Your day starts with a short transfer to Durres city center for approximately 20 minutes. The ancient city of Durres is located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. It is one of Albania’s important ports and its second largest city. Durres was founded in the seventh century BC. The city has a varied and colorful history. It remained in the centre of action during the world wars and the Albanian struggle for freedom.
Post-independence, Durres has developed into a thriving industrial township with a population of around 114,000, and its contribution to the Albanian economy is significant. It has an important shipyard and various manufacturing industries, most notably leather, plastic and tobacco. Once arrived at the city center, your tour will start with the visit to the main historical touristic place of the city. You will start from the Venetian tower, going up following the old byzantine walls of the old castle to Enter to the most important site of the town, the Roman Amphitheatre.
The Roman Amphitheatre, which is the biggest, oldest and the most splendid monument in Durres, built in the second century BC, it can accommodate more than 1500 people. The amphitheatre is situated in the center of the city of Durres, the main port of Albania, at 35 km distance from the Capital. Today, a part of the arena is occupied by contemporary houses. However, restoration and rehabilitation projects have been prepared in order to integrate this significant landmark in the overall city development. The next visit in Durres will be the newly restored Archaeological Site where you will see most of the evidences of a 2400 years of history of Durres.
After meeting with the guide, you will be transferred for approximately 2 hours to the Museum city of Berat. The town of Berat is one of the most ancient towns of Albania, 2400 years old. Lying on the banks of the Osumi river, and overshadowed to the east by the Great Tomorr mountain 2415m,is an ancient Illyrian settlement founded in the 4th and 5th centuries B.C. on the territory of the Illyrian tribe of Desaretes. Its innumerable monuments and the beautiful and characteristic architecture of its houses have proclaimed Berat, a “Museum Town”. The houses on the fortress have typically two stories, with the upper storey slightly overhanging and rich wood carving within. With their wide facades and large windows, they seem to be built almost on top of one another, giving Berat its name of “The City of One–Thousand Windows”.
Your visit will start with a walk from the Gorica old bridge for some 20 minutes to come back to Mangalemi quarter from the new bridge. A walk in the newly built boulevard will follow the tour before you continue the visit to the Castle of Berat located on top of the hill overlooking Berat town. You will embark back on the Bus to continue the tour in the Castle of Berat which involves a bit of walking in uneven surfaces, cobblestone streets and a bit of inclination. Once inside the Castle first we will continue towards the Museum of the Icons for a visit.
National Museum Onufri is located in the center of the inhabited quarter in Berat medieval castle. It is organized in Virgin Mary cathedral, built in 1797 on the foundation of an older church with the same name. It bears the name of the most remarkable Albanian painter, Onufri, who left a very rich fund of iconographic creation.
Finishing the visit at the museum, a traditional lunch from Berat is a must after a tiring day. You will be welcomed in one of the restaurants located in the old quarter of the castle to try different specialities cooked in a traditional way from the local house family especially for you. After lunch, a short walk to the view point of 15 minutes will follow to have some nice views of all the quarters of Berat before your transfer back to Durres for another 2 hours’ drive.
After meeting with the guide, you will be transferred for 60 minutes towards Tirana. Capital of the Republic of Albania, with a population of just over 700.000, lies at the foot of Dajti Mountain (1612 m) at the 110 m above the sea level. The region of Tirana has been inhabited since the Neolithic period.
Tirana was founded in 1614 when, under the care of Sulejman Pasha Mulleti, the first settlement was built. It consisted of a mosque, bath-house (Hamam), a bakery and some shops. Today Tirana is the main administrative, economical, art and culture centre. The visit of Tirana starts with the Scanderbeg Square, a monument dedicated to the National Hero of Albania. From the center you will be able to see the main boulevard, main administrative buildings, National Bank of Albania and the Et'hem Bey mosque that is one of the most beautiful mosques in Albania which is located nearby the Museum.
Next the visit will continue on foot towards the National Art Gallery. It has a fund of over 4,000 works of art by Albanian and foreign authors, spanning seven centuries of Albanian cultural heritage.
Finishing the visit of the National Gallery, you will continue on foot entering the ""Block area"" towards Sky Tower Restaurant where you will have lunch overlooking all Tirana from the 15th floor of the Restaurant. Some free time for you before departure.
With nice memories on your head, you will be transferred back to Durres
After meeting with the guide, you will be transferred for 60 minutes towards Tirana. Capital of the Republic of Albania, with a population of just over 700.000, lies at the foot of Dajti Mountain (1612 m) at the 110 m above the sea level. Today Tirana is the main administrative, economical, art and culture centre. The visit of Tirana starts with the Scanderbeg Square, a monument dedicated to the National Hero of Albania. From the center you will be able to see the main boulevard, main administrative buildings, National Bank of Albania and the Et'hem Bey mosque. You will continue beside Lana River for looking at the painted socialist buildings towards the old bridge and parliament building of Tirana. Once finished the sightseeing by bus of Tirana you will stop and stroll for some minutes to the local market of Tirana.
Your next destination will be Nari Restaurant in Lunder village just 6 kilometers from Tirana.
Albania has an incredibly hospitable culture and has its own particular traditions of courtesy. They are very closely related to the notion of hospitality, a notion similar to that of the sacred guest from Homer and classical literature. Many Albanian traditions of hospitality come from The Kanun, or ""The Code"", a 15th-century text written by the powerful Dukagjin clan, although many of the laws written in the code date from earlier times. As written in The Kanun, the guest will be shown the highest respect by being offered a seat at the head of the table. The guest is then regaled with the best the family has to offer, usually taking the form of homemade raki, traditional liquor.
After arrival, you will experience the same old rule. You will be welcomed inside the restaurant of the Lunder village, learn about traditional Albanian cooking and food such as milk, dairy of different types, honey, village eggs, whole goats roasted on a spit, trout fish, various types of soups. Help the local family collect food from the farm and help them cook your own meal by helping in the kitchen.
Once finished lunch you will be transferred back to Durres for about 1.5 hours of drive having in mind still the amazing experience at the local family house.
Today after meeting with the guide, we will choose our bicycles and for 15 minutes you will be given information about the road that we will follow and precautions along the way. After settling everything we will cycle towards Currila beach for approximately 30 minutes.
Some free time will be given in Currila beach for sunbathing or just to cycle a bit further on. Along the way Adriatic Sea will accompany us during all the time. You will return through the same way back to the city center of Durres where a visit will follow to the main sights of the old town such as the Venetian Tower, old castle, Roman ruins etc.
After finishing with the visit of the city center, you will cycle back towards the meetin we meet earlier in the morning.
Your day starts with a short walk to Durres city center for approximately 2 hours. The ancient city of Durres is located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea.
It is one of Albania’s important ports and its second largest city. Durres was founded in the seventh century BC. The city has a varied and colorful history. It remained in the centre of action during the world wars and the Albanian struggle for freedom.
Post-independence, Durres has developed into a thriving industrial township with a population of around 114,000, and its contribution to the Albanian economy is significant. It has an important shipyard and various manufacturing industries, most notably leather, plastic and tobacco. Once arrived at the city center, your tour will start with the visit to the main historical touristic place of the city.
You will start from the Venetian tower, going up following the old byzantine walls of the old castle to enter to the most important site of the town, the Roman Amphitheatre.
The Roman Amphitheatre, which is the biggest, oldest and the most splendid monument in Durres, built in the second century BC, it can accommodate more than 1500 people. The amphitheatre is situated in the center of the city of Durres, the main port of Albania, at 35 km distance from the Capital.
Today, a part of the arena is occupied by contemporary houses. However, restoration and rehabilitation projects have been prepared in order to integrate this significant landmark in the overall city development. The next visit in Durres will be the newly restored Archaeological Site where you will see most of the evidences of a 2400 years of history of Durres.
After some free time at your leisure in the promenade of Durres, you will be walking back to hotel Arvie where we departed.
Your day starts with the transfer from Durres to Kruja for a 1 hour drive where the trail starts.
The day starts in the morning with a hike up to Kruja mountain. There are amazing views towards the town, Albanian sea shore and the mountains of Qafshtama National Park. On the top of the mountain there is a Bektashi (a Muslim religious sect) Temple very interesting to visit. This temple was created in 13th century by the Sari Saltik semi-legendary Turkish dervish, venerated as a saint by the Bektashi in the Balkans and parts of Middle East. The bonus of the hike up to the mountain hasn’t finished yet. At the temple there are always people waiting for you to come and they invite you for a coffee and ashure (a bektashi traditional desert maid by wheat) at their fireplace. They are very happy to have guests and share some interesting stories of the place.
Once made our way down through the same trail, you will be given free time in the old bazaar of Kruja for shopping or just to relax with the locals before being transferred back through the same way towards Durres city.
After meeting with the guide and embarking on the jeeps, you will be transferred first to Tirana for about 1 hour drive, for then continuing towards Shengjergj village which is located behind the Dajti Mountain. In Shengjergj you will make a short stop to stretch your legs before continuing towards Elbasan for 3.5 hours of off road drive.
This exciting off-road excursion in search of adventure, will allow you to cover parts of southern Albania and appreciate sights that most visitors never get to discover. We’ll drive on dirt roads off the beaten track, through rivers and old plantations from the Ionian coast into the heart of the central Albania. You will see a variety of birds, old rural villages and typical Albanian houses and families. Learn the real life of the rural part of the small but charming country of Albania.
Once arrived in Elbasan, you will have lunch in a very special restaurant located inside the old castle of Elbasan. After lunch you will drive towards Durres for 1.5 hours of time.