After exiting the country of Montenegro, we came closer to the border with Albania. So far, any sailor we met told us: ‘Don’t go into Albania, we heard nothing but bad news from sailors’. We asked about these stories, and they were about: no services or place for pleasure yachts (only 1 harbor), minefield in bays, don’t leave your boat unattended, refugees on sea and authorities checking the complete boat searching for stowaways.
On the other hand, we read online that Albania is getting more popular since the summer of 2024 as a new adventure destination, as it has not yet been discovered by mass tourism. The nature is breathtaking, the people friendly and prices are very low in supermarkets and restaurants.
Our goal is to sail around the world and we didn’t want to skip Albania, we were curious to meet Albanians and explore the coast here. Maybe those stories were from the old days (till 1992), when Albania was most isolated countries in the world under the strict communist regime.
The Albanian coastline is 360 kilometers, Montenegro had 290 kilometers, so the sailing distance is quite similar. We ended up sailing the entire coast of Albania and enjoyed it a lot!
These were our experiences sailing Albania:
Shëngjin
When we prepared for entering Albania, we read about having to buy (like in Croatia and Montenegro) a vignette and check-in with customs, because it’s not a EU member or Shengen member. And what is different from Croatia and Montenegro, you have a hire an agent to do this administrative job for you.
Hiring an agent, is mandatory under Albanian maritime regulations. The process of customs clearance involves obtaining the correct paperwork and permits from both the port authorities and the customs and border police. Although the maritime authorities in some ports speak English, there can still be a language barrier. A local agent speaks both Albanian and English, making it easy for them to communicate with the port authorities and ensure that your documents are submitted correctly.
On the Navily app, we found that an agent by the name of Mr Frukku was recommended, so we phoned him. He also arranged for us a place in the port of Shëngjin and helped us moor. That was important, because it turned out to be a port for large fishing vessels and we ended up being place in between 2 fishing boats. Not the most glamorous place to start a new country, but it was a good reality check of what Albania with not a lot of tourism could be 😉. The fishermen were friendly and smiled to us (also fishing at the quay with a private fishing rod, so it seems their job is also their hobby).
We met Frukku, whose name changed into Mr Frog in all the Navily messages writing about him, he was a friendly guy who spoke quite good English and arranged all the paperwork. He drove us to a nice bar/restaurant in his hold Mercedes and started to fill in our data on a form. Then we would drive to the harbor office, he said. We were in the back of his car, he stopped at a small supermarket and said he had to buy some beers. We were a bit surprised: why buy your private beers when you have clients in your car? But we arrived at the harbor office, we saw he brought the beers with him and returned with paperwork and no beers. Because it was a Saturday, these beers helped to speed up the process at the local authorities 😉.
Mr. Frog said he wasn’t finished with all the procedures, so we had to meet him the next day again. He gave us a new meeting point, which turned out to be his house. A nice place in a busy streets with lots of shops, supermarkets, greengrocers and hotels. So far, this first town looked good, busy and not modern, but also not poor of in a communist building style.
Mr. Frog invited us on this terrace, we met his wife and also a few people walking in- and out of the house. There were guests of the Airbnb that he had also turned into his home. He had a water bottle with a little bit of water in it and small glasses and he started to poor a bit of the water in the water into the glasses and gave it to us. I wanted to drink a bit and then I smelled it: it was alcohol! At 11.00h in the morning we were drinking raki. Homemade, mr. Frog said proudly. I had 1 glass an refused the next two, but Gilles was too polite and ended up drinking 3 small glasses before 12.00h. Later in the afternoon, back on the boat, I heard him say: strong stuff, still feeling a bit dizzy….
This is the port of Shëngjin and a retro-object: a telephone booth!
5 facts about Albania
Good to know more about Albania, because till recently it was been one of the most isolated countries in the world!
- Albania has 2.8 million inhabitants, most live in the capital Tirana
- The official language of Albania is Albanian, one of the oldest languages in Europe. The Albanians call their language “Shqip” and their country “Shqipëria”.
- The lek is the official currency of Albania. The name comes from Alexander the Great, who is known in Albanian as “Leka i Madh”. The value of 100 lek = 1 euro
- Albania was the homeland of the Illyrians, an ancient people who lived in the Balkans before the arrival of the Romans. Albania was part of the Ottoman Empire from the late 15th century to the early 20th century. The Ottoman influence was profound, leading, among other things, to the spread of Islam among the Albanian population.
- Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog kwam Enver Hoxha aan de macht, die Albanië tot een van de meest geïsoleerde landen in de wereld maakte. Zijn communistische regime duurde tot 1991, met strikte controle over het dagelijkse leven en internationale betrekkingen. Onder Hoxha werd religie verboden en het land uitgeroepen tot een atheïstische staat.
Durrës
Our neighbors in Holland, also came to Albania (to Shëngjin) to join us for a sailingtrip of 1 week along the Albanian Coast. So we would do this Albanian adventure together!
First we went to the supermarket to buy food for 1 week, which turned out to be very cheap. And we would also go out for dinner a few times, paying 25 euro per person for a 3-course meal with wine.
We sailed to Durrës, enjoying the mountain views. We anchored in front of the harbor of Durrës, and took the dinghy into the city, because there were interesting thing to see there.
We walked along the harbour of Durres, the most important one of Albania and you can see that they are really commercial and industrial harbours, not designed for pleasure yachts. And not very tidy either…
The amphitheatre that we came across afterwards is one of the largest and most important archaeological finds in Albania. The Roman amphitheatre was built in the 2nd century AD and could accommodate up to 20,000 spectators. It is still an impressive remnant of the Roman period, in the middle of the city.
The old city walls of Durrës, which have been partly rebuilt and restored, date from the Byzantine period and give an impression of how the city was once protected against invasions.
It is interesting to see the antiquities between the modern parts of the city. Which are not really modern either, but reminded us more of the seventies to nineties.
And then suddenly a hip grandcafe, called Amsterdam Lounge, where we had a coffee. And via long boulevard along the coast, Lungomare, from Durrës we walked back to the dinghy. We wanted to BBQ that evening and John saw a nice wine shop where we bought a good bottle of white wine for the BBQ.
Vlorë
Next stop would be Vlorë, again about 4 hours of sailing. The Adriatic waters in this part of the Albanian coast hadn’t been very clean so far. Due to the industrial harbors and rivers from the cities flow into the sea, the sea was quite murky. But the waters slowly became more transparent and fresh.
For lunch we anchored in front of the beach, we saw some beach restaurants closeby. And 1 guy started swimming to our boat while we were making omelets. He waved to us and asked if he could rest a bit aboard. He was of the owners of the restaurant and I think he wanted to point out that he offered lunches, but when he saw we were already eating, the changed his story to: want to buy simcards for internet in Albania? On the boat we have Starlink, so no use, but he was right. No 4G available on cellphones. I appreciated the businessman in him, to swim all the way to us!
In Vlorë we took our e-bike and e-step and visited 3 highlights of this city:
The Muradie Mosque, one of the oldest and most iconic religious buildings in the city. Dating back to the 16th century, it was built in 1537 during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. It is a miracle that the building was spared during the last century of communism and anti-religion.
Also impressive was the Independence Monument: Vlorë plays a crucial role in Albanian history, as it was here that Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire on November 28, 1912. The Independence Monument commemorates this important moment and is located on Independence Square (Sheshi i Pavarësisë). I love these grotesque statues that you often see in the Balkans, because they honor the people instead of a few who hold power (temporarily).
Finally, we walked through the old city center of Vlorë, because there you will find a charming and historical street called “Rruga Justin Godard”, also known as the Old Bazaar. This area is one of the most picturesque places in the city, full of history and a special atmosphere.
The Bay of Vlorë is one of the largest natural harbors in Albania and is a popular place for sailors and water sports enthusiasts. We anchored here and enjoyed the sunset.
Orikum
Half way sailing Albania, we realized that we only had seen 1 other sailboat per day. Compared to Croatia were there were sometimes 50 catamarans a day, this was totally different. It might have to do with the fact that sailors were a bit afraid of sailing Albania and skipped the country to go directly to Greece.
But south of The Bay of Vlorë we went to the only pleasure harbor in Albania, Orikum, and there were about 20 other sailboats from all over the world, Abu Dhabi and Ottowa, Canada! So this is where they to, we thought: sailors don’t anchor here in the bays, but they go to this harbor. It was interesting to see that they came from many different countries!
I also enjoy watching special or funny boatnames. My favorites:
⛵ Unsinkable2
⛵ Plan A
⛵ Vitamin Sea
⛵ Ship Happens
⛵ Seas the day
Our catamaran is called Horizon. Because when you sail towards the horizon and you get closer, the horizon shifts a little further. For us, this is the metaphor that you always keep learning and experiencing and fits in with my profession as a trainer.
In the evening a beautiful sunset could be seen on the Westcoast of Albania. We decided to celebrate our holiday in Albania by eating in a nice restaurant. We had fresh fish, good wine and enjoyed the surprisely modern and stylish restaurant.
The next morning we enjoyed the quite harbor with mountains in the background and we cast off to start sailing to next adventures in Albania.
On the coastline there a lot of caves, so we anchored in front of one and took our dingy to watch these immense caves inside. It was impressive to see the high walls inside and the clear water.
Grama Bay
Below the city of Vlorë in Albania lies a beautiful southwestern coast with many hidden bays that you cannot see from the sea at first. The Bay of Grama is such a hidden gem. This bay is known for its spectacular rock formations and crystal clear water. It is a remote place that is mainly accessible by boat, making it a popular destination for sailors.
The rock walls surrounding the bay are impressive and give the landscape a dramatic character. In ancient times, the bay was often used by sailors and pirates as a shelter. You can even find inscriptions in the rocks, presumably left by old sailors who visited the bay for protection against storms.
During high season (till Mid October) the Grama Bay is busy with swimmers, people on the beach and boats in this small bay. So there was place for our catamaran, but not a lot of room. What the boat next to us did, was tidying the back of the boat to a rock in the boat, so it could’nt make a big circle when swinging around because of the wind. This is a normal technique in the Meditereaanen Sea when it’s busy with boats. John and I jumped in the water and also tide our boat with a long line to the rock.
It was a beautiful scenery here, we took our drone and filmed the bay:
I had read on the Navily app for sailors, that there was a small restaurant that grilled fresh fish. We sat down there and ordered a salad and the fish. That was a very nice moment, enjoying the turquoise waters and people swimming or sunbathing.
Sarandë
We continued sailing along the coastline, enjoying swimming and snorkling and the great weater and comfortable sea temperature. And this part is no longer the Adriatic Sea (from Venice to the southern point of Italy), but the Ionic Sea which most of us will link to Greece.
Near Sarandë we saw replicas of pirate ships that you can sail on as tourists along the coast. They stop every now and then so you can swim. Everything is in the theme of pirates, so flags, treasure chests and crew in pirate outfits on board.
After 10 days of sailing the Albanian coast, we arrived in Sarande and sailed into the most southern harbor of Albania.
The name “Sarandë” comes from the Greek word for “40”, referring to an old Byzantine church dedicated to the 40 martyrs. Over the centuries, Sarandë has been influenced by Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman cultures, which is reflected in its architecture and historical monuments.
In the center of Sarandë, for example, you can find the ruins of an old synagogue, one of the most important archaeological finds in the city. These ruins date back to the 4th to 6th century AD, freely accessible, you can see my neighbor Alide and I walking around the site here.
The promenade, walking along the water, is one of the highlights of the city and surprisingly modern. there are plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars where you can enjoy local dishes.
Along the Sarandë coast it’s also a great place for an evening stroll. And the pirateships also could be seen with many lights.
You also have to hire an agent to do the check out of Albania and have all the customs clearance done for your boat. We heard about Jelja, who is a young business woman with a travelagency. She could do the paperwork for us.
The day before we would get the papers, she came to our catamaran and asked us if we were willing to do an interview with a German TV crew from WDR. The were on a ‘Adria Bus Tour’ this summer and interviewed people about travelling along the Adriatic Sea. They heard about our world trip and wanted to interview us, also as an example of Jelja’s client.
We said yes to their request, even before we knew the interview had to be done in German ;). It became a funny interview and the 3 crewmembers (camera, sound and interviewer) were really kind.
Check out the 5 minute video that ended up on TV (the show has about 1.000.000 viewers!):
At the end of the interview, you see us sailing away out of Albania, heading for Corfu that turned out to be only 1 hour of sailing! So before we knew it, we were in Greece!
Next blog I will write about the beautiful island of Corfu, but with warm feelings we are looking back at a great time in Albania.
