Albania in 7 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
Seven days closes the full loop: Tirana, Berat, Gjirokaster, Saranda and Ksamil with Butrint and the Blue Eye, then Himare or Dhermi before the Llogara Pass drive back. Pay in LEK for the usual roughly 5% saving over euro prices, and budget EUR 35-65 a day across the week, less inland, more on the coast. A rental car pays for itself well before day seven once the Blue Eye, Gjipe, and the coast road all enter the math.
Shorter version? See the 5-day or 6-day itinerary .
Book these before you go:
- A room in Saranda or Ksamil : your base for Butrint and the Blue Eye
- A room in Dhermi or Himare : the Riviera night before the Llogara Pass drive
- A Butrint, Blue Eye and Ksamil combo tour : cheaper than three separate taxi legs if you’re not driving
- A Komani Lake and Shala River day trip : for a future trip, not this one, see below
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Daily cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tirana: Skanderbeg Square, Bunk’Art 2, Blloku | none, arrival day | ~1,600-2,600 LEK plus lodging |
| 2 | Berat: castle grounds, Onufri Museum, Mangalem | ~2-2.5h from Tirana | ~450 LEK transit, ~450 LEK museum |
| 3 | Gjirokaster: castle, bunker, stone old town | ~2.5-3h from Berat | ~1,200 LEK bus, ~800 LEK sights |
| 4 | Saranda and Butrint | ~1h-1h20 from Gjirokaster | ~600 LEK bus, 1,000 LEK Butrint entry |
| 5 | Ksamil and the Blue Eye | ~20-25min to Ksamil, ~30-45min to Blue Eye | ~150 LEK furgon, ~50-250 LEK Blue Eye/parking |
| 6 | North to Himare or Dhermi | ~1h30-2h | mostly transit or fuel, ~EUR 5-10 sunbed |
| 7 | Llogara Pass back to Tirana, depart | ~3-4h | mostly fuel |
Day 1: Tirana
Rinas Express into Skanderbeg Square runs around EUR 4, roughly 30 minutes; there’s no airport rail link. Bunk’Art 2 runs roughly 900-1,000 LEK with an audio guide (listings disagree, confirm at the door), and Blloku covers dinner for roughly EUR 8-12.
Day 2: Berat
Furgon or bus down runs roughly 400-500 LEK, 2 to 2.5 hours. The general castle fee is waived across most 2026 listings; the Onufri Museum still costs roughly 400-500 LEK. Guesthouse rooms near the walls run roughly EUR 20-35.
Day 3: Gjirokaster
The scheduled bus from Berat runs roughly EUR 12 (about 1,200 LEK), a fixed roughly 3-hour departure twice daily; direct driving covers the same ~175km in about 2.5 hours. Castle, bunker, and museum together run roughly 800 LEK, part of the same UNESCO listing as Berat, inscribed in 2005 with Berat added in 2008.
Day 4: Saranda and Butrint
The bus from Gjirokaster runs roughly EUR 6, an hour to an hour and 20 minutes. Butrint costs 1,000 LEK standard, 800 LEK per person in groups of 10 or more, 500 LEK for ages 12-18, free under 12; the official ticket page lists free-entry dates on the last Sunday of most months. Budget 2-3 hours, and eat seafood in Saranda for roughly EUR 20-40.
Day 5: Ksamil and the Blue Eye
The furgon to Ksamil runs roughly 100-150 LEK, 20-25 minutes, every 20-30 minutes in summer. The Blue Eye, roughly 22km via Muzine, costs only 50 LEK entry, cash only, plus 100-200 LEK parking.
Should you swap the Riviera for the Komani Lake ferry and Theth? Only if you’re willing to skip the Riviera days entirely; the two don’t fit in one week. The Komani Lake ferry runs roughly EUR 8.80 booked online versus EUR 10 cash, April through early November, and pairs with Theth as its own 3-4 day trip. Treat it as a separate itinerary, not a bolt-on to this one.
Day 6: North to Himare or Dhermi
The drive up the coast to Himare runs roughly 1h30 (~54km), then another 25 minutes on to Dhermi. Gjipe Beach, between the two, is a 30-45 minute walk and scramble from its parking area, roughly 300 LEK for the day. Sunbeds in Dhermi or Himare run roughly EUR 5-10/day for two.
How much does a full 7-day Albania loop cost, all in? Roughly EUR 250-450 per person for the week, backpacker to modest style, with lodging, transit, and every ticket in this itinerary included, before a rental car or any splurge dinners. The coast days run higher than the inland ones, so the total leans on how many nights you spend on the Riviera.
Day 7: Llogara Pass back to Tirana
The climb over the Llogara Pass (SH8, summit roughly 1,027m) takes about an hour out of Dhermi or Himare, with a dozen-plus hairpins and fog at dawn or dusk that can cut visibility to 10-20 meters; fuel up in Vlore or Dhermi first, since there’s nothing at the summit. From Vlore, it’s roughly 2h15 back to Tirana via Fier and Durres for your flight out.
Is renting a car cheaper than furgons for the whole loop? For one person sticking to the main towns, furgons and buses are cheaper leg by leg. For two or more people, or once the Blue Eye’s parking, Gjipe’s access, and the coast road between Ksamil and Himare enter the picture, a week-long rental at roughly EUR 10-25/day off-season wins on cost and time both.
Withdraw cash in fewer, larger amounts. Union Bank and ABI Bank are commonly cited as the cheapest around 500 LEK a withdrawal, and keep enough small notes for the furgon and the Blue Eye’s cash-only gate before you leave Tirana.