%20(1).png)
We drove from Gjirokaster (see my blog Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special!) to Himare and spent 4 very pleasant days there. We then drove up to Berat (see my blog Berat, Albania: Travel Guide).
Contents
1. Introduction
None of Albania's coastal towns are special architecturally and the main reason to visit them is to enjoy the beaches and sea. At the moment Albania's coastal resorts are relatively undeveloped compared to those in most other European countries. However that is rapidly changing.
We wanted to stay at one coastal town during our one week drive up Albania from Greece to Montenegro. For us it was a choice between Ksamil and Himare. Ksamil now seems to be spoiled by over development and I couldn't find any ideal accommodation.
I found the very nice and reasonably priced Mihalis Apartments at Himara and therefore decided to spend 3 nights there. They can be booked through Booking.com and my review of the apartments is number 7 on my blog UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2.
The main reason to stay at Himare is for the beaches and the sea. There are 2 main excursions that can be made by either driving north up the coast or south down the coast.
2. Himare & Livada Beach
Himare isn't a beautiful town, but it is also not overdeveloped nor too touristy. This is probably because the beach isn't that special and is very narrow. There are far better beaches to the north at Livada and at Dhermi.
From our apartment it was a 10 minute walk down to Livada beach. We drove the 2 kilometres every night to Himare to have dinner and do grocery shopping. We always had a short walk around Himare after dinner but there wasn't much to do or see. Apart from the short seafront promenade Himare is scruffy.
We parked on the street when we went to the southern part of Himare. It is a 10 minute walk to the promenade in the northern part of Himare. This is where most of the restaurants and shops are.
Free parking is difficult to find in the northern section of Himare. However, you can find parking by entering "Private Parking Himare" in Google Maps. It costs 300 Lek for 3 hours and 700 Lek for the day.
Livada beach is one of the nicest beaches that I have been to. The water is clean, inviting and warm. We didn't see any jelly fish whilst we were there but it was just the start of summer.
There are sun loungers and umbrellas on most of Livada beach, but there are public areas as well. We paid 500 Lek for 2 sunloungers and an umbrella. I think we got a good deal and in the peak season it would be at least double that.
There is a good road to Livada beach and we managed to park along the seafront road. Whilst we were there they were constructing a seafront promenade and the area above the beach was messy. The peak summer season was just about to start and the timing of the construction was poor.
There are quite a few restaurants and hotels along the north and central sections of Livada beach. However, it is still very undeveloped. The south end of Livada beach is quieter as the road doesn't extend that far.
Although I really liked Livada beach I wasn't that impressed with the development going on. It will improve once the promenade is completed. However, I don't think the promenade will be as nice and classy as the one at nearby Dhermi.
3. South to Palermo Castle & the Road to Saranda
We drove from Gjirokaster to Himare via Saranda (see my blog Albania to Montenegro - Week 9). We didn't stop to look around Saranda as I was worried about the security of our possessions in our car. Also the Bradt guide book stated that Saranda was an unappealing concrete jungle! For once they didn't unnecessarily rave about a place.
The road is very scenic with superb coastal views. It is a single lane mountainous road and easy to drive along. As usual we had impatient Albanian tailgaters behind us. It was never for too long as they had little hesitation in overtaking on blind corners! It is about 1 hour 20 minute drive each way.
Palermo Castle is a 20 minute drive from Himare. On the way you can pull off the road into a lay by to view a submarine tunnel that was used by the Russians in the 1950's.
There is limited free parking at a restaurant on the side of the road near the castle. There is also a rough dirt track that runs down to the small beach and the castle and there is plenty of parking there. The road was far too rough for my liking and I personally wouldn't risk driving down it.
The entrance fee is 300 Lek and in summer the castle is open from 09.00 to 18.00. The castle isn't that old as it was only built in the early 19th century by Ali Pasha Tepelana. It is not a must see sight but it is interesting enough. It takes about half an hour to see it.
4. Old Himare
We could see Old Himare from our apartment and it looked quite interesting perched on a hill. It is quite a distance from new Himare and we therefore drove up one morning to have a look around. There is limited car parking just off the main road, but there is more parking just behind the nearby church.
Unfortunately Old Himare looks more interesting from a distance than close up! There really isn't much to see except the good view down to Livada beach. There are very few buildings and they are uninteresting ruins.
We saw a few poor souls trudging up the road in the heat from Himare. It is probably at least a 30 minute unpleasant walk to Old Himare and I don't recommend it. Some people do stay near Old Himare but you need a car if you do.
The Bradt guide book has a different opinion of Old Himare! It states Old Himare "has an astonishing number of churches in varying stages of dilapidation, some with beautiful frescoes. It is a pleasant and scenic walk of 30-45 minutes from Spile to Old Himare".
Unfortunately guide books can rave about places that aren't special, which was also the case with Girokaster. See my blog Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special!
5. North to Dhermi & Llogoraja Pass
It is a 30 minute scenic drive along the coast from Himare to the small town of Dhermi. The coastal road runs high above Dhermi and it is about a kilometre drive down a good road to Dhermi.
We parked in a street above the sea front promenade and then walked the short distance down to the beach. Dhermi's seafront is very upmarket compared to Himare and Livada and strolling along the promenade is very pleasant. There are lots of restaurants and classy hotels.
There is still construction going on but I think the end product will be nice. Dhermi's beach is long and wide like Livada beach and the sea is very inviting. A good place if you want a beach holiday but it probably isn't cheap by Albanian standards.
Llogoraja Pass is 20 minutes further on. The coastal road climbs steeply, with numerous hair pin bends, to the 1,027 metre summit. It isn't particularly difficult or dangerous driving up the pass as it is a 2 lane road. You just have to be careful to do tight turns on the hair pin bends so you avoid oncoming traffic.
We had bad weather when we drove up the pass, but we could see that the views would be good on a nice day. It was windy and cold at the top despite it being mid June.
From Llogoraja Pass you can drive on towards Vlore. The new Vlore bypass road has now been opened and starts well before you reach Vlore. It is a scenic road but you have to watch out for loose rocks on the road. This is due to the road being cut through hillsides that haven't been properly stabilised. Vlore itself is probably too far for a day trip.
Comentários