Saturday 11 April 2015

Albanian Riviera. Only for the brave or just keep it to yourself?


Gjipe beach
Drymandes beach
The route
Not so long ago, when the Balkans were considered an "only for the brave" travel destination, only the bravest of the brave trickled into Albania. It is not gonna be off the beaten track for much longer so make sure it gets on top of your bucket list!


"Ask anyone to give you their list of "paradise" destinations and Albania is probably one of the least likely places to crop up. But as I drop my bags, kick off my flip-flops and dive into a turquoise sea, the "P" word is the only way to describe what I'm seeing" by Matt Carroll.

I divided my Balkan tour into two parts – first one going south from Serbia to Greece all inland and non-coastal areas of the Balkan countries and the second one starting from Saranda, Albania and Corfu Greece and going north the coastal road. After exploring the interior of the country it was time to see the Albanian coast or as they call it the Albania Riviera. 
The Albanian Riviera stretches nearly 300 miles from Vlore down to Butrint, forming one of the last stretches of unspoilt shoreline in Europe. Around almost every corner there's a strip of empty sand that is still untouched by invasion of the package holiday hordes. Yet…I’m sure it is about to change pretty soon…The road is winding and you have to take it slowly but the views that reveals at every turn are just breathtaking.