Let me set the scene. It’s 4:30 and the sun is setting over the Ionian Sea as we relax on our balcony with a glass of wine in the southern Albanian city of Sarandë. Our $50 per night hotel was very comfortable and had a gorgeous view.
The prayer calls from different nearby mosques wafts through the air and echoes off the hills. Old men are sitting at a harbor side table drinking wine and playing dominoes – the distinctive tinkle of dominoes mixing with the prayer call.
Palm trees rustle in the gentle breeze as lovers stroll along the waterfront esplanade.
Cats screech in a tussle over a fish head left over from this morning’s catch.
Multi-colored nets spread along the harbor causeway dry in the remaining light awaiting their morning call to the catch.
As the sun drops the nearby Greek Island of Corfu silhouettes in the distance and Corfu’s coastal lights begin to twinkle. This is the seaside town of Sarandë on the Albanian Riviera and a spot we expect will be growing exponentially as a tourist stop over the next decade.
The local beach in Sarandë.
Continuing on from my earlier post Albania Ascending Part 1 we left Vlorë in our rental car and headed down the coastal road towards the Albanian Riviera and our destination of Sarandë.
The coastal road was full of hills and winding roads with switchbacks reminiscent of driving the California coast through Big Sur.
We pulled into the coastal town of Himarë to check out Spile Beach and pick up a few supplies. Himarë has several popular beaches nearby.
We based our stay in Sarandë because it was well located for several side trips that we wanted to take and it was big enough that we knew most things would still be open even though it was their off-season. The nearby seaside town of Ksamil (above) gets quite popular with tourists in the summer with its golden sand and turquoise waters but was quiet in late October.
An easy daytrip out of Sarandë is the UNESCO Heritage site of Butrint National Archaeological Park. It was a well preserved ruins site containing different artefacts and structures from the Iron Age up until the Middle Ages. 
Numerous monuments are still standing including the city walls, a large basilica (above), a Roman theatre (2nd picture above) and two castles, one containing a museum. It was pretty cool to know that we were walking on the same paths that Julius Caesar did when he visited Butrint back in 44 BC.
Another easy daytrip from Sarandë was Girokaster – another UNESCO World Heritage Site and a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town where the houses all sport stone roofs and the streets are made of stone pavers. In the background of the picture above the massive Fortress of Girokaster looks over the town.
As discussed in my post Albania Ascending Part I we came upon the bunkers built by Communist leader Enver Hoxha everywhere that we visited including those shown above that we found in the hills of Girokaster .
Also near to Sarandë, the Blue Eye is a water spring and natural phenomenon in southern Albania with the most stunning, vibrant shades of blue and green.
Divers have descended down the Blue Eye to fifty meters, but it is still unclear what the actual depth of the karst hole is.
That concludes our trip through Albania last fall. As a tourist destination we give Albania two thumbs up for the friendly people, the tremendous value for the tourist, and the beautiful scenery and beaches. Don’t wait too long because we are sure that Albania will be visited by a lot more tourists in the coming years.