Saranda vs. Ksamil vs. Himara: Where to Stay on the Albanian Riviera

When I was planning my first trip to the Albanian coast, it seemed every guide I read said the same thing: basically everywhere is beautiful, there are great beaches all around, you can’t go wrong. 

But… then I explored it in person and found that you very much could.

Each hub has a very distinct character: expensive and brash Ksamil couldn’t be further from the slower-paced, family-friendly Himarë. Pick the wrong place for your preferences, and you could easily have the Albanian Riviera experience you didn’t want. So, in this guide I’ll try to be a little more opinionated and establish some contrasts between the options to help you choose.  

I explored the region over two trips: one based in Sarandë (covering the south) and the other in Himarë (covering the center and north). While there are some small coastal villages I didn’t get to check out, I spent enough time in the four main hubs to give you the lowdown on each.

Himarë | Best for independent travellers & families

Let me put my cards on the table here: Himarë is the place that personally spoke to me the most and that I would happily revisit on a third Albania trip.

What I like about Himarë is that it’s lively without being too commercial, and it’s laidback without ever being dull. This town of about 4,000 residents is backed by green mountains, has an ancient castle to visit, and offers a wide choice of beaches. While the big circular bays of Sarandë and Vlorë might be just a tad more impressive at first look, Himarë isn’t far behind.

I’d say that Himarë’s appeal is oddly wide-ranging. I arrived as a solo backpacker, staying at Himara Hostel (one of many hostels to choose from here). The variety of activities and the somewhat lower prices in Himarë make it ideal for any backpacker. 

At the same time, the calm vibe and child-friendly attractions — like the inflatable water slides at Prinos Beach — convinced me it’d be perfect for a family-based return trip with my young daughter in tow.

Himarë has a Greek-Albanian heritage, which is reflected in the cuisine, the bilingual signs, and Greek-style architecture in nearby villages, giving it a bit of a different twist. 

I loved going to a different beach every day. There are several city beaches, which are the most accessible and are covered fairly densely with beach bars and sun loungers. But within a 10-30 minute drive are also various hidden coves and natural beaches, some of which may require a short hike to reach. An easy way to explore is to rent a scooter (moped) in town, though taxis and tours are also options.

If you follow Indie Traveller and like self-planned independent travel, this is probably where you’ll want to go. Himarë has plenty to do while still keeping both feet on the ground, keeping the texture of a place where people live in the off-season. Not a party place and not Insta-famous, it has kept its charms.

Sarandë | Best middle-ground option with easy access

This town of about 20,000 residents is quite a bit more commercial than Himarë, boasting a bustling waterfront promenade with a variety of attractions  — including a Pirates of the Caribbean-style vessel with a giant Davy Jones on its bow offering tours of the bay. ATV (quad bike) tours, snorkeling, and party boat tours are firmly on the menu here. In other words, this is a place to have fun.

But if that sounds like Sarandë is over-the-top, it really isn’t. I first arrived in Sarandë as my final stop after backpacking for a month around the Balkans — and after countless rides on buses and minivans, I found myself able to exhale here and have a properly relaxing time. The sunsets over a distant Corfu are gorgeous and you can find in Sarandë whatever rhythm you like.

Sarandë serves as a (minor) cruise ship stop, which had me initially worried about crowds. However, it’s too shallow for big ships to dock, so it’s mostly smaller vessels that stop by.

Naturally, it will be busy in the summer high season, but it’s nowhere near what I’ve experienced in various popular island or beach hubs in Croatia or Greece. Even when I was there in August at the height of the tourism season, it didn’t feel too crowded. 

I should say Sarandë is a bit of a clutter of stacked apartment buildings and condos, following a 1990s construction boom with little planning. It’s not a historical town; it’s more concrete than stone.

Around the promenade, it feels bright and fresh, though some of the upper streets are still up for renovation, some buildings still half-finished. If you’re staying in a holiday apartment further uphill, you’ll notice this more than when staying right beside the bay, which I think is the prettiest part. My accommodation picks are all in this zone.

The biggest plus of Sarandë is its location. Firstly, it’s the easiest to get to, thanks to the major airport of Corfu, Greece, which is just 30 minutes away by high-speed ferry. Secondly, it’s in an ideal spot for day trips.

Insta-famous Ksamil beach is just a 30-min drive away, and Butrint National Park and the crystal-clear Blue Eye spring are also nearby. You can even stay (more cheaply) in Sarandë and then take trips to Greece just across the border.

Logistically, Sarandë is arguably the best place you can go, and it occupies a nice middle ground somewhere between authentic and overly commercial. 

Ksamil | Best for Insta-famous beaches 

If you’ve seen the Albanian Riviera on Instagram or TikTok, you’ve surely seen Ksamil — where beaches feature powdery white sand and clear waters, almost like it’s in the Caribbean. But… this isn’t the full picture.

Albania’s coast has gotten awkwardly hyped as “the Maldives of Europe” on social media, which definitely garners attention but may set expectations that Ksamil can’t quite fulfill.

What’s always left out of the frame: the crowds, the prices, and the noise. To me, Ksamil is overhyped (sorry, hot take!).

It might look like a tropical paradise from specific angles, but this ignores the loud waterscooters zipping past and the cries of tourists paying 20 euros for a cocktail. Making things worse is that the beaches are quite small and narrow around here, while being covered edge to edge with sun loungers, making it feel cramped and even a little stressful. 

As a sidenote, I’ve heard many of the famous white-sand beaches were actually artificially created using ground-up limestone from nearby quarries. That actually doesn’t have to really matter — a pretty beach is a pretty beach! — but it kind of puts another twist on the ‘Maldives’ positioning that influencers are pushing.

I know there are different strokes for different folks, and the pure eye candy of Ksamil alone could make this an ideal spot if this takes priority for you.

I’ll say I was still happy to spend a day here – the waters are fantastically clear and it was fun to swim to the mini islands that the area is dotted with. While cocktails in the fancy bars right on the main beach can cost you an organ, I also found a little cabana-style bar under a parasol where a simple mojito cost 6 euros. (I lost the pin, but I believe it was at the Last Bay.)

Ksamil is nice to visit, but the real opportunity for actually being based there may be outside of the tourist high season – such as May, June, or September.

My mixed impressions were based on visiting in August, but I heard some very positive takes on Ksamil from some locals heading there before or after the crowds arrive. Below are my suggestions for Ksamil accommodation to take advantage of the shoulder season.

Dhërmi | Best for nightlife (and, separately, for romantic B&Bs)

Finally, let me mention Dhërmi. It’s not a dense urban hub like others mentioned here – more a large village with two strips of beachfront developments. The hotels and holiday apartments are numerous here, so your perfect beach escape may well be located here.

There’s no town-framed bay here. Instead, you stay right on the sand, along a beach road with no town around it. You’ll have plenty of restaurants and bars within arm’s reach, and a village a little further inland.

Just know that Dhërmi is known for its thumping nightlife, mostly house/EDM, including some multi-day events like Kala Festival (which honestly seems amazing, it’s an open-air dance festival right on the beach). 

But the odd thing about Dhërmi is that it can be totally different depending on where you stay! Let me break it down.

• Dhërmi Beach (the main, southern stretch). This is the potentially loud part, holding most of the beach clubs and hotels. Various bars / night clubs stay open until well into the night. Go here if you’re looking for plenty of sand, sun, and parties. (I didn’t stay here at night, only hearing the music from a distance. But for what it’s worth, several Gen-Z travellers I met in Himarë had come fleeing from here saying it was “too much”. I thought this was interesting as I thought they would have been the target audience!)
• Drymades (the northern stretch). This part is considerably calmer, with venues and hotels a lot more spread out. Near the southern edge are a few beach bars serving cocktails and restaurants like Moyo that have a DJ at night, but nothing too crazy here. It’s more scattered here especially as you go further north, where the huge Thymus Resort complex is located on the hills.
• Old Town (Upper Dhërmi) – About 1.5km (0.9 miles) inland and well up the mountain is the original village of Dhërmi, featuring stone houses with blue frames where you’ll often hear no noise except for some church bells. It almost has a Greek vibe, which makes sense when you learn there is a significant Greek minority population around here. When I visited in 2025 it still felt more like a photo stop than a fully functioning hub, as many properties were still under renovation. However, I expect this will be a goldmine for charming B&Bs — perfect for couples wanting to stay in a place with dreamy views, away from the hubbub. You’ll have to take taxis or buses to reach the beaches, or rent a scooter.

Overall, Dhërmi is a very commercial hub, but aesthetically it greatly benefits from being much more spread out than Sarandë and Ksamil. Beaches are spacious and stretch for miles. Palasa Beach is beautiful and reminded me of similar coastlines I saw in Peloponnese in Greece.

Thanks to the Llogara Tunnel opened in 2024, Dhërmi is just an hour’s drive from Vlorë, where a long-delayed new airport may eventually open. This could make Dhërmi one of the easiest-to-reach hotel and resort hubs in the region.

Some guides point out that Dhërmi is closest to scenic wild beaches like Gjipe Beach, though honestly they’re located about midway between Dhërmi and Himarë, so I would say this is a wash. The main reasons to stay in Dhërmi are the lively scene and having your pick from newer hotels or beach apartment complexes. 

It currently sits in an unusual in-between state: some areas where property developers have tidied things up, other areas where the roads are still cracked and sandy like you’re somewhere random in the Albanian countryside. My bet is on Dhërmi looking completely different ten years from now.

I hope this has given you a better idea of where to target your stay on the Albanian Rivier!. Although it’s sometimes billed as “unspoiled”, the reality is that it’s under heavy development, so choosing a base with the right atmosphere for you is key.

Wait, what about…?

One place I’ve left out is the city of Vlorë, as I only spent a couple of hours there during transit. While other places developed gradually as resort towns, Vlorë is more of a real city, with a working port, offices, a university, and so on.

The city beaches seemed quite average and I’m not sure if Vlorë has upside over the aforementioned places that are closer to a variety of scenic beaches. That said, I probably need to spend more time in Vlorë on a future visit to be able to say for sure.

There are also many smaller villages scattered around the coast, such as Borsh and Qeparo, that can be great for finding small hotels or B&Bs. Just know that ideally you need your own transportation for these places. While the buses do run through here, they’re infrequent, and there are barely any taxis. Still, if you are looking for ‘hidden gems’, it will be worth dragging your accommodation search map to these areas.

While Albania’s coastline has gotten the most attention online, there are many more reasons to take a trip to this up-and-coming Balkan country. Personally I get most excited about its idiosyncratic capital, the amazing hiking in the Albanian Alps, and historical towns like Gjirokastër. Don’t miss my other guides to complete your Albania itinerary!