Exploring Albania in Europe

Brochure

Click here to download our Escorted Tours 2010.

Dates

5th - 12th May 2010

Tour Leader

Frances Roxburgh joined Specialtours in 1990. She had previously worked in guidebook publishing and the art world and led walking tours in Italy for The Alternative Travel Group. She has a degree in French, Italian and History of Art and has accompanied many tours for The Art Fund, as well as European and American garden and museum groups.  She has visited Albania several times, twice with Lucy Abel Smith.

Guest Lecturer

Lucy Abel Smith is an art historian, lecturer and journalist and has led tours in Europe for many years. She was a Director of Specialtours until she left in 1989 to complete Prague: A Guide (John Murray, 1991).  She is an expert on Czech country houses and a past President of the European Friends of the Attingham Summer School.  Lucy lives with her husband and daughter in Gloucestershire, where her interests include gardening and collecting contemporary art - she runs a biennale in her garden for the Quenington Sculpture Trust.  Having fallen in love with Romania on her first ever tour for Specialtours in the early 1980s, Lucy has restored a small farmhouse in Transylvania.

Costs

Per person:
Was £2,460
NOW £2,040

Single supplement:
Was £285
NOW £143

Airport taxes per person: Currently £74.20


(Please note that airport taxes include fuel surcharges and security fees and are liable to change without notice)

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Though finally emerging from decades of isolation, Albania is still one of Europe’s most mysterious countries and remains, as yet, largely undiscovered. This unique tour encompasses not only its remarkable archaeological sites and architectural jewels, but also its spectacular natural beauty, so beloved of Edward Lear and Lord Byron. We will be met and shown around by local experts who are working heroically to preserve the fragile Albanian heritage.

We begin in the capital, Tirana, with the Mosque of Ethem Bey and the National Museum, followed by an excursion to Kruja to visit the old bazaar and the Skanderbeg Museum - he was Albania's national hero.  We then drive to the charming town of Berat to see the Sultan's Mosque, the Tekke, the medieval citadel, museums and churches.  After visiting the evocative Greco-Roman site of Apollonia, we drive along the beautiful Ionian coastline, via the old town of Himara and Porto Palermo with its small fortress, to Saranda.  The focus here is on Butrint, which is set on a wooded peninsula, and is one of the most important yet little known classical archaeological sites of the Mediterranean.  From here we drive into the mountains, via the village of Mesopotam with its Byzantine church, to the well-preserved Ottoman city of Gjirokastra, a haunt of Lord Byron. After exploring the hammam area, the castle and Ottoman houses we continue, via the breathtaking Kelycyre Valley and the little church at Mborje, to Korca.  Our journey ends with the remarkable frescoed churches in the village of Voskopoje, and a panoramic drive along Lake Ohrid - one of Albania's most beautiful sights.

Day 1: Wednesday, 5th May

London / Tirana
Depart London Heathrow on a British Airways afternoon flight to Tirana.  Transfer to the Tirana International Hotel, a modern business hotel in the perfect location on the main square, adjacent to the National Museum, where two nights are spent.  Dinner at the hotel or a local restaurant..

Day 2: Thursday, 6th May

Tirana & Kruja
Morning orientation in the capital, with visits to include the Mosque of Ethem Bey, dating from 1793, the National Museum and the British Graveyard.

Lunch at a local restaurant.  Continue to the medieval hill-town of Kruja, which became a symbol of popular resistance against the Ottoman Empire.  Walk through the restored Bazaar to the museum of the national hero, Skanderbeg, in the restored Castle.  Return to Tirana by road.  Dinner under own arrangements.

Day 3: Friday 7th May

Tirana / Berat
Journey south to the charming town of Berat, with its characteristic houses terraced above the river.  Meet the Director of the Institute of Cultural Monuments, who will accompany members to the Sultan's Mosque and the Tekke.

Lunch at a local restaurant.  Explore the medieval Citadel, untouched by time, with the Onufri Icon Museum, and little Byzantine churches.  Walk down to the Ethnographic Museum, showcased in a restored Ottoman mansion.  Check in at the simple but reasonably comfortable Hotel Tomori, in the centre of town, where one night is spent.  Dinner at the White House Restaurant.

Day 4: Saturday 8th May

Tirana / Apollonia / Saranda
Leave in the morning for the evocative Roman site of Apollonia.  Continue via the spectacular Ionian coast (road conditions permitting) to Saranda, with stops in Himare and Porto Palermo, where the conspicuous Island Fortress is a fine example of Ottoman military architecture.

Lunch en route.  Arrive in the late afternoon at the comfortable modern Hotel Butrinti, Saranda, where two nights are spent.  Dinner at the hotel or a restaurant.

Day 5: Sunday 9th May

Saranda & Butrint
A short drive to the intriguing site of Butrint, which occupies a wooded headland overlooking the Straits of Corfu.  One of the most romantic sites in the Balkans, it encompasses ancient, Illyrian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and medieval remains.  It has been excavated and safeguarded by The Butrint Foundation, founded by Lord Rothschild and Lord Sainsbury and is a World Heritage Site.  See the immense walls, the elegant 4th-century theatre, part of a Byzantine Palace and the well-preserved Baptistery, where a 6th-century mosaic pavement was discovered.

Lunch at the restaurant on the site.  Return to Saranda where there will be some free time in the town (Saranda is modern, but of ancient Greek origin), with an option to drive up to Likursi Castle for the views. Dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 6: Monday 10th May

Gjirokastra
Leave to visit the church at Mesopotami (subject to permission) or the equally interesting mosque at Rusan. 

Lunch at a restaurant by the lake, near Gjirokastra.  Continue to this austere hill town, with its cobbled streets and fortified Ottoman houses, set in wooded hills overlooking the Drinos Valley.  Taxi drive to a simple guesthouse, where the group is welcomed by our host, Mr Drago Kalemi, and where one night is spent.  Continue to visit the hammam area, the castle and a typical Ottoman house.  Dinner at Fantazia Restaurant.

Day 7: Tuesday 11th May

Korca
Drive to Korca via the breathtaking scenery of the Kelcyre Gorge.

Lunch at Permet.  Continue on the panoramic mountain route to Korca, skirting the Macedonian border.  Pause at the fascinating little church of Mborje.  Arrive, in the late afternoon, at the Hotel Grand, Korca (the best available, but modest choice) where one night is spent.  The town has many interesting buildings, most however in a poor state.  Optional short walk to the restored Ottoman han and market square.  Dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 8: Wednesday 12th May

Voskopoje & Lake Ohrid / London
Optional early morning excursion to the remote village of Voskopoje, once a thriving city, with the Director of Cultural Monuments. A cluster of remarkable frescoed churches, set in lovely unspoilt hilly country, await urgent restoration.

Drive to the beautiful Lake Ohrid, for lunch at a fish restaurant on the shore.  In the afternoon continue on the scenic mountain route via Elbasan to Tirana Airport for the British Airways flight to London, arriving Gatwick Airport late evening.

NB: Please note that accommodation outside Tirana is basic but the best available locally.