ABOUT THE TOUR
Albania was the last country in the Ottoman Empire to gain her independence and was recognised by the Great Powers in 1914. It is one of the most ancient in Europe – Illyria – the Romans recognised Albania’s importance in trade and began the Via Egnatia from her coast to Constantinople.
However, it must be one of the least known countries in Europe and one of the most exciting and unexplored, described so in the 19th century and so too in the 20th, isolated by its communist ruler Enver Hoxha. Less so today but it offers visual richness, friendly people, delicious food, wine and a real sense of the extraordinary, which Europe has largely lost.
Our journey starts in the capital, Tirana, where we spend two nights exploring the city and the nearby great castle town of Kruje, the scene of a great battle between the Ottomans and the Albanians in the 14th century and from there south via Elbasan and the beautiful city of Berat.
Berat, again fortified, but its Ottoman houses, churches and museums are one of the richest in Albania. From there we travel still further south to Gjirokastra where we will spend four nights. The city is the birthplace of Hoxha and perhaps because of that has retained its great towering fortified houses built in tiers up the mountain side, of the very materials of the mountains themselves. There is a fine Bazaar, mosques, churches and tekes – home to the Dervishes.
From here we will visit Tepelene where Lord Byron was entertained by the despot Ali Pasha with mutual admiration. From there into the mountains to visit Bylis abandoned by the Byzantines but an ancient site. There will be other village visits not normally on a tourist route where we receive a real sense of the hospitality of the Albanians.
From Gjirokastra further south to Butrint where Lords Rothschild and Sainsbury set up the Butrint Foundation in the early nineties to help restore this extraordinary site inhabited by various peoples from the Illyrians to the Venetians. It is of great beauty and complexity. We then leave this wonderful country for the crossing at Saranda to Corfu where we will spend one night with further visits in the town including the spectacular archaeological museum. Albania is a land that has always attracted real travellers as Byron, Edward Lear, Edith Durham and the Lawrence of Albania, Baron Nopcsa. Come and join us!
TOUR LEADER
Lucy Abel Smith
Lucy is an art historian who specialises in Central Europe and the Balkans. After many years working as a tour organiser and lecturer, she set up her independent travel company, Reality and Beyond Ltd to concentrate on this most fascinating part of the world. She first visited Prague in the early 1970s and wrote a Walking tour of Prague published by John Murray in 1991.
She lives in Gloucestershire and founded the successful contemporary sculpture show Fresh Air in 1992. She has restored a house in Richis, Transylvania where she launched the Transylvanian Book Festival in 2013. She wrote the Blue Guide to the Greater Tarnava Valley in 2016 which is now in its second edition. Any spare time is spent researching the patronage of the 17th Century Duke and Duchess of Beaufort. She is a patron of the Gloucestershire Gardens and Landscape Trust.
Lucy will be accompanied in Gjirokastra by local guide Viola Sherifi.
8 days from £2,995 per person
TOUR DATE: 21 – 28 SEPTEMBER 2026
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: £378
Price Includes
- Accommodation throughout as shown in the itinerary
- Breakfast daily; 8 lunches; 3 dinners
- All entrance fees, visits, excursions
- Group transfers and transportation as per the itinerary
- Gratuities in restaurants for included meals
- Gratuities to guides/s; gratuities to driver/s; porterage
- The services of your tour leader throughout
Price Excludes
- International flights
- Travel insurance
- Meals indicated as ‘under own arrangements’
- Items of personal expenditure (e.g. telephone calls / laundry etc.)
- Government levies or taxes introduced after costing and publication of this programme on 02/12/2025
DAY-BY-DAY OVERVIEW
Monday 21 September: London / Tirana
British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Tirana (not included in the cost of the tour). Group transfer to the Hotel Intercontinental where two nights are spent.
Lunch at a local restaurant. Orientation tour of Tirana including the British Cemetery. Dinner at Golosa Restaurant.
Overnight: Intercontinental Tirana
Tuesday 22 September: Tirana & Kruja (or Bovilla)
Continue the tour of Tirana including the Tirana National Archaeological Museum and House of Leaves Museum.
Lunch at Villa Era. Visit the hill town of Kruja or Lake Bovilla. Return to Tirana and dinner under own arrangements.
Overnight: Intercontinental Tirana
Wednesday 23 September: Tirana / Elbasan / Berat / Gjirokastra
Check out of the hotel and depart for Elbasan. Visit Elbasan Ethnographic Museum and Castle. Continue to Berat.
Lunch at the White House in Berat. Visit Berat Castle and the Onuri Iconographic Museum. Visit the Church of St Mary of Blachernae (C. 13th) and Berat Ethnographic Museum. Continue to Gjirokastra and check in at the Kalemi Hotel where four nights are spent. Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: Kalemi Hotel, Gjirokastra
Thursday 24 September: Gjirokastra
Tour of Gjirokastra including Gjirokastra Castle and Gjirokastra Museum. Walk to the bazaar to see the specialist craftsmen at work.
Lunch at a local restaurant. Concert in Skenduli House (subject to confirmation). Visit Gjirokastra Ethnographic Museum. Dinner under own arrangements.
Overnight: Kalemi Hotel, Gjirokastra
Friday 25 September: Gjirokastra, Tepelene & Bylis
Depart for Tepelene. Photo stop at the place where Byron stayed in Tepelene a guest of the Ottoman ruler Ali Pasha. Visit the classical site at Bylis.
Lunch at a local restaurant / or picnic. Return to Gjirokastra. Dinner under own arrangements.
Overnight: Kalemi Hotel, Gjirokastra
Saturday 26 September: Gjirokastra & Countryside
Visits in the countryside including a Teke (Sufi monastery) and local Orthodox churches.
Lunch at a local restaurant / or picnic. Evening visit to Libohove for dinner at Sedat Ismailat Restaurant. Return to Gjirokastra.
Overnight: Kalemi Hotel, Gjirokastra
Sunday 27 September: Gjirokastra / Butrint / Siranda / Corfu
Check out of hotel and depart for Butrint. Visit the archaeological site of Butrint including the small museum. Visit Lekuresi Castle and continue to Saranda.
Lunch at a local restaurant / or picnic. Take the ferry from Siranda to Corfu and transfer to the Divani Palace Hotel where one night is spent. Dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight: Divani Palace, Corfu
Monday 28 September: Corfu / London
Check out of hotel. Visit the Archaeological Museum of Corfu.
Lunch at a local restaurant. Group transfer to Corfu airport for a British Airways flight to London Heathrow (not included).
From the first conversation to the final day of our trip, Catherine and the team were helpful, efficient and easy to reach. Their recommendations not only improved our original plans but also made the whole holiday more cost-effective. Even when we needed assistance while away, their response was immediate. We wouldn’t hesitate to travel with them again.
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