Given that Tirana is a super inland city and that we have been having a heatwave at the minute, I knew as soon as I got my days off I needed to hit the beach. I’d heard that the beaches down south were better than our closest beach which is Durres, so I decided to take the bus 5 hours south rather than an hour west and made my way to Himarë, (also known as Himara.)
Transport.
The buses in Albania are defiantly not the worst transport I’ve used, but they’re not quite as reliable as a trusty flix bus. From Tirana’s South and North bus terminal which is basically just a car-park, you can get the bus, (you guessed it) south or north. The timetables of the buses can be found on Gjirafa Travel, and you can also buy tickets through them, but it’s not been recommended by any of the Albanian people I’ve met as it’s easier just to buy them at the station or on the bus. Gjirafa also claims it should take three hours to get there, yet this isn’t even possible by car let alone bus, so add on a couple of hours to the journey time you see online for any Albanian busses. This makes it somewhat difficult when you have to actually tell the bus driver where to stop you, it’s difficult to gauge where exactly you are and where to get off, but you literally just tell them and they’ll pull over on the side of the road. On my way there, I saw two girls who asked the bus driver how long to Gjipe as they were sure he had driven past it: he had. The driver then rather impolitely told them it was their fault because they were sleeping, stopped the bus and they got off, miles from their destination. On the whole though my journey was super pleasant, the bus had air conditioning and was kind of chilly at times – the first time I’d felt cold in weeks, and was so empty I had two seats to spread out over.
Hostels.
When I looked at hostels the first one that came up was Oasis which had great reviews about it’s social space and general energy for meeting people and at 36 euros for two nights I just booked. It was a bonus that another girl I’m volunteering with at my hostel had also booked to go to Himarë on the same day. The social space was gorgeous, with hammocks, swings, a ping pong turned beer pong table and so much space to chill and chat. It also had grape trees which give such a nice vibe to see fresh fruit growing in the garden. These areas are always one of the most important in a hostel as finding people is what will make or break a place for you. I actually met a girl on the bus who was staying at the same hostel and it turned out we were in the same room which was great too to have two people I knew there already. Our first night Oasis didn’t have too many people or much energy, I think due to having a big change of check-outs and check-ins, so we decided to walk to the other big hostel in Himarë called Sunbakers. This was booked up until the end of August so in high season if you want to stay you have to be really in advance. We went over, had a few beers and some chats before at 1am they move everyone from their outside areas to the beach. Within about two minutes of getting there, a lot of people had stripped down and were in the sea. I felt slightly too sober for that so we just sat and talked to some of the other more coherent guests. The vibes there seemed great and I met people who had been there for over two weeks because they enjoyed it so much; and if you enjoy a heavy party I can see why. Being completely honest, I was glad I stayed at Oasis but it was nice to check out somewhere else. My second night at Oasis was so much better, I met more people who were nice and easy to talk to, up for having a drink and we also made our way to the beach pretty late, however we were prepared with bikinis and towels unlike what I saw the night before. I did have a few small gripes with Oasis: the first day we arrived there was no toilet roll in the room so I went down to ask for some and they didn’t have any… Something you kinda need in a hostel in my humble opinion. Also theres a small kitchen area in the rooms which I don’t think had ever been checked or cleaned, there was no equipment to even label your food so it’s hard for even guests to attempt to clear it up and the whole area was an absolute state with food everywhere. Yet people I spoke to in other rooms didn’t have this problem, so perhaps it was just my room. Another thing was that the volunteers I met who were staying in my room were a little unfriendly when I tried to talk to them. I gathered by speaking to a few people that they were Spanish and had lied about their level of English at their interview, but even my Spanish speaking friends had said that they were not very talkative even in their native language. But overall it was somewhere I would stay again, providing I bring my own toilet roll and didn’t want to cook in the hostel.
The beach.
The attraction I came for did not disappoint, spending most of my time at Sfageio beach, the waters were such a vibrant crystal blue, and the sand was almost sand but not quite yet which was honestly nicer than I was expecting. It was also super safe and we felt comfortable to leave our worldly possessions by the umbrella to swim which is always important when being solo or in a small group. Some of the umbrellas you had to pay to rent but others were free game. There were a lot of small boats, paddle boards and kayaks that you could rent around here which is good if you’re looking for something a little more exciting. I was there to get as much of my body in the water for as long as possible so opted just to swim which was serene. The water was salty enough that it did wonders for my hair and skin but not too bad that it kills your eyes. There are a few beaches around Himarë, some nicer than others I’d recommend Sfageoi and have also heard great things about Gjipe and Potami so if you were planning to spend longer in Himarë exploring a beach daily could be a great method of exploration.
Food
Sfageio beach sits in front of a strip of bars, restaurants and fast food places which of the ones i tried were gorgeous. I heart souvlaki was honestly one of the best kebabs I’ve had costing about 4 euros. There was also a crepe place which we had breakfast at for the two days I was there which was my first experience of a savoury crepe. I’m not mad about it but I think crepes are just sweet in my head and it felt strange, but also enjoyable. All the food I ate was super fresh, cooked to order and produce was collected close to where it was sold. This has been one of the best things about Albania so far, the tomatoes are sweet, the watermelon tastes like actual watermelon and everything is just juicy and delicious.
For my visit to Himarë I wanted fun, a bit of chaos, the sea and a tan… on that it delivered. It’s somewhere you could visit on a backpacking trip and be pretty happy with having two days here, or somewhere that could be a week or even longer holiday with family, friends, partners or even alone. Recommended by a lot pf people I met here and I totally see why, it’s one to add to the list.
Catch you soon, Lil 🙂