A four-night tour, to four fascinating cities, this short break shows you ancient, medieval, and modern Albania. From a well-placed base in Durrës, on the shore of the Adriatic, included excursions take you to characterful Kruja, the capital, Tirana, and beguiling Berat
(limited dates/availability)
12 November 2023
Following the success of our Classical Tour of Albania, we are delighted to introduce this condensed tour of carefully chosen highlights, a leisurely short break, staying in one place, with departures during the quiet spring and autumn seasons. Our base is Albania’s second-largest city, Durrës, strategically sited on the Adriatic coast, and tracing its roots to 627BC. Wars, earthquakes, and a chequered past have left few historic monuments, but those still standing are impressive, from a Roman amphitheatre to ancient city walls and a Venetian fortress tower. We travel to Kruja, its castle the home of 15th-century national hero and nobleman Gjergj Kastrioti, known and revered as Skanderbeg; its superbly preserved medieval market resembling a living museum. Tirana uses its past as a backdrop to its present persona of chaotic, colourful capital, with avenues of Ottoman, Italian and communist era architecture; mosques, Orthodox and Catholic churches; and a modernist museum hemming the hub of the city, Skanderbeg Square. And, crowning a hilltop, Berat’s 13th-century citadel gazes down on the photogenic, UNESCO listed, ‘town of a thousand windows’, the tiers of multi-paned houses among the best Ottoman examples outside Turkey.
Cultural & Countryside Tour
New Single Centre Tour
Jules Verne Sightseeing
UNESCO Site: Berat
No Single Supplement
Solo Group Departure
Local Expert Guide
Day 1 Fly from London Heathrow to Tirana, and transfer to coastal Durrës, a thriving port and resort, with soft sand beaches, seafood restaurants and shopping plazas. Four nights at the 4-star Royal G Hotel & Spa.
Day 2 Tour to Kruja, Albania’s capital when Skanderbeg led the resistance movement against the Turks, keeping them at bay for 25 years. Visit the Ethnographic Museum and the Skanderbeg Museum, built within Kruja castle and recording the history of the country’s most celebrated national hero; and enjoy time to stroll through the cobbled lanes of Kruja’s Old Bazaar, lined with timber-built shops selling colourful textiles and crafts. Continue to the present-day capital, Tirana, where a walking tour focuses on the Bllok area, a former exclusive enclave of villas for the communist elite; takes in the modern monuments of central Skanderbeg Square; and visits the subterranean Bunk’Art museum, a huge, four-storey anti-nuclear bunker hewn into a hill. (B, L)
Day 3 Travel south to Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage town, renowned for its 16th-century mosques and cluster of white, multi-windowed Ottoman houses, and set between rugged mountains and the Osumi River. Visit the impressive citadel castle, overseeing the town from the crown of a hill, and the Onufri Museum, dedicated to the 16th-century artist and iconographer Onufri, whose work features in the interiors of many of Albania’s Orthodox churches. (B, L)
Day 4 Enjoy a day at leisure in Durrës, perhaps to explore the 2nd-century, 15,000-seat, Roman amphitheatre, take in the views from the top of the round tower, or simply stroll along the Adriatic shore. (B)
Day 5 Transfer to the airport for the return flight to London Heathrow.
Notes
This itinerary includes visits on foot including some uneven surfaces and inclines.
Day 1 Fly from London Gatwick to Tirana, and transfer to coastal Durrës, a thriving port and resort, with soft sand beaches, seafood restaurants and shopping plazas. Four nights at the 4-star Giulia Albergo Hotel. Drive to Kruja, Albania’s capital when Skanderbeg led the resistance movement against the Turks, keeping them at bay for 25 years. Visit the Ethnographic Museum and the Skanderbeg Museum, built within Kruja castle and recording the history of the country’s most celebrated national hero; and enjoy time to stroll through the cobbled lanes of Kruja’s Old Bazaar, lined with timber-built shops selling colourful textiles and crafts.
Day 2 Travel to the present-day capital, Tirana, where a walking tour focuses on the Bllok area, a former exclusive enclave of villas for the communist elite; takes in the modern monuments of central Skanderbeg Square; and visits the subterranean Bunk’Art museum, a huge, four-storey anti-nuclear bunker hewn into a hill. (B, L)
Day 3 Travel south to Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage town, renowned for its 16th-century mosques and cluster of white, multi-windowed Ottoman houses, and set between rugged mountains and the Osumi River. Visit the impressive citadel castle, overseeing the town from the crown of a hill, and the Onufri Museum, dedicated to the 16th-century artist and iconographer Onufri, whose work features in the interiors of many of Albania’s Orthodox churches. (B, L)
Day 4 Enjoy a day at leisure in Durrës, perhaps to explore the 2nd-century, 15,000-seat, Roman amphitheatre, take in the views from the top of the round tower, or simply stroll along the Adriatic shore. (B)
Day 5 Transfer to the airport for the return flight to London Gatwick.
Notes
This itinerary includes visits on foot including some uneven surfaces and inclines.
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A modern 4-star hotel in Durrës, close to the seaside with beach access. Restaurant, bar, pools, gym, spa, sauna and WiFi (free). 110 air-conditioned rooms with sea view, hairdryer, safe, mini-fridge, tea/coffee making facilities, satellite TV and balcony.
A 4-star boutique-style hotel close to the amphitheatre and Currila Beach. Restaurant, bar and WiFi (free). 25 air-conditioned rooms with hairdryer, safe, mini-bar and satellite TV.
Sundays/Mondays
per person in a twin/double room
British Airways from Heathrow (29 Oct/Nov - easyJet from Gatwick)
(limited dates/availability)
12 November 2023
Supplements per person
Single Supplement
NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT
(limited dates/availability)
2023: All dates
Solo Group Departure
(No Single Supplement)
2023: Nov 12
Flight Options
British Airways Club Europe from £395
Extension Options
Extra Nights - Durrës
Royal G Hotel and Spa
(per night) £40
Single supplement £25
Departure transfer add £25
Privately Guided
Add £245 per person
Tour Only
Save £200
Arrival or departure transfer add £25
Price Includes
Air travel and taxes, transfers, 4 nights’ accommodation, breakfast daily, 2 lunches, itinerary as described, services of guides and local representatives. If our specially negotiated airfares are unavailable at the time of booking, a supplement may apply.
Not Included
Travel insurance, optional excursions, tipping, any government taxes or compulsory charges introduced after publication.
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