Backpacking Albania is a 9-day small-group trip from $1,359 per person with a $350 deposit. Tubing the Osumi Canyon, the UNESCO-listed old towns of Berat and Gjirokastër, the Blue Eye spring, Butrint's ruins and a Himarë boat trip. For travellers aged 20-45, in groups of 6-18, with 11 activities and 8 meals. Departures run from 21 May 2027.
Tirana → Berat → Gjirokastër → Sarandë → Himarë
Albania
5 stops
Fly into Tirana, drop your bags at the hotel and meet the people you will spend the next nine days with. Once everyone has arrived, your guide takes the group on a short first walk to Skanderbeg Square, the wide open heart of the capital. The rest of the evening is for getting to know each other, with icebreakers, a first taste of Albanian food and, for the brave, a glass of raki to mark the start of the trip.
Your first full day is spent on foot, getting to grips with Tirana and its history. Your guide leads you past the Clock Tower, through the stalls of the New Bazaar (Pazari i Ri), up to Enver Hoxha's Pyramid and on to the government buildings. By early afternoon you are free to explore at your own pace. In the evening the group meets up again for dinner and drinks, and to find a good spot for the sunset.
This morning you leave the capital behind, pausing at the Belsh lakes for photos on the drive to Berat. The afternoon belongs to the Osumi River: a guided tubing trip through the canyon, floating past sheer rock walls, waterfalls and some dramatic scenery. Once you are dry, you wander the Mangalem and Gorica quarters, the hillside neighbourhoods whose rows of windows give Berat its nickname, the town of a thousand and one windows.
The day begins up at Berat Castle, looking out over the town and the valley below. From there you drive south to Gjirokastër, known as the City of Stone, where Ottoman-era houses climb the steep slopes of the Drino Valley. You stroll through the old town and its bazaar and step inside Skenduli House, one of its historic family homes. The rest of the afternoon is yours, and your guide will have plenty of ideas for filling it.
You need to be at least 18 to join this trip, and the upper age limit is 45. Most travellers are somewhere between their twenties and their thirties, and the majority come on their own, so joining solo is completely normal. Travelling in a group of up to 18 means you will have plenty of people to share the beaches, boat trips and evenings with.
You have eight nights of accommodation, mixing twin-share rooms in hotels with mixed-sex hostel dorms. The first two nights are in a hotel in Tirana, followed by a hotel in Berat and a guesthouse in Gjirokastër.
On the coast you stay in hostels: two nights at a social hostel in the centre of Sarandë, with a pool and a bar, and one at a beachfront hostel in Himarë. The final night is back in a Tirana hotel.
Eight breakfasts are included, one every morning from day 2 through to checkout on day 9. Lunches and dinners are not included, which leaves you free to eat wherever you like, and your guide will point you towards good local places in each stop.
On the first evening the group usually heads out for dinner together at around 7pm. That meal is not included, so it is paid for on the night.
Yes. Let us know about any dietary requirements when you book, so they can be planned for ahead of the trip. Only breakfasts are included on this tour, so for most meals you will be ordering from a menu yourself, and your guide can help you find places in Tirana, Berat, Gjirokastër and along the coast that suit you.
No. International flights are not included, so you book your own flights into and out of Tirana International Airport, where the trip both starts and ends.
Check-in times and baggage allowances vary by airline and can change at any time, so confirm the details with your airline before you travel, and check in online in advance to avoid delays at the airport.
No, you can arrive in Tirana at any time on day 1. Check-in at the hotel is usually from around 2pm, so most people plan to land around then, and nothing is scheduled during the day.
The group gets together in the evening for a short walk to Skanderbeg Square and, usually, dinner at around 7pm, so aim to be there by then if you can.
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