European holiday destination with beautiful beaches and £3 cocktails – and flights are less than £30 too
WHEN I first told my friends that I was heading to Albania for a nine-day beach trip, most of them reacted with a raised eyebrow and a question: “Why?”
For many holidaymakers, the country in southern Europe doesn’t immediately spring to mind when deciding on a seaside getaway.
However, over the past few years, the republic has become a word-of-mouth hit among those looking for gloriously sunny beaches that don’t break the bank.
After seeing post after picturesque post of the Albanian Riviera on Instagram, I decided to book a road trip along the country’s coast with my boyfriend and a university friend of ours.
Started in the capital city of Tirana, we would drive through the mountains down to the crystal blue waters of Ksamil.
With the cost-of-living crisis looming large and our bank balances dwindling, we boarded a flight from Gatwick hoping for a cheap and cheerful holiday — and that’s exactly what we got.
Having become accustomed to spending at least a tenner on a mojito back the UK, I could have cried with happiness on discovering that cocktails in the town of Vlore — the first destination we drove to after landing in Tirana — worked out as £3.70 each.
Not only were the drinks cheap (the most expensive bottle of wine on the menu was £23), but so was the food, which borrowed dishes from its Greek and Italian neighbours and sold them for a third of the price.
A bowl of seafood linguine would cost you 700 Lek (£5.20) while lunch at the Black Pearl on the beach of Ksamil worked out at £11.30 for a selection of fresh fish, a Greek salad, French fries and a bottle of water.
In most places, the standard of food was no-frills, but if Michelin star-worthy dishes aren’t an essential for your holiday, then you’re bound to be satisfied with the restaurant offerings.
As for accommodation, we mainly stayed in Airbnbs properties, which ranged between £14 and £21 per night for each person, however in Dhermi, our second destination along the riviera, we treated ourselves to a stay at La Brisa Boutique Hotel.
An undiscovered gem
While more expensive at £237 per night for a two-bed room in high season, guests could step directly onto a private section of the pebble beach, furnished with the comfiest sun-loungers and a beach bar perfect for cocktails and a light lunch.
When we’d had enough of sunbathing, we could head to the rooftop pool, which looked out on unbelievable views of the Ceraunian Mountains – the breathtaking range we had driven through to reach Dhermi.
While the beaches across Dhermi and Ksamil – our third destination — were filled with either sand or pebbles, the water along the Albanian coastline was consistently turquoise blue, much like the sea found in Corfu, Amalfi and Sardinia.
Better still, the Albanian beaches were much quieter thanks to the area still being somewhat of an undiscovered gem.
Take a paddle board out to sea (€10/£8.75) or book a boat tour of the Dhermi caves (€30/£26), before heading down to Salinas, a sandy nightcap spot where you can sip Moscow mules around a toasty firepit, listening to the sound of disco hits and the crackling fire wood.
In most of the beachside towns, you can pay in euros or Lek and while you can only withdraw Lek in Albania, you would often save money paying in the national currency.
This budget price does come with a little compromise, though.
In some places we visited, the lower prices were reflected in the service and waiters worked at a more relaxed pace than we’re used to in Britain.
And while we didn’t experience this everywhere (the staff at Gaia in Vlore were incredibly attentive) there was certainly a pattern.
But this didn’t affect our holiday experience.
Ksamil was the final costal destination on our trip, where we spent three nights bouncing from beach to beach, scoffing the catch of the day and making the most of one bar which boasted a 500 Lek (£3.70) happy hour until 9pm and was, unsurprisingly, very popular with other British holidaymakers.
While the hearts of animal lovers may break at the sight of so many stray cats and dogs in the town, Ksamil proved to be a relaxing escape.
Peaceful, picturesque, and most importantly, ideal for thosecounting the pennies, Albania is becoming the hottest holiday spot of 2023.
And with £3 beachside cocktails up for grabs, you can’t go wrong.
GO: Albania
GETTING THERE: Wizz Air flies from Luton to Tirana in Albania from £26.99 each way.
See wizzair.com.
STAYING THERE: Two nights’ B&B at the La Brisa Boutique Hotel is from €150 (£133), based on two people sharing.
See labrisa.al/en.