Vlorë (Albania): The Sweet Life in a Seaside Resort
During our mini road trip in Albania, we passed through Vlorë and I immediately fell in love with this seaside resort. We spent a night in an Airbnb we’d spotted (to check the internet connection & the heating, which were the two criteria we wanted to validate before a longer stay) and then we were set for 3 weeks by the sea.
Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Journal
Bus Tirana – Vlorë
There’s a bus from the South Terminal (Google Maps link) to Vlorë every 30 minutes. From our place, we paid 700 LEK for a taxi to get to the terminal. The taxi drivers fight over us, thinking we’re going to the airport. But in the end, with the traffic, our driver managed to squeeze a bit more than the normal fare 🙂
This bus station is bigger than the one we arrived at from the Montenegro. As soon as we arrived, someone asked where we were going and directed us to the right bus. There wasn’t much choice anyway.
Normally, the bus leaves every 30 minutes, but I don’t know why today, they waited for the bus to fill up before leaving, so we had to wait 45 minutes. The driver’s driving is not up to European standards, and he smokes from time to time, but the ride only cost us 500 LEK/person. Cash payment upon arrival.
We were dropped off in front of this huge statue. An Albanian lady smiles at me and says something. I don’t understand a thing and smile back. Sometimes I regret not having studied Italian more seriously, because in the Balkans, many people understand and speak Italian.
Our Airbnb
Our Airbnb host, so kind, came to pick us up at the bus station. Good thing too because it was blazing hot and walking with my suitcase and mask would have been a bit tough. The place is away from the center and we probably would have had to wait a bit to find a taxi. Our host doesn’t speak English but knows how to communicate via Google Translate. He’s super nice. We mentioned that there was no shower curtain (which flooded the bathroom every time we used it) and he went around town that very day to find one for us (and install it).
Look, our Airbnb (22€/night) is on this little street, always full of cars because there’s a supermarket nearby. People park all over the place, so we’re glad we don’t have a car all the time. Parking would have been a huge issue.
The view from the window is pretty ugly, but the apartment suits us well. The internet connection is excellent (100Mbps download, 3Mbps upload). It was cold when we arrived, but the heating takes a while to warm up the whole apartment, it’s fine by the second day. The bathroom smells a bit, but just put a bucket over the shower drain (where sewage odors come up) and the smell goes away. There’s construction next door, which starts super early (7:30am). But I don’t know why, we’re still chill and happy.
You can book this apartment on Airbnb here
Just a 10-minute walk away are a port (with a ferry connecting Brindisi in Italy) and a promenade funded by the European Union. What’s nice about Vlorë is that the waterfront is not obstructed at all. There’s no construction, and everyone can enjoy the beautiful view, take a stroll, or even go jogging along the sea. The sand is a bit gray, and you probably need to wear aqua shoes, because you can see some sea urchins (yum). The Adriatic Sea doesn’t have dreamy beaches, I think, because the sand isn’t white enough. Even though the water is clear, it’s definitely not Thailand.
We’re surrounded by mountains. It looks like a mix of Budva & Kotor in Montenegro. It feels good, being in such a peaceful town.
Thanks to this lovely promenade, JB got back into jogging. Running to the end, he discovered this superb café/restaurant on a pontoon (Bar Pizzeria Sunset). With the beach and a playground nearby.
Well, the two of us went there by car (rented for a weekend) because I’m not good at walking that long. As you can see, the buildings are super ugly, concrete, way too rectangular to be charming, but there’s a sweet vibe. I’ve been really stressed lately, without knowing why, and just walking along the sea relaxes me immensely.
However, you need to keep your eyes open and watch the road at all times, because there are huge, deep holes (up to 2 meters) filled with garbage or liquid (yuck) that could swallow you in seconds. I’d advise against walking at night, as you might not see them.
Restaurants
Since we’re right in the city center, we have a wide choice of restaurants. However, we stayed loyal to 4 restaurants because they perfectly suited our taste and were within immediate reach.
Tre Forchette
This is the most expensive restaurant on the list (you could even call it high-end), but also the best. They have fresh fish (the “catch of the day”) sold by the kilo and prepared to order (about 4000 LEK/kg, but it depends on the fish, always ask the price). We really like the recipe with olives and tomatoes. Their tomato mozzarella (caprese salad) is delicious too, and the Italian wine exquisite. Each meal costs us about 6000 LEK for two, including a glass of wine. Card payment accepted.
Bold Bistro
We have dinner there every night. Because it’s practically across from our Airbnb, and the dishes are simple but tasty. There are quite a few traditional dishes. Their skewers, Albanian kebab, are superb! I didn’t write down the Albanian names of the dishes, sorry, but everything we tried there was really good. Expect 600LEK to 1200LEK per dish. Cash only. Special mention to the very helpful waitress who spoke excellent English.
Novus Traditional-Food-Restaurant
It’s our go-to spot for lunch. In cafeteria style, you look at the counter to see what you want, and they bring it to your table 5 minutes later. The dishes don’t vary much, but they’re always ready by 12:30 PM. It costs about 1000LEK per person. It’s delicious, homemade, and served quickly, which is why we go there on workdays.
Card payment accepted.
Taverna Te LILO
Probably the most local of the 4 restaurants on this list. You’ll find locals spending the whole day watching the restaurant’s TV. They serve delicious seafood dishes. I recommend the fish soup and the sautéed mussels. The mussel sauce is so good that once you’ve tasted that dish, it’s hard to order anything else. We always come to order 2 fish soups and 3 portions of mussels for two of us 😀 and maybe a salad, because all salads are good and perfectly seasoned in Albania. The restaurant managers were quite amused to see us come back every time and order the same thing. Expect 1000LEK per person. Cash only.
Wood-fired pizzas in Vlorë are simple but delicious for the price, around €3. Don’t hesitate to try the super sweet desserts sold in bakeries for just 100LEK (€0.8). There’s only one restaurant selling sushi; it’s acceptable if you haven’t had any in a year, but if you’re only here for a few weeks, skip it! They don’t know how to cook Asian food.
Where to withdraw money?
At BKT, simply put. There are no withdrawal fees with a international card.
Unlike Tirana, here restaurants rarely accept bank cards. Albanians always carry a lot of cash, so don’t hesitate to break out your 5000LEK bills; they’ll always have change.
A local secret
While renting a car to visit other Albanian cities, we had the chance to drive up and down Vlorë, especially along the sea. At one point, we saw a group of young people taking selfies and decided to stop to do the same. The view is indeed magnificent.
Then we noticed a man by the water with large water bottles, doing something. Thinking he was a Sunday fisherman, we didn’t pay attention. Then one of the young people went to the same spot with an empty water bottle and came back drinking. Very intrigued by all these bottles, we watched more closely.
A few minutes later, a family came with several empty 10L bottles and seemed to be filling them with water. Why? Are they drinking seawater or what? We followed them, and JB tested the different areas. Where there were waves, the water was indeed salty, but there was like a freshwater spring. JB filled the bottle and discovered the water was of excellent quality.
Here is the spring in question, just a few centimeters from the sea. Yes, we discovered a spring known only to locals. I love springs (see my excitement in front of the Blue Eye in Albania)
Tap water is not drinkable in Albania. Even though 10L water bottles are cheap (€0.7), it’s more eco-friendly to recycle old bottles and fill them with spring water for free. It seems to be a weekly family activity, as we saw lots of families coming down here. There’s another fountain with a lion’s head nearby, and another family with bottles too.
If we hadn’t seen the young boy drinking that spring water, we wouldn’t have dared to try it. But the water is good, and after consuming an entire bottle, I can confirm it’s pure and tastes just like bottled water 😀
We continued on our way and noticed two cars stopped on the side. People were loading their trunks with water bottles too. But what’s going on here? Where is the spring? We passed an old man with his arms full who pointed us in the right direction. We couldn’t see anything, but we followed the trail of discarded bottles and caps to find “the spring”.
Here, water flows abundantly, even more than the other spot, but from two huge pipes. It’s easier to fill bottles here, but the “spring” is further from the road. There’s a sort of small factory next to it, guarded by a rather noisy dog but chained up. In my opinion, this is where they bottle spring water. And on weekends, when no one works, they let the water flow to the sea, and locals take advantage to fill their bottles.
I’ve been here once before, to take a nice photo, but since it was a weekday, no one came to fetch water, and I didn’t know there was a spring.
We feel like we’ve discovered a treasure or found gold, and we’re all excited to look for more springs. We drive along the sea several times but don’t see any more cars loaded with water bottles.
We finally pass by a lion-head fountain, and there too, people are filling their bottles. So we found 3 places to fill bottles. Too bad they’re so far from our Airbnb.
In short, Vlorë is a great city for nomads.
It’s not yet one of the hubs of digital nomads, like the rest of Albania because of the lack of housing suitable for nomads. When searching on Airbnb, our accommodation was the only one with a comfortable table to work at. The food is delicious, inexpensive, the Internet is decent, and the people are incredibly kind. And as French citizens, we can stay there for up to 3 months without a visa.
The rest of our adventure in Albania, is right here
Part 2: Practical Tips
Budget
- Airbnb: 22€/night (Airbnb link)
- Restaurant: between 500LEK and 1500LEK on average per meal per person
- Car rental: 22€/day with Sixt
- Bus Tirana – Vlorë: 500LEK per person, departures every 30 minutes from the South Terminal
Links
All my articles about Albania are available here
For excursions, guided tours in Albania, check out Civitatis or Viator (by Tripadvisor) here.
My best addresses in Albania are on this custom Google Maps. You can also access it here
