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Albania Holidays on a Budget.

If you haven’t been here before, I spent 2024 showing people how cheap travel can really be. How? Well, I went to a new destination every month with the aim of doing a short break for under £250. Now, this £250 is for EVERYTHING. That’s right, flights, accommodation, activities, transportation and food and drink. Some of these trips were solo, some were with friends but I have always worked out the cost per person. So, for June’s instalment of the series, I went to Tirana, Saranda and Ksamil in Albania. For this trip, I went with two friends. So, if you’re interested in Albania holidays for less, read on.

Some important things to note here are that I do not include transportation to the airport in the UK or back from the airport in the UK. The reason being, it is so different for everyone. So, I can’t give a reasonable figure that is suitable for all travellers. Equally, everything I do include can be replicated by the vast majority of people. Also, the exchange rate I had was £1 = 112 LEK. Finally, for this trip I travelled with two friends, so the costings are per person. Obviously, the only thing that is made cheaper because of this is the accommodation and any taxis used (only 1).

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Cheap Flights to Albania

I found some decent priced flights for this Albania holiday. They weren’t the cheapest but I still only paid £64.58 for a return. These went from Birmingham to Tirana, which is the capital of Albania. For the outward flight, we departed at 6.15 am on Tuesday with a 4.5 hour flight time. So, with the time difference we landed around 12pm. For the return, our flight was at 10.35am on Saturday, so we landed into Birmingham at around 1pm. As with most short breaks I do, I did not pay for any seat choice or extra luggage. I just used the free small hand luggage option. Honestly, these two options alone can cost you nearly £100 per return flight. So, you can save a lot by stripping back things you don’t really need.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that some people want the comfort of taking more luggage and knowing that they have a seat they like. Equally, I’m here to show you that the more efficiently you can be with your money, the more opportunity you have for additional trips because you’re not spending unnecessarily.

Flights for this price are a lot easier to find and more common than a lot of people think. If you struggle to find these prices, and want to guarantee best prices on flights, check out my expert guide. Click here and use the code BLOG for another 25% off the marked price.

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Ksamil, Albania

Accommodation in Tirana and Saranda

As mentioned before, I travelled with two people for this trip. This meant the accommodation was split between the three of us. The accommodation totaled £180, or £60 per person.

Genuinely, for the places we had on this Albania holiday, the accommodation in Albania is incredible value. The first place we stayed was in Tirana, with the second being in Saranda. However, both were fully equipped two bedroom apartments, with one bedroom having a double bed and the other with two singles. They both had a separate bathroom, large open plan kitchen/ living areas and both had a large balcony. To be fair, the first place had two balconies and a second toilet as well. I will generally always advise you to find somewhere with a kitchen. Why? The initial cost of the accommodation can be slightly more for an apartment. However, if you have kitchen facilities, it can save you so much money on food and drinks.

Some great places to check for accommodation are TripAdvisor. Or, if you’re happy to use hostels for even more savings, try Hostelworld.

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Butrint, Albania

Activities in Tirana, Saranda and Ksamil

Usually, I am a lot more active with doing stuff when I take these trips. But, this time was more relaxed as I was with friends who I hadn’t holidayed with for many years. Equally, we did these activities over the four days –

Day 1 – Tirana

We landed and explored the centre of Tirana on foot. This included Skanderberg square, Tirana park, the great mosque of Tirana and tanners bridge. We also went to a shisha bar in the evening. All of this was free other than the shisa which was £5.95 each.

Day 2 – Saranda

On day 2 we headed to Saranda. So, we spent some time exploring Saranda town and then just chilled out at the beach, went for a swim and had some fun flipping and diving off a platform. All of these activities don’t cost a penny so that was a bonus!

Day 3 – Ksamil

We went on a day trip to Butrint national park, which is a site of ancient ruins. After this, we went on to Ksamil (the Maldives of Europe) and spent some more time relaxing at the beach and soaking in the sun. It cost 1000 Lek (£8.93) for entry into Butrint, and then we were lucky with the beach because you are supposed to pay for it. However, my friends had a meal at the restaurant there and asked to go down for free which the owner said was fine!

Day 4 – Gjirokaster

For our final full day, we had to get back to Tirana for our flight tomorrow. Therefore, in the morning, we went on a total wipeout style water course in Saranda. After this, we headed to a beautiful town called Gjirokaster, just north of Saranda. Once in Gjirokaster, we went to the castle and then explored the old town. This was one of the most enchanting places I’ve visited, like something out of a fairy tale! The wipeout course cost 1000 Lek (£8.93) for an hour and then the castle in Gjirokaster was 400 Lek (£3.57).

So, the total cost of activities for this Albania holiday was £27.38.

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Gjirokaster, Albania

Food and Drinks in Tirana and Saranda

As I was with my friends, I spent more on food this time than I usually would. Anyway, here’s the breakdown!

Day 1

On arrival, it was lunch time. So, I had two good sized ciabatta sub type sandwiches and a litre bottle of water for 500 Lek (£4.46). For dinner, we definitely went to an overpriced restaurant. This meant I paid 2150 Lek (£19.19) for a grilled pork kebab, french fries and a litre stein of beer. The only other thing we bought was a multi pack of water which cost £0.48 per 2 litres and I drank one of those.

Day 2

I usually don’t eat breakfast and just have two larger meals later. So, I started the day with an espresso for 60 Lek (£0.54). Then, for lunch was a large gyro for 450 Lek (£3.57). Later, we went to a nice restaurant in a more local area for dinner. Here, me and a mate shared a seafood platter, grilled vegetables and Bruschetta on the side. On top of this, I had a beer, which totaled 1350 (£12.05) each. I also drank 2 of the 2 litre bottles of water I bought yesterday so another £0.96.

Day 3

Today, I went to a supermarket to get some stuff to make sandwiches for today and tomorrow. This was a loaf of bread, a pack of cheese and 2 packs of salami, which made 3 sandwiches each day. This cost 750 Lek (£6.70) in total so 375 (£3.45) each day. As well as two bottles of water at £0.48 each. We then went to a seafront pizzeria/ pasta bar for dinner. Here I just had a pizza and a beer because the pizza was very large 😅. Dinner for today totaled 1100 Lek (£9.82)

Day 4

Final day today included the sandwiches for lunch as mentioned from yesterday (£3.45), plus a bottle of water at £0.48. I also tried a traditional Albanian snack called Byrek for 150 Lek (£1.34) and then for the final dinner we went to a traditional Albanian restaurant. Here, I tried Fergese, which is a dish made with tomatoes, onions, roasted red peppers, feta cheese, and yogurt.  and some meatballs coming to 1300 Lek (£11.61).

So, the total cost of food and drink across this Albania holiday was £72.36.

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Saranda, Albania

Transportation for your Albania Holiday

For this trip, transportation took quite a chunk of the budget. This is not because it’s expensive, but because the bus from Tirana to Saranda was 4.5 hours each way which totaled £28.35 for both directions. You can do this slightly cheaper if you take direct routes. But, we decided to go to Gjirokaster on the return journey before heading back to Tirana.

Anyway, we took a bus from the airport to Tirana centre which cost 400 Lek (£3.57). That was it for day one but on day two it took us one bus to go from the city centre to the main bus station which cost just 40 Lek (£0.36). Then, we took the long coach to saranda which was £14.56, booked through girafa travel. The next costs were on the third day when we took a bus from Saranda to Butrint for 200 Lek (£1.79). Fortunately, a bus driver offered us a lift from Butrint to Ksamil in his car but I imagine this would cost around 150 Lek (£1.34) if you caught the bus. Finally, the bus from Ksamil back to Tirana was 150 Lek.

Finally, we took a bus from Saranda to Gjirokaster for 400 Lek (£3.57) and then the long trip back from Gjirokaster to Tirana which was €12 (£10.22).Also, once back to Tirana we needed a bus from the main station to the centre, costing 150 Lek (£1.34). So that was day 4, but we flew home the morning of the fifth day so the bus to the airport cost 400 Lek (£3.57) as well. Therefore, the total I spent on transportation was £40.32.

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Ksamil, Albania

Albania Holiday Conclusion

So, this means the total cost for a 4 days and 4 nights Albanian holiday was £264.64. Of course, having the accommodation split between 3 people really helped this. Equally, there are cheaper options available if you are a solo traveller or a couple. Personally, I think this trip really demonstrates the power of savvy budgeting. It was the longest trip I have done. I visited two ends of the country including Tirana, Saranda and Ksamil. Also, it wasn’t as restricted as other destinations, and was still completed at an amazing price.

Flights – £64.58

Accommodation – £60

Activities – £27.38

Food & Drinks – £72.36

Transportation – £40.32

Total for 4 cheap days in Albania – £264.64

Let me know in the comments if you like this post. Or, if you have any suggestions of things the community can do on their Albania holiday. Thanks for reading! Check out the other trips I have done for this £250 series – Bucharest, Sofia, Lake Como, Marrakech, Geneva/ Annecy, Copenhagen and Paris.

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