From the Beaches in Albania to the Mountains in Montenegro: The Balkan Trip You’ll Wish You Booked Sooner
By now you’ve probably started to hear the buzz of Albania. But the chances you know someone who has been and can give you recommendations is slim.
Well, in September of 2025 I spent one week driving all around this gorgeous (and super affordable) country and I have all the tips and recs you’ll need!
We could have spent the whole two weeks in Albania, but the plan was to split our time between there and Montenegro. No regrets because both these countries are spectacular.
ALBANIA
-
Frequently visited by European tourists for its stunning beaches and mountain ranges, Albania is often overlooked by American tourists. Don't make that same mistake! This country will blow you away with its natural beauty! Fly into Tirana and rent a car. You won’t find any trains or other modes of transportation to get around besides buses. For flexibility and convenience, it’s best to have a car at your disposal! The car rental for two weeks was about $500 USD + and additional $200 for insurance (optional) through the rental company upon arrival. Get an international plan on your phone so you have navigation! Google Maps did not work well for us, but Apple Maps was great. Have cash! Cards are rarely accepted and although they will take euro it’s best to have lek for the best exchange rate! You will definitely spend more with euro. Use the ATMs or bring euro and head to an exchange kiosk in the city to swap your euro for lek.
-
The capital city is super safe with great vibes, beautiful parks and a lively nightlife.
-
($180 a night). We stayed 2 nights. This hotel is in the hip Blloku neighborhood and walking distance to everything. Breakfast was included and it was excellent. The hotel had an amazing and kind staff and comfortable beds (for Europe).
-
Get the baguette with eggs and bacon and fresh pressed juice for breakfast!
(pronounced moo-leed-joo). Traditional Albanian food. We did the tasting menu, it was delicious!
-
Spent the day walking through the city sightseeing and exploring. Popped into a fun and wild bar Aty te Piramida for a spritz. Definitely recommend visiting this bar while you’re in the city!
-
Pronounced without the K and a 6-hour drive from Tirana. Although very touristy, Ksamil was super fun, and the water was stunning and the perfect temperature. Most of the photos you’ll see if you google Albanian beaches will be of Ksamil. But be warned, these beaches don’t exactly look like they do in the photos because each small sandy beach is covered with so many lounge chairs you can’t even see the sand. If you like a poppin’ beach town vibe with lots of bars and clubs this is your scene.
-
($60 a night). We stayed 2 nights. Most hotels in Ksamil are walking distance to everything, and this one was no exception. Parking was free, it was clean, quiet and the staff was very kind. Breakfast is included and it’s your typical small hotel buffet breakfast.
-
Get the grilled shrimp (best shrimp we had on the whole trip) and a beer on draft. Chef’s kiss! Oh, and skip the seafood pasta here.
Get the cheese with sesame and honey, the linguini with shrimps and spinach and the grilled tiger prawns.
We had a Greek salad here, fried calamari and grilled shrimp!
-
We only had a day and half in Ksamil, the day we arrived it was already evening, so we just strolled around, grabbed a drink and had some dinner. Our second day we spent the whole day lounging at Kamay beach. It cost $20 for two loungers for the day, and towels are not provided. We bought one (super overpriced) from a vendor because the hotel would not let us take any towels to the beach. Kamay beach is where you’ll find “the hand of Ksamil” a super touristy spot to take a picture. The line is never ending and it's great people watching. We had drinks and got in and out of the water all day. It was a great relaxing day and fun to be around all the happenings!
-
Pronounced He-mar-a and about a 2-hour drive from Ksamil. There were so many gorgeous beach towns to pick from along this coastline, so we just had to choose at random! Himarë was relaxed, super chill and just what we were looking for. Livadhi beach is where we stayed and it’s a tiny strip along the water with a couple restaurants and a couple hotels only. If you’re looking to spend your days sunning and swimming and not much else this is your spot! We didn’t leave the beach the three days we were there but there is a cool little town up the hill you could drive to and explore. We were also considering Dhermi instead of Himarë and looking at staying at the Folie Marine Beach Hotel. But because we were so near the end of season a lot of amenities at that hotel were going to be closed so we went with Livadhi beach instead and it was divine!
-
($250 a night). We stayed 3 nights. With an included beautiful buffet breakfast, parking and beach bar and lounge, this hotel had everything we needed for a low-maintenance, relaxing stay. It was clean, the staff was helpful and professional and the food was delicious.
-
We had our breakfasts and dinners at the hotel. The food was fresh, delicious and simple. I love eating in Europe so much because even if it’s just a simple grilled fish and veggies, it’s perfection!
We ate lunch here two days in a row and had the the turkey club (which funnily enough had no turkey on it), the tuna sandwich and the blt. It was a perfect lunch spot to take a break from the sun and have a little bite.
-
Lounged at the Miamar Beach, sunbathed, regular dips in the mediterranean (that was 78 degrees and heavenly) and sipped on lots of Campari sprtiz! Relaxing and enjoying the beach was the goal for this leg of the trip and it was perfection. Bring water shoes because the beach here is all rocks and although we were advised to bring them, we ran out of time before we left and didn't make it happen. That was a mistake because it was quite uncomfortable getting out of the water!
MONTENEGRO
-
Known for its rugged mountains and fjord-like bays nestled in the stunning Adriatic Sea, Montenegro is a true Balkan gem. It's quintessential European vibes with stunning architecture and rich history. Although not as cheap as Albania, it's worth the visit and still considered affordable compared to So Cal. Cards are accepted pretty much everywhere you go so don’t worry about only having cash. It was super easy to drive across the border into Montenegro from Albania. Just make sure you let your rental car company know you plan to cross over. At the border you will have to purchase a green card for the car which is basically insurance. They have a kiosk there to purchase it and it’s super easy and affordable, just 15 euro regardless of how long you stay!
-
Pronounced Koh-la-shin, it’s a beautiful little town nestled in the mountains near Biogradska Gora National Park. Popular for skiing in the winter but stunning hiking in the summer! The drive in was so gorgeous, we accidentally missed the toll road and took the windy scenic way through the mountains and even though it added an additional hour to our day of driving (totaling 7 hours from Himarë to Kolašin) it was so worth it. I recommend that route for jaw dropping scenery and serene mountain roads.
-
($130 a night). We stayed 3 nights. Probably our favorite hotel of the whole trip. The spa was gorgeous, serene and relaxing. The complimentary breakfast was by far the best we had the entire trip with homemade pastries AND fresh egg dishes to order in addition to the stunning buffet. The best tasting fresh fruit and the offerings were different every morning we were there! The room was cozy, spacious and modern, parking was included, and the staff was extremely kind and accommodating.
-
Just up the road and walking distance from Wulfenia, Sherpas was a cute little restaurant inside a hotel. The service was friendly, the food was hearty, comforting and delicious and the house red wine was a perfect complement to the meal. We ate here our first and last night.
Inside the Wulfenia hotel Vigor was a delicious restaurant with a modern take on traditional Montenegrin food. We had excellent service and an amazing meal.
We stopped into this little supermarket both days we went hiking to grab supplies to make little sandwiches while out in the mountains. We picked up waters, little baguettes, prosciutto and cheese, some nuts and chips.
-
Fredag Loop Hike
We ended up doing our own version of this hike as a lot of it was on the windy mountain road. We cut into the hills off the road and forged our own way through back roads and unused trails. It was super fun and ended up being a cool experience with stunning views of the town and nearby mountain ranges.
Mrtvica Canyon Hike
A 30 min drive from our hotel. We started this hike with the intention of making it to this famous arch “the gate of wishes” along the river but came to find the bridge to get there had been closed for five plus years already! We had to back track a lot but then ended up on a different stunning bridge and did a little loop around back to the car. It was fun and gorgeous, and we had a little pup companion almost the whole hike following us and we ended up giving him some of our prosciutto at the end.
Spent time in the Wulfenia spa. Steam and sauna for a little post hike self-care.
Walked to and around the little town square and stopped into a restaurant called Konoba Nišavić to relax and have a drink. The best part about this spot was the cat that lounged in my arms almost the whole time we sat there.
-
A tiny town just off the main road in the Kotor Bay, it took us about 2 and a half hours to drive here from Kolašin. The entire town is about 4 blocks long, filled with cats and absolutely stunning! Everywhere you look is gorgeous architecture, crystal clear water, stunning mountains, cute restaurants and hotels and the two famous islands sitting right in the middle of the bay. Perast is the perfect place to relax, sunbathe, swim and go on little strolls. Just up the road is Kotor and I'm glad we chose Perast over Kotor because all the cruise ships dock in Kotor and obstruct the views. We did see them coming and going but at least we didn't have to stare at them the whole time.
-
Heritage Grand Perast by Rixos
($330 a night). We stayed 3 nights. When you arrive, you can’t actually drive up to the hotel. They do have included parking just off the main road. Our maps tried to take us down to the town road along the water where cars aren’t really allowed (besides some locals). Stay on the main road and look for the parking sign P2 and an attendant will guide you to a spot, help with your luggage and call the electric golf cart to come and get you and take you to the hotel. It's confusing at first but simple once you see the line of parked cars at P2! This hotel is in a restored 18th century palace with additions made to add more rooms. Our room was massive with a walk-in closet, large bathroom and plenty of space. The courtyard is stunning, the beach platform with loungers is super relaxing with easy access in and out of the water and staff walking around so you can order a spritz while you soak up the sun.
-
Breakfast
The included breakfast buffet was huge with amazing fresh fruit, lots of pastries and cakes, cold cuts and cheese and hot items like eggs, pancakes and french toast.
The hotel restaurant along the water was delicious. We had dinner here our first and last night. The lamb ragu pasta and grilled shrimp were excellent and the staff was attentive.
Ice Cream Cart
Gabe got pistachio and I got the chocolate! It was ok... I would get the Mortiz Eis instead. We didn’t try that spot but heard it was excellent!
Great restaurant with excellent fresh seafood. We got grilled shrimp and fresh fish on a bed of chard. The chard was super tasty but had more garlic in it than I may have had in my entire life. We even got ice cream after and all I could taste was garlic lol.
We had an amazing seafood platter here that was huge with a little bit of everything. We ended up eating here the next day for lunch as well because we couldn't stop thinking about the fried calamari.
-
Pretty much lounged for three days in the sun and sea. Just relaxing and taking in the stunning views was exactly what we were looking for. To end the trip on a mellow note. We walked up and down the little town post meals, swam in the warm clear waters and laid in the sun all day! You could easily do day trips to Kotor or nearby towns, but we just wanted to park the car and not see it again until we left. NO OFFENSE LITTLE FIAT TIPO— WE LOVED YOU!
To end the trip, we had to drive back to Tirana for our flight home. The drive was about 5 hours from Perast to Tirana, and we went through Kotor and Budva which had unreal views. Once we got back to Tirana we stayed again at the Arte Boutique Hotel, visited Aty te Piramida for a drink and had dinner at our hotel. I WOULD ABSOLUTELY VISIT BOTH THESE COUNTRIES AGAIN AND CANNOT RECOMMEND THEM ENOUGH!
