Albania has the beaches, the history, and the prices that Croatia had before Instagram found it. Wizz Air flies you there from London for £29 return, non-stop. You land in Tirana and the coast is three hours south. The math is easy.
✈️ The Deal
- From: London, UK
- To: Tirana, Albania
- Airline: Wizz Air
- Stops: Non-stop
- Price: £29–£40 return
- When: June – July 2026
Example dates:
23/06/2026 – 16/07/2026 29/06/2026 – 15/07/2026 30/06/2026 – 16/07/2026 01/07/2026 – 08/07/2026 07/07/2026 – 26/07/2026
💰 How Far Does Your Money Go?
A byrek costs £0.90. A cold local beer at a beach bar is £1.60. A full sit-down meal at a waterfront taverna runs £5–£7. That is cheaper than a Pret sandwich and a pint on the commute home. Budget travellers manage on £30–£40 a day. With a sea-view room and proper dinners, £70 covers everything with change to spare.
☀️ The Weather
The Albanian coast in June and July sits between 28°C and 33°C, with the Ionian Sea at 24–25°C. Clear skies, calm water, and close to 300 days of sunshine a year on this stretch of coast. July is peak summer: intense heat and full beaches. June gives you the same weather with noticeably fewer people.
🏨 Where to Stay
Albania covers every budget. The beach towns are where you want to spend your nights.
Hotel Natica Ksamil – 8.6/10 – From £40/night Four-minute walk from the beach, with a pool and a terrace. The kind of place you book for two nights and end up staying five. 👉 Book here
Marbella Sol Hotel Ksamil – 8.9/10 – From £80/night Adults-only hotel six minutes from Ksamil Beach with sea views and a pool. A step up in comfort without pushing into luxury prices. 👉 Book here
Mk Hotel Tirana – 9.2/10 – From £95/night The highest-rated hotel in Albania. Rooftop pool, top-floor restaurant, and a standard that most European capitals charge twice as much for. 👉 Book here
🎯 What to Do
The coast has ruins, springs, and crystal water. It does not need much else.
Ksamil Islands – Swim out to one of three small islets just off the beach. White pebbles, turquoise water, and close enough to the shore to reach without a boat.
Butrint National Park – A UNESCO World Heritage Site built at the edge of a lagoon. Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Venetian layers in one walled city. One of the best ancient sites in Europe, and largely unknown in the UK.
The Blue Eye (Syri i Kaltër) – A natural spring in the hills above Saranda. Water rises from 50 metres below and stays at 10°C even in August. Cold, strange, and nothing like anything else on the coast.
Lekursi Castle – A 16th-century Ottoman fortress above Saranda, with views over the town, the Ionian Sea, and Corfu on clear days.
🗺️ Where to Go From Here
Land in Tirana. Then head south. The coast is the point.
Durrës – 40 minutes from Tirana. The closest beach to the capital: long sandy stretches, waterfront restaurants, and a Roman amphitheatre worth an hour of your time.
Himara – 3 hours south. A small coastal town backed by mountains, with quieter coves and one of the best-preserved old quarters on the Riviera.
Ksamil – 3.5 hours south, near the Greek border. White pebbles, turquoise water, and small islands you can swim to. The best beach on the Albanian coast.
Saranda – 3.5 hours south. The Riviera's main town: a seafront promenade, regular ferries to Corfu, and a base for everything else nearby.
Berat – 2 hours south of Tirana. A UNESCO hill town of Ottoman architecture, known as the city of a thousand windows. Worth a day on the way back north.
£29 to the Albanian Riviera. The rest of Europe has not caught up yet. Book before it does.
Get every flight deal we find, on your favourite app.
Pick how you want to hear from us — or all three. Free, no spam.
