Parts of Italy, Kosovo, Nth Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Poland and Germany.

RB · 2025-08-02T10:53:31+1000

Paxos to Gjirokaster
A taxi to Gaios from Lakka, hydrofoil to Corfu, a long dock walk to the Albanian ferry area, a bit of a line through security to exit Greece (only 2 workers) & then an unexpected wait - a time change via a time zone variation but the ferry also ran an hour after what was advised on our booking & ticket. We waited out the hour onboard in an air-conditioned lounge with only about 30 others travelling. Took off around 15 minutes late also, so all of this conspired for us to miss the last bus to Gjirokaster.
Off the ferry quickly at Saranda & very quickly through Albanian security & another stamp in the passport. The ferry terminal is a magnet for taxi touts & sim card sellers. Our hosts had contact via Whats App & kindly had organised a well priced taxi transfer for us.
It was an interesting trip with our driver, probably in his 60’s having always lived in Gjirokaster. He didn’t like Saranda (does looks very much like the Gold Coast) he misses some aspects of the old regime such as the health care & education process & he doesn’t listen to the news as there is never anything good reported!
A great drive on a fairly new road through narrow necks between mountains & then some beautiful spacious flats. A lot of abandoned terraces, but also plenty of agriculture - grapes, oranges, hay, sheep, goats and honey.
The hot afternoon was completed by a thunderstorm that boiled up over the mountain peaks. Plenty of police cars on the side of the road conducting radar checks - the speed limits are generally low with many areas of 60,50 & 30km/hr limits. We were dropped off at the door of our room in the Old Town for our 2 night stay.

This was our ride to Corfu-pretty well organised for fitting luggage. Comfortable enough seats but not much of a view through windows

One door on the far left of corridor is the holy grail!

Looking back at Albanian departure terminal in Corfu-multiple lines arriving & departing at similar times so a bit chaotic. Buses on the right were for shuffling the nearby cruise passengers

Ended up with about another dozen passengers in this air conditioned lounge on the ferry

Docked at Corfu

Departing Corfu

Mango Beach Saranda

Taken as we docked in Saranda

Road to Gjirokaster -a couple more kms & we travelled on an excellent, multi-lane highway only constructed a couple of yrs ago

We were perched up in the old town section of Gjirokaster

Cloud hugging the mountaintops after the thunderstorm

drron · 2025-08-02T14:17:55+1000

Good picture of the Ship we will be on in January. The one on the right side of the photo. Crystal Symphony.

RB · 2025-08-02T15:24:05+1000

drron said:
Good picture of the Ship we will be on in January. The one on the right side of the photo. Crystal Symphony.

There were a lot of them in port. Another shot

RB · 2025-08-02T15:39:43+1000

Guesthouse Hoxha Gjirokaster

Guesthouse Hoxha, Gjirokastër (updated prices 2025)

Really enjoyed our stay here (and the Raki on arrival). WE potentially had to share the kitchen area but there was no one else staying while we were there & the layout means you have total privacy. We had the room with the premium mountain views & the rooftop terrace was a great bonus particularly for Castle viewing during night time drinks & while enjoying the excellent included breakfast.

All room facilities were well maintained with lovely heritage furnishings and details & it was very comfortable. The stained glass & the wooden ceiling added character & the owners were super friendly & helpful without being intrusive.

An excellent location up on the rise of the Old Town so most of the walking around was relatively flat.

Common kitchen area

Rooftop area

Part of the excellent breakfast

RB · 2025-08-03T11:14:29+1000

Around Gjirokaster
Gjirokastër - Wikipedia
The stone city of Gjirokastor is known as "the city of a thousand staircases" and in the old town there are hundreds of Ottoman houses and a bazaar that has seen more than its share of troubles, but now is full of restaurants, bars, shops and people watching for the visitors who come to see it's UNESCO World Heritage listed sights.
Enver Hoxha was born here (right next door to our guesthouse) and his massive statue pulled down after the fall of Albania's extreme and isolating form of communism in the 90's. This is all set in the magnificent Drina Valley with it's rugged mountains and wonderful hospitality.

Like most visitors to Gjirokastor, our plan was to walk around the Old Town and visit the Castle and one and a half days was about right.
Many of the tourists seemed to be younger than those in Greece with a great mix of nationalities and most (young and old) seemed to be travelling independently. There was much less focus on fashion and much more on enjoying where you were.
The locals are welcoming with the younger groups learning English at school and happy to practice. Plenty of locals still smoke & the men love to gather, have a yarn, a smoke & drink coffee.
There were lots of souvenir sellers but it was easy to pick out the genuine articles rather than the mass produced and while beer was generally dearer, wine was cheaper and the food about the same.
There is a real emphasis on traditional restaurants & plenty of outside dining but you share the space with smoking diners, walkers, cats, dogs, & shop displays spilling out - always entertaining. The restaurants have come up with a variety of ways of coping with the uneven surfaces with table & chair legs cut or added to & packed overnight in a precise order for easier set-up the next day.
The uneven cobblestones & steep paths along with a sand surface in some parts mean you need to be well shod & alert.

Pretty typical menus

An example of the specially modified dining furniture

RB · 2025-08-03T11:28:26+1000

More Gjirokaster

A much photographed building in the bazaar-currently a souvenir shop

Skenduli House- next door to apartment
SKENDULI HOUSE | Visit-Gjirokastra.com

A couple of locals turning on the charm

RB · 2025-08-03T13:31:48+1000

Gjirokaster Castle Gjirokastër Fortress - Wikipedia
Castle - Because of the great location of our B&B we could easily step out to do everything - except of course the Castle! It that sits above the town and housed a notorious prison for political prisoners as late as the 1950's.

It’s a steep but relatively short hike up with a couple of options - we took the one with more stairs rather than road which was a bit shorter. The castle and museum opens at 9am & there is a small entry fee. There were excellent views, with a vast area internally & externally. It was getting very hot even so early and the shade was appreciated.
An Italian tank & American Fighter jet were amongst the more unusual items for viewing and it was definitely worth paying the extra for entry to the Ethnographic Museum inside, with it’s great collection of cultural treasures & artifacts and explanations giving a lot of background. There was plenty of armory & weapons on display & the prison museum was a sad reminder of what a lot of the population has been through (invasion/occupation/war).