ann141 Posted August 26, 2023 #1 Share Posted August 26, 2023 Has anyone suggestions for what to do in Sarande Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted August 26, 2023 #2 Share Posted August 26, 2023 The town of Sarande is one of the most dispiriting places I’ve visited in the Med. Take an excursion or private tour out of town to Butrint. Even if you’re not a “ruins” person, the site is picturesque sitting on the water as it does. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann141 Posted August 27, 2023 Author #3 Share Posted August 27, 2023 2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said: The town of Sarande is one of the most dispiriting places I’ve visited in the Med. Take an excursion or private tour out of town to Butrint. Even if you’re not a “ruins” person, the site is picturesque sitting on the water as it does. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAVIP Posted August 27, 2023 #4 Share Posted August 27, 2023 Butrint, like @cruisemom42 suggests. And buy lacework/handwork from woman/girls, if they are there or in Sarande that day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakcruiser Posted August 29, 2023 #5 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Four of us hired a taxi for the day. We went to Butrint, Blue Eye freshwater spring, Lekuresi castle and a very old church I don't remember the name of. Beware though the taxi drivers will pass on narrow winding roads driving at high speeds and talking on their phones. The Blue Eye is quite a hike in and would not be for somebody who is mobility challenged. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Vineyard View Posted August 29, 2023 #6 Share Posted August 29, 2023 I also recommend getting away from Sarande. We made the mistake of deciding to walk the town. It was not a place to do this. The begging was very disheartening and everywhere. There really is nothing whatsoever to do or see. Cruisemom42 always has great ideas! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinburgher Posted August 30, 2023 #7 Share Posted August 30, 2023 On 8/26/2023 at 8:55 PM, ann141 said: Has anyone suggestions for what to do in Sarande Sounds as if Sarande wasn't great. We were in the other port, Durres, but thankfully and unlike us,had decided to book a shorex which took us to Kruje and Tirana, both of which were worth visiting and we also saw some of the countryside along the way. The little we saw of Durres from the coach when leaving and arriving back into the town/city wasn't greatly inspiring and the descriptions of Sarande above could also apply to Durres. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobalt206 Posted August 31, 2023 #8 Share Posted August 31, 2023 We had a wonderful experience here. We took a cab to 3 Islands Beach Club in Ksamil Beach and it exceeded our expectations. The beach was clean, water very clear and also very scenic.The restaurant there was very good and very reasonable. I think many cruise passengers end up hating Sarande because they never venture out to see places like Ksamil Beach. We were very glad we found this place and wouldn’t hesitate to return. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Vineyard View Posted September 1, 2023 #9 Share Posted September 1, 2023 I also recommend getting away from Sarande. We made the mistake of deciding to walk the town. It was not a place to do this. The begging was very disheartening and everywhere. I am glad to learn of these options should we ever again find ourselves on an itinerary that includes this port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare carlmm Posted September 1, 2023 #10 Share Posted September 1, 2023 Another option for an excursion is Gjirokastra, a world heritage site. This city is further away but historically and culturally interesting with both an important huge castel and small museum converted traditional homes. About Sarande itself I have a much more favourable opinion than some of the above posters: Sarande is a kind of sea side resort with a promenade along the beach, small bars and so on, albeit it reminded me, a visitor from Western Europe, of maye Italy 50 years ago. No wonder given the much younger history of freedom and tourism. Still not overdeveloped, relaxed, friendly and joyful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WanderingTheWorld Posted September 7, 2023 #11 Share Posted September 7, 2023 I will be in Sarandë in early November on a HAL cruise. I am interested in visiting Butrint. Through the cruise line, I found an excursion called Archaeological Albania. Has anyone been on this excursion? Did you have to pay admission to Butrint, or was it included in the excursion price? I do prefer using an independent tour company rather than the cruise line. Does anyone know of any good tour providers? My internet searches have not yielded much. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted September 8, 2023 #12 Share Posted September 8, 2023 3 hours ago, WanderingTheWorld said: I will be in Sarandë in early November on a HAL cruise. I am interested in visiting Butrint. Through the cruise line, I found an excursion called Archaeological Albania. Has anyone been on this excursion? Did you have to pay admission to Butrint, or was it included in the excursion price? I do prefer using an independent tour company rather than the cruise line. Does anyone know of any good tour providers? My internet searches have not yielded much. Thanks! Given the way these excursions run, if they talk about seeing a major site like Butrint, any entrance fees are included. I've been to Butrint twice, once on a shore excursion with a specialty cruise line (included and very good) and once on a private tour with the woman who directed some of the recent excavations there, which was excellent but I'm not sure whether she does these tours any more. If you are really interested in a super-detailed tour, I can dig up her info and pass it along to you but I'd rather not post it on a public site without her okay -- so if interested, feel free to reach out to me at cruisemom42 AT gmail DOT com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sun16 Posted September 8, 2023 #13 Share Posted September 8, 2023 16 hours ago, WanderingTheWorld said: I will be in Sarandë in early November on a HAL cruise. I am interested in visiting Butrint. Through the cruise line, I found an excursion called Archaeological Albania. Has anyone been on this excursion? Did you have to pay admission to Butrint, or was it included in the excursion price? I do prefer using an independent tour company rather than the cruise line. Does anyone know of any good tour providers? My internet searches have not yielded much. Thanks! https://www.visitsaranda.net/see/saranda-beachfront-boulevard/ Hi Wandering - we are on the same cruise - in Albania Nov 2? I saw the attached youtube and thought we would do this. Not overly confident on purchasing a private tour here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WanderingTheWorld Posted September 8, 2023 #14 Share Posted September 8, 2023 15 hours ago, cruisemom42 said: once on a private tour with the woman who directed some of the recent excavations there, which was excellent but I'm not sure whether she does these tours any more. If you are really interested in a super-detailed tour, I can dig up her info and pass it along to you but I'd rather not post it on a public site without her okay -- so if interested, feel free to reach out to me at cruisemom42 AT gmail DOT com. @cruisemom42, I just emailed you. Thanks so much! 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WanderingTheWorld Posted September 8, 2023 #15 Share Posted September 8, 2023 1 hour ago, sun16 said: https://www.visitsaranda.net/see/saranda-beachfront-boulevard/ Hi Wandering - we are on the same cruise - in Albania Nov 2? I saw the attached youtube and thought we would do this. Not overly confident on purchasing a private tour here. @sun16 - Yes, we are on the same cruise! Thank you for sharing the video and article. I agree that it has been tough finding private tour companies here. There aren't many to choose from, and some of them have less than stellar reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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