From Durres Ksamil Beach and Blue Eye Day Trip

The road south from Durres to the Riviera

This is a long day, and the first part of it is the drive itself: around three and a half hours from the Durres and Golem coast, or from Tirana, down the length of Albania. The road passes Fier and Tepelena, follows the Vjosa and Drino valleys between bare mountains and crosses the Muzina pass before dropping towards the Ionian coast. Our guide breaks the journey with a coffee stop at a roadside café and fills the time with the history and geography of the places you pass.

Travellers often ask how to get to Ksamil from Durres or Tirana in one day; buses take most of the day each way, so a Ksamil day trip from Durres with a driver is the only practical way to see the Blue Eye, Ksamil and Saranda together and sleep in your own hotel that night.

The Blue Eye (Syri i Kaltër)

The Blue Eye is a karst spring near the village of Muzinë, where water surges up from a vertical shaft more than 50 metres deep at a constant, cold temperature. The centre of the pool is a dark, intense blue ringed by paler turquoise, which gives it the look of an eye, and the water feeds the Bistricë river through a shaded forest of plane trees and oaks. A wooden platform lets you look straight down into the source, and the surrounding woodland is a protected natural monument.

From the car park there is a walk of about two kilometres along a shaded lane to the spring; a small shuttle train runs the same route for a fee paid on site. The Blue Eye entrance ticket is included in this tour, and the visit lasts about 45 minutes. Swimming in the spring is not allowed, as the water is extremely cold and the site is protected.

Ksamil beaches and the Hand of Ksamil

Ksamil is a small resort village on the Ionian coast just south of Saranda, inside the Butrint National Park area, known for white pebble-and-sand beaches, shallow turquoise water and a cluster of small wooded islands a short swim or paddle from the shore. The water is so clear that travellers call it the Albanian Maldives, and in summer the beaches are lined with restaurants and sunbeds. You have around two hours of free time here for swimming, lunch at a seaside restaurant at your own expense and relaxing.

The guide also stops at the Hand of Ksamil, a sculpture of an open hand rising from the water that has become the village's photo symbol. An optional short boat ride to the islands, paid on site, is available for those who want to swim from the islets. Sunbeds are not included. The best time to visit Ksamil is June or September, when the water is warm and the beaches are less crowded than in August.

Saranda and its seafront promenade

Saranda is the main town of the Albanian Riviera, built in a horseshoe around a bay facing the Greek island of Corfu, which is clearly visible across the strait. The town has grown fast as a holiday destination, and its long seafront promenade is lined with palm trees, cafés and ice-cream stands, with the harbour at one end and views of the bay from every point. The guide gives you about 40 minutes to walk the promenade, have a coffee with a sea view and take photos.

Saranda is also the departure point for ferries to Corfu and the base for visiting the ancient city of Butrint, so this short stop is a useful preview if you plan to return for longer. On this trip it is the relaxed, urban counterpoint to the beach time in Ksamil.

The Vjosa River National Park

On the return journey the guide stops in the Vjosa River National Park, created in 2023 to protect the Vjosa and its tributaries as a wild river national park, the first of its kind in Europe. The Vjosa flows from the Pindus mountains in Greece to the Adriatic without a single dam along its course, braiding across a wide gravel bed between mountains, and its colour ranges from milky green to deep turquoise. The stop is a chance to stretch your legs, walk down to the water and take photos of the valley.

The visit lasts about 40 minutes and is a fitting end to a day that also included the Blue Eye, since both show the unspoilt water landscapes that make southern Albania special. From here the drive back to Durres, Golem or Tirana takes the rest of the evening.