Ksamil Islands and Twin Islands Speedboat Trip from Ksamil

Ksamil beach and village

Ksamil is a small village at the southern tip of the Albanian Riviera, about 15 kilometres south of Saranda, sitting inside Butrint National Park between Lake Butrint and the Ionian Sea. Its fame rests on its water: a string of small coves with white pebbles and shallow, pale-turquoise sea that looks more like the Caribbean than the Balkans. The main beach, where this speedboat departs, is the busiest of them, lined with loungers and cafes and facing the islands a few hundred metres offshore.

The departure point is on the main beach of Ksamil, with the exact spot sent in your booking confirmation. Boats leave on the hour through the day, so you can go out early for empty water or later for the warmest swim. If you are wondering how to get to the Ksamil Islands, this is the answer most visitors use: a few minutes' walk to the beach and a short ride across.

The islands of Ksamil from the water

Just off the beach lies a cluster of small, uninhabited islands, low and green with scrub and a few pines, each ringed by a narrow beach of white pebbles. They are protected as part of the national park, so there are no buildings on them and the water between them is a patchwork of sandbanks and deeper channels that shows every shade from pale green to deep blue. The speedboat threads between the islands on its way out, which is the best view of them you can get.

The ride lasts about 20 minutes, long enough to circle the main islets, see the beaches on the far side that face Corfu and watch the seabed slide past under the hull. Everyone on board is in the open, so this is the moment for photos of the water, the islands and the mountains of Corfu across the strait.

The Twin Islands

The Twin Islands, Ishujt Binjakë in Albanian, are the two largest islets off Ksamil, lying so close together that a narrow strip of pebbles joins them, with shallow water on both sides that you can wade through. Each island has small beaches, rocky edges for exploring and patches of shade under the trees. The boat drops you on the beach and leaves you to your own schedule.

Most guests settle on one of the beaches, swim between the two islands and walk the short paths across them. The water around the Twin Islands is shallow and sheltered, so it warms early in the season and stays calm when the open sea is choppy. There are no shops or cafes on the islands, which is exactly their appeal: bring what you need and enjoy a few hours with nothing but water, pebbles and pines.

Swimming, wildlife and the water

The sea around the Ksamil Islands is some of the clearest on the Albanian coast, protected from currents by the islands themselves and by the Corfu strait. Small fish gather around the rocks at the edges of the islets, seabirds nest on the quieter islands, and from the beach you can often watch the boats and ferries moving between Saranda and Corfu. Snorkelling gear is not provided, so bring your own mask if you want to look beneath the surface.

Because the water is shallow and calm, the islands are good for children who can swim with supervision, and for anyone who prefers gentle swimming to open sea. The best swimming is in the late morning and early afternoon, when the sun is high and the colours of the water are at their strongest; the first departure of the day gives the quietest beaches.

Butrint National Park and the Corfu strait

Ksamil and its islands lie inside Butrint National Park, which also contains the ancient city of Butrint, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian ruins a few kilometres south of the village beside the lagoon. The park protects the lake, the wetlands, the islands and the coast, which is why the islands remain undeveloped and the water so clean.

Across the strait, only a short distance away, rises the northern coast of Corfu, its mountains filling the view from the island beaches. Many visitors combine this speedboat trip with a morning at Butrint, or with an evening at Lekursi Castle above Saranda, so a day in Ksamil can hold ancient ruins and island swimming within a few kilometres of each other.