Himare
Himarë is the Riviera stop people actually stop at. Pre-Roman walls above the town, a beach at the mouth of a canyon reachable only on foot, and hostels from four euros.
Himare in a nutshell
Himare: what to expect
Before writing this we counted 93,000+ planned stops in Albania on Stippl.
Himarë is the quiet end of the Riviera, four hours south of Tirana and ninety minutes north of Sarandë. The old town stands two and a half kilometres above the modern one inside walls whose earliest sections are Chaonian, from the fifth century BC. Gjipe sits at the mouth of a canyon and can only be reached on foot, by boat or in a four-wheel drive, which is precisely why it is worth the effort. Porto Palermo's triangular fort is on a spit ten kilometres south.
Himarë is the Albanian destination people actually commit to. It has the lowest share of day stops and the lowest share of single nights in the country, so travellers who write it down mean to stay. It is also the most seasonal place in Albania, with nearly nine in ten of its trips starting between May and September, and Sarandë sits below its floor: three Riviera bases now measure as alternatives to one another rather than as a sequence.
Two or three nights, and treat it as a base rather than a stop. Spile is the town beach, Livadhi is south and Potami north, and Dhërmi and Palasa ten kilometres up the coast are worth their own day. A boat gets you the coves the road cannot reach. Do not come for nightlife or a choice of restaurants, and do not come out of season, when much of the town closes and November alone brings 309 millimetres of rain.
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Anyone wanting Riviera quiet
Himarë is the deliberate contrast with Ksamil: the same coast, a fraction of the crowd.
Anyone staying put for days
Himarë has the lowest one-night share on the Albanian coast, with 2 nights the norm, and people settle in rather than pass through.
Walkers
The Gjipe canyon and the coast paths start from the town, and both are half-day walks.
Budget travellers
Hostels from €4 to 15 and hotels at €35 to 55 are the cheapest bands on any Albanian coastal town.
Maybe not for you: anyone wanting nightlife or a choice of restaurants, since it is a small town and Sarandë is ninety minutes south; and anyone visiting out of season, because much of it closes and November brings the heaviest rain of the year.
The best time to visit Himare
Closed
November to March
Most of the village shuts and the rain comes in long wet spells. A few tavernas on the front stay open for the locals; the beaches are yours and so is the weather.
Opening
April to June
Warm days, quiet beaches and the sea comfortable from May. June is the month most people would pick here: dry, warm and still before the August crowd.
High summer
July and August
Hot, dry and full, with the beach beds along Livadhi and Potami sold by the day and the road from Vlorë slow on weekends. The sea is at its warmest.
September
September
Warm sea, the crowd gone within a fortnight, and the first autumn rain. The second window and, for swimming, the better one.
- July is the month most travellers plan Himarë for on Stippl, about 63 days ahead. The village has a limited stock of rooms and no hotels of size, so a peak-week booking without a room is a night in Vlorë.
- Himarë's beach beds are sold per day, and in August the front rows go before ten. Livadhi is the long beach and Potami the near one; Gjipe, the cove between here and Dhërmi, has no beds at all and needs the walk or the boat.
- The Llogara pass is the way in from the north, and it takes fog and snow between November and March. In those months the road can close for a morning; come from Sarandë instead if the forecast is bad.
- Himarë's Greek-speaking festivals cluster in August. The Panagia on 15 August is the village's own holiday, with the church, the square and every taverna full; it is the one night not to arrive without a booking.
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Things to do in Himare
Photo by Adventure Albania via Unsplash
Photo by Eno Milkani via PexelsHimarë Castle and the old town
Climb to the hilltop settlement inside walls whose earliest sections are from the fifth century BC, with Byzantine churches, stone lanes and the view down the coast. Free, twenty minutes above the beach, and empty in the evening.
Gjipe Beach
Walk thirty to forty-five minutes down the canyon path, or take a boat, to the cove at the mouth of the canyon that no road reaches, which is exactly why it stays quiet. Free, and carry water; the climb back is in the sun.
Porto Palermo
Drive ten kilometres south to Ali Pasha's triangular fort on a spit in the bay, about €3, with a beach in front of it. An hour for the fort and the afternoon for the water.
The town beaches
Pick between the three: Spile in the centre, Livadhi to the south with the beach beds, Potami north and quieter. All free; the beds run about €10 a day in August.
A boat along the coast
Take a boat from the harbour to the coves and sea caves the road does not reach, about €30 a person for a half day or €120 for a private boat. Mornings have the flat water.
Dhërmi and Palasa
Drive ten minutes north to the two villages treated as destinations in their own right: Dhërmi's beach clubs and old village, Palasa's long empty beach under the Llogara pass. A day each if you have them.
The neighbourhoods of Himare
The seafront
Spile beach, promenade, buses
The modern town along the bay: Spile beach, the promenade, most of the restaurants and accommodation and the bus stop, flat and walkable. For first visits and anyone without a car.
Everything on foot, and the busiest beach in town.
Livadhi
Long beach, newer stays, slower
The long beach south of the centre with more of the newer accommodation and beach clubs and a slower feel than the seafront. For beach days and couples who want the sunbed at the door.
The best beach and the calm, and a twenty-minute walk to town for dinner.
Castle hill
Old town, stone lanes, the view
The old village above the modern town: stone lanes inside pre-Roman walls, Byzantine churches and a few restored guesthouses with the Ionian and Corfu below. For history and for the view at dusk.
The view over the whole coast, and a steep road down for everything.
Potami
North beach, quieter, bars
The beach north of the centre with a strip of bars and guesthouses behind it and the road to the northern coves. For a quieter base and for the boat to Gjipe.
Quieter sand and the boat to Gjipe, and a walk along the road to town.
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Where to stay in Himare
Stay on the seafront for a first visit: Spile beach, the restaurants and the bus stop are all on the flat, walkable bay, and Livadhi's long beach is a short walk south. Most people give Himare 2 nights on Stippl, the longest on the Albanian coast. Prices are the lowest on the Riviera, with hostels from €4, and there are no large hotels to change that.
The seafront
Small guesthouses and apartments along the bay, €20 to €50, and hostels from €4 a bed.
Livadhi
Newer apartments and small hotels behind the long beach, €30 to €70, with the beach clubs below.
Castle hill
A few restored stone guesthouses inside the old village walls, €40 to €90, with Corfu on the horizon.
Potami
Guesthouses behind the bar strip and the road to the coves, €25 to €55, for a quieter base.
What to eat in Himare
Fruit brandy (grape, apple, plum), the national spirit
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Himare customs and what not to do
Greek is spoken here
It is a co-spoken everyday language with official recognition, and a kaliméra lands as well as a mirëdita; the older generation may answer you in Greek first.
The old churches are Orthodox
The village above the coast is Orthodox and the churches are in use; shoulders and knees covered, and the frescoes are not for flash.
The old town is a village
Himarë's hill village is a few families and a lot of empty stone; walk quietly, keep off the terraces, and buy the honey from the house that sells it.
Beaches have owners
The loungers at Livadhi and Potami belong to the bar behind them and cost a drink; the free sand is at the ends, and the water is pebble and sea urchin.
Do
- Swim at Gjipe or Filikuri by boat or on foot from the road
- Eat the fish at the harbour tavernas; the catch is the menu
- Carry water shoes
- Greet in Greek in the old village
Don't
- Expect nightlife; the front is quiet by eleven
- Drive the coast road at night
- Sit on a lounger without buying from the bar behind it
- Count on the bus to Vlorë being on time
What a Himare trip costs
Budget
€40–55
Dorm bed or basic guesthouse, the cheapest coastal beds in the country, with hostels from €4, buses along the coast road, market food, free beaches.
Mid-range
€90–130
Private room or small hotel, a share of a hire car, restaurant meals, paid sunbeds, entry fees and a boat trip.
High-end
€200+
Boutique hotel or Riviera resort, private transfers or an automatic hire car, beach clubs, guided treks.
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Fun facts about Himare
The castle walls above Himarë are pre-Roman. The earliest Chaonian fortifications date to the fifth or fourth century BC, older than anything else on this coast by well over a thousand years.
Greek is an everyday language in Himarë. The historic Greek-speaking minority still uses it alongside Albanian in the town and the villages around it.
July averages 13 mm of rain and November 309 mm. A factor of 24, the widest seasonal swing on the Albanian coast, which is why the Riviera is a summer place and nothing else.
Himarë is the Albanian stop travellers commit to. On Stippl it is neither skipped nor rushed: the lowest share of no-night stops and the lowest share of one-night stops in the country.
The old town is a separate settlement 240 metres above the modern one. Himara Fshat, also called the castle, stands 2.5 km behind the beach inside crumbling walls, and most visitors never climb to it.
Himarë is four hours south of Tirana and ninety minutes north of Sarandë. It sits on the coast road between the two, which is why it is the quieter base for the whole Riviera.
Local tips for Himare
One coast road
The SH8 runs the length of the Riviera and everything here is a stop on it. The Llogara pass north of town is the most demanding stretch in the country; take it in daylight.
Three buses a day to Sarandë
First around eight and last in the evening, an hour and a half, about €4. A car makes this coast work much better than the bus, because the beaches are spread along it.
Gjipe needs a four-wheel drive
An ordinary car cannot reach it: a rough track, a boat from the harbour for about €15, or the canyon path, a genuine hike of seven kilometres and three hours. Not a beach stroll.
How long to stay
Most people give Himarë 2 nights on Stippl, the lowest one-night share in Albania: the town beaches, a boat day and Gjipe. It is a place people settle into.
Out of season it shuts
From November to March most of the town closes, including places to eat. A few tavernas on the front stay open; check the guesthouse is one of them.
Safe, petty theft aside
Albania is consistently safe for visitors and Himarë is no exception. Lock the scooter, and the beach beds in August are the only thing that gets taken.
Himare questions, answered
Pick the base first and the beaches second, because they are strung along the coast road rather than clustered. Himare carries 5.35% of everything planned in Albania on Stippl, and almost all of that is beach time. Lay Gjipe, Dhermi and Porto Palermo out in Stippl against the days you actually have wheels.
Two at the least, four if the beaches are the point. Most people give Himare 2 nights in the plans they build on Stippl, and the extra ones go on the coves rather than on the town, which you will have walked end to end in one evening.
A base. Only 31.2% of Himare stops planned on Stippl are a single night, the lowest share anywhere in Albania, because there is nothing here to tick off and a great deal to sit still for. That is the difference between Himare and Sarande, which people use as a hub.
Himare is smaller, quieter and cheaper with better beaches within reach; Sarande has the restaurants, the nightlife, the Corfu ferry and the bus connections. Travellers pick one as a base rather than sleeping in both. Choose Himare if you want the coast itself, Sarande if you want to get places from it.
Four ways, none of them straightforward. On foot down a rough three-kilometre track from the road, by four-wheel drive with a driver who knows it, by boat from Himare or Dhermi, or on the canyon path, which is a hard three-hour walk. Most people end up taking the boat.
For the town, no. For the beaches, effectively yes. The coast road strings Gjipe, Dhermi, Porto Palermo and the smaller coves out over tens of kilometres, and the buses along it are infrequent and stop where they like. A scooter works if you are confident on mountain bends.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Plan Himare in Stippl
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