Vlore
Vlorë is the last city before the Llogara pass, 1,027 metres of switchbacks onto the Riviera and the most-cited drive in Albania. The boats to Karaburun's sea caves leave from here, and so do the Italy ferries.
Vlore in a nutshell
Vlore: what to expect
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Vlorë is where Albania declared independence in 1912 and where the Riviera starts. Flag Square marks the declaration with a seventeen-metre monument, and south of the city the road climbs the Llogara pass to 1,027 metres between the Ceraunian mountains and the Ionian, which is the single most-cited drive in the country. Karaburun-Sazan is Albania's only marine park, all sea caves and an uninhabited peninsula, and Zvërnec monastery sits on an island in the Narta lagoon at the end of a wooden footbridge.
Vlorë is the hinge of the Albanian coast, and it is the only place where both coasts hold up. Durrës on the Adriatic and Dhërmi on the Ionian both turn up here more than trip length alone predicts, and Durrës lifts nowhere else in the country: the two Adriatic ports travel together. A Vlorë trip is also an Albania trip, with well over half of them never leaving the country.
One night or two, which is the narrowest spread in the country. Vlorë is the last city before the Llogara pass and the natural overnight either side of it, so plan the stop around the drive rather than the beach. The Lungomare fills up in the evening when the city walks it, and Kanina castle looks back over the bay. Do not book it as a beach holiday, because the Riviera an hour south is what you will actually remember.
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Download the appWho Vlore is for
Anyone driving the Riviera
Vlorë is the last city before the Llogara pass and the natural overnight stop before or after it.
History travellers
Flag Square and the independence story are here, and the city takes them seriously.
Boat-trip travellers
The Karaburun peninsula and Sazan island are only reachable by boat, and the boats leave from here.
Ferry passengers
The Italy ferries dock in Vlorë, so it is the first or last night for anyone crossing the Adriatic, and most give it 2 nights.
Maybe not for you: anyone wanting a beach holiday, since the bay is calm and wide but the Riviera beaches an hour south are what people remember; and anyone planning a long stay, because one night or two is the norm and few go past that.
The best time to visit Vlore
Winter
November to March
Mild and wet, and the city keeps working where the Riviera villages shut. The Lungomare is quiet, the ferries to Italy still run and the rooms are cheap.
Spring
April and May
Warm, dry and quiet, with the Karaburun boats starting up in May and the sea comfortable by the end of it.
Summer
June to August
The busiest months by a distance, with hot days, a warm sea and the Lungomare beach clubs full. The road over Llogara to the Riviera is slow on summer weekends.
September
September
Warm sea, the crowd gone and the first autumn rain. For a city-and-beach stop this is the month.
- August is the month most travellers plan Vlorë for on Stippl, and Albania as a whole is planned only 58 days ahead. The city has hotel stock the Riviera villages lack, so it is the peak-week fallback for Himarë and Dhërmi.
- The Karaburun and Sazan boat trips run from May to October and depend on the wind. A morning departure is the rule; on a windy day the boats stay in the harbour and the trip moves to the next day.
- Vlorë's Independence Day on 28 November is the national one. The flag was first raised here in 1912 and the city marks it with a parade and a full square; rooms are fine, the museum is not open for a quiet visit.
- The Llogara pass is the road to the Riviera and it takes fog and snow between November and March. In summer it is a slow hour behind trucks; leave Vlorë early or take the coastal road via Orikum if it is open.
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Things to do in Vlore
The Llogara pass
Drive the 1,027 metres of switchbacks between the Ceraunian mountains and the Ionian, the single most-cited drive in Albania, about an hour with the viewpoints. The new tunnel skips the entire point; take the old road.
The Independence Monument
Stand at the seventeen-metre sculpture erected in 1972 marking the 1912 declaration made in this city, with the Independence Museum alongside, about €2. An hour, and the museum is the better half.
A boat day in Karaburun and Sazan
Take the boat from the harbour to Albania's only marine national park: the sea caves, the uninhabited peninsula and the former military island of Sazan, about €40 for the day. Mornings only; a windy day cancels it.
Zvërnec Monastery
Walk the wooden footbridge through the reeds to the medieval Orthodox monastery on its island in the Narta lagoon north of the city, free. Half an hour, and the flamingos are in the lagoon in winter.
The Lungomare in the evening
Walk the seafront promenade with the city at the end of the day, from the port to the beach clubs, free. The bars pour from six and the ice cream is the local habit.
Kanina Castle
Drive or walk up to the castle on the hill behind the city for the view over the bay, free. Twenty minutes, and the evening light is the one.
The neighbourhoods of Vlore
The Lungomare
New promenade, palms, bike lanes
The modern beachfront: nearly four kilometres of rebuilt promenade with bike lanes and palms, mid-rise hotels, beach bars and sunbeds along a wide calm bay. For beach stays and for the evening walk.
The promenade and the bay at the door, and the newest and busiest strip.
The old town
Flag square, mosque, museum
The civic centre around the flag square: the Independence monument and museum, the Ottoman mosque and a restored grid of historic streets, with mid-range hotels. For history and for the town rather than the beach.
The city's story on foot, and a walk to the sea.
The old beach
Pine forest, local, fish tavernas
The quieter waterfront north of the port, backed by a pine forest planted under the regime, with family fish tavernas and a slower residential pace. For quiet stays and for the local beach.
The locals' beach and the pines, and a ride to the promenade.
Uji i Ftohtë
Cold springs, clifftop hotels
The southern bay named for its cold freshwater springs, where the coast turns rocky and the clifftop hotels begin at the start of the Llogara road. For sea views and for the road south.
The view and clear water, and a car for the town.
Radhimë and Orikum
Coves, resorts, trailheads
Coves ten to twenty-five kilometres south where the bay narrows, with newer resorts and the trailheads for Karaburun and Llogara. For resort stays and hikers with a car.
The clearest water near the city and the trails, and a drive for everything.
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Where to stay in Vlore
Stay on the Lungomare for a first visit: most of the rooms are here, mid-rise and beach-facing, with the promenade and the beach bars below. Most people give Vlore 2 nights on Stippl, the tightest booking in the country. For a sea view the city centre cannot offer, the clifftop hotels at Uji i Ftohte are ten minutes south.
The Lungomare
Mid-rise hotels and apartments along the promenade, €35 to €90 in summer, cheaper by the week.
The old town
Mid-range hotels around the flag square, €30 to €60, a walk from the beach.
The old beach
Family guesthouses and small hotels under the pines, €25 to €55, with fish tavernas below.
Uji i Ftohtë
Clifftop hotels with sea views, €50 to €120, and the marina's newer polished stock from €80.
Radhimë and Orikum
Newer resorts and beach hotels in the coves, €60 to €150, with a car for everything.
What to eat in Vlore
Greek-style grilled meat wrap, common here given the nearby border
Grilled or pan-fried catch, with a stronger Italian influence than further south
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Vlore customs and what not to do
This is the independence city
The 1912 declaration is central to how Vlorë sees itself and the monument and the museum are the town's pride; a visitor who knows the date is treated differently.
The xhiro is on the Lungomare
The evening walk runs the length of the new seafront and it is where the town is from seven; the restaurants along it fill early and stay late.
The Muradie mosque is in use
The sixteenth-century mosque in the centre holds daily prayers; shoulders and knees covered, shoes off, and outside prayer times.
The beach is south of town
The city front is a harbour and a promenade; the swimming is at Radhimë and Orikum, twenty minutes south, where the water goes clear and the pebbles start.
Do
- Walk the Lungomare at sunset
- Swim at Radhimë or Orikum, not off the city front
- Visit the independence museum
- Book the Llogara pass bus ahead in summer
Don't
- Expect a beach in the city
- Drive the Llogara pass at night
- Photograph the naval base at Pasha Liman
- Pay in euro; change comes in lek
What a Vlore trip costs
Budget
€40–55
Dorm bed or basic guesthouse, buses and furgons, market food plus a €5–10 restaurant meal, free hikes and 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 Vlore
Albania declared independence in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. The monument marking it on Flag Square went up sixty years later, in 1972.
Karaburun-Sazan is the country's only marine national park. The peninsula and the island close the bay to the south, and boats out of Vlorë are the only way in.
The pine forest behind the old beach was planted under communism. It was put there to hold the coastline against erosion, and it still does.
Vlorë is the warmest and driest town on the Albanian coast. About 17 degrees on average and just over a metre of rain a year, against 14 degrees and half as much again at Himarë, an hour south.
Vlorë is the one Albanian stop that connects both coasts. Travellers who plan it on Stippl pair it with Durrës in the north far more often than any other Riviera town does.
The Riviera starts at the Llogara pass, just south of the city. The coast road climbs to 1,027 metres and the character changes completely on the far side, which is why Vlorë is the hinge of the coast.
Local tips for Vlore
The Llogara pass is the drive
The road climbs to 1,027 metres and drops onto the Riviera, the best road in the country by most accounts; the tunnel is faster and skips the point. Pass in good weather, tunnel in bad.
Boat tours from May to October
Karaburun and Sazan run as full days from eight to six, about €30 to €60 a person, and depend on the wind. Sazan is a former military island; tours are the only way onto it.
Ferries to Brindisi
They run daily in season, about seven hours on the conventional service from about €60. The port is beside the Lungomare; book a cabin for the overnight.
How long to stay
Most people give Vlorë 2 nights on Stippl, and nearly half stay one: the last city before the Riviera. Two gets the boat day and Zvërnec.
The pass is the hazard
Switchbacks, exposure and heavy summer traffic on the Llogara road; the tunnel is the alternative in poor weather and the coast road via Orikum when it is open. Daylight only.
The bay is calm
This is a sheltered stretch of coast, not an exposed one, and the swimming is easy. The beachfront has little shade and the summer highs pass thirty; the sea is for the afternoon.
Vlore questions, answered
At the top of the Riviera, where the drive south properly begins. Vlore carries 5.23% of everything planned in Albania on Stippl, mostly as the night before or after the Llogara pass. Put it into Stippl as a staging post and give the beach days to Himare instead.
One night, two if the marine park or the lagoon is in the plan. Travellers planning Vlore on Stippl give it 2 nights, and the spread around it is tight: people arrive, do one thing and drive on over the pass the next morning.
A staging post, mostly. 45.8% of Vlore stops planned on Stippl are a single night, the highest share on the Albanian Riviera, because the beaches people came for start on the far side of the Llogara pass. One night here, then keep driving south.
It is the finest road in the country and the best reason to leave Vlore by car rather than bus. It climbs to over a thousand metres above the sea in a run of switchbacks, with the whole Riviera laid out below the top. There is a tunnel now, which you should take in fog.
A full day out to the Karaburun peninsula and Sazan, the old military island, with cave stops and swimming off the boat. It runs from late spring into October and it is the only way to see that coast at all, because no road goes down the peninsula. Take shade and water.
Vlore is a city with a beach; Himare is a beach with a village attached. Vlore is where people stop for a night on the way through, Himare is where they stay for three. If you want restaurants, a promenade and a bus station, Vlore. If you want the water, keep driving.
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 Vlore in Stippl
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