Before You Go: The Essentials
Himara is the best base on the Albanian Riviera, and most people don't realise it until they've already booked Ksamil. This Himara Albania travel guide explains the difference: where Ksamil is a beach resort that happens to have extraordinary water, Himara is an actual town — a Byzantine castle town perched above the Ionian Sea, with a working community, a real restaurant culture, and beaches that are consistently less crowded than anything further south.
Why Himara Over Ksamil?
The debate between Himara and Ksamil as a Riviera base is settled, in my view, by a single question: do you want a resort, or a place? Ksamil is spectacular, purpose-built for beach tourism, and genuinely beautiful. Himara is a lived-in mountain town that happens to have the Ionian Sea at the bottom of a cliff, a castle from the 14th century at the top of the hill, and tavernas where the owner will ask where you're from and then bring you something that wasn't on the menu because they think you'll like it.
If you're doing the full 7-day Albania itinerary, the right move is both: Days 1–3 in Ksamil for the islands and Butrint, Days 4–6 in Himara for everything else. Most people who do this leave Himara wishing they'd spent less time in Ksamil.
The Old Castle Town
Himara Castle sits on the hill above the modern resort — a 15-minute walk or 5-minute drive. It is not a ruin. It is a working neighbourhood: families live in the stone houses, there are three functioning churches, a small kafé, and a graveyard with Ottoman-era inscriptions. The views from the battlements over the Ionian Sea are the best on the entire Riviera — the kind of view where you stand for twenty minutes and the person you came with has to say your name twice to get your attention.
Entry to the castle area is free. Go in the late afternoon when the light turns the stone warm and the sea below goes from blue to dark gold. Stay for the sunset. There are worse ways to spend two hours in Europe.
Himara's Beaches
Himara Town Beach
The main organised beach directly below the modern town. Long stretch of pebble-and-sand, sun beds available, restaurants and bars at the back. Gets busy in high season but empties noticeably by 6pm, when the evening light makes it the best it looks all day. Good swimming — the water clarity is excellent, though not the blue-green shock of Ksamil.
Livadh Beach
3km south of Himara town. A long, gently-curving beach with cleaner water than the town beach and significantly fewer people. The road down to Livadh is narrow and requires a careful driver, but the car park at the bottom is free and the beach itself is worth the effort. Fewer facilities — one beach bar, no sun bed rental. Bring your own shade.
Drymades Beach
5km south of Himara, accessible by a rough track that requires confidence behind the wheel or a short walk from the road. This is the beach you tell people about when you get home: a long crescent of almost-white pebbles with water that genuinely rivals Ksamil for clarity. No facilities. Almost no one there on weekdays in June. Worth every metre of the rough road.
Borsh Beach
12km north of Himara — Albania's longest beach at 7km of continuous sand. A different proposition entirely: vast, underdeveloped, and empty in a way that feels slightly unreal. There's a beach bar at the southern end and nothing else for kilometres. Take the SH8 north and follow the signs. This is where you go when you want the Albanian Riviera to feel as remote as it actually is.
Where to Eat in Himara
Himara has the best restaurant scene on the Albanian Riviera. The combination of a working town (meaning restaurants that cater to locals year-round, not just summer tourists) and exceptional access to fresh Ionian seafood produces food that punches consistently above its price point.
The Seafood Rule
Order whatever came in that morning. Every good restaurant in Himara will tell you what's fresh if you ask. The supply chain between sea and plate is measured in hours. Grilled sea bream, whole octopus, mussels in white wine — these are €8–14 for a main course. The equivalent in coastal Italy is €30–50. The Albanian version will taste better because it was alive this morning.
Where to Sit
The best tables in Himara are the ones with sea views on the upper promenade, particularly in the early evening when the heat drops and the light is right. Book ahead for weekends in July and August — the best restaurants fill up. In June and September, walk-ins work fine even at 8pm.
The Byrek Situation
Byrek — the Albanian filo pastry with spinach, cheese, or meat — is produced at a level of quality in Himara that will ruin the version you get everywhere else. There is a bakery on the main street that produces it fresh from 7am. This is not optional.
Getting to Himara
By Car (Recommended)
Hire a car at Tirana airport and drive the SH8. The stretch from Vlorë south to Himara is one of the best coastal drives in the Mediterranean — cliff roads above the Ionian, switchbacks down to hidden coves, the occasional goat. Allow 3.5–4 hours from Tirana, more if you stop (which you will). This is the only way to access Drymades, Borsh, and the unnamed coves between them.
From Sarandë
Regular minibuses run between Sarandë and Himara (1 hour, €3–5). Taxis are available for €20–30. If you arrive via the Corfu ferry — see our Corfu to Sarandë ferry guide — Himara is the logical next stop after a night or two in Ksamil.
Where to Stay in Himara
The best accommodation in Himara is in the guesthouses and small boutique properties built by local families, most of which offer sea views, included breakfast, and the kind of local knowledge that makes a trip. The castle area has a small number of exceptional properties that you'll find on Booking.com under "Himara old town" — these are quieter, higher up, and have the best views in town.
For the modern beach area, there are several mid-range hotels along the promenade. Fine but characterless. Choose a guesthouse if one is available at your dates.
Day Trips from Himara
- Borsh Beach — 12km north on the SH8. Albania's longest beach. Worth a full day.
- Gjirokastra — 65km inland. UNESCO-listed Ottoman stone city, one of the most atmospheric towns in the Balkans. Half-day drive, full-day experience.
- Butrint National Park — 55km south via Sarandë. UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most important archaeological site in Albania. See our itinerary guide for how to structure the day.
- Lukova Viewpoint — 20km south on the SH8. A clifftop layby with a view that's as good as anything on the Amalfi Coast, with no coaches and no entry fee.