Tirana, Kruje, Skala River, Durres and heading home - 27th June 2026
- Brett Sedgwick
- Jul 27
- 2 min read
Përshëndetje from Tirana - again,
Our last four days in Tirana were pretty good. We caught up on some blogging, some TV, some A/C, and some sleep.
We also hired a private driver to take us to Kruje Castle, which is on the mountains about 20 minutes north of Tirana.
We arrived at Kruje about an hour before sunset and checked out the Old Bazaar. This cobblestoned street was flanked by wooden shops that sold everything from clothes to war memorabilia to musical instruments to tacky souvenirs. Pretty cool. Jen-Jen got a rocking Albanian shirt, and I nearly bought a flute, but some of the keys didn’t work properly, so I settled for a few cans of Birra Moretti - Bella!
We then walked up to the castle, had some great lamb and salad, with a cracking view of the valley below.
We were home early and crashed as we had another day trip planned for the Skala River and Lake Shkoder.
Another bus trip, another group of new friends and we were on a boat on what they refer to as the “Thailand of Albania, " the Shkoder River. This man-made lake was created after they dammed a huge river and created a turquoise lake, which was beautiful. A half hour later, and we were at the Skala River complex where an ice-cold, pristine river ran through a limestone gorge that had been turned into a tourist beach. Sunbeds, umbrellas, cafes, hostels, guest houses eyc were rampant here, and the vibe was very (pebbly) beachy.
We ate pizza and salad and lazed on the 1000 Lek sunbeds for two, whilst we braved the occasional dip into the ice floe. This was a great little corner of the world, and we felt privileged to see it. Check it out below.
The next day saw us on a half-day trip to the seaside town of Durres. We checked out the town, the Roman Colosseum, tower and pedestrian street, but the day was nearly 40 degrees, and the tour group wanted A/C restaurants rather than history. I did get a few pics of a cool Neptune statue on a roundabout though. check it:
We then drove to the nearby Golem Beach, and it was Preshhhusss! We went to the Cabana Beach club, lazed on sunbeds, had a dip and chilled.
This was a nice way to end our time in Albania, as we’ve seen most of what there is to see and had a good mix of beach, river, towns, castles, and cities.
We then got a taxi back to Toni’s and stayed in one of his rooms for the day as a Kosovian wedding took place. We then crashed, got up at 3.00 am, and Toni drove us to the airport, where we waited to board our plane for Oz.
It will be winter back home, and we can’t wait to see friends and family and have a respite from the European Summer.
Talk to you all in three weeks when we are back.
Ciao, my bellas!
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