Himare

Published on 31/07/26

Himare is the perfect beach town in my opinion. The sand is white, the water is clear blue, the sun is bright and the food is good. I stayed for five days here and I absolutely loved it. However, if you are short on time, you can do it in two days, too. I mostly laid on the beach and did some activities, but you can easily do everything in a shorter time too.

Getting to Himare is fairly easy. There is a five-hour bus that goes from Tirana to Himare, or a two-hour bus from Sarande to Tirana. We took the latter and it was really convenient. The bus dropped us off at quite a random place, but it was close to our accommodation, so that was nice. Be aware, the bus leaves from a different place than our drop-off! Maybe that was just our experience, but I think it is due to the destination of your bus, so just pay attention.

Also note: I did not take any pictures in Himare, so please use your imagination when reading this article :)

noëlle

Hi! I am Noëlle and I wrote this article for you!!! Hopefully, you like reading this article and find my tips and struggles helpful. Also, ignore the grammar and spelling mistakes; I did not proofread it. I absolutely loved Albania and hope you will have the most amazing trip too! :)

Accommodation

We stayed at Agilia Seaview Apartment, which was very new. The entrance was a bit tricky to find, but we met the owner quickly, who led us the way. There was no kitchen in the apartment, but they did have a fridge, which was enough for us. We went out for food three times a day anyway. The best thing about the apartment was the location. It was located in the city center, across our favourite restaurant in Himare. It was a 5-minute walk to the beach, the shops and the boat rental. I also have a vague memory that the owner of the apartment also owned a bar in Himare, so he invited us there too and we got free shots; however, I am not sure if it was the same guy.

With my sorority, we stayed at Apart-Hotel Lazari. The hotel is located on a hill, which made getting to the hotel very, very tricky. The road to the hotel was the worst road I had ever driven on and you really rely on a car to get there. As we did not have a car, this was a downside of this location, because we had to call a taxi every time we wanted to leave. At the end of our stay, the taxis increased their prices as the road was so horrible, they were afraid they were damaging their cars by going up and down so often. Besides the road is very small and there are more houses located on the road, so sometimes it took a very long time to get there as you had to wait for all the passing cars.

But okay, when you’ve defied the road, you are rewarded with an amazing hotel. It is truly beautiful and because it is located so high up, the view is unbeatable. We were welcomed by a very kind host, who showed us our rooms. We stayed in rooms of three, which was so much fun. The rooms are luxurious (for students), have a bathroom and a small kitchenette. Outside there is a pool, kiddie pool and bar where they serve cocktails and snacks for a small price. We loved it and just laid by the pool the whole day, sipping our Aperol. They were also able to whip up lunch for us, if you asked for it (not on the menu, but they were creative). The bartenders were very kind and young and they even invited us to the bar they worked at in the city center. While some families were staying at the hotel, we had a blast playing with the kids in the pool. As soon as they have improved the road to the hotel, this is absolutely a 10/10 place to stay.

Restaurants

On our first night, we had dinner at ACTA restaurant, and let me tell you, they have the BEST seafood pasta ever. We tried multiple restaurants in Albania, but this pasta topped everything. They are located on a cliff, so you have a beautiful view over the ocean and the beach. Their breakfast was not necessarily worth going for, but as it was across our apartment, we had breakfast there anyway. I also took my sorority here and we had dinner and breakfast multiple times.

Someone recommended us Grill Rondo Potam. The restaurant is located a bit further south in a quieter, but still lively part of Himare. It was a 20-minute walk from our accommodation to this restaurant. We arrived quite late, around 21:00, so many items from the menu had already been taken, but the food that was still available was delicious. We ordered grilled veggies, potatoes, filled eggplant and meatballs, I think. The place was very chaotic and the staff was literally running around, but it made the whole experience only better. I think they work there with four brothers and their parents run the kitchen, but I would honestly not know. It was so incredibly good, we wanted to come back the next night too, but they were closed. As I am writing this, I also see they are permanently closed, so we lost another good soldier. HOWEVER, if they do open again at some point, you absolutely have to go there.

We also ate at another restaurant that looked cute from the outside, but I would not know anymore what it exactly was, I just remember that their seafood pasta was not as good as ACTA.

Beach

A good beach day can also not be missed in Himare. We rented chairs on Plazhi i Maraçit. This was a quieter beach in Himare, which was so nice. We rented sunbeds as the sand is very hot, so you do not want to sit on the sand itself. The sunbeds also have an umbrella, so you have shade too. We laid here for hours and came back multiple times. As Himare is located on a cliff and the beach obviously is at the bottom of the cliff, you have to take some stairs down. This is very doable, but you do have to search a bit to determine which stairs you need to take. There are signs, though, so you will get there. At the beginning of the stairs, there is a small shop, which is perfect for getting water and snacks. I can highly recommend bringing water shoes. It looks ridiculous, but as I said, the sand is hot, and there are some sharp stones.

Activities

At some point, there comes an end to lying on the beach, so we decided to do some other activities in Himare. One was a boat tour. We did our boat tour with Himara Seas The Days. As we were with a big group (12 people), we booked this activity quite some time beforehand via WhatsApp. We were not sure if everything went well with our booking, but after our confirmation in their office, all was well. We chose to do the Grama Bay tour, which was 5.5 hours and started at 10:00. It may seem early, but it was very nice as otherwise it gets so hot on the boat. There were around 25 people in total on the boat, all differing in ages. There were some tanning spots at the front of the boat and comfortable seats in the middle of the boat. The boat had a big cooler with drinks that you could buy. You were also allowed to bring your own snacks, so we did that. On the way to Grama Bay, you stop at the following spots: Pigeon’s Cave, Gjipe Beach, Pirate’s Cave, Drymades Beach, Palasa Beach, Thunder Cave, Blue Cave and Saint Andreas Bay. It depends on how crowded every place is, if you make a stop or just sail by. At some spots, you were able to get off the boat and swim or snorkel around the area. The Blue Cave was very cool as everything looked blue (surprise). At Grama Bay, you were able to swim and go to the beach. However, there were jellyfish in the water and someone got stung, so no one of us dared to go into the water anymore. After Grama Bay, you go directly back to Himare, which is a very nice boat ride. After the boat tour, we went to the beach again and had a lovely dinner there. We finished the night with drinks at our hotel, so what a relaxing day.

Another thing that you can do very well is party in Himare! The bartenders from our hotel also worked at a bar in the city center, where they invited us for free drinks! We decided to watch the football game there as the European Championship was happening at the time. On the boulevard of Himare, they have a big square with a huge screen where they were also projecting the game, but it was a very popular spot, so completely full when we arrived. The bar was a really great alternative and afterward, we still went to the square to party. On the way, we met some guys and I heard about a club that was nice, so I sent everyone that way. I myself went back home haha. I heard the club was not amazing, but I could not care less. Himare has a very nice party vibe, so I am sure there are other places that are worth going.

As said before, the owner of our first accommodation also invited us to have drinks at his bar. This, however, was a bit luxurious and not really our thing. It was also a bit quiet, so we left after one drink (and free shots). I have got to be honest, the Balkan way of partying is not really my style, but if you are with a fun group, every night will be nice.

I really liked Himare and I dare say it was my favourite place in Albania. Definitely do not skip out if you are visiting Albania, as this town has everything to be a perfect beach town!