Albanian Riviera, SH8: Vlorë to Sarandë

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Vlore

   Vlorë is where the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea are said to meet, and that is the first thing a local will tell you, with some pride, even if the geographers are a little vague about exactly where the line falls. The town sits at the head of a wide bay, closed off to the west by the long mountainous arm of the Karaburun peninsula and the island of Sazan, and behind it the Llogara range stands up to well over two thousand metres. It is a big, busy, slightly chaotic place of nearly ninety thousand people, with a long seafront promenade of palms and cafes.

   Read the complete Vlore write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Vlore is where the day begins. Next is Llogara Pass.

2. 2. Llogara Pass

   At 1,027 metres, the Llogara Pass is the high point of the Albanian Riviera road, the SH8, and it is a place where the mountain suddenly lets go of the coast. From Vlorë the road climbs through the Ceraunian range, which the ancients called the thunder mountains, through forest of black pine and fir, and then at the saddle the whole Ionian Sea opens out below, with Corfu a smudge on the horizon on a clear day. The first time is hard to forget.

   Read the complete Llogara Pass write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Llogara Pass comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Dhermi, mostly downhill.

3. 3. Dhërmi

   Below the pass, the road drops to the sea at Dhërmi, a village that spreads down a green slope from a ridge of old stone houses to a long, pale beach. The village was historically mostly Greek-speaking and Orthodox, part of the Himara region where Greek communities have lived for centuries, and its churches, notably the one called Panagia and a monastery up the hill, have fine old frescoes. The old quarter, with its steep lanes and walled gardens, is worth a walk before the day gets hot.

   Read the complete Dhermi write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Dhermi. Next is Himare.

4. 4. Himare

   Himarë is the heart of the Albanian Riviera, a small town on the Ionian coast where the mountains stand so close to the sea that the road has to squeeze between them. The coast road, the SH8, runs for about a hundred and fifty kilometres from Vlorë to Sarandë, and it is one of the best rides in the Balkans, though it is still a road that demands attention. The town itself has a population of a few thousand, an old hilltop quarter with a Byzantine castle, and a long modern waterfront with cafes, hotels and a gravel beach.

   Read the complete Himarë write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Himare, about halfway. Next is Porto Palermo.

5. 5. Porto Palermo

   Porto Palermo is a bay on the Albanian Riviera that looks like a film set, with a small castle on a rocky peninsula that pokes into clear blue water. The castle, a compact triangular fortress, was built in the early nineteenth century by Ali Pasha of Tepelena, the Ottoman governor who ruled much of southern Albania and northern Greece with his own mix of ambition and cruelty. The walls are thick, and the stone is the colour of honey, and from the causeway the fortress seems to float in the sea. Inside, the courtyard is bare but atmospheric.

   Read the complete Porto Palermo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Porto Palermo sits at 148 km, late in the day. Next is Sarande.

6. 6. Sarande

   Sarandë sits at the bottom of Albania's long coast, in a curving bay facing the Greek island of Corfu, which on a clear evening looks close enough to swim to. It is a town of about fifteen thousand, built in tiers up a steep hillside, with a promenade running the length of the waterfront and a view that makes the end of the SH8 feel like a reward. The road you have just finished, the coastal highway from Vlorë over the Llogara Pass, is among the most dramatic in the Balkans.

   Read the complete Sarandë write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 129 km.