Shore excursion to Albania from Corfu?

[AAAG]

Hi,

Has anyone ever seen or done a shore excursion to Saranda, Albania from Corfu?  Is it possible, or is the timing too tight?

We are looking at Adriatic/Mediterranean cruises for next summer.  My youngest son really wants to do a day trip to Albania.  Unfortunately there are no cruises with an actual stop in Saranda within our dates and price range.  So I am wondering if stopping in Corfu and doing it as a day trip would be a feasible option?  It looks like we would have 10 hours in port.  Most of the day tours I have seen by Googling say 10 hours, so too tight.

Has anyone done this?

Thanks in advance  

[edinburgher]

18 hours ago, AAAG said:

Has anyone ever seen or done a shore excursion to Saranda, Albania from Corfu?  Is it possible, or is the timing too tight?

popular with day trippers from Corfu, ferries and hydrofoils run between Corfu and Albania/Sarande, so if you are happy to skip an actual "tour" and simply wander around Sarande when you get there, you could check timetables and find timings to suit your time in Corfu port.

Edited August 19, 2023 by edinburgher

[cruisemom42]

A friend and I had made plans to do this by taking the ferry on our own from Corfu. Our cruise line was holding our passports and we had to request them. When we told them why we wanted them, we were basically told it was not allowed by the line. They were too worried we would not make it back and they tried to explain that because our ship’s next port was not in the EU, they would be in trouble with Corfu authorities if they did not sail with the same number of passengers they arrived with. 
 

We argued for a bit but they wouldn’t budge. My gut feeling is that the lines know it would be tight and you could face issues or a fine if you don’t get back in time.

[edinburgher]

13 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

lines know it would be tight and you could face issues or a fine if you don’t get back in time.

Well advised cruisemom42.  My bad really. Such a popular day trip and with such short crossing times between Corfu and Sarande  that  l don't understand why they thought it would be tight to get back in time with 10 hours in port, but I suspect it may have been more to do with the fact that  Albania is not in the EU and there may be rules about that if all other ports on the itinerary are in the EU.I suspect the tours are longer because they probably head to Burint.

 

AAAG should you not make it across,one time we left Corfu and very shortly after sailaway, from an outside deck we watched a pod of dolphin in the channel between the two countries. Not guaranteed of course but your son might enjoy looking just in case.

 

 

[Vineyard View]

We had a port day in Sarande earlier this year. It was hugely disappointing. We walked the strand and retuned to the ship to relax as there really is nothing to do. We did stop and have a beer near the water, but there was not much attractive about that location. A lot of people begging, and really no shopping, some swimming but it was right there where the ship was so that didn’t seem like a great idea….plus the ground was pretty rocky going into the water. That was it. I know that there are other places in Albania to visit that have history to them, but Sarande was not one of them 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Vineyard View

[cruisemom42]

10 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

We had a port day in Sarande earlier this year. It was hugely disappointing. We walked the strand and retuned to the ship to relax as there really is nothing to do. We did stop and have a beer near the water, but there was not much attractive about that location. A lot of people begging, and really no shopping, some swimming but it was right there where the ship was so that didn’t seem like a great idea….plus the ground was pretty rocky going into the water. That was it. I know that there are other places in Albania to visit that have history to them, but Sarande was not one of them 

A shame you did not take the opportunity to visit nearby Butrint, which is, imo, the best use of a day in Sarande.

[Vineyard View]

36 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

A shame you did not take the opportunity to visit nearby Butrint, which is, imo, the best use of a day in Sarande.

It was definitely a big miss. There was another excursion to a UNESCO site but was quite a long distance. We missed opportunities on this port for sure, because staying in Sarande was a travel day lost. 

[kazu]

On 8/26/2023 at 11:18 AM, cruisemom42 said:

A shame you did not take the opportunity to visit nearby Butrint, which is, imo, the best use of a day in Sarande.

 

If you have time, would you mind to share how you toured Butrint please?  Ship’s tour, private or DIY?  I would rather not to do a ship’s tour due to numbers and interested in options.  Thanks 🙂 

[cruisemom42]

2 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

If you have time, would you mind to share how you toured Butrint please?  Ship’s tour, private or DIY?  I would rather not to do a ship’s tour due to numbers and interested in options.  Thanks 🙂 

I was traveling with a friend who is also interested in ancient sites. We researched private guides and got an excellent recommendation for an Archaeologist who had actually participated in the excavations at the site. She gave us a great tour of the site, more in-depth than ship tours and including some parts of the ancient site that  were a bit distant from the main site (which you may or may not be interested in). Be aware that the site involves a couple of somewhat steep climbs. But with a private tour you can decide not to do them.

 

If you’d like her info feel free to contact me. You can email me at my screen name @ gmail.com

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I was traveling with a friend who is also interested in ancient sites. We researched private guides and got an excellent recommendation for an Archaeologist who had actually participated in the excavations at the site. She gave us a great tour of the site, more in-depth than ship tours and including some parts of the ancient site that  were a bit distant from the main site (which you may or may not be interested in). Be aware that the site involves a couple of somewhat steep climbs. But with a private tour you can decide not to do them.

 

If you’d like her info feel free to contact me. You can email me at my screen name @ gmail.com

 

Thanks kindly.

 

You will have mail very shortly 😉