Kotor and Sarande

[watercruise]

has anyone used any good private tours or drivers in sarande or kotor? any suggestions appreciated.

thanks

[conan]

The cruise ship docks across the street from the gate leading into the walled town of Kotor. It's easy enough to tour the town on your own albeit it is a scruffy place in spots. If you want to go beyond Kotor, sign up for a shorex, Kotor is new to this tourist thing and private guides & tours are scarce and untested. I can't speak about Sarande, not having been there.

[Liv4cruzin]

Last year on Regatta, we signed up for an afternoon tour out of Kotor that took us to Sveti Stefan & Budva. Svetei Stefan being a small island resort connected to the mainland by a walkway in a very medieval setting. Budva, a small resort town around a lovely curved bay (but w/ only one small church of historical signficance). It was nice to see some of the "countryside". We were docked there until 11 pm; so we had plenty of time to walk inside the walled city (which is charming w/ interesting restaurants & shops).

 

Although our itinerary did not make a call at Sarande, a good friend of mine just disembarked the Insignia. They got off the ship; & decided to go back onboard after about an hr. They were not impressed; & they said their fellow passengers didn't have much to say about their day either. It appears there is very little of importance in Sarande. Trying to arrange a private guide MAY be a waste of time & money. Hopefully, others who have visited will chime in soon.

[IheartHAL]

I just returned from the cruise on Insignia. If you want to do a tour in Albania, I'd definitely recommend a ship-sponsored excursion. I heard a couple of stories about rather "exciting" rides in local taxis -- a taxi (not carrying cruise-ship pax) actually ran into and disabled a tour bus carrying Insignia passengers who were on the same shore excursion itinerary as I was. It's true there is trash everywhere. We even saw a cow grazing on a huge garbage pile. You will see small, dome-shaped concrete bunkers dotting the countryside -- there are hundreds of thousands of them throughout Albania. I took the tour that went to Lekuresi Castle, Mesopotami Church, and the Blue-Eye Spring. The tour that I heard the most positive comments about was the one that went to the archeological site of Butrint. Albania is a country not as experienced with tourism as many others, and if you bear this in mind during your excursion, I'm sure you will appreciate having the opportunity to see some of it.

 

Also, just a note on Kotor -- Sveti Stefan had been highly recommended to me by a friend, but to my dismay, the ship's tour was unavailable as there is apparently restoration work being done there. I don't know how this would affect the independent traveller. Kotor itself is in a beautiful setting, and you can spend an enjoyable day just walking within easy distance from the dock.