Butrint Bay

This one is not in any pilot book nor on Navily App. It is our favourite and we returned here several times. Only 9NM from Saranda or 3.5 NM from Ksamil Islands, the large bay is directly opposite Corfu and mostly sheltered from any swell unless from south. It’s wide and open but even in a strong NW wind, the good holding and protection from swell means this is a good spot to stay.

Keep to west on approach to avoid the shallows in the northeast of the bay. Once you reach the middle, turn east to find your anchor spot. A marker in the bay signals the entrance to the Vivari channel, and it’s just south of this you’ll find good spots to anchor in 3 to 5 metres of mud/sand and grass. Water is not clear but on a calm day you can make out the sandy spots. To the south, a small river flows into the bay so depths are shallow and shifting. A small cove to the southwest of the river is filled with a fish farm so ignore any recommendation to anchor there.

This is a Nature Protected Area. In the morning, cows wander onto the beaches to graze, in the distance you see the UNESCO archeological site of Butrint, closer on the edge of the Vivari Channel is an Ali Pasha castle. It’s accessible by boat only so you are well placed to enjoy the magic of this spot undisturbed. Take your dinghy to a small pier to the E of the ruins and walk along the surprisingly well-kept path to the castle entrance. It’s especially stunning at dusk. After that, you can dinghy further up the mirror-like waters of the channel past some more of the ubiquitous bunkers and a crumbling communist-era building. Pines and eucalyptus trees line the banks to the left while opposite, the muddy wetlands are home to birds and reptiles. With the hazy hills of Corfu in the distance, sunsets here are an incredible sight.

Ksamil Islands

Ksamil has a charm that grows on you, even if isn’t as quiet and isolated as it may appear on the many photos. The Albanian tourist board was a bit over-reaching in it’s build-up: Albanian Maldives or Caribbean this is not. So forget the hype and simply settle into what Ksamil does offer: islands to explore, cafe’s and restaurants, calm waters for paddle-boarding and swimming, sandy beaches for kids to play and friendly locals.

As everywhere, summer high-season months are best avoided and weekends are also busy as many well-off locals come here for their day at the beach club. In May, bays were not closed off to swimmers so we could tuck ourselves in close to the beach and anchor in 4-5m for the best holding and protection.

Since 2022, there are 3 free huge mooring buoys south of the sand spit close to shore. This is a good option as space is limited.

Otherwise, the area is well charted and there are enough sandy patches to anchor without destroying the sea-grass beds. We anchored and spent over 4 days each at two spots shown on the map above. Our cover page photo was taken at the southerly spot, opposite ‘Paradise Beach’. Idyllic. In high season probably not so much.

Behind the line of beach-side restaurants and apartment hotels you’ll find roads leading to the main street with plenty of small shops, bakeries and simple grill restaurants.

Kakome Bay

It’s worth a stop here if heading north from Sarande (9NM) or south to Sarande for example from Palermo or Himare.

Approaching from the south, the entrance to Spilja bay is hidden until you get close. Rounding past the high lush hills, you’ll gasp as the bay opens up!

An old concrete pier marks the middle of the bay and good spots to anchor in 5m sand are just opposite the pier or to the south of the bay, tucked up next to the lush cliff.

We recommend only coming here when you have calm conditions or a southerly as this bay becomes untenable with large waves building and entering the anchorage in any NW wind above 5 knots.

The hills are alive with birdsong in the afternoons and the direct view of a sunset is one of the highlights here.

Porto Palermo

The main attraction here is the ancient castle, believed to have been built by the Ottoman ruler Ali Pasha in the early 19th century. In fact it was probably built by the Venetians as it could be reached by sea and has the same triangular plan with round towers found in the Venetian fort at Butrint.

Due to the depth, the only feasible spot to anchor is to the west of the tip of the old concrete military pier. Where depths of 10 to 6 metres can be found. Sometimes a fishing boat will be tied to a mooring buoy, in which case there isn’t much space. Edging in towards the beach, depth drops quickly to 3m to 2m. 

We were greeted here by extremely helpful Maritime Police who encouraged and assisted us to tie a stern line to the military pier as we had to anchor in 10 metres and strong winds were forecasted. 

It’s a very special place to spend a day and night and there’s a local restaurant up at the roadside. 

The scenery is impressive with the agave covered coast. And how often do you have a view of a castle AND a military marine bunker! The military base to the north is interesting (it’s normally guarded by a navy boat). In calm conditions, there are some nice spots with turquoise water for a swim stop in the NE cove.

Himare

We came here to escape the NW swell in Porto Palermo and happily found calm waters here. It’s a convenient stop if you’re heading north and plan to clear out of Albania at Durres.
There’s plenty of space and anchoring is easy in sand.

Himare, as Saranda, is one of the popular seaside holiday spots for Albanians though it’s smaller and quieter than Saranda.

Himare has two parts: the lower town with its pretty promenade that runs between crystal blue water, taverns and fish restaurants. On the hill you can just make out the Old Town part, built around the ruins of an ancient castle. Perfect for some retro-charm.

Saranda

And last but not least, Saranda where you can clear in or out. The bay is wide and spacious, the view of the hills and Corfu in the distance is unbeatable and theres lots to do here. It may not be the prettiest anchorage but it has a special place in our hearts and a serene, soothing tamosphere.

For anchoring, Sarande is spacious bay with rather poor holding in 4 – 10 metres. In addition to the thin layer of sand, there’s lots of junk on the sea bed. We pulled up ropes, metal rods and watched boats drag whenever wind went above 25knots.

Since 2022, there are now 4 huge free mooring buoys. The mooring closest to the port is to be avoided – it’s too close to rocky shallows. We are 47ft with a draft of 1.8m and the second mooring was fine, even if closer to land than we’d have liked.

The best spots to anchor are in 4 to 6m opposite the small fisher harbour and restaurant, or towards the main port keeping away from the ferry approach.

To come ashore, park your dinghy at the main port (next to the police tenders) and walk through the terminal building.

Sarande is also a good base if you’re planning land trips in which case we recommend taking one of the mooring buoys in the bay or berth at the port if you can.

The sounds of church bells and calls to prayer merge with music from lively boat parties and bars. Restaurants are plentiful with great family-run grill houses to feast on juicy kebabs with fresh country salads.

Don’t miss out on our tips of other things to do in Sarande on the next post.

And if you’re still unsure whether to travel here,  you may be interested in our post on the 10 reasons we think you should sail to Albania!