Things to do in Sarandë

Saranda sits on the Ionian, not the Adriatic, and Corfu is closer than any Albanian city, twenty-five minutes away by fast ferry. The town itself is modern and unremarkable. What surrounds it is not.

Butrint, and the ruins around it

Butrint lies about thirty minutes south, a UNESCO site since 1992 and a national park since 2000. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Venetians all built here. A Greek theatre, Roman baths and a sixth-century basilica all still stand on the same ground.

• Butrint — the layered ruin field, theatre, baptistery and basilica across four different eras.
• Ksamil — three small islands offshore, reachable by kayak or a short boat hop.
• Finiq and Mesopotam — smaller archaeological sites inland, usually paired with Butrint in one tour.

The Blue Eye, and the water it feeds

The Blue Eye spring surfaces about twenty-two kilometres inland, near Muzinë. Divers past 50 metres never found the bottom. Some 18,400 litres a second come up through it, cold enough that swimming past the rim is brief.

Practical

• Weather. August highs reach around 29C; January stays mild for the region, near 12C, with more rain than snow.
• Ferries. Corfu boats run from April to October; the fast crossing takes about 25 minutes, the car ferry over an hour.
• Getting to the sites. Butrint and the Blue Eye both want a car, taxi or organised tour; there is no useful public bus.
• Currency. Lek and euro both circulate here more than elsewhere in Albania, given the Corfu traffic.
• Wine and raki. Local tastings are easy to book and cheap by regional standards.
• Booking ahead. Summer ferry seats and Butrint's midday slots both get tight in July and August.