Albanian Riviera · Albania
Vlora
Where two seas meet — the bay city at the head of the Riviera road
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Vlora holds the hinge of the Albanian coast: the wide bay where the Adriatic officially gives way to the Ionian, sheltered by the long wild arm of the Karaburun peninsula. Albania's second port and the city where its independence was declared in 1912, it is a real, year-round place — seafront promenade, orange trees, a working harbour — rather than a resort.
For the traveller, Vlora is above all the gateway. The Riviera road begins here, climbing south through Orikum toward the Llogara Pass and the beaches beyond; the city's own strength is its bay. Boat trips cross to the Karaburun-Sazan marine park — sea caves, white coves like Grama Bay, and the off-limits mystique of Sazan island, a former military base — while the lagoon of Narta and the island monastery of Zvernec sit quietly to the north.
With a new international airport rising on the bay's northern shore, Vlora is positioned to become the Riviera's front door. For now it remains the honest, unhurried start of the journey south — a seafood lunch on the promenade, a swim at Radhima, and the pass ahead.
Book in Vlora
Why here
What makes Vlora.
Karaburun and Sazan by boat
The marine park across the bay is Vlora's best day: sea caves in the peninsula's cliffs, white-pebble coves like Grama Bay reachable only by water, and a pass by Sazan, the former military island. Full-day charters from the harbour and Orikum.
Zvernec monastery
A thirteenth-century Byzantine monastery on a pine-covered islet in the Narta lagoon, joined to the shore by a long wooden footbridge. Go at sunset, when the lagoon turns to pewter and flamingos work the shallows in season.
The bay beaches
The city strand runs south into quieter water at Radhima and Orikum, where the bay's shelter keeps the sea calm — family swimming with the Karaburun ridge as backdrop, and the Riviera proper beginning just over the pass.
The start of the great road
From Vlora the coast road climbs to the thousand-metre Llogara Pass before plunging to Palase and the Riviera. Driven southbound in morning light, it is among the finest coastal sequences in the Mediterranean.
Experiences
The days from here.
Nearby
Neighbouring villages.
AlbaniaThe harbour town of the Riviera — where the yachts leave and Corfu is the view
Saranda
See the guideAlbaniaFour islets, water the colour of the Maldives, and the Riviera's most wanted villas
Ksamil
See the guideAlbaniaThe Riviera's beach club capital — white pebbles, mountain backdrop, Cycladic energy
Dhermi
See the guideAlbaniaThe Riviera's table — a Greek-speaking harbour town where the fish comes off the boat
Himara
See the guideDestinationsThe emerging shore of the Ionian — from the Llogara Pass to the ruins of Butrint
Albanian Riviera
Full guide — Albanian RivieraFAQ
Frequently asked questions
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Describe your dates and who is coming — we reply with villas, a boat for the coves, and the crossing to Corfu.