From Tirana: Guided Tour to Berat City (Small Group)
Description
What sets our tour apart and makes it truly unique is our commitment to providing travelers with an authentic Albanian cultural experience. We immerse our guests in the heart of the country, from city exploration to castle visits and sharing a traditional meal with a local family living within the castle walls. To add an extra dimension to this exceptional journey, we choose a different route for our return to Tirana, taking us through Durres City. This coastal gem offers travelers the chance to relax on its sandy shores and witness a breathtaking Adriatic sunset, making our tour an unforgettable blend of culture and natural beauty.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Our enchanting journey commences in Tirana. Halfway to Berati City, we'll encounter the tranquil town of Belsh. Here, we'll pause for a brief coffee beside the largest of the towns 84 lakes, relishing our coffee while taking in the breathtaking scenery.
Finally, we reach Berat City, famously known as the "City of a Thousand Windows." Before entering the city center, we'll ascend the castle hill for a visit to the castle itself. On the walking tour of the castle we will learn the history of this ancient city while visiting several sites like: -Saint Mary of Blachernae Church, the oldest church in Berat -Church of the Holy Trinity -The Water Cisterns of the Castle -The Red Mosque -Constantine the Great Garden ...and much more. Following this immersive experience, we'll enjoy a traditional Albanian lunch with a local family residing within the castle, providing a deeper insight into Albanian culture.
After our castle visit, we'll descend to the city center, specifically the renowned Mangalemi neighborhood. The exceptionally well-preserved architecture of the buildings in this area makes it feel like a journey back in time to the Middle Ages. It's fascinating to note that people still inhabit these Ottoman-era houses. Our walking tour of the city center will encompass significant landmarks such as: -The city gate and former Pasha's residence -The Sultan's Mosque -Bachelors' Mosque -The Hanging Bridge -Berat's bustling boulevard -Gorica Bridge, and more. We will walk to the Gorica Brigde. One of the most beautiful and old bridges in Albania. It served as the only connection between the two parts of the cities devided by Osumi river, Gorica neighberhood and Mangalemi neigberhood. We will walk around the stone roads of Gorica neighberhood, just like many people did hundreds of years ago.
As our tour draws to a close, we won't end it in Berat. Instead, we'll take an alternative route back to Tirana, passing through Durres City, one of Albania's largest port cities. We will stop in the vast sandy beach of Durres. Who is a sea enthusiasts can get into the water while we all wait for the sun to set under the Adriatic sea....
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Kindly provide a WhatsApp number for easier communication. The tour leader will communicate you the exact pick up time at the choosen location. Kindly be there 10 minutes before scheduled pick up.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Travel time is already included in the total duration of the tour
- The company offers lunch options tailored to individual dietary preferences and requirements, such as accommodating nut allergies, lactose intolerance, providing halal food, etc.
Reviews(4)
Everything was perfect 👌 and Nolan was amazing 🤩 thanks Really recommend
It was a really enjoyable experience, not only because of the beautiful places we visited, but especially thanks to the excellent guide. He was very knowledgeable and shared the information in a fun and engaging way, which made everything more interesting. The driver also did a great job and made the trip comfortable and smooth.Fantasti
Absolutely loved visiting Berat! Wlking along the Osum river at sunset was unforgettable. Beautiful and full of charm...
We booked a private tour to Berat from Durrës. The tour company was Albanian Travel and Tours. Our guide was Henri, who stepped in when the original guide couldn’t do it. We settled on the itinerary, including subbing in a trip to the Roman ruins in Apollonia. We had a good morning. We made conversation on the ride to Berat. Once there he provided general information about the castle. We would have preferred to get more cultural context about the Castle, such as what life was like there, economic background, anything other than just the basic facts that we could get on Wikipedia. Lunch was quite good, but Henri barely spoke to us. Again, no context for what we were eating other than the names of each item. We tried to coax some conversation and he did engage when talking about his childhood. We got to Apollonia at 3:30; the museum closed at 4:00. We feel it was his responsibility to help us stay on a schedule that would have allowed for time to see the site and a bit of the museum. On site he provided brief info about the Roman era, although a bit of it was incorrect. No context for the monastery. The drive back to Durrës was mostly silent. Again, we tried to coax some conversation, to no avail. We’ve done a lot of tours in the last 5 months and in all of them the guides have given us in depth facts about the sites and additional context, such as cultural info or funny stories. They never lacked for topics to talk about. Our experience with Henri was the opposite. For example, we asked some questions about the communist dictatorship and got brief responses. We’re from the US and thus don’t have much understanding of the political history of Albania; we were hoping to learn more about modern history but Henri didn’t offer much. What he did share, which saddened us, was his generally negative opinions about Albania and Albanians. Lastly, he was periodically on his phone while driving (a couple times to figure out the route), which felt unsafe. In short, the tour was pretty uncomfortable and definitely not what we expected and definitely not worth what we paid. For what we paid we hoped to come away having learned a lot, having a fun experience and having a positive outlook on Albania. We learned some but the majority of the time it felt unsatisfying and uncomfortable. We should not have to coax info or conversation from a guide. We don’t know what other guides from this agency are like, but based on our experience we would not use the agency again. We’ll also think twice before booking through Viator again.
