Hidden Stories of Saranda Communism
Description
Travel for the Communism Tour is provided in a modern, air-conditioned minivan, ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable journey. We offer convenient hotel pickup and drop-off at no extra charge if your accommodation is outside the main meeting point in Saranda, and with small groups limited to 8 people, you'll receive personalized attention from our professional guide specialized in Albania's communist-era history. • Discover another side of Saranda – beyond the beaches. This short and intense tour combines stunning views from a panoramic hill, hidden communist-era bunkers, spiritual monuments and strong history. We start with a journey to the observation point over the city, Ionia and Corfu. Then we descend to a secret anti-aircraft base with tunnels and artillery positions. We visit the Monastery of the 40 Saints, the historical symbol that gave Saranda its name, and end with a stop at a local mosque to understand the resurgence of faith after communism.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Departure from Saranda and Scenic Drive to Nearby Hill (9:00 – 9:15, 15 minutes): We depart from Saranda in a comfortable, air-conditioned minivan, heading to a nearby hill with panoramic views. Along the short drive, our professional guide introduces Albania's communist era under Enver Hoxha, setting the context for the day's exploration of this unique and isolating period in history.
Visit to Underground Tunnels and Bunkers on the Hill (9:15 – 10:15, 60 minutes): We explore authentic Cold War-era tunnels and bunkers built during the regime's paranoia of invasion. Led by our expert guide, you'll hear real, chilling stories of life under communism – including surveillance, forced labor, and the massive bunkerization project that dotted Albania with over 173,000 structures.
3. Visit to the Monastery of the 40 Saints (10:30 – 11:15, 45 minutes): We continue to the historic Monastery of the 40 Saints, admiring its Byzantine architecture and scenic location. The guide explains how the communist regime, after declaring Albania the world's first atheist state in 1967, repurposed this sacred site as a military base, destroying or closing religious buildings nationwide.
Visit to Saranda's Great Mosque and Exploration of its Architecture (11:30 – 12:15, 45 minutes): We visit Saranda's prominent Great Mosque, where you'll admire its elegant Ottoman-influenced architecture and learn about its key elements: the mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca), the minbar (pulpit for sermons), the ablution area (abdeshane), and the graceful minaret. The guide will discuss the revival of religion after the fall of communism in 1991, sharing powerful real-life stories of how believers secretly practiced their faith during the regime – hidden prayers, underground gatherings, and the immense risks involved under severe persecution.
Return to Saranda with Reflections and Optional Traditional Snack (12:30 – 13:00, 30 minutes): We head back to Saranda, with time for questions and reflections on this dark yet formative chapter of Albanian history. Optional stop at a local spot to taste traditional byrek and refreshing dhallë, adding an authentic culinary touch (drop-off in Saranda around 13:00)
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(13)
This is a small family operation and not one of those big bus tours. I was privileged to be the only person on the date I chose. Ermal had some great personal stories and anecdotes about the area and it's history. I recommend sturdy walking shoes for the rubble of the ruins and maybe pants. There was some tall grass and a few spiky plants around the bunker. Overall it was a really enjoyable morning and I am really glad I signed up for it!
Jean, your words motivate me a lot to keep moving forward. For me, it was a privilege to meet such a wonderful person in every detail. With your kindness and sincerity, you made our tour a truly enjoyable experience. I am very grateful.
I really enjoyed this tour because I am passionate about war history and military equipment. The guide had excellent knowledge of the World War II period. Experiencing those feelings was amazing. The best part was going deep into the underground tunnel. It was scary because there was no lighting, but it was worth it.
We learned a lot from you during the tour day. Your passion for the military truly left us speechless. I really appreciate your knowledge. It was a pleasure spending time together. Best regards, Ermal
So this tour was just a little unusual and not what we've experienced in the past with other similar type tours. It was a local daughter/father who hosted the tour. We were picked up at your lodging on time and then we picked up the father near the hill side stop to start the tour. We paid a small admission and then walked to the old Soviet bunkers. We probably spent about 45+ minutes there learning about their history and the Soviet era in Albania. What was odd/different was that the daughter basically read various history articles from her phone to us with her father adding some comments along the way. They did answer our questions and overall it was a good historical review but the presentation was just very different. Next we walked through the monastery of the 40 saints for about 30 minutes and learned its history(again via the daughter reading articles from her phone). We ended the 2 hour tour by walking down the road to a recently built mosque and then we were driven back to our lodging. Again, the daughter/father were very nice and shared a lot of history/information but it was just odd having history articles read to you from someone's phone.
: We are truly sorry that we did not meet your expectations. Your comment is very valuable for helping us improve, and we appreciate it. Thank you. However, please do not think that we were simply reading from the internet. At that time, we had made some changes to the structure of the tour, and the content was still quite new for us, so we had not yet managed to memorize everything. We were reading from notes on the phone that we had carefully prepared through long work with history books and personal interviews.
I really enjoyed spending time with the guides. They are a father and daughter duo who were very kind and informative. A tour with locals who share their perspectives and want other to learn more about the history of communism and the impact it has directly from first hand experience. They answered all my questions and the father had a great sense of humor which helped lighten up a bit of some very difficult history. The daughter is impressive in her maturity and respect she shows to everyone around her. She was leading the tour and did an amazing job translating many things when necessary aswell as providing details about the history of communism in Albania. The father provided more perspectives and real life stories on the impact this history has had for him.
Yeyry! We consider you a dear friend and we hope to see you again. We have so many beautiful memories from that tour. You are simply fantastic!
The Cold War tunnels were very mysterious, but it is unfortunate that they are not well maintained. The guide had very good knowledge of the history of that period and explained the events with a great sense of humor. The agency staff are members of a family who strive to be friendly and very professional.
I really enjoyed this tour. We were in Saranda and chose Hidden Stories because we are very interested in the past history of Albania. The guide was friendly and had a lot of knowledge about the places we visited. I recommend it
We had an amazing tour with a lovely local father–daughter duo who took us through a communist-era military bunker perched above Saranda. The spot itself is incredible — with sweeping views over the city and a panoramic look across to Corfu — but what really made it special was their deep knowledge and personal insight. They brought Albania’s communist history to life, answering all our questions about what it was like to live in a completely cut-off state. It was equal parts fascinating, eerie, and eye-opening — a wonderfully weird, off-the-beaten-track experience that we’ll never forget! Highly recommend this tour to anyone looking to understand Albania beyond the beautiful beaches.
Good experience. Beautiful view. Best staf and friendly. Good and fast service it was nice day in Saranda. I recommend it to others.
A wonderful private tour led by a father/daughter duo which rewards patience and interest in Albanian history. We explored the ruins of the C6th monastery and Cold War bunkers and finished with a peaceful visit to the mosque. Ermal confirmed pick up time/place by WhatsApp the day before and the tour lasted a little under 2 hours. Recommend good shoes as the sites are very crumbly.
It was an amaizing experience.The Islam history was something new to me .It was was very courageous to enter underground spaces
