Vanuit Tirana/Durres/Golem: dagtrip naar Saranda, Ksamil en Blue Eye

Early start but worth it, great stops. The tour guide had his work cut out ensuring the other tourists made it back in time for the next stop, not his fault and he handled it well. The tour was manageyr well. Comfortable and well worth it. We will next time visit the sites for for a few days, but good to get a fair idea first. I would recommend bringing sandwiches with you as its a long one.

Great tour, everything went on time, plenty of stops along the long drive at the right times to use restrooms and get some snacks etc for the long journey. My favourite was the blue eye! Perfect way to see part of Albania, the views on the drive are breathtaking! Noelle was a fantastic tour guide, so kind, knowledgeable and friendly!

unfortunately the stop in Ksamil beach (for 2 hours and a half) doesn’t worth, it’s a very small beach with too many tourists and it was very crowded, even the water was not that great ( not kristal blue as described and expected to be). The next stop in Saranda beach was much better but unfortunately it was only for 45 minutes, which is not enough time to swim and relax. The blue eye was beautiful but we had to pay 12 € for the short traintrip to the blue eye. The Guide was nice, friendly and helpful.

Thank you so much for today’s tour! Everything was wonderful. You were a great guide (noel), and we really enjoyed the trip. We had an amazing time, so thank you for making it such a great experience.

Everything went very well. A comfortable and well-organized bus trip. Highly recommend! 😊

Nice experience Fiona was amazing!

The trip itself was quite nice. We saw the Blue Eye, had a place for lunch and a swim, and had a final destination for shopping. Our guide was excellent. The logistics were problematic. We had a choice on booking of 6:15 or 7:00. We chose 7:00 so we could sleep longer, but wound up being placed on a 6:10 tour. They did not pick us up at our hotel, but we had to walk 12 minutes before the 6:10 pickup, so we were leaving our hotel at 5 something in the morning. During the second stop, we were quite close to Greece. Two of our phones switched to a Greek carrier and put our clocks on Greek time. This meant we felt rushed and wound up at the meeting place an hour early. In addition, the meeting was at 4:50, but we heard 4:15. So in total we were 90 minutes early to the meeting site. I think it would be wise on trips near the border to have a time check “check your watch: it is now 2:15, you have 2-1/2 hours, meet back at 4:50.” This will catch anyone with a time change issue.

Very beautiful places Too little time in Sarande and Blue Eye On the other hand, time in Ksamil but impossible to enjoy the beach if you don't pay 25 to 30€ for an umbrella and two lounge chairs (to stay less than two hours!!). The optional boat trip for which we waited more than thirty minutes in the blazing sun (but not on the beach, we didn't have a lounge chair so we were in the way) finally did not take place. No swimming possible as planned. Extremely disappointing

This tour was truly disappointing and, in my opinion, a real waste of time and money. I'll start with the fact that I had purchased the tour specifically choosing an Italian-speaking guide, while the guide didn't even know a word of Italian: for all 16 hours of the tour, she spoke exclusively in English. The most absurd thing is that several stops are promised, but the time actually dedicated to the main locations was truly insufficient. Conversely, during the trip from Durrës to Saranda, several mandatory stops were made which, in my opinion, were too many and too long. The first real stop was Saranda, where we had just 30 minutes, practically the same time allowed for the breakfast stop during the trip. The most serious thing is that the bus was actually about to leave without us, even though we were just a few steps away. The second stop was Ksamil, a splendid location. The time available was about 2 hours and 30 minutes, but I had the distinct impression that this stop was organized primarily to offer the boat tour, at an additional cost of 12 euros per person. We were dropped off at a very crowded beach club, where we couldn't even manage to go for a swim. We therefore had to move elsewhere, constantly checking the time, with the fear that the bus might leave without us. The third and final stop was the Blue Eye, a beautiful nature reserve. Here too, however, the time available was just one hour. Considering that it takes about half an hour to get there and half an hour to get back to reach the Blue Eye viewpoint, we ended up doing everything in a rush, without really having the chance to enjoy the place and with the terror of being left behind. Conclusion? A poorly organized tour, without a shred of empathy for the tourists, with absurd and completely unbalanced timing. Various experiences are promised, but in the end, you spend more time traveling and at secondary stops than in the places you paid to visit. Personally, I found it a rip-off and a way to squeeze more money out of tourists.

We had a good time. The guide Antonio and the driver Denise were kind and professional. Thank you