Guided tours Saranda

In the vicinity of Saranda there are many incredible places that we can visit even for one day, during the cruise stopover!

Immediately after the meeting in the port, we go to the ancient city of Gjirokastra, or Argyrokastro, as the local ethnic Greeks call it, we go for a walk through the old narrow stone streets, drink freshly brewed armor coffee, buy souvenirs in the atmospheric Turkish market and, of course, see the main pearl of the Old City, a fortress that was built by the Illyrians in the 4th century BC. C. and later rebuilt by the Romans, Byzantines, Turks and Italians.

The fortress is located on top of a hill, and the fortress offers incredible views of the silver-roofed city and its surroundings! Why is the city often called silver? I will definitely tell you during a walk! And on the territory of the fortress there is a museum of artillery weapons, the main exhibit of which is a real American spy plane, which was shot down by the Albanian army in 1956!

In the fortress you will hear a lot of interesting stories and take a lot of panoramic photos!

Next, we will visit the ethnographic museum, which is located in the house where the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha was born. Yes, yes, the same Khoja who was in power in Albania for almost 50 years and built more than 700,000 bunkers! By the way, it is in Gjirokaster that I will show you those same bunkers! And we can even go down to some of them, if there is interest and desire.

Optional, lunch in one of the very cozy restaurants in the old town. After strolling through Gjirokastra, we head to the Blue Eye spring to admire the fantastic nature, the rich turquoise water of the spring, the riot of colors... you will love this place !

We will rest a bit in this incredible place and we will continue on. Our next stop is the Monastery of Saint Nicholas, which was built in the 8th century AD. The monastery is located in a village with the wonderful name of Mesopotamia, this place is very quiet and secluded, perfect for calmly and quietly contemplating ancient bas-reliefs, mosaics, frescoes and listening to the history of this religious and historical monument.

Then we return to Saranda, but before reaching the port, we will visit one more attraction, and this will be a very worthy end to our excursion! We climbed to the Lekursi fortress, on whose territory Sultam Suleiman the Magnificent built his castle at the end of the 16th century. From the observation deck of the castle, we will admire fantastic views of the city, the Greek island of Corfu, Lake Butrint and the endless Ionian Sea.

Then I return to the port.