Let me start with a confession.
I once missed the Corfu ferry from Sarandë. It was 1994. I was living in Tepelenë, a relatively remote backwater of a town in southern Albania. Famous for its prison, one of Ali Pasha’s castles (the very one where Lord Byron stayed and was, somewhat surprisingly given his host’s reputation for cruelty, treated rather well), and a main road that skirted around the outside of the town rather than going through it. Something I always felt summed the place up rather well.
Back then I was the only foreigner in the place – a missionary overseeing a project to get Bibles into every home in the region. Reaching villages accessible only by a two or three hour hike or in the back of a 1940s Czech truck that trundled along a shingle mountain track with a sheer drop down one side. Happy days, genuinely.
Getting anywhere from Tepelenë was an adventure in itself. The bus to Tirana was about seven hours in an old 1960s Greek vehicle, complete with chickens in plastic bags and frequent stops for someone to be sick. In the other direction was Sarandë, about two and a half to three hours by bus or furgon (look it up, it’s very Albanian). Then from Sarandë, a ferry to Corfu.
So one day, needing to get back to the UK, my companion, we’ll call him Andy, because that’s his name, and I decided to try it. We knew what time the ferry was leaving. We knew what time bus we needed to catch to make it.
To cut a long story short: the bus came. The bus made frequent stops. The closer we got to Sarandë, the finer we were cutting it. We ran from the bus station to the port, which back then was just a jetty and a small building housing customs. We arrived, panting, just in time to watch the ferry slip its moorings and head out to sea.
In pure frustration, Andy bellowed at the top of his voice:
“You can’t do that – we’re British!”
The ferry stopped. Backed up to the dock. We jumped on.
To this day I have absolutely no idea why. And you can bet your bottom Euro it wouldn’t happen today.
Thirty Years On — The Same Ferry, The Same Variables
The Corfu ferry route into Albania has been around for decades and the wave of advice recommending it as the best way into the country’s southern Riviera isn’t new either. It’s become particularly popular online in recent years, especially among travellers targeting Sarandë and Ksamil as their base.
We understand the appeal. Corfu is a well-served airport with flights from across the UK. The ferry crossing to Sarandë is short. On paper it looks neat and efficient.
But here’s our honest, boots-on-the-ground view after thirty-plus years of experience in Albania: we don’t recommend it and here’s why.
The More Variables, The More Risk
This is a fundamental principle of travel that gets forgotten in the excitement of planning. Every additional connection you build into a journey – a second flight, a ferry, a transfer between the two – is another point of potential failure.
The Corfu to Sarandë ferry runs to a schedule. However, ferries are subject to weather, technical issues, and the kind of delays that don’t care about your onward plans. If your flight into Corfu is late, you may miss the ferry entirely. If the ferry is delayed on the return, you may miss your flight home. what’s more, unlike a missed connecting flight, where airlines have established protocols and duties of care (Low Cost Carriers don’t but that’s another blog), a missed ferry leaves you entirely on your own.
We’ve seen travellers try to mitigate this by “planning” to catch a later sailing, or even overnighting in Corfu just in case. Which is fine but at that point you’ve added cost, complexity, and an extra night away from Albania, which rather defeats the purpose of a route that was supposed to be quick and convenient.
A direct flight to Tirana – British Airways operate from Heathrow, while Ryanair and Wizzair serve various other UK airports – gets you into the country simply, cleanly, and with one less thing that can go wrong. And for those who prefer the flexibility of booking their own flights independently (we don’t book Wizzair or Ryanair), we’re always happy to provide ground arrangements and tours separately. Cheaper and more convenient aren’t always the same thing, but a direct flight to Tirana can be both and is usually at least one.
The Sarandë Question
There’s another reason the Corfu ferry route gets recommended so heavily and it’s worth being honest about it.
The advice tends to come from people and businesses based in, or focused on, the Sarandë and Ksamil area. Which makes perfect sense for them. The ferry route delivers visitors directly to their doorstep. However, it does mean the advice is shaped by geography rather than by what’s genuinely best for the traveller.
And here’s the thing: Sarandë and Ksamil, while perfectly pleasant, are, in our view, among the more overrated destinations in Albania. Ksamil in particular has grown rapidly and chaotically, with the vast majority of its beaches now privatised. Sarandë has a lovely promenade and, yes, Butrint is nearby. The extraordinary ancient ruined city just down the road, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and genuinely one of the finest archaeological sites in the Balkans, which absolutely justifies a visit. But as a base for an Albanian holiday? We’d suggest two nights maximum, see Butrint, and then move on.
Because here’s what the Corfu ferry route and the Sarandë focus tends to obscure: there is so much more to Albania than its southernmost corner.
What You’re Missing
Flying directly into Tirana and travelling the country properly opens up an Albania that most Corfu-ferry travellers never see.
The UNESCO cities of Berat and Gjirokastër, two of the most beautiful and historically rich towns in the Balkans. The extraordinary Albanian Alps; Theth, Valbonë, the Komani Lake ferry. The food and wine culture of Përmet. The history and independence story of Vlorë. The dramatic Llogara Pass. The quieter, more authentic stretches of the Riviera at Himara and Qeparo, far removed from the busier south.
These are the experiences that make Albania genuinely extraordinary and they’re all more naturally accessed from Tirana than from a ferry dock in Sarandë.
The Corfu route, for all its apparent convenience, tends to keep travellers anchored at one end of the country. A direct flight to Tirana, and a well-planned itinerary, opens up the whole thing.
When the Corfu Route Does Make Sense
To be fair, there is one scenario where we’d say the Corfu ferry genuinely earns its place: a twin centre holiday, where you’re deliberately spending meaningful time in Corfu before crossing to Albania. If you want four or five days exploring Corfu and then three or four days in southern Albania, the ferry is a natural and logical connection. That’s a different trip entirely and a lovely one.
But as a way of “saving time” or “making it easier” to get to Albania? The maths often don’t add up. A direct flight to Tirana, a well-planned itinerary, and the whole of Albania at your disposal is almost always the better option.
And unlike Andy and me on that jetty in 1994, you probably can’t rely on British indignation to stop the boat.
Planning Your Albania Holiday?
Whether you want us to handle everything – flights, ground arrangements, accommodation, guides – or just the stuff in Albania and expert help on building your own itinerary, we’re here to help. We know Albania better than anyone in the UK. We’ve been going since 1993.
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✉️ info@experiencealbania.co.uk
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