Albania’s Riviera is the Mediterranean’s best-kept secret — wild beaches, no mega-resorts (yet), and the last true escape before the crowds arrive.
For decades, the Mediterranean has been spinning the same golden oldies: Capri, Saint-Tropez, Mykonos, Ibiza — the kind of places where the yachts are larger than the local fishing fleet, and the bill for a seaside lunch could finance a modest Balkan vineyard. But travel insiders — the ones who whisper names at dinner parties and secretly wish you wouldn’t follow their advice — have been circling a new name: Albania.
Yes, Albania.
Wedged between Greece and Montenegro, with a coastline lapped by the Ionian Sea, Albania has for years been the forgotten cousin of the Adriatic club. Overshadowed by Croatia, misunderstood by Western Europe, and long closed off by a grim communist regime, it remained a blank spot on the Mediterranean map.
So here’s the thing about Albania — it’s the part of the Mediterranean hardly anyone has been paying attention to, and that’s exactly why it’s interesting right now. On the southern coast, you’ve got the Albanian Riviera. It runs along the Ionian, with cliffs and pebbled beaches that, honestly, wouldn’t look out of place in Greece or Italy. But the vibe is completely different. There are no massive resorts or glossy beach clubs (yet), and prices are much lower.
At Palasë beach, for example, you now have the Green Coast Hotel — a new five-star that’s part of the MGallery Collection. The look is understated — soft tones, stone floors, a small spa, yoga sessions by the sea. There’s even paragliding over the cliffs, which is the sort of thing that tells you how quickly this coast is moving from backpacker secret to polished destination. One day you’re drinking a homemade iced coffee at a plastic table on the beach; the next, you’re sipping a cocktail at a polished hotel bar, watching the sun drop behind the cliffs.
But just a few miles south, things feel much as they have for years.
Dhërmi is a popular stop, known for its long pebbled beach and bars that fill up in summer with music and cocktails. There are small hotels here too — family-run places where you get a basic room and a view, no spa or pool, but a beach a few steps away and maybe a café downstairs serving grilled fish and cold beer. It’s the kind of place where you’ll see Albanian families, a few European backpackers, and, increasingly, the first wave of curious travelers from farther afield.
Jale is another beach that pulls in the younger crowd, especially when the summer music festivals roll through. But if you’re after something quieter, keep going. Gjipe sits tucked between cliffs, a cove that can only be reached on foot or by boat. There’s no hotel, no road, no rental loungers lined up on the sand. Maybe a hammock strung between trees, maybe a small beach bar running on a generator, maybe nothing at all.
What makes Albania feel different — at least for now — is what’s missing. No mega-hotels. No €80 sun loungers. No crowds pushing past you at the ruins. It’s still a little raw: the roads aren’t great, buses run late, sometimes you have to shrug when plans don’t work. But it’s also generous — big plates of grilled meat or fish, local wine, and people who insist you try their homemade raki, whether or not you think you can handle it. You can walk down a beach that looks like something out of a travel magazine and find yourself almost alone, save for a few locals swimming at the end of the day.
That said, change is coming fast. Vlora International Airport is set to open soon, which will bring in more international travelers. Beach clubs are already appearing on the Riviera, and bigger hotel brands are starting to look at the coastline. So if you’re curious about a part of the Mediterranean that still feels like a discovery — with its mix of Ottoman towns, wild mountains, and coastline that hasn’t been swallowed by development — Albania is worth getting to now. How long it stays this way is anyone’s guess.
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