As we will be visiting the countryside %26amp; villages in early August, can anyone give advice on how to find overnight stays! I presume there will be b%26amp;b %26amp; hotels in some places. We will not book anything beforehand as we do not know exactly where we will be going!!!
Thanks
C
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South Albania covers a lot of territory . Do you have any idea what places you want to go? There are few %26quot; home stays Or B %26amp; Bs in the area but many inexpensive ,by European standards , hotels. We spent 8 days in the south in June paying between 16-30 per night.
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hanks for your interest I look forward to hearing from you!
From Athens we think we will go via Patra, do a run up the coast to Ioannina then into Albania via Gjirokaster, Korce, Kastoria, Thessaloniko then see how time is going have 10 days!!
Thanks
C
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If you enter thru Kakvije I would suggest visiting the %26quot;Blue Eye great place for a picnic. Depending on your interests beaches and archaeology continuing to Ksamil and Butrint. In Sarande and Ksamil there is no lack of where to stay. In June we were able to negotiate the prices .In August I don%26#39;t expect that will be possible . There are literally dozens of hotels in both places. Then to Gjirokastra if possible stay in the Ali Pasha room of the Hotel Kalemi. This won%26#39;t be the cheapest place but it is very special. Permeti also offers accomodations ,we did not sleep there however. The drive through the Vjoses is very rewarding.Will write more this evening but work calls.
Nimrod
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In the Gramoz mountains about 10-15 Kms after Leskoviku there is a trout farm with a good restaurant and cabins for sleeping . We stopped there for a lunch break and were shown the cabins by people staying there we got talking to. Slightly before the Barmashi Pass is a small Hotel Jorge%26#39;s (6 rooms) and in Erseka there are several. We stayed at the Devi not knowing there were alternatives which we noticed the next morning going south (we did this route in the other direction). I can not recomend it other than the fact it was cheap and we got a good breakfast . The water was only warm and the pressure was very low . The only time during or trip I didn%26#39;t shower. If you want something traditional and more like a home stay in the village of Dardha ( the turn off to it is about 6-7 kms before Korca ) is a great place to go . The village up in the mountains is one of few in the area to retain the old style stone building and accomodations should be available. On the way up or down stop to eat at Taverna Antoneta . In a beautiful setting in the village of Boboshtica
with the best raki I tasted , made from mullberries
the owner has he told us 1000 trees left from when Korca was a silk producing center. In Korca besides all the %26quot;normal sights we really enjoyed the Bratko Museum of Oriental artifacts. A gift to the city of an American who was a native of Korca. The other thing would be the church of St Mary in Mborja just out side the city. Finally download Korca in your pocket from the web http://korca.inyourpocket.com/
this site also has a down loadable list of dates of events . I note that from the 13-16 of August they are having the annual Beerfest. Finally I bought and used the Brandt guide and while it wasn%26#39;t perfect it does have a far ammount of info.So good luck The Albanians are wonderful people. Again if you want more specifics ask , Yours Nimrod
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That was a really great post thanks so much
Just what we wanted - we are going 2 to 11 August via Athens
Regards
C
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In Gijokaster I stayed at the famous Hotel Kalemi. I didn%26#39;t want to spend so much money, as I always travel on a strict budget, but this place was reputed to be very charming and very typical of old Albanian houses, and I had read much about it, so I splurged. This was last year. My single room cost 35 euros, which doesn%26#39;t sound like much after you have been touring Italy, but for Albania it is quite a lot. However, I did find the place oozing old world charm, the owners were nice, and the views from both my room and the community balconies were great. Also, it is only a short walk up the hill to the old castle which was an SS prison during the war. There is also a very good restaurant at the top of the hill and you can walk to it from the Kalemi.
It doesn%26#39;t sound like you will be going through Sarande, but I hope you will go to Butrint to see the ruins, and if you do, a night in Sarande would be most pleasant. If you do go to Sarande, I highly recommend the hotel Delfin where the road turns off for the Butrint ruins. Rooms are all doubles and very clean and charming. The position of the hotel right at the edge of the sea is superb. I stayed there two years in a row and paid 20 euros for my single room each time. You can have breakfast with a spectacular view of the sea, with Corfu in the distance.Watch the sun set from your ocean view terrace as you listen to the imams call the faithful to sundown prayer, then take a walk down the lovely promenade which is very close to the hotel.
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