Our first month in Sarande, Albania has passed way more quickly than we ever expected.
You’d think that having said that, we would have done all sorts of touristy things that have occupied our time. Going on tours, paid attractions, big weekend trips – that sort of thing.
But the opposite is true.
I guess when you find a tribe of the right people to spend your time with, time flies even when you are just living a relatively mundane life…at least by our standards.
Read on to see what I mean.
Winter In Sarande Is NOT For The Average Tourist!
We would never even think of visiting Sarande, Albania in the Summer.
Sarande is a lovely coastal town situated majestically on the coast of the Ionian Sea.
And because of this, the population quadruples from the influx of ocean-loving tourists. And prices increase too because those tourists bring lots of money, often from the European Union.
Although supermarket prices are generally stable, tourist-centered shops and restaurants sell at prices far beyond what locals experience anywhere else in Albania.
And if you are anywhere near the coastal promenade, rent quadruples (or more) compared to the winter season. The rent of our first Sarande Airbnb skyrockets to around $2,000 USD per month in the high season!
And the noise and traffic that go with the population increase is said to be deafening at almost all hours.
But in the winter, everything changes.
When tourists go away, downtown Sarande becomes much more peaceful.
You can enjoy walking along the coastal promenade with no crowding, and local hustling for tourist dollars is nonexistent because most tourist-centered businesses close down for the winter.
The promenade is nice and quiet in winter.
The downside is that unless you know where to look, Sarande can appear too deserted to enjoy. If you are the kind of person who needs Western-style restaurants and paid group excursions to have a good time, Sarande in winter may not be for you.
But to us, it seemed like heaven!
The benefit of slow travel is that we have time to find the hidden gems of an area, that only the people who live there know.
This is exactly what we have spent the last month figuring out, and it was made even easier by connecting with local expat groups who know all the ins and outs of Sarande.
Making Connections With Expats And Getting Oriented
Normally, finding groups of expats isn’t high on our priority list.
But Albanian is an extremely hard language to pick up beyond basic words, and the typical Sarande local does not know any English. So making immediate connections with the locals is a challenge, unlike when we were in Latin America.
By far the most efficient way to get to know the real Sarande in winter is to connect with expats that have everything figured out.
Stop in at The Buzz Bar, a local expat hangout, and make friends! They have special events each week, so there are many opportunities to get to know people.
Stop in at Marini Restaurant for their 10:30 am Sunday Brunch for expats. Again, a great place to meet people and get oriented.
Join the Sarande Hiking Facebook Messenger Group if you love to hike. It is by invitation only, but if you ask about hiking in the Sarande Expats Facebook Group (see above), you will likely be added to the hiking group. And if that fails, go to The Buzz Bar or Marini’s and ask around!
Daily Life In Sarande For Two Travel Turtles
Our life has been pretty simple.
Some might even call it boring.
That said, our current social lives are more active than we can remember!
When we aren’t doing something with friends, we usually walk the coastal promenade a couple of times a day, shop for food bargains at the markets, and finish other errands.
We might catch lunch at one of the local restaurants still open in winter. To date, FishBar Sarande, Marini Restaurant, and Te Bequa are among our favorites. But we still have more to find!
We still keep up our Spanish language studies and spend time reading, researching travel or finances, gaming, or catching up on what is going on in the world.
But often we are doing something with the friends that we have made.
We go on scheduled hikes with the Sarande Hiking Group each Saturday but we also go on spontaneous outings with friends during the week.
The hiking group near the end of our hike around Tatzat village.
Some days, we might explore a local abandoned monastery or village. On others, we might go to a castle or go to a local soccer game. And on yet others, we might meet up for tea and coffee on the waterfront, or enjoy adult beverages at sunset. And sometimes we go on more advanced, technically demanding hikes on rugged terrain.
You get the idea.
Bottom line, we are never bored.
Having a tribe of like-minded people is nice after leading relatively solitary lives the past few years!
Stuff We’ve Done
So you are probably wondering about the specifics of what we have been up to!
Here is a sampling of pictures from some of our outings.
Checking out Kalaja e Lëkurësit at sunset. It is a ruined castle renovated into a seasonal restaurant with prime Sarande views.
I came for the views but I stayed for the friendly cats.
Sarande promenade sunsets are pretty great.
Exterior view of the Monastery of the 40 Saints. They let you inside to explore!
A common area inside the monastery had interesting lighting.
And the view of Sarande from the monastery was great too!
Enjoying a minor league football game at the local stadium. The Sarande team won 4 – 0!
Yes, a 2-meter-tall human can fit comfortably in a Smart car!
All the way up the hill from Sarande, the surrounding views of the mountains and valleys are gorgeous.
As were the coastal views! Far in the distance is the island of Corfu and mainland Greece.
Checking out the “secret forest” above the town of Sarande.
Rhonda and I shared the “Albanian breakfast for 2” at Marini Restaurant, which was a total calorie bomb. My hand is there for scale.
Our friends Jens and Chris took us on a “casual” 14-mile stroll up mountains and along beaches around the perimeter of Maja Shëndëlliut mountain near the village of Nivicë. Pictured are the remains of a long abandoned village on our route.
The cliff views on our journey were spectacular.
Group selfie on Korez Beach!
Descending the mountainside to the Manastiri i Shën Merisë monastery, recently renovated.
A nice closeup of the main temple building.
The view near the village of Tatzat was impressive.
And the villagers are nice too!
View of the olive tree terraces around the village of Nivicë.
We often get the side-eye from cattle we encounter during our hikes.
And we discovered that the Blue Eye natural spring is called that for a reason!
What’s Next?
Believe it or not, we plan on spending a couple of additional months in Sarande, with an April-ish departure in mind. Being able to live on the ocean on a budget is an unheard-of concept to us, so we decided to take advantage of the situation while we had the opportunity!
And the ability to spend our time with lots of good people is super appealing too.
We’ll see what the next couple of months will bring! It should be a lot of fun.
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
Leave a comment below and subscribe to get email notifications whenever we post!
4 thoughts on “Our First Slow Travel Month in Sarande (Albania)”
I was waiting for this report on Sarande! Maybe somebody find this boring but for me it sounds like dream life. It is so great that you were able to connect with like-minded people – and nothing brings people together like hiking!
Are you staying in the same Airbnb for the next 2 months or changing places? I hope you were able to get a further discount for such a long stay.
Yes, Sarande is the perfect place to recharge in the winter. The temperature gets to around 17 degrees C during the day, so it is a little brisk. But for Canadians and people from snow country USA, it is fantastic weather, especially for hiking.
We have moved on to a new Airbnb (more on that very soon), since we needed 1 more bedroom for friends who are flying in to visit in February. And in March we rented yet ANOTHER place – but this time we will be doing a cash transaction and be paying MUCH less than Airbnb rates. 2 bedroom place for 1 month with ocean view and sauna for 550 euros? Yes please. 🙂
Serously, wintertime in Sarande is a digital nomad’s dream. It is like how Mexico used to be pre-COVID (for good and bad), but without the security concerns.
OK, this looks like a lot of fun. Unfortunately we are doing everything wrong. We will be in there in June and only be staying a week. Hopefully we will like it enough that we return for a month next winter.
You’ll be fine! If you like the place you rent just keep the name of your host and work out a cash deal for a super cheap winter rate. And what you have working for you is that absolutely everything will be open, the weather will be gorgeous, and you’ll have lots of tour opportunities. Treating it as an exploratory test is a great way to look at it!
4 thoughts on “Our First Slow Travel Month in Sarande (Albania)”
I was waiting for this report on Sarande! Maybe somebody find this boring but for me it sounds like dream life. It is so great that you were able to connect with like-minded people – and nothing brings people together like hiking!
Are you staying in the same Airbnb for the next 2 months or changing places? I hope you were able to get a further discount for such a long stay.
Hi Svetlana!
Yes, Sarande is the perfect place to recharge in the winter. The temperature gets to around 17 degrees C during the day, so it is a little brisk. But for Canadians and people from snow country USA, it is fantastic weather, especially for hiking.
We have moved on to a new Airbnb (more on that very soon), since we needed 1 more bedroom for friends who are flying in to visit in February. And in March we rented yet ANOTHER place – but this time we will be doing a cash transaction and be paying MUCH less than Airbnb rates. 2 bedroom place for 1 month with ocean view and sauna for 550 euros? Yes please. 🙂
Serously, wintertime in Sarande is a digital nomad’s dream. It is like how Mexico used to be pre-COVID (for good and bad), but without the security concerns.
OK, this looks like a lot of fun. Unfortunately we are doing everything wrong. We will be in there in June and only be staying a week. Hopefully we will like it enough that we return for a month next winter.
You’ll be fine! If you like the place you rent just keep the name of your host and work out a cash deal for a super cheap winter rate. And what you have working for you is that absolutely everything will be open, the weather will be gorgeous, and you’ll have lots of tour opportunities. Treating it as an exploratory test is a great way to look at it!