• Luton – Corfu (Easyjet)
• Tirana – Stansted (Ryanair)
• We travelled cheap and light with hand luggage only (2 small backpacks) and 1 cabin bag.
• Checked 2 car seats for the boys, and took our cabin-approved stroller. Bit of a pain transporting the seats plus luggage but worth it to save on paying for car seats!

• Phone Data: Uk data will work in Corfu, BUT does not work in Albania. Purchase an e-sim from Airalo before arriving! I purchased a 10GB package and used it regularly for sat nav, web surfing and social media and left with 6GB remaining!! Download the App!
• General Costs: Although slightly cheaper than the UK, it was not as cheap as we had been expecting it to be. Restaurant meals varied between 10 – 20 Euros for a main course depending on where you choose to eat. Beer, wine and cocktails varied in price drastically between restaurants depending on their location. Serande was much cheaper than Ksamil for example (around 3.50Euros for a draught beer in Serande / 6 Euros for a 330ml bottle in Ksamil).
• Child Friendly: Albania does not seem particularly prepared for family tourism. Only 2 restaurants that we visited had high chairs and NOWHERE had kids menu’s. Despite this, people were incredibly friendly, welcoming and very good with our boys!
• Cash Vs Card: More placed than expected accepted card payments, however a lot of places only took cash or had a minimum spend limit for card use. Strongly recommend carrying cash with you for smaller purchases and for tips!

• 1 night stay at Theotoki Liston Suite. Easy key code entry at both street and 1st floor level.
• Comfortable and accommodating. Provide a baby cot + Sofa Bed – fitted the 4 of us comfortably.
• Provided a Nespresso machine and toiletries.
• Within a pedestrian zone, so taxi’s cannot drop you to the door. Around a 50m walk to the door. 1st floor up stairs. No lift.
• Very good location next to cafe’s, restaurants and bars.
• 650 yds from the Old Fortress
• 700 yds from the New Fortress
• 1.2 miles from Mon Repos Palace

• Airport Transfer: Pre-booked via Booking.com for 35 Euros. Tracked the flight, large ‘executive people-carrier’ for, personalised meet and greet board (we wrote a welcome message to Spiderman as Lucas is obsessed!). Our journey was around 15 minutes.
• Taxi to the port: Taxi rank located at the side of Spianada Square (Located here). 20 Euros for a 10-15 minute drive to the Ferry Port with a quick stop to collect tickets from the Ferry company office.
• Ferry to Serande, Albania: Departs from the Port (location here).
  • We booked with Ionaian Seaways for 50 Euros total for the 4 of us (2 Adults, 2 children).
  • You DO NOT need to arrive an hour before departure! The terminal is very small, and once you pass through the passport control there is one small shop and very little space.
  • It is CASH ONLY on the ferry itself if you are planning on buying refreshments.
  • Approximately a 1 hour journey.
  • Best Air-conditioned space is upstairs.
  • Lots of outdoor seats on the top deck, plus the best views – If traveling in summer like us, the chairs on the top get very hot so pack a towel or something for the kids to sit on plus suncream!!

• Garden of the People‘ – an easy walk and accessible for strollers. Beautiful views of the fort and of ‘Faliraki bathing Beach’
• Faliraki bathing Beach – Shown in the picture above, a small beach that you can swim from. Very close to streets of cafe’s and restaurants too!
• Breakfast – ‘The Address 92’ was a great spot (Location), with a good variety of foods including pancakes, waffles, cooked breakfasts and cold meats. Service was great and staff were very friendly with our boys. Not overly expensive and payment in card or cash.

• Accommodation here is pretty simple all round. We booked through Booking.com again and managed to be a short walk from the promenade and restaurants and close to the port too.
• If you are after close proximity (walking) to the seafront and the promenade then the map below shows you a good area to try and base yourself in!

Short distance walk to the promenade. On a hill so wouldn’t go further away from the sea than this (especially with kids).

• We hired a car with SurPrice car rental. Staff were great, price was decent, cars were a little old and somewhat ‘worn’. I’m not sure this would be any different with any other companies however. I would suggest shopping around a bit for this before settling on one, but a hire car is definitely the best way to have the freedom to explore.
• Rental desk upstairs, inside the ferry arrivals terminal (tucked around to the side of the coffee shop).
• Car collection was a few minutes walk up the road from the office (staff helped with luggage).
• Take plenty of photographs of the car when you collect it, including of the dashboard (mileage and any warning lights!)
• Be sure to check with your accommodation about parking availability!
• Left-Hand driving, on the right-side of the road

• Food was quite similar everywhere we went as far the options on the menu’s (Pasta, Risotto, Seafood and fish, Pizza).
• LOTS of seafood (and it was yummy and fresh).
• NO children’s menus ANYWHERE! Our boys more or less lived on Pizza which they loved of course. One Pizza normally did both boys plus lunch for the next day.
• Only one out of all the places we ate here had a highchair. This was down on the Serande promenade.
• Lots of restaurants along the promenade and tucked away on the street just behind the front.

• Driving: Around a 25 minute drive from Serande along an easy to navigate route.
• Bus: There are busses that run from Serande to Ksamil but we did not utilise them as we had the car. This site has some useful info about buses and other modes of transport from Serande.

One of many beaches on offer in the busier part of Ksamil (see location here)

• Arrive early around or before 9am! The beach was almost full before 10am!
• 35 Euros for two sun-beds and an umbrella.
• Parking is available just up the road (2 minute walk away) for 500 Lek (5Euros) for the entire day (see location here)
• Food and drink were relatively expensive compared to Serande (see drinks menu pages here).
• TIPS:
  • – Arrive before 9am to get a decent spot on the beach. (No front row beds available when we arrived at 9am)
  • – Pack your own food and snacks to eat during the day or buy from outside the beach.
  • – Pack a bottle opener and grab a couple of beers from the stall at the parking spot to take on the beach with you. Half the price!!
  • – If, like us, you forgot to pack any beach toys, you can grab a small set of spades and buckets starting from 7 Euros at the stall too.

• A shorter 15 minute drive from Serande, on the drive towards Ksamil (Location here)
• A pebbly beach, but with a very small sandier section towards the left at the waterline. Water Shoes Advised for the Kids!
• A steep-ish windy road down from the main road turn-off. Parking was free when you pay for a sunbed!
• 2000 Lek for 2 beds and an umbrella so cheaper thank in Ksamil, but lacks amenities nearby.
• Climbable rocks round to the right side of the beach. Just be sure to go slowly.
• Restaurant at the beach that serves coffee, beer, cocktails, soft drinks as well as sandwhiches and lunches too.
• TIPS:
  • Get there early for calmer waters, easy parking and choice of sun beds (before 9am)
  • Cash to pay for the sunbeds, but the restaurant does accept card payments.
  • Water shoes are a good idea for the kids just to make walking around easier (not essential).
  • Left side of the beach is flatter into the water and more spacious. Right side has a steeper, larger pebble beach into the sea, but is near the rocks. Strongly recommend the left end of the beach with kids.

• Around a 35 minute drive from Serande. (Location Here)
• Easy to navigate and a scenic drive into the mountains.
• Self-driving is the easiest and most convenient way to get there.
• Good value tours bookable here from Serande with transport from and back to your accommodation

• Lots of parking available on arrival (Pay 200 Lek at the small ticket office when you leave the car park – no tickets issued but a 3hr time period)
• Stalls selling refreshments, food and small souvenirs set up next to the car park.
• Electric scooters and e-bikes available to rent also (10 Euros per hour) for those without children!
• 300m (ish) walk from the car park up the road to the entrance.
• Entrance payment is made here (1000 Lek / 1 Euro per adult)
• GET THE TRAIN IN THE SUMMER WITH KIDS!! We thought the walk from the entrance would meander nicely through the forest, but NOPE! It is a 1.5km (ish) walk along a pavement that meanders round corners and up and down some decent sized hills.
• The train runs from the entrance and is 3Euros per person each way. Under 5’s are free! (2 trains run continuously so the service is very regular).
• The Blue Eye is magnificently beautiful. Head straight round to the viewing platform before it gets busy and fills up with people taking pictures and swimming.
• Walk further past the platform and you can explore the track that gives you slightly different views of the crystal clear river.
• There is a small shop selling souvenirs positioned right by the water.
• Take a dip!? There are big signs requesting people not to swim, but everyone seems to do it! We did not swim, but we did step into the water to experience the refreshing 9 Degrees Celsius!
• Get the return train that departs from just behind the small shop. (another 3 Euros pp)

• Around a 50 minute drive from the Blue Eye (route here)
• Around 1 hour drive from / to Serande (route here)
• Parking is 300 Lek for 3 hours at the underground car park at the top of the hill (Location Here)
• If you don’t have your own transport, good value tours are available from Serande, and most will combine visiting the Blue Eye and Gjirokaster into one trip, as we did ourselves.
• Click here for some good tours.
• Despite having some steeper and cobbled streets, we still managed with a stroller which was a win win. We did not visit the castle so if that’s a plan then it would be worth checking accessibility for that, but as far as I am aware it is accessible.

• Lots of souvenir shops
• Quaint side streets everywhere with outdoor seating at restaurants, coffee shops and bars.
• Water spray, fans and comfy bench style seating, oh and GREAT PIZZA at ‘Babameto 2‘ opposite ‘Kimiteti Cafe – Museum’. Highly recommend a visit! (Location here)
• Gjirokaster Castle – Open April to September 09:00 to 19:00, October to March 09:00 to 17:00 and is 2 Euro entry. There is a small bar inside the ramparts where refreshments are served too.

• Air: Around a 30 minute drive from the city centre (or 40 from ‘Urban In’ where we stayed).
• Road: 3.5 – 4Hr drive from Serande in the South (what we did).
• Driving round the city was quite slow going, but parking in the city centre was easy enough to find. Be sure to have cash to pay with just in case!

• We stayed at a brand new urban hotel called ‘UrbanIn’. Location was good (though a little far to walk to the city centre in summer heat with two small kids).
• Very good sized apartments, with a double bedroom plus a double sofa bed. Brand new modern interior and they supplied a good sized cot with a mattress for our 2 year old!
• Easy access to free underground parking, and very friendly reception staff.
• Location is here
• Their website is here.

• Tirana Park: A Huge area of forest, greenery, and space to explore around an artificial lake (location here). With paved pathways, lots of cafe’s and restaurants dotted around, and kids play parks (though quite old and dated now), the park provides a great space to explore. The park also boasts a huge number of memorials, particularly for those linked to Albanian literature.
• Mt Dajti national Park: Close to Tirana (25km), Mt Dajti offers an easily accessible escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. With a Cable car that travels to around 1600m above sea-level, this is a great place to get some fantastic views of the city and it’s surrounding countryside (check out timings, tickets and info here).
• Ballkoni i Dajtit Restaurant: This restaurant is found at the top of the cable and offers panoramic views of the city and the mountainside below. We unfortunately didn’t have time to visit here, but in the summer it is recommended to book ahead of time, particularly for evening meals if you want a window seat. (Information here)
• History and Museums: For those more interested in the history and local culture of the capitol, there are a huge number of museums as well as the Mosque of Et’hem Bey to visit. (This site has lots of good suggestions!)
• FOOD: The city is full of restaurants and food outlets, ranging from cheaper fast food to high-end restaurants with multiple course tasting menus. We weren’t there long enough to fully appreciate what there was to offer as far as food and drink!

• Route from our accommodation here
• Only 18km, but just under a 1Hr drive from ‘Urban In’.
• The majority of the drive is on unpaved roads. you DO NOT need a 4×4 vehicle. Roads are mostly dusty and stoney, with some sections with large uneven spots that require some slower and more calculated driving. It is not a dangerous or particularly risky drive and a LOT of people do this each day. (Here’s a short video to give you an idea!)
• The last section of the drive, once you pass a quarry is paved again and takes you along the gorge and up the last windy section to the lake itself.
• Once at the lake, continue driving up the dust road. This winds round a large number of hairpin corners up to a new restaurant.
• Parking here is free, HOWEVER, there was what we can only assume is an unofficial payment required of 1Euro per adult to the restaurant to walk up to the viewpoint!! The payment man was not there when we arrived at 9am, but caught us on the way down. We nearly refused but had a few bits of cash left so just obliged anyway.

• You can now drive past the lake and continue up to the new restaurant. This cuts the hike distance and duration down dramatically to around 10 minutes!!
• The walk involves mostly metal steps up the cliffside. The short climb is not too strenuous (our 4 year old did the whole thing holding our hand) and we carried our 2 year old up and back down in a carrier).
• Easily doable for families. Just be sure to go at your own pace and don’t rush it.
• The restaurant offers amazing panoramic views, and nice cold refreshments when you get back down from the viewpoint.
• Inexpensive tours run from Tirana if you don’t have your own transport, or are not keen on driving along unpaved roads. Check these out for good value experiences.

• Arrive as early as you can to beat the large tour groups and others that visit the lake and the viewpoint (restaurant doesn’t open until 9am though!)
• We arrived about 9.15am and were the first car at the restaurant (the staff had only just arrived).
• Don’t need long at the top, we spent about 20 minutes and the kids had a snack.
• By 10am it was much busier. Sat in the restaurant having some cold drinks and a LOT of people were arriving and large tour groups were arriving.
• If you are without kids…..or just want to cliff dive (watch this!), stop on the tarmac road on the way back from the lake (see location here), and you can jump off the rocks by the bridge! It’s Very High!!
• SWIMMING: We are not entirely sure you are allowed to swim in this lake, however we found a little area and swam right next a group of Army personnel and they didn’t say anything. (Here’s the spot we walked to – parked on the corner of the main road).
• If you are planning on taking a little dip, water shoes for the kids are essential (ground is muddy and stony).

• Check out some more of our photo’s here.