• 3 Dinner (D)
• 8 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Lunch (L)

• Tirana: Kicking off with a bang, tonight we’ll savour a traditional Albanian dinner with warm stews, pies and breads.
• Tirana: Take an orientation around the rainbow-coloured Albanian capital with your Contiki gang. Familiarise yourself with the landmarks and best places to grab a coffee.
• Fishtë: Welcome to Mrizi i Zanave. Here, you’ll have the chance to learn about sustainable farming. Then, we’ll top it off with a wholesome organic lunch where the waiters will tell you where each local ingredient comes from. Seriously. It’s so good, even Dua Lipa has visited this place!
• Prizren: See this beautiful town, studded with Ottoman architecture, flowing rivers, and intriguing artefacts. Cherry on top? The locals here are super hospitable too!
• Valbonë: Lace up! We’re hiking up to Stani Rames (1,650 m above sea level) for big fresh-air vibes and a well-earned break. Then we retrace the trail back down to Kukaj village for lunch at Tahir’s place: soup, bread, salad and byrek, plus Turkish coffee and a splash of raki — with time to chat to Tahir and his family. Afterwards, we’ll head off again through a gorgeous forest trail to the riverbank, where our bus will be waiting on the other side. 
• Koman: You’ll cruise over one of the most stunning lakes in Albania. We won’t spoil the view for you, but keep your cameras rolling!
• Krujë: Welcome to the heart of Albanian legend! This is where national hero Skanderbeg held the line against the Ottoman armies for years (iconic behaviour). We’ll walk the cobbled streets past wooden shopfronts and along the castle walls, then step inside the Skanderbeg Museum for the full story. After that? Free time in the old Ottoman bazaar to haggle for local handicrafts and pick up something properly unique.
• Blue Eye: Take a stroll to the Blue Eye, an unreal, electric-blue natural spring where the water’s so clear you can see straight to the bottom. It’s an easy 4 km walk each way on paved paths through lush greenery, with a little café stop to refuel before we head back.
• Gjirokastër: Welcome to UNESCO-listed Gjirokastër, Albania’s “Stone City”. Think slate-roofed houses, steep limestone lanes and views for days. You’ll wander the old town, dive into the bazaar and its quirky little shops, then climb up to the castle carved from rock sourced straight from the surrounding mountains. Come for the history. Stay for the local chats (and a few top-tier photo stops too).
• Berat: Come explore Berat — UNESCO-listed since 2008 and famously nicknamed the “City of windows one above the other”. We’ll explore its three main neighbourhoods: Gorica across the river, Mangalem clinging to the hillside, and Kalaja up inside the fortress walls. Expect an easy wander through the ancient castle, gates, towers and classic Berat homes, with stops at Orthodox churches, Byzantine-era sites and mosques along the way.

Contiki

Share a traditional Albanian dinner at a local restaurant in Tirana and get to know your fellow travellers around the table. Expect the comforting flavours of slow-cooked stews, savoury pies and fresh bread, served in a setting made for conversation.

Albanian cooking draws on mountain traditions and Mediterranean ingredients, with recipes often passed between generations. This hosted meal offers a welcoming introduction to the country through its food and the pleasure of eating together.

Explore Tirana on foot with your Contiki group, finding your bearings among the Albanian capital’s colourful buildings, central landmarks and lively streets. The orientation introduces places to revisit and spots where locals gather over coffee.

Tirana’s streets reflect a city that has changed rapidly since the end of communist rule. Around its public squares and café-lined corners, historic layers meet a contemporary urban buzz, giving you a feel for the capital beyond its best-known sights.

Visit Mrizi i Zanave in the countryside near Fishtë to learn about its approach to sustainable farming. Sit down to a homegrown, organic lunch as staff explain where the local ingredients on your plate come from, with fields, hills and vineyard views nearby.

The experience connects northern Albania’s rural landscape with the food it produces. Rather than simply stopping for a meal, you’ll hear the story behind the ingredients and taste how local produce shapes the region’s cooking.

Explore Prizren’s cobbled old town in Kosovo, where Ottoman-era architecture and riverside streets give the town its distinctive character. Spend time among its historic shopfronts and neighbourhood lanes, with opportunities to discover local food along the way.

The Bistrica River and old stone bridges anchor a town shaped by centuries of cultural exchange. This included stop leaves room to take in Prizren’s atmosphere at your own pace; it is not presented as a guided museum visit.

Hike through Valbonë National Park to Stani Rames, at around 1,650 metres, for views across the Albanian Alps. The route returns towards Kukaj village and continues through forest to the riverbank, bringing mountain air, changing scenery and time on the trail.

At Tahir’s place, share lunch with a local family: soup, bread, salad and byrek, accompanied by Turkish coffee and a splash of raki. Conversation around the table adds a personal perspective on life in this mountain valley.

Cruise across Lake Koman by ferry, travelling through a narrow waterway framed by steep, green mountain slopes. Watch the shoreline shift between rocky faces and wooded hills as the vessel makes its way through one of Albania’s most striking lake landscapes.

Although this ferry forms part of the journey, the scenery is an experience in its own right. The lake’s winding shape reveals new views around each bend, with open-deck moments well suited to photography.

Walk Krujë’s cobbled lanes and Ottoman bazaar, passing wooden shopfronts on the way to the castle walls. Inside the fortress, visit the Skanderbeg Museum to learn about the Albanian national hero and the resistance associated with his mountain stronghold.

Krujë’s hilltop setting makes its history tangible: market streets lead towards fortifications overlooking the surrounding landscape. The combination of a town walk and museum visit brings together everyday craft traditions and one of Albania’s defining historical figures.

Walk to the Blue Eye spring along paved paths through greenery, covering approximately four kilometres each way. At the spring, look into water that shifts from deep cobalt at its centre to luminous turquoise around the edges.

Known locally as Syri i Kaltër, this natural spring is prized for its vivid colour and remarkable clarity. The walk gives you time to take in the surrounding landscape as well as the spring itself, with a café stop along the route.

Explore UNESCO-listed Gjirokastër, following steep limestone lanes past slate-roofed houses and through the old bazaar. Climb towards the castle for views across the town and surrounding mountains, with time to notice the stonework and details of its historic streets.

Nicknamed Albania’s “Stone City”, Gjirokastër preserves a distinctive Ottoman-era townscape built into the hillside. Its bazaar, imposing fortress and tightly packed houses show how local architecture has long adapted to the terrain.

Walk through Berat’s three historic neighbourhoods: Gorica across the river, hillside Mangalem and Kalaja within the fortress walls. See the tiers of Ottoman-era houses that give this UNESCO-listed town its nickname, the “City of a Thousand Windows”.

Explore the castle quarter’s gates, towers and traditional homes, with Orthodox churches, Byzantine-era sites and mosques adding to the streetscape. Berat’s preserved neighbourhoods reveal centuries of religious and architectural heritage within a compact riverside setting.

Take an optional boat cruise from Ksamil for a different view of southern Albania’s Ionian coastline. Look out towards the small islands offshore, sheltered coves and clear blue water as the shore unfolds from the boat.

Ksamil’s appeal lies in the contrast between its pale beaches and intensely coloured sea; travelling by water brings the curves of this coast into focus. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Join an Albanian Night in Tirana for an evening combining dinner with music and dance. It is a chance to experience local culture in a social setting rather than only through the places you visit.

Food and performance offer different ways into Albania’s traditions, bringing regional rhythms and shared celebration to the table. Whether you come for the meal or the music, this hosted evening is at additional cost and bookable on tour.