Days 66 and 67: Bus from Vlorë to Himarë, then Bike to Sarandë

August 10, 2026

Days 66 and 67: Bus from Vlorë to Himarë, then Bike to Sarandë

My last night in Vlorë was terrible. There was one guest, an older fat lady, who complained that she felt cold when the AC was on. It was 30C, or 86F, inside the dorm. I don’t understand how she could be feeling cold when it’s so hot. Of course, Nana sided with her since she has an excuse to not turn on the AC in the room. I slept through the heat and I was not happy.

The next morning, I rode my bike to the bus station hoping to get on the bus to Himarë. When I got there, the driver first wanted 4000 Lek, which is €40, for me and my bicycle. I was told by a fellow the day before that it was only going to be 700 Lek, so needless to say I was shocked by the price. Then the driver reduced the price to 3000 Lek, saying 1000 Lek for me and 2000 Lek for my bicycle. I knew I was getting scammed.

I asked other drivers regarding the fare, they all told me 3000 Lek to Himarë. I realized it’s now too late to start cycling to Himarë and there’s a massive hill that I have to cycle over, not to mention the distance. I decided to get scammed so I didn’t have to cycle.

This was the first time that I got scammed in Albania. I guess not all Albanians are good people. Actually, not all people are good people. There will be some bad apples.

After two hours on the bus, I arrived in Himarë. The place that I booked in Himarë is a camping site since all other options were not available on booking.com, unless I wanted to pay more for a hotel. The camping site is called Camping Himara and it’s not too far from Livadi Beach. I had to cycle about 2 miles to get there from the bus stop in Himarë.

The camping site has a bar area. I actually liked the place since it’s on a hill and has a great view.

I went down to the beach only to see that it’s not a sandy beach, but full of little rocks and pebbles. Plus, there were so many umbrellas and glamping tents that I felt a very touristy vibe. Since I’m traveling solo, I didn’t feel like renting an umbrella and chill on the beach by myself. I only stayed for about ten minutes before walking back to the campsite.

If I had known that I didn’t really like the beach I would have stayed on the bus all the way to Sarandë. No use to worry about past mistakes.

I spent the rest of the day chatting with some guests who were also staying at the campground. I also noticed my back tire was leaking air at the base of the valve. I fixed that. I also adjusted the tension on the carbon belt since it needed tightening.

I thought hard about whether to ride my bike to Sarandë the next day or get scammed again and take the bus there. I decided to ride my bike even though I have to ride 36 miles and go over two mountain passes.

Yesterday morning, I started my ride at sunrise. The first major hill was at 12 miles mark. I had to push my bike at certain points because I just didn’t have the energy to ride up the hill. By the time I reached the other side I drank all my water. Luckily, there was a small market and I bought some water for the next big hill. Usually, I don’t need a refill at all when I ride, but this day was different because of the hills.

The scenery was fantastic when I was up in the mountains. I could see a town underneath me and the sea. The Albanian riviera is fantastic!

As I came to another market, I decided to refill my water bottles again and eat a byrek, which is a Balkan pastry with stuffing inside. I chose the meat stuffing because I needed the protein. The other options were spinach or cheese.

The downhills were the dangerous part where I had to be very careful. I was squeezing my brake levers most of the time as there were hairpin turns. For the last 15 miles or so to Sarandë, the road was either slightly downhill or flat. With the mountains to my left side, I had a blissful time coming to the city limit of Sarandë.

In Sarandë, the traffic was bad since it was around 10:30 AM when I arrived. The cops were directing traffic badly as if they didn’t know anything about traffic patterns. Finally, after 36 miles, two large hills, and 4:45 hours of riding, I reached Mega Hostel, the place where I’ll be spending four nights.

I was so sweaty and tired that I didn’t do anything except eating lunch and dinner at nearby restaurants, then taking a shower at the hostel. I ended up going to sleep at around 7 PM.

This morning, since the temperature was cooler, I took a stroll to Sarandë Promenade. The beach there is also a pebble beach, which I didn’t like. At the ferry booth, I bought a ticket to Corfu, Greece, for €37, on Thursday morning at 10 AM. This price includes the €5 bicycle fare.

I don’t know what else to do in Sarandë. It’s the last Albanian town that I’m stay at. There are boat tour to other points of interest if I choose to do that. To be honest, I just want to relax and not do too much.