Vlore, Albania

We arrived in Vlore from Sarande.
That was not the plan.
The plan was to spend a couple of nights in Dhermi.
I’d read that Dhermi was a pleasant place to stay. I’d read it was considered to be the prettiest place in Albania.
Thankfully I hadn’t booked a hotel, not that I could have even if I’d wanted to as online booking is not the norm here.
Anyway, we caught a bus from Sarande to Vlore. It wasn’t a nice journey because as we’d initially planned to stay in Dhermi, we ended up catching two buses instead of one. The first bus we caught was very old, it was overcrowded, dirty, and there was no air-conditioning.
Thankfully the journey only took a couple of hours, and then we arrived in Dhermi. The bus dumped us at the top of a very curvy road. We walked for miles down the road. We didn’t think Dhermi was the picturesque place we’d hoped for, and so we decided to carry on to Vlore.
As we were travelling by public transport this meant a wait of a few hours for the next bus. So we stopped in Dhermi for lunch. We asked the restaurant to get us a taxi to take us back up the long curvy road to where the bus would stop.
There was no way we’d be able to walk back up there in the scorching heat, especially with full stomachs. The barman was a taxi driver. Great!
The bus was due at about 5pm. It arrived at about 5pm. So far so good.
This bus was a lot newer than the previous bus. The seats were much more comfortable, and there was a little bit more leg room. Good. Unfortunately, once again there was no air-conditioning, which wouldn’t have been so bad because the driver kept the door wide open for the whole journey. But the reason he’d chosen to keep the door wide open was not to cool the bus interior. It was a hopeless attempt to rid the bus of the smell of sick. Sick that was all over the floor below a couple of the seats. Sick that ran in several directions depending on the curvature of the road as we sped towards Vlore. Clearly a previous passenger had not been a great traveller. ;o
Laura said she was concentrating on the bright side of the journey. I couldn’t think of anything positive. It was then that Laura pointed out the fact that we were being driven by a celebrity. Jason Statham no less! Yep, Jason Statham was driving our bus from Sarande to Vlore in Albania.
Hmm, maybe he was researching a future film role. Or maybe, it wasn’t actually Jason Statham. I suppose it is just possible that our bus driver was an imposter. Or a doppelgänger. Who knows?
Anyway, I digress, I know I’m supposed to be writing about Vlore in Albania, and I’m actually rambling about Dhermi and Jason Statham. I shall get back on track.
So, Vlore, we arrived hot, tired, and dirty. Well, it’s not easy all this travelling malarky.
We got off the bus in what looked like the centre of town, and immediately started walking. I’m not sure where we thought we were walking, we just wanted to get the smell of sick out of our nostrils, and to get our blood pumping, easing our numb limbs.
After a few minutes walking we stopped for a drink, and to consult Google maps. Once we knew our exact location we walked almost back the way we’d come, in a square around a block, until we saw a couple of hotels which looked like suitable places to stay.
The first one we went in to was a good price, so we decided not to bother looking at the others. We checked-in, dumped our bags, and headed out for a drink, and dinner.

Vlore is a nice enough place, with a working port, beaches, and decent walking areas. We’re not really beach lovers, which is a good thing, because the beaches in Vlore didn’t look particularly nice to us. One day we walked all along the coast, the beaches had a few people on them sunbathing and swimming, but the whole area was a bit rundown. There was lots of litter everywhere, and it all looked slightly depressing.
The main drag right by our hotel was much more pleasant, especially at night after the sun had gone down. The streets, which earlier in the day had been more or less deserted, came to life. They were full of people, from newborn babies to pensioners, all our enjoying the cooler evening air.
There were a few cafes and restaurants near to our hotel which were very busy. We always managed to find somewhere decent to eat and drink.

Drinking in Vlore

Eating in Vlore

Video of Vlore

Click here to view the embedded video.

Read more at Zoqy