Trip Report: Is Highlights of Albania the Most Challenging Tour Freedom Treks Has to Offer?

Over ten glorious days in and out of the saddle, the two of us were guided through three UNESCO World Heritage Sites and past glistening Albanian beaches whilst experiencing the satisfaction of conquering quite literally breathtaking ascents.

If you’re a confident cyclist looking for your next challenge, read on to relive our time tackling Freedom Treks’ most rewarding tour in a simply wonderful, relatively undiscovered country.

Are you eager to cycle the Highlights of Albania Guided Bike Tour yourself? Book online via the tour page, or call +44 (0)1273 224066 for personal advice and tour tips. If the cycling sounds like too much of a challenge, e-bikes are available for an added boost up the hills!

By Darryl Parker, Senior Operations Coordinator

I’m sure you’ll agree, the real buzz of an adventure begins after passing through passport control and sitting down with a refreshing drink at the airport. Our flight from Gatwick to Tirana was in the evening and took us over pretty scenery into an orange sunset above the clouds.

Once the plane had touched down, we hopped in a taxi from the airport straight to our hotel in the heart of Tirana. The capital is a wonderful city and incredibly vibrant at night. Although we arrived in the evening, there was still time to stroll through the city and find a quiet spot for dinner.

We would have loved to stay out later exploring more of the city, but after dinner, we made the sensible decision to rest up in preparation for our first day of cycling!

It was a social start to our second day in Albania as we joined our group for breakfast and met our friendly English-speaking guide, Erlis. Once we'd fuelled up for the morning, it was time to jump in our minibus for a two-hour transfer to our first UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lake Ohrid on the Macedonian border.

On arrival, we had time to inspect, tinker and adjust our bikes where needed before spending the rest of the afternoon pedalling along the shimmering shoreline towards Tushemisht where our hotel was located.

We stopped off for a scenic lunch on the waterfront before continuing along the route hugging the shoreline until we reached North Macedonia and the monastery of St Naum. The ride so far had been incredibly picturesque and relaxing on mostly flat, well-surfaced terrain. It was the perfect way to ease us into the challenging hills that lay ahead (only up from here, literally!).

The following morning we left Lake Ohrid behind and swapped the lakeside scenery for the first hills of the tour. The ride took us through quaint villages and luscious farmland. It wasn't long into the journey before staggering mountain scenery became our backdrop for the day. Although the sun was shining and the temperatures were warm in the valley, we could spot snowcapped mountains in the distance.

Once we rolled into Korce, we checked in at our hotel. It's fair to say we needed a couple of hours to put our feet up and relax before joining the group for a guided city tour with Erlis. He offered a fascinating insight into the history of Albania and the difficulties the country has faced in the past. Nowadays Korce has a friendly, vibrant feel to it as the local children and dogs provided us with a warm welcome!

As the late afternoon turned into evening, we grabbed a drink with the group at the Old Bazaar to recap a wonderful day in the saddle and talk about the route to come. Before too long it was time for dinner. We wandered down the narrow streets to a little place called Vila Cofiel for a mezze-style dinner and it was fantastic!

We knew we were in for a big day with plenty of hills to climb along the border between Albania and Greece. Immediately after leaving Korce, the terrain steepened, and as we rode over the Barmash Pass, I was expecting my thighs to begin burning at any moment, but they didn't. At this point, I developed a strong fondness for my bike and, more specifically, how light it was.

Our morning efforts of climbing to over 1,000 metres above sea level were rewarded with jaw-dropping panoramic views and a delightful lunch in Erseke. Following a much-needed break, we jumped back on our bike to continue pedalling north towards Sotire Farm.

The afternoon cycle from Erseke to Sotire was easygoing compared to the morning's climbs. Although there were a couple of hills, the windy route along smooth peaceful roads was a joy to travel on.

The peaceful nature of the tour was emphasised by our evening at Sotire Farm. As we rolled in, we were greeted by the sounds of bleating goats, quacking ducks and horses happily whinnying. After checking in, the farmer treated our group to a tour of the farm. We spent the afternoon cuddling baby goats, walking horses and even a spot of bareback horse riding for a few members of the group. It’s a really special place to stay which we all fell in love with.

With another wonderful day on the bikes and an exceptional evening under our belt, we got a good night's rest before moving on to Benji the following day.

By the end of day four we had racked up close to 100 miles, so I was a little relieved to hear at breakfast that we had a fun ten mile (17 km) stretch of downhill to relax on today. But before we could enjoy the downhill portions, we began with a short climb out of the tranquil valley of Sotire, completely surrounded by soaring peaks.

The stretch of downhill was in contention for my favourite section of cycling of the tour. Whilst rolling down to Çarshove village, we encountered some of the most breathtaking views of the trip.

We continued to follow the mountain road above the river before reaching our overnight stop in the town of Permet. After dropping our bags at the guest house, we rode 3 miles (5 km) to Benji for what was quite possibly the biggest surprise of the trip.

The last thing you associate with Albania would be hot thermal springs, but believe it or not, we spent the afternoon soaking in beautifully warm fresh water, taking in the snowy mountains in the distance.

Today we would visit Gjirokaster, the second of the three UNESCO World Heritage Sites on our journey across Albania. To reach the ‘city of a thousand steps’, we had to pedal through more gorgeous scenery in the form of  Këlcyrë Gorge. The colour of the water was nothing like any of us had ever seen before. It was so impressive we had to stop at a nearby hotel overlooking the gorge to take it all in and, of course, indulge in a coffee.

We rolled on until we arrived at a wide plain beneath the hillside UNESCO town of Gjirokastër. Once we were settled, we had a fascinating guided tour of the castle and the Skenduli House, an Ottoman-era house in Gjirokaster's old town which was built in the 1700s.

After a quick spruce up back at the hotel, we reconvened with the group in the evening at KODRA, a cosy restaurant overlooking the city. A delicious dinner was followed by a nightcap before heading to bed for some well-earned rest.

Day seven treated us to another 43 miles (70 km) of smooth tarmac and quiet roads. Before we could click into our pedals, we started the day with a short transfer uphill to the top of Muzina Pass. This meant there was another long portion of exciting downhill cycling. Although we were eating up a similar distance to yesterday's ride, most of the terrain was undulating making pleasant and relaxing riding conditions - a stark contrast to the usual inclines we'd become accustomed to.

So far on our adventure, we have travelled by bike, aeroplane and car. In the afternoon, we added a boat to that list as we took a rustic cable ferry over to Burtrint, an ancient Greek polis (city). It was fantastic to experience such a captivating tour of one of the country's most important archaeological treasures and our final UNESCO World Heritage Site of the trip.

After the tour and lunch, we made our way north along the coast and the Greek island of Corfu never left our sight as, for the first time, we swapped the mountain scenery for a coastal backdrop. We took full advantage of our new seaside surroundings by having a quick dip in the ocean to cool down once we had arrived at Sarande. It wasn't long before we were tucking into dinner and watching the sun sink into the horizon, drawing a close to another excellent day in Albania.

Our penultimate day was technically a shorter ride with the distance from Sarande to Himarë being a mere 32 miles (52 km). Despite a shorter route, this was one of our most challenging days, starting with a steep climb out of Sarande.

The thigh burn was all worth it by the time we'd reached the summit of the rocky plateau. The sweeping views of the glistening waters below and postcard-worthy headlands were beautiful.

Our early arrival into Himarë meant we could make the most of the beach right outside the hotel. The afternoon consisted of a group swim in the inviting waters of the Albanian Riviera under the sun. A highlight of the hotel being a stone's throw from the beach is we didn't have to walk far for a refreshing, zesty drink!

After brushing the sand off (some of which is still at the bottom of my bag back here in the office), we met back with the group for a lovely dinner at the hotel, before getting a good amount of sleep anticipating the long climb tomorrow.

Our Albanian adventure had whizzed by, and before we knew it, we were on our final day of cycling. The blue skies, pleasant temperatures and outstanding scenery were constant throughout and our last day was no different. The final ride was from Himarë to Vlore. In my opinion, the tour saved the best for last!

The challenge of the day was the 1,000 metre ascent through Llogara National Park above the Ionian Sea. We had plenty of natural beauty to marvel at, but also some man-made artwork. Perched on the cliffside was a collection of old walls and derelict buildings which had been creatively painted with graffiti, adding a lovely splash of colour to the surroundings.

We arrived in the Vlore at Hotel Coral early in the afternoon giving us plenty of time to splash about in the pool and sunbathe on the private beach. We spent our last afternoon swimming, clinking glasses in celebration and reminiscing about the incredible journey we'd been on through Albania.

Later that evening, we enjoyed one last dinner with the group, our guide Erlis and support driver Tani. The food was delicious, the sunset was spectacular and the company was first-class.

At eight o'clock the following morning we departed Vlore on our private transfer to Tirana International Airport where we waved goodbye to this wonderful country and boarded on our flight back to the UK.

There is one Freedom Treks tour which springs to mind that could rival the Highlights of Albania and that's the Madeira Bike Tour. Whilst I have not yet tested this tour, I'm confident that Albania more challenging - the route is 174 miles (280 km) longer!

Highlights of Albania Guided Bike Tour might be the most challenging tour on our programme, but it's more accessible than you think! E-bikes are available to give you an extra boost throughout the journey, especially on the hillier portions.

If you're a confident cyclist looking to take on the most challenging yet rewarding tour Freedom Treks has to offer, we couldn't recommend the Highlights of Albania enough!

To book your spot, enquire online or you can speak to me personally about the trip by calling +44 (0)1273 224066.

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