The hunt for the Caribbean beaches

Continuing with the western side of Albania, the expectations were high! We were promised Caribbean beaches and secluded bays. Well... Albania may not be the number 1 holiday destination for Europeans, but it is for Serbians, Bulgarians, Russians, and Bosnians. So, it's still crowded. Especially the more northern beaches have already succumbed to commercialization and there is no talk of secluded beaches there.

Our first attempt was below Durrës and it was disappointing. The dream of standing alone by the sea burst initially. While sitting in one of the many similar-looking beach bars (no one can listen to the summer hits 2021 anymore...), we did some further research and discovered a bar by the sea about 1.5 hours south, where the owner allows campers to stay for free. Bingo! When we arrived there, we immediately made friends with four other campers, drank beer, rakia, and ate bruschetta. The bar owner himself, after completing a bakery apprenticeship in Germany, spoke excellent German and was an excellent cook. We stood there by the windy sea for two nights and enjoyed the company of like-minded people.

At this spot, someone told us about another one of those Caribbean beaches that we still hadn't seen, so the search continued. Himara was supposed to be the place of our luck, or rather Livadh. According to Park4Night, you could park right by the turquoise sea on the beach there. In just two years, Albania has managed to build two hotels (and a third one under construction), five bars, and two campsites along this 1km stretch of beach. Out of frustration, we had some seafood and did more research. Actually, there was a beach half an hour away on foot that Google Satellite showed had no hotels. The hike started the next morning. We weren't alone, but it was almost like the Caribbean :).

Although wild camping is allowed in Albania, it didn't turn out to be that easy on the coast. The country has cleverly taken advantage of the romantic attraction of its four-colored water.