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Blue Eye, Butrint & Ksamil Day Trip from Saranda

Would rather skip the Blue Eye and have longer on the sand? See the Ksamil and Butrint beach day →

5.063 Google reviewsDay trip from Saranda or Ksamil

If you have one full day in the far south, this is the shape of it. Staying in Saranda or Ksamil means everything is inside an hour, so instead of a coach marathon you get real time at four places that each deserve it.

Itinerary

For reference only. Itineraries are subject to change.

  1. 08:30

    Pickup in Saranda or Ksamil

    Collected from your hotel and inland up the Bistrica valley.

  2. 09:15

    The Blue Eye

    Early enough to be ahead of the coaches from Tirana. An hour at the spring and the boardwalk loop.

  3. 11:00

    Butrint National Park

    Two hours with a guide through the site: theatre, forum, baptistery, basilica, and the Venetian tower with the lagoon view.

  4. 13:30

    Lunch by the lagoon

    At the Vivari channel where the mussel beds are. Fresh fish and mussels if you want them.

  5. 15:00

    Ksamil

    Two hours on the beach. Swim out to the islands or sit under an umbrella and do nothing.

  6. 17:30

    Lekursi Castle

    Up the ridge above Saranda for the bay, the strait, Corfu and the sun going into the sea.

Experience & Highlights

  • Butrint UNESCO site, Greek theatre to Venetian tower
  • The palaeochristian baptistery mosaic floor
  • The Blue Eye karst spring
  • A swim and lunch at Ksamil
  • Lekursi Castle for the sunset over Corfu

Full Description

Butrint is the one people underestimate. It is a UNESCO site on a wooded peninsula between a lagoon and the sea, continuously occupied from the 8th century BC to the 19th AD, and you walk through the layers in order: Greek theatre, Roman forum, palaeochristian baptistery with one of the finest mosaic floors in the Mediterranean, Venetian tower on top.

The Blue Eye handles the morning, Ksamil the middle of the day for a swim and lunch, and Lekursi Castle the evening, with Corfu on the horizon and the sun going down behind it. Nine hours, no driving marathon, and you sleep in your own bed.

What's included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off in Saranda and Ksamil
  • Air-conditioned transport
  • English-speaking guide, including inside Butrint
  • Blue Eye park entry
  • Bottled water

Not included

  • Butrint entry (€10)
  • Lunch at the lagoon
  • Sunbeds at Ksamil (about €5 to €10)

Good to know

  • Butrint involves about two kilometres of walking on uneven stone and boardwalk, some of it in full sun. Hat, water and flat shoes.
  • The baptistery mosaic is kept under sand for conservation and is uncovered only occasionally. The rest of the site is open year-round.
  • Swimming in the Blue Eye is prohibited. The swim is at Ksamil.
  • Runs April through October. In winter we swap Ksamil for Gjirokastër.

Good questions, honest answers

Is Butrint worth visiting?

It is the best archaeological site in Albania and one of the better ones in the Mediterranean, largely because it was occupied continuously for 2,500 years and nobody built a modern town on top. You walk from a Greek theatre to a Roman forum to a Byzantine baptistery to a Venetian tower in about ninety minutes.

How long do you need at Butrint?

Two hours covers the main circuit at a reasonable pace with a guide. You could spend four if you are an archaeology person, and an hour if you only want the theatre and the baptistery. We schedule two.

Can you do the Blue Eye, Butrint and Ksamil in one day?

Comfortably, from a Saranda or Ksamil base, because all three are within an hour of each other. It is only a marathon if you are starting from Tirana, which is a different trip entirely.

Plan the rest of your trip

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