Seeing a photo of Gjipe Beach is what wholly inspired me to go to Albania in the first place. It’s a little bit hard to get to, and there’s not much info out there about its existence because it’s super untouched. But the moment you set your eyes on that crystal clear blue water and empty white sand beach, the somewhat challenging journey becomes worth it entirely. It easily became one of my favorite views in the whole world. Here’s how to make it there, and why it merits a visit if you’re in Albania:
Gjipe Beach is located in southeastern Albania. Your best access to get here would be basing yourself in one of the beach towns in the Albanian Riviera, like Vlore or Saranda. Albania’s tourism industry isn’t all that built-up, so there aren’t many other tourist towns close to Gjipe. I stayed in Saranda ’cause it was the biggest tourist town with more options for accommodation and more things to do. Tirana, the capital, is too far away to try to make it to Gjipe Beach in one day.
There isn’t a public bus option to get to Gjipe. I’d heard from people I met in Albania that they had hitchhiked all over the country, so this could be a feasible option. I’m terrified of hitchhiking so I decided to rent transportation, which ended up being a bit of a scary/funny story. I originally went to one of the many motorbike rental shops in Saranda and rented a motorbike for the day for 20 euros. About 1 hour into the drive, the motorbike BROKE DOWN, stranding me in the middle of nowhere on top of this mountain road, with no cell service and nobody there who spoke English! It was horrifying, but only for a couple minutes until someone let me use their phone to call the rental agency, who then came and picked me up and took me back to town!
I was ready to accept defeat and not make it to Gjipe, but decided instead to rent a car from the same rental agency and try to make it there again. No international driver’s license needed, btw, just my American driver’s license worked. I’m so glad I didn’t give up! I rented a tiny, cheap car for 40 euros, and set back on the way! So all in all, to get to Gjipe you will have to rent transportation, and it’s up to you whether you want to risk it with a motorbike or rent a more secure car.
As far as directions to get there, route yourself with Google Maps to the Monastery of Saint Theodore (Manastiri i Shen Theodhorit in Albanian). For 1 and a half hours, you will drive along a coastal mountain road, filled with incredible views of the sea and cute little villages the entire time. It’s a really bendy and hilly road up and down mountains, but it was fun and enjoyable. I turned on some tunes and jammed out, windows down.
After 1.5 hours you will see the turn for the Monastery and turn off onto it! It’s hard to miss, because the entire time you’re on ONE road and there aren’t many opportunities to turn into different roads. There are no signs for Gjipe Beach – you must follow the signs for the Monastery instead. After a couple minutes driving on that road you will come to a parking lot. A lady who manages it will charge you 200 Lek (around $1.75) to park, and then follow the foot trail and walk to the beach.
After about a 30 minute, uncovered, downhill, sunny walk, you will get your first view of Gjipe Beach. Can I just say WOW!? The long and complicated journey to get here melted away instantly. There’s a few lounge chairs on the beach but there was NOBODY there besides one other family. A beach this beautiful and this empty!? You’ll only find that in Albania. I was hyperventilating at how gorgeous it was. I spent a couple hours here taking photos and chillin’ out, and eventually hiked back to my car and drove home, totally blissed out. Make sure you bring water and snacks with you because there are no shops or vendors on this beach!
Gjipe beach was so incredible that I had to make an entire post about it. I hope this inspired you to make the journey to get there on your next trip to Albania!
