The Albanian riviera is a paradise for any beach lover. The long coastline in the south of the country is filled with little gems... although in the peak months of July and August, some of those gems can appear like little nightmares, at least for someone like me, that doesn't particularly enjoy being in a beach crammed with sunbeds all the way to the shoreline.
So, finding the more secluded beaches where you can actually have space to place a towel in the ground, relax, and actually see the space where you're at, becomes even more valuable. And Gjipe beach is one of those places!
Gjipe beach is located a few kms to the north of Himare, the little town I chose as a base for the more relaxed part of my vacations. It can be reached by car + a nice walk, or also by boat; the first option was the one I chose.
Things to know before heading to gjipe: for one, the riviera is actually a mountain area, so expect your ride to take way longer that you would antecipate: it's only a 10km distance from where I was, but that meant almost a 40 minute car ride. The other thing to know, is that being secluded also has its negative parts: expect around a 2km hike from the parking spot, unless you have a 4x4 and balls of steel - you can get to the beach in a jeep, but it's a very hard narrow road! There aren't many facilities on the beach either, but since there was a couple restaurants and a bar there, it feels that that's not really a concern (at least when I was there).
Grab the car, and off you go. The beach is not the secret it used to be nowadays, so any app will point you in the right direction. You'll have to make a turn from the main road, to a road that also goes to a monastery, if my memory serves me right. And the adventure begins, because this is the road you're goint to take:
You're probably thinking hey, looks decent enough to me!, and you're right. The thing is, this is a two way road! And as you can see, with elevated sides, so not exactly feasible to just go to the side if another car comes - at some distances, there are spaces to allow cars to divert and allow passage:
But they're kind of scarce, so I can guess some confusion if someone goes on the opposite direction of the main traffic direction. Fortunately for me, everyone was going on the same direction I was, torwards the beach.
A couple of km, and you get to the parking place, where they currently charge you 400 lek (around 4 euros) for the day.
From there, walking it is. I grabbed my stuff, and went in the direction the cash grabbers nice people pointed.
Nice nature, but not that much shade. And soon enough, the beautiful blue sea started to appear.
From this part, the road stays parallel to the sea, and you can see all the way to the far away greece islands! It was a great view, as I was walking in the antecipation of what I would find. I started seeing some boats near the shore and was crossing fingers my secluded destination wouldn't be overrun by tourists.
And the closer I got, the more relaxed I became. Surrounded by a beautiful mountain, at peak tourism season, a relatively empty beach: finally!!
Not that many people are willing to walk in the summer heat, so that already clears a lot of people. As for me, I love walking, and if that means more tranquility, I'm even more eager to do it.
These umbrellas were already set, and although this is supposed to be a public beach, a nice lady was urging people to not be too near to the umbrellas or pay 7 euros to use them for the day...
At this point in my vacations I had already made peace with these little details of the country. It was time to set base, and thank my host for lending me the umbrella!
A few more people came throughout the day, but the beach was nowhere near crowded. And the water was great, clear blue and with a decent temperature.
I took advantage of one of the restaurants to relax with a decent meal with a great view, and it was also a nice way to escape the sun during the hotter hours.
The rest of the day? Relaxing and enjoying the view!
Given the mountains, the sun disappears faster than what I would have wanted, but it's a small price to pay for the nice nature setting.
And since there was still a decent walk to go, and a little more uphill this time, I did it at the golden hour, not without taking a decent look at the beach again.
In Albania it's legal to camp at a beach, so you can just bring a tent and some supplies, and spend the night! As you can see, there were no shortage of tents when I left.
As I did the way back, found a memory from not so distant times, that went unnoticed when I did it in the morning:
A bunker, one of the more than 170k bunkers built during the dictatorship, by the will of a mad man. Glad I had other views during most of the road, far nicer.
Soon after, I was back at the car, and off I went, after a great beach day!
This is one of the beaches I definitely recommend visiting, especially if you visit the country in peak tourism season. Yes, it's not that secluded, there is a little more trash than it should, but still: the best alternative I've found to packed beaches. And surrounded by nature as an added bonus!
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