Camping on the Albanian Riviera

The Riviera in August is a different country from the Riviera in May. In August, every cove has a beach club, every lay-by has three vans in it, and the road from Dhërmi to Himarë takes an hour to drive fifteen kilometres. In May and late September it is one of the most beautiful coastlines in Europe with almost nobody on it.

If you must come in high season, go up. The olive terraces and hillside stops above Himarë, Qeparo and Borsh are cooler, quieter, cheaper, and a ten-minute walk from water that the road-level crowds never reach.

Free camping directly on Riviera beaches is not tolerated in season and increasingly not tolerated outside it. Several municipalities now issue fines. This is the part of Albania where the informal era is closing fastest.

Water and waste are the real constraint. There is effectively one proper service point on the whole Riviera, at Saranda. Fill and empty there, and treat everything between Vlorë and Saranda as self-sufficient territory.