Grama Bay | Best Beach in Albania
By Roberto (Updated Oct 21)
⏱ 3 min
In our long research for beaches and coves of Albania we came up with this little beach called Grama Bay. The Albanian Riviera has kilometres of shore with pretty cool beaches and crystal clear waters, but for us, the best of all was undoubtedly, Grama Bay.
Where in Albania is Grama Bay
Grama Bay – or Gjiri i Gramës in Albanese – is a rocky small beach located in the south of Karaburun Peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. It is located in the Southwest of Albania but far from other touristic areas like Sarandë, where they have – in our opinion – destroyed the landscape. We were quite disappointed when we saw how they have developed the southern part of the riviera, with copy-paste hotels and infinite umbrellas.
That’s why this area of Karaburun is special, because it remains pure. In addition to Grama Bay, there are more amazing coves and beaches to visit.
Karaburun is a peninsula considered National Park, with very few roads and no facilities. Honestly, we don’t know if you can drive a 4×4 vehicle here. In our case, and considering the general roads of Albania, we didn’t even try. Maybe your doubt is now… how can I get there?
How to get to Grama Bay
When we were in Tirana, we checked in the Internet if we could go there by car, but we found 0 information. Since we had a small car, we didn’t want to risk some hours driving there to find a closed or impassable road. After checking satellite maps, I didn’t find any roads to get there by car.
An option is to go by walking. The most known hike to get to Grama Bay is the Palasë-Grama Bay hike.
This is a 4-hour medium difficulty hike, starting at Palasë, where you can park you car. From here, there are more than 8 km to Shën Andre Bay, and another 5 km to Grama Bay. It’s not an easy walk to do in and out in just one day… So our recommendation would be to do it in the evening to arrive at sunset time, and sleep near the beach. Then, the next day you can spend the morning there and come back to Palasë when you’re ready.
The better option is to get there by boat, or better said, speed boat. As usual when checking information about Albania, it is a bit unorganised in the Internet, and the local marketing is… well… special. Based on our experience, check websites like Viator or recommendations from Tripadvisor or other travellers, and call the numbers.
Some companies operate some days, but not others, or have private groups, or not. We recommend checking in advance and not for one day to another. In case you are in Himarë, you’ll be lucky. There are some operators there, and we tried – and really liked – Himara Seas The Day.
Himara Seas The Day 5-hour trip
We purchased the 5-hour trip, with other 8 people, on a speed boat from Himara Seas The Day. They drove us to magical places along the shore, giving us basic information and stopping at some of them.
The first placed we visited and stopped at was one very small beach called Couple’s bay. From there, we visited Pigeons Cave and Pirates Cave and stopped again at another cave that they call Thunder Cave.
Then we moved to another rocky beach, called Saint Andreas Bay, where we stopped 20 minutes. And finally, after visiting Blue Cave, we got to Grama Bay and stayed there for 2 hours before going back to Himarë.
What to Do in Grama Bay
Sunbathe and relax. We stayed two hours in that paradise and we loved the scenic views. The water is super clear with turquoise color and the walls of the beach contrast with the green nature. There isn’t much shade, but in case you’re burning, the water will help. In case you need an umbrella, there are some that you can pay for. Surprisingly, there is a bar restaurant there – that we didn’t try – but travellers say it has grilled fish and lamb, snacks and drinks.
Camp and enjoy the sunset. If you choose the hike option, staying overnight with a fire and sleeping there has to be epic. I still remember the last overnight camping we did and absolutely loved the experience.
I hope this post helps you to get to Grama Bay and ignites your desire to visit this beautiful place 🏖 Ah! don’t miss these other places in case you visit Albania but prefer mountain adventures:
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