Why Corfu is the classic hop from Albania
Spend a summer evening on the seafront in Sarandë or on the beach at Ksamil and Corfu is right there on the horizon, the lights of its villages visible across a narrow strait. For anyone living in Albania, it is the easiest way to be somewhere completely different in very little time: a Venetian old town, Greek tavernas, a different currency and a different pace, all within reach of an Albanian port.
The Greeks call it Kerkyra, Albanians call it Korfuz, and there are two main ways over. The quick one is the boat from Sarandë. The other is overland to the Greek port of Igoumenitsa and then the ferry, which is how OnTravel's group trips travel.
Sarandë to Corfu by boat
Fast boats reach Corfu's new port in roughly half an hour to three quarters of an hour in calm conditions; the larger, slower vessels take about an hour. The route is run mainly by Finikas Lines and Ionian Seaways, though booking sites sometimes list other brand names. Summer brings many departures a day in each direction. Outside the main season the service generally keeps running, but with far fewer sailings, and crossings can be cancelled when the wind picks up in the strait. Timetables change every year, so check the current one before planning around it.
A few things that catch people out:
- The clock changes. Greece is one hour ahead of Albania, and each port publishes times in local time. Missing the last boat back because of this is a classic mistake.
- Passport control runs both ways. Albania is outside the Schengen area and Greece is inside it, so you clear exit and entry checks at each end. Operators ask you to be at the port well ahead of departure.
- Cars mostly stay behind. Most sailings are passenger-only. Many Albanian rental companies do not allow their cars into Greece without written permission, and Greek rental cars are often not allowed into Albania.
Day trip or a few nights?
A summer day trip is perfectly doable: an early boat, a walk through the Old Town, lunch, the climb up the Old Fortress and an afternoon boat back, with the time difference in mind. What a day trip does not give you is the rest of the island, which is bigger and hillier than it looks from Sarandë. Reaching Paleokastritsa or the north coast takes time on narrow, winding roads, and local buses are limited. If you want beaches as well as the town, a couple of nights makes a real difference, and in the off-season it also gives you a cushion against a cancelled crossing.
The overland route via Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa's ferry to Corfu runs all year, with frequent sailings in summer and fewer in winter, and the crossing to Corfu Town takes about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. There is also a shorter line to Lefkimmi in the south of the island. These are large ferries that carry cars and coaches, which makes this the practical route for groups and for anyone who wants their own wheels on the island.
Two border crossings matter. Kakavijë, south of Gjirokastër, is the main crossing and open around the clock; from there the road runs to Ioannina and along the Egnatia motorway to Igoumenitsa. Qafë Botë, near Konispol, is the closest crossing to Igoumenitsa and handy from Sarandë, but it is small and its hours are limited, sometimes extended in summer, so check first. From Tirana, allow roughly five to six hours of driving to Igoumenitsa before stops and border time, and expect queues at Kakavijë in August and on holiday weekends.
Border basics for expats: the Schengen clock
This is the part that matters most if you live in Albania on a foreign passport.
- Your Schengen days start counting in Corfu. Greece applies the Schengen rule of 90 days in any 180-day period for visa-exempt visitors. Time in Albania does not count towards it, and an Albanian residence permit gives you no Schengen rights. If you have travelled around the EU recently, check how many days you have left.
- Passports versus ID cards. EU and EEA citizens can cross with a national ID card; British, American, Canadian and Australian travellers, among others, need a passport.
- New biometric checks. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) registers non-EU visitors' fingerprints and photo on first entry, so the first crossing can take longer. ETIAS travel authorisation has been announced but, at the time of writing, is not yet required.
- Albanian citizens need a biometric passport for visa-free short stays; an ID card is not enough.
Rules change, so check the current requirements for your nationality before travelling.
What to see: Corfu Town and the island
Corfu's Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it looks nothing like the towns across the water. Venice held the island for around four centuries and the Ottomans never took it, leaving a maze of narrow lanes (kantounia), ochre and pink façades, washing strung between balconies and Italian-style bell towers; the red-topped belfry of Saint Spyridon, the patron saint, is the landmark you navigate by. Cricket, a British legacy, is still played on the Spianada, the big green square, and alongside it runs the Liston, a café-lined arcade built during the brief French period and modelled on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. The Old Fortress sits on a headland cut off from town by a sea channel, with views over the whole bay; the New Fortress guards the old port on the other side. The Achilleion, Empress Sisi's palace at Gastouri, has been under long restoration with its gardens open, so check whether the interior has reopened.
Beyond town, each coast has its own character. The west has sandy beaches facing open sea and famous sunsets at Glyfada, Agios Gordios and around Pelekas. Paleokastritsa, in the north-west, is the postcard view: small green-blue bays, a hilltop monastery and boats to the sea caves. The east coast faces Albania, with calmer water, pebbles and very clear sea at Barbati, Kalami and Agios Stefanos. In the north, Kassiopi is a former fishing village with a small harbour and castle ruins, where the Albanian coast feels close enough to touch, and Sidari has the sea-carved rocks of the Canal d'Amour.
For food, look for pastitsada (pasta with rooster or beef in a spiced tomato sauce), sofrito (veal with garlic, vinegar and parsley), bourdeto (a fiery fish stew), kumquat liqueur and tsitsibira, the local ginger beer.
When to go, and what all-inclusive means
June and September are the sweet spot for swimming; July and August are hot and crowded, with the longest queues at port and border. Autumn is when a lot of Albanians go: roads are quieter, costs drop noticeably and the sea usually stays swimmable into early October. You will also notice a rush around 28 and 29 November, Albania's Independence Day and Liberation Day. When the holidays fall near a weekend they create a long break, and Corfu is one of the most popular short trips, so boats and hotels fill up.
Off-season, from late October to spring, most beach resorts and village tavernas close, boat excursions stop and buses thin out. Corfu Town, by contrast, lives all year, with the Liston cafés, shops and restaurants open and the fortresses and museums on shorter hours. November is one of the island's wettest months.
All-inclusive, decoded
All-inclusive hotels on Corfu usually cover buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner, afternoon snacks, soft drinks, coffee and local alcohol (house wine, beer, local spirits) during bar hours, plus the pool, sunbeds and often evening entertainment. They usually exclude imported drinks, à la carte restaurants (or limit bookings), spa treatments, excursions, sunbeds on public beaches and Greece's per-night accommodation tax, normally paid at the hotel. Always ask exactly what is included and how far the hotel is from town.
How OnTravel can help
OnTravel is a travel agency based in Kamëz, just north of Tirana. We run Corfu trips by road to Igoumenitsa, with the ferry both ways, all-inclusive hotels and an Albanian-speaking escort throughout, including in autumn and over the November holidays. If you would rather go independently from Sarandë, we can arrange boat tickets, hotels and transfers. Find us on Rruga Stokholm, next to the Albanian Post office (Posta Shqiptare) in Kamëz, Monday to Saturday from 08:30 to 20:00, or write to us on WhatsApp at +355 69 333 0339. Our weekly offers go up on Instagram at @ontravel.al. Get in touch to request an offer and we will suggest the option that fits your plans.
