Dhërmi
Dhërmi is a village in Himarë Municipality in the Albanian Riviera part of Coastal Albania.
Get in
By plane
Tirana International Airport and then take the buses south towards Sarandë and Himara. Or first you go to Corfu, take the boat to Sarandë (in the morning or in the afternoon), then with the bus to Dhërmi, (in the afternoon 14:00).
By boat
From Corfu to Sarandë (all year) or Himara (in summer), then take the bus to Dhërmi. Or from Italy Bari, Brindisi to Vlorë and Durrës, than take the bus in the direction to Sarandë or Himara.
By bus
- From Tirana take the bus directly to Dhërmi every midday, at the bus station for south.
- Buses run erratically between Vlorë and Sarandë. They are cheap and also stop at the national park just south of Vlorë which has several restaurants. The road is excellent over the top of the mountain pass as you head south to Sarandë.
You can also travel from Tirana to Dhërmi by RivieraBus. Online seat reservation, payments by credit card, free Wi-Fi and drinks on board and a stable timetable. Fixed price €40 to any destination - Durres, Vlora, Dhërmi, Jale, Himara, Borsh, Sarandë.
By thumb
While travelling along the Albanian Riviera, many folks are willing to give you a ride to your next beach town. A small donation at the end (200-400 lek) is a nice gesture and much appreciated by locals.
Get around
You can walk around in Dhërmi as the distances are not that long, or you can take a taxi if needed. Don't forget to settle the price before you enter the taxi. As of September 2014, a taxi ride from Drymades Beach to the top of coastal road costs 750 lek. A quite pricey less than 10-minute car ride!
See
- 1 Monastery of Saint Mary Panajia.
- 2 Monastery of Saint Theodhor.
- 3 The Pirate Cave.
- Visit the beaches of Shkambo, Jaliskari, Perivoli, Gjipe etc.
- Visit the old village of Dhërmi, walk around the old narrow stone paths.
- old churches
- the water miles on Potami river
- the olive miles at Gjikopulli house
- Vreto and Kumi Kulla (castel-house).
Do
- Renting a speed boat and visiting the Gjipe Bay. Take a walk up the Gjipe Canyon, around 4 km, to the waterfall of Petasma that is 75 m high.
- Do not forget to spend some hours at Perivoli Beach; you'll have about 3 km of beach all for yourself.
- 1 Kala Festival, hello@kala.al. A week-long annual music fest usually held at the start of June. Note: Kala 2020 has been rescheduled for September due to covid-19
Buy
Do not forget to buy olive oil (€4 per litre) and honey (€8 per litre) while you are in Dhërmi, it's the best you can find in Albania and one of the best in the Balkans.
The oil is very virgin and usually home-made. Also don't forget to get some figs - Albania is the world's 13th largest producer of figs. In some parts of Dhërmi, there are bananas. They aren't usually fully developed, but feel free to enjoy the only bananas grown in Europe! Lemons and oranges are also very popular, and pretty nice. Just feel free to stretch your hand, take an orange from the tree, peel the skin off and eat it.
Eat
In general eating in a restaurant in Dhërmi (there are various kinds of places serving the likes of pizza, fish, traditional Albanian, Italian or Greek cuisine) will cost you around €10 per meal. There are some really good fast foods where you will spend less than €4 per person including the drink.
Since the tourist seasons ends abruptly in August, visitors should expect very few restaurant options available in the Drymades Beach area beginning September 1st each year. The few restaurants that are available will typically have a limited menu based on what food they still have in the kitchen.
Piratet is a very nice option if you want to enjoy fresh seafood near the beach.
Drink
You have two places to go out at night, Havana Beach Bar one of the first beach bars since 2001 at Dhërmi Beach and Palase, and Cafe del Mare Pub, the best choices on the Ionian Coast, well known amongst Albanians. In fact, Havana Beach Bar is so popular that in summer, most of the Albanian young members of the government, singers, models, and Big Brother stars go there.
From Panorama you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Dhërmi during the day and the night.
Dhërmi is full of nice modern cafes and bars, a coffee costs around €0.50 cents, and a cola around €1, a beer around €1-2, and a drink €2-4. But be careful when family shopping because buying in the centre of Dhërmi is far more expensive than buying in the village, where old women sell what they grow on their balconies - usually called "veranda" in Albanian.
Sleep
It will not be difficult to find a place to sleep, unless you visit Dhërmi in August, in this month you need to book in advance or the only choice will be the camp sites.
There are hotels at Dhërmi, and also several resorts a few kilometres to the South West in Drymades Beach. To reach this, take the right fork in the SH8 road as you are going down towards Dhërmi and follow the rough track past some farms. Resorts have some expensive chalets, but if you go off-season in May, June, September, the weather is still great and the prices are low. Altea Beach Lodges can be a good choice during the off-season since it's cheap and the restaurant is open, although the menu might be limited. During July-August every hotel/resort will be expensive. Additionally you can pitch a tent down the beach a few hundred yards and use their bar and restaurant.
If you get a room in the village it will not cost you less than ,€20, but if you rent one near the beach it will cost you for €20 up to €40, depending on the location and high season. If you search you will find some rooms for 4 persons up to €5 per person a night.
Also there are some camping sites available costing €4 per person.
You can camp on the beach or under the orange tree near the beach as it is not forbidden to camp around the place.
Go next
- Tirana can be reached by bus on a somewhat gruelling 5½-hour bus trip through the Llogara Pass.
- Himarë
- Llogara
- Orikum