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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Saranda, Albania

If you are looking for a cheap beach vacation, with a UNESCO site thrown in, Saranda, Albania might be the place. Wikipedia calls it "one of the most important tourist attractions of the Albanian Riveria."  But then, who has ever heard of the Albanian Riveria.

I don't know how Butrint managed to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but there you have it, something to do in case the weather is not conducive to a beach day. It does date from the 4th century BC

There are hotels in Saranda, Albania, but most of the construction is in a state of destruction. Still remaining are approximately 750,000 bunkers that may be yours for the taking.  Built by Enver Hoxha starting in 1945, some are being "repurposed" for use by tourists.  This is not one of them.

As to your regular spate of tourist hotels, there are not many still standing as they were constructed by speculators without permission on land they did not own. But if you are looking for exotic spoils, this could be the vacation of your dreams.  I haven't stopped talking about my impressions, and I only spent a day there.  Take the ferry from Corfu, have a laugh and spend some money.  They need it.