Saranda Day Trip: DIY Route to Ruins, Food & Wine
This isn’t a standard Saranda day trip. It’s the self-drive itinerary I crafted for myself to see lesser known places on my list. It takes you into the countryside around Saranda, without going far from the city. A couple of friends tagged along, and it ended up being a really good day.
What makes this route work is how close everything is, and how easily it fits together. It’s a mix of history, food, and wine, things you experience a lot in Albania, just not usually in this order in one day!
You do need a car to do this Saranda day trip. I rented one through Discover Cars, and it worked out really well. I brought my small dog with me and he was welcomed everywhere.
Saranda Day Trip: DIY Route to Ruins, Food & Wine
This is the way I did my day trip, but you could definitely switch it up. I wanted to see Finiq before it got hot, and do the wine tasting last since it’s the closest to Saranda and would involve the shortest drive after.
- Finiq Archeological Park
- Agroturizem Mesopotam
- Monastery of St. Nikolas
- Kantina e Verres Isak
Apart from having to turn the car around on a tight mountain road at Finiq Archeological Park, the roads were good. There was some gravel on the way to the Monastery of St. Nikolas, but it wasn’t a problem.
1. Explore Finiq Archeological Park
We started with this strange and wonderful site. Strange because it looks like the government planned to promote it as a tourist destination, but abandoned it. Wonderful because it’s the ruins of an ancient city.
The road to Finiq is completely blocked about 1 km from the archeological park by a landslide. The rubble looks like it’s been there for a while since there’s a worn foot path over it. You have to walk the rest of the way, but it’s easy.
At the park entrance there’s a deserted tourist information centre and signage for a parking lot, which is completely useless since there’s no way a car could get through.
Finiq is an ancient city dating back to 168 BC, and its ruins are spread out over the mountain top. There’s a basilica, amphitheatre, necropolises and even a couple of communist era bunkers. All around are spectacular valley views.
It’s impressive, and in April it was full of wildflowers – fields of them. All I could hear were bees buzzing and goats bleating in the distance. We were the only ones there.
You will have to leave the car on the mountain road at the first landslide. It was a bit nerve wracking turning it around, but my friends got out and directed me. I was driving a mid-size SUV – if you have a compact it’ll be easier.
2. Lunch at Mesopotam Agroturizem
This turned out be one of my favourite agritourism restaurants in Albania. Not only was the food absolutely delicious, the restaurant is beside a river and has incredibly scenic views.
While we were waiting for our riverside table, we could see huge platters of roasted lamb and potatoes coming out of the kitchen – I knew it was going to be good!
Our waiter completely looked after us, and we let him suggest and bring food he thought we would enjoy. Out came platters of traditional appetizers, wine and homemade rolls. The food is organic, sourced from their own farm and local families.
We visited on a Sunday, and it was so busy I had to park down the street and walk over. It was full of locals – a great sign! A reservation would be a good idea if coming on the weekend.
3. Visit Monastery of St. Nikolas
Just down the street from Agroturizem Mesopotam is the Monastery of St. Nikolas. Unlike so many monasteries in the area, this one is not on top of a mountain and very easy to reach.
The church you see today was built in the 11th century on the site of a much older monastery complex, possibly dating back to the 3rd century BC. The ruins of the original monastery are all around the church.
If you walk around the church you’ll notice reliefs of a lion, eagle and dragon on the exterior wall which pre-date Christianity, and must have come from the original monastery.
When we visited there was a tour group quietly enjoying a picnic lunch. Their tour bus had made it down the gravel road, so it was no problem in my rental car.
4. Wine Tasting at Kantina e Verres Isak
We ended the day trip by stopping at Kantina e Verres Isak for a wine tasting on the way back to Saranda. It’s only 7.5 km from the city, so you won’t have far to drive after.
We got the full tour, which included the vineyards, cellars and olive oil factory. Kantina e Verres Isak produces an impressive number of wines (over a dozen), raki, olive oil, honey, jams and even cognac.
The wine tasting was very relaxed. Our server left carafes of wine on the table, 6 full bottles of different rakis, appetizers, and just let us help ourselves. Afterwards we browsed the farm shop and bought wine, olive oil and honey.
There are several wine tasting packages, so you can opt for the one that best suits your appetite.
While I can’t say this was the best winery I’ve visited in Albania, it was more than decent and it’s certainly the most convenient to Saranda. And I really liked the farm shop.
Alternate Visit to Syri i Kalter on Saranda Day Trip
From the village of Mesopotam (where St. Nikolas Monastery is), the Blue Eye of Saranda (Syri i Kalter) is only another 10 km. It’s one of Albania’s most famous natural wonders.
Syri i Kalter is a natural spring that rises from a karst cave so deep that divers have only reached 50 metres before the immense pressure forced them back. The colour of the water is a brilliant blue, like a human eye (hence the name).
You need about 1.5 hours to visit the Blue Eye of Saranda (there’s some walking), so I don’t think there’s enough time to include it in this day trip – but if you really wanted to see it, you could switch it with something else in the itinerary.
Last Words on Saranda Day Trip: DIY Route to Ruins, Food & Wine
If you have a car and want to see a different side of Saranda, this is an easy day trip to do. It’s relaxed and includes the things Albania does really well: history, wine and farm to table food.
I put this route together for myself, but it is a great itinerary. It gets you out of Saranda without going far – the perfect day trip!
