Albania-Benje Hot Springs-Lake Shkoder.

I first heard about the hot springs of Benje when I saw someone post about them and share their photo’s on instagram. It was probably about 8 months before lift off for us. I kept the details because it looked such a great place. As you can imagine I was excited to go there.

The road to get there was very windy through mountains and it was very scenic. It probably took us about 5 hours to get there!

We arrived mid afternoon and I went for a walk whilst Dee had a nap after all that driving! Later on I did get to go on the hot springs. I just couldn’t wait to get in! In the morning we both got in so these photos are spread and over the 2 days.

This place was epic! Choosing photographs was really hard so I put a selection and kept them small.

The thermal waters of Benje are sulphur springs that date back to ancient times. They come from deep tectonic cracks on both sides of the Lengarica. There are 6 springs, the water temperature is between 22-28 degrees celsius. Each source has different therapeutic properties for the treatment of skin, stomach, kidney and rheumatic diseases.

Getting into the warm waters and being surrounded by mountains and nature was magical. It was so peaceful there.

The place was also entwined with history and culture, the Kadiut Bridge which you can see in one of the photos dates back to the XVIII century and marks the beginning of the Lengarica Canyon.

It was so chilled here that we ended up staying for 4 days! We also met some people from the UK, which was great. They were young, in their 20’s. They both had IT jobs and were able to work in their van. One of the good things that came about since the days of covid back in 2020.

Benje Hot Springs is featured on our ‘Best Park ups in Albania’ post

Click Here Albania-Our Best Park Ups

Orikum and Vlor

We left Benje, (it was a hard place to leave!) and we headed to Orikum which is right next to Vlor. We had to drive though Vlor to get there and we were quite shocked! It was an incredibly built up touristy area. Big hotels, restaurants and bars that went on forever. It reminded us of Benidorm but not so many high buildings! We kept driving 😂

Orikum was much calmer. The beaches were still wild in comparison. We parked up at a restaurant park up so we went and ate in there. The waiter was asking us to find him a bride from the UK!

In the morning went for a walk and I went for a swim. There was so much waste ground around, unlike neighbouring Vlor there were just a few restaurants and maybe the odd beach bar but all spread out and so much unspoilt land with nothing on. We are sure that in a few years Orikum will end up like Vlor!

And here’s my swim, the water was so clear!

After a coffee we decided it was time to move on. We stayed for just 1 night at a park up the other side of Vlor.

It wasn’t anything special but I got to sit and do some of my blog! We had a great sunset and the following morning it looked like the tide was out!

Albanica

We left this park up near Vlor in the morning and headed up to Albanica Winery. It was south of Dures and near Kolonje. It had been recommended to us by the English people we met at Benje thermal springs.

We arrived around 1.30pm, so perfect timing for lunch. Motorhomes are allowed to park for free as long as you eat in the restaurant. We were told we could stay as long as we wanted.

What an amazing place. The views were outstanding and it was so peaceful.

Looking at the view you can see the vineyards. There were many more surrounding Albanica too.

The restaurant had an outside as well as an inside, nothing was forgotten there was also a sofa outside to relax on before and after the meal.

It was a bit windy the day we were there but we managed to still sit outside at a table that was at the side and out of the wind

Here you can see some various bits of the restaurant both inside and outside.

The staff all spoke really good English and were extremely polite and helpful. We were told to treat the place like our home.

The food is all home grown as well as home made. I had a selection of cheeses which are all made by Albanica as well as home made bread, and a really good fresh salad that had orange in it. We shared some garlic and herb home grown potatoes and Dee had sausages and meatballs which were also homemade. The food and the wine were outstanding.

After lunch Dee was tired and went for a nap, he left me sitting in the sun to finish the wine! I was hardly going to object 😂. It was just beautiful and so peaceful.

In the morning we walked around the vineyards and also up to visit The Monastery of Ardenica which was around 20 minutes walk uphill but definitely worth doing if you are there.

It is no longer inhabited but there is a caretaker who looks after it and it was 50 LEK each to go in (roughly 75p for both of us)

We were not allowed to take any photo’s inside the church and we were also asked to be silent when inside.

The carvings and the artwork inside were very beautiful and date back to the 16th century.

The photo below is the inside of the church taken from the brochure which you receive when visiting. It is just to give you an idea although it does not really do it justice. There was a lot of gold and it all looked quite unique.

When we returned from the monastery we got to meet the owner of Albanica. He was very friendly and easy to talk to. We had a lovely chat with him.

Finally before leaving we bought wine, olive oil and a basil flavoured liquor.

It is probably worth mentioning that there is a steep slope that leads down to the car park and not much room to get a good run up when you leave! Being a large unit that is front wheeled drive we struggled! After a few attempts the owner ended up towing us up to the car park at the top!

If you are a large motorhome and you’re going there, it is worth parking at the top car park and checking with the owner if it’s ok to stay there.

Albanica is included on our ‘Best park ups in Albania’ post.

Click here Albania-Our Best Park Ups

From here we headed to Lake Shkoder to a park up next to a restaurant which was very close to the border with Montenegro.

We ate at the restaurant which meant we could stay the night. We were right next to the lake so that meant a swim in the morning before leaving.

Here’s some photos of me at the lake the day we arrived.

And here’s me getting in in the morning. It was quite cold but I’ve done worse!

After my swim we got ourselves ready and headed to the border and Montenegro.

Our next post is about Montenegro but we will be coming back to Albania after.

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