Mat & Kat's big bike trip
Day 70 Qazim Pali
The road south of Tirana looked very hilly and too busy to be enjoyable, so this morning we hired a driver to take us 200km south and then we'll get back on the bikes.
Our super friendly driver, Erton/Donald, spent three hours patiently answering all our questions about Albania, laughing at the words we've learned - for sale, open, no parking - and telling us how half his family lives in the UK. Fully fifty percent of the Albanian population lives outside the country.
The crucial part of the journey was a 6km tunnel forbidden to bikes, which would have been an entire mountainous day to detour on a bike. He dropped us off the other side, and we cycled a very hilly 40km to our destination.
It's definitely starting to feel more Greek. There are orthodox churches, it's more mountainous, all the houses are painted white, it's much quieter, and really hot. It was a very hard ride, beautiful scenery but soo hot. We drank 5L water in an afternoon. There were several encouraging beeps or cheers from cars, motorbikes and trucks.
One thing very different to Croatia and Montenegro is how much fruit and veg is available. There are sellers on the street everywhere, in towns, along highways, and they're super cheap. Supermarkets don't have any but there's usually a seller outside. Today we saw stall after stall along the road selling watermelons; cherries are also in season and delicious.
Our accommodation is a beautiful family run chalet near the beach. We went for a swim in the evening sunshine and then had dinner at their restaurant.
Love, Kat & Mat x
All reports
April 2026
May 2026
June 2026