Fly into Tirana and meet your driver for the transfer east to Pogradec, on the Albanian shore of Lake Ohrid. Your bikes are waiting at the hotel with your route pack, GPS files and a full briefing on the week ahead. Time for a swim in the lake or a stroll along the waterfront at Tushemisht before finding dinner in town.
Roll out along the lakeshore with the water on your right, then the road begins to climb, culminating in the steepest pitch of the day: roughly 700 m to 900 m in about twenty minutes of honest work. Beyond the top, a quiet scenic road links two small lakes and a string of farming villages, with an optional detour to a village beekeeper. Freewheel into Korca, the handsome bazaar town of the southeast, with time to walk the old quarter and pick a restaurant for dinner.
The biggest day of the week, so start early. Cherry orchards and open farmland give way to the Qarri pass, a long climb from around 1,000 m to 1,300 m, with a roadside coffee house near the top serving mountain herb tea. Lunch in Erseka, then easier rolling ground before one final climb to your farm inside Germenj National Park, surrounded by old oak trees and a trout pond. Dinner is at the farm, which is just as well: there is nowhere else for miles, and that is rather the point.
An easier day, mostly downhill, through low scrub, vineyards and mountains close to the Greek border, with the Vjosa valley opening up ahead of you. Before rolling into town, detour to the thermal pools at Benja, where turquoise water collects in stone basins beside an Ottoman packhorse bridge. Then a short ride back to Permet, a town known across Albania for its flowers, its raki and its cooking.
The first 30 km run through the Kelcyra gorge beside the Vjosa, one of the last wild rivers in Europe, crossing it more than once. Stop for coffee at the Tepelena springs, then continue to Gjirokastra, arriving in time for a late lunch. Your hotel is inside the UNESCO-listed old town, so the afternoon is yours: the castle, the bazaar, and the steep slate lanes of the Ottoman quarter are all on the doorstep.
An hour of gentle riding before the road tilts up to the Muzina pass at around 580 m on a proper mountain road, elevation running between roughly 300 m and 600 m. A long descent follows, with a detour to the Blue Eye, a spring so clear it looks lit from beneath. Swim if you can take the cold, then ride on to Saranda on the Ionian Sea, with Corfu across the water. Lake to sea, complete.
A free morning in Saranda, with the Greek and Roman city of Butrint half an hour down the coast and well worth the detour. Later, the drive north follows the Albanian Riviera to Tirana, broken up with stops at viewpoints and coastal villages along the way. It is a long transfer, so expect to reach the capital in the late afternoon, staying near Skanderbeg Square.
Free time in Tirana until your transfer to the airport: the Bunk'Art museums, the cable car up Mount Dajti, or simply a last macchiato on Rruga Murat Toptani while the city gets on with its day.
This tour involves daily activity at a moderate pace, with walking on uneven ground on some days.
Parts of the itinerary are not step-free. Tell us your requirements before booking and we will be honest about what we can and cannot accommodate.
If you or anyone in your group has specific accessibility needs, tell us before you book. We will give you an honest answer about what this tour can accommodate — including saying so when the answer is that it can't.