Ksamil Travel Guide: Islands, Beaches, Getting There and When to Go

Ksamil is a small resort village at the southern end of the Albanian Riviera, about 15 km south of Saranda, with beaches facing a group of small rocky islets in the Ionian Sea. It lies inside Butrint National Park, a few kilometres north of the ancient city of Butrint, and comes under Saranda municipality. Most of the beachfront is let to private sunbed operators, so the main practical questions are what a sunbed costs and where the free public sections are. This guide covers both, as of October 2026, along with the islets, Butrint, getting there and when to go. Ksamil is at its busiest in July and August.

Ksamil’s beaches

The National Tourism Agency (AKT) lists Ksamil Beach, the main beachfront in the village, with the islets just offshore, and Pema e Thatë (“dry tree”) beach, named after a dead tree that once stood in the water near the shore and no longer survives. AKT’s four-day Saranda itinerary also lists Monastery Beach, below the hill of the Monastery of St George, among the beaches to visit around Ksamil, along with the small sandy beaches on the islets themselves. Mirror Beach and Pulebardha, on the road between Saranda and Ksamil, are covered in our Albania beaches guide.

Public beach or sunbed concession?

Most of Ksamil’s sand is let to private operators who charge for umbrellas and sunbeds. In September 2025 Prime Minister Edi Rama said Ksamil and Dhermi would pass entirely to municipal management. When the fact-checking site Faktoje visited on 29 July 2026, the public section in Ksamil consisted of 24 free umbrellas in four rows of six, run by Saranda municipality and surrounded by private beach. In a report published on 21 August 2026, Faktoje rated the promise unfulfilled.

The rules on free access

Under the beach regulation published in October 2024, private beach stations may cover at most 70% of the length of a stretch of coast, so at least 30% must stay public, Albanian Daily News reported. For the 2025 season, Gazeta Tema reported, Ksamil and Dhermi were given set plots of sand where visitors could put up their own umbrella and towel without paying high rental fees. The 2025 rules also required umbrellas to stand at least 10 metres from the water and a 2.5-metre strip along the sea to stay free, but Ora News reported in June 2026 that enforcement had failed, with continued complaints about umbrellas placed right up to the water.

Taking over public beach without a contract is illegal. In July 2023 Saranda police removed 152 umbrellas and 412 sunbeds from a public section of Pema e Thatë and started criminal proceedings against two people over the illegal occupation, Shqiptarja reported. In short, the public sections are free if you bring your own towel and umbrella; you pay only when you take an operator’s sunbed.

Sunbed prices in 2026

A January 2026 amendment to the regulation lets municipal councils set maximum sunbed prices for each stretch of coast before the season starts. The caps become part of operators’ contracts, and charging more is a breach that can end the contract. The same amendment created paid public beaches run directly by the municipality, which may not be handed to private operators, Gazeta Tema reported.

On 1 June 2026 Saranda’s municipal council approved umbrella price bands of ALL 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000 (about €11 to €44) for the beaches of Saranda and Ksamil, with the top band for the main Ksamil beaches around the islets, local news site Saranda Web reported. In a round-up of coastal prices, Ora News said Saranda and Ksamil had approved the highest caps it found, and that an umbrella on a public beach in Ksamil could cost up to ALL 4,000. For other day-to-day costs, see our Albania budget breakdown.

The Ksamil islets

The islets off Ksamil, known in Albanian as Ishujt e Ksamilit, are small, rocky and covered in Mediterranean scrub. A 2010 marine protected-area assessment prepared for Albania’s environment ministry with UNDP counted four, with a combined area of 8.9 hectares. The largest, about 5 hectares, lies roughly 60 metres off the coast and the second about 500 metres out; the two smallest look more like rocks above the water than islands. AKT calls them the “three islands of Ksamil”, so you will see both counts. How far you have to go depends on where you start along the shore.

AKT says the islets can be reached by small boat or canoe, and its Saranda itinerary adds that you can also swim out. Only swim in calm water and if you are confident in open sea. The islets have small sandy beaches, but they are rocky, so water shoes help.

The 2010 assessment found dense meadows of Posidonia oceanica seagrass around Ksamil, extending below 30 metres. AKT says sea turtles and dolphins, mainly short-beaked common dolphins, use the national park’s coastal waters, with rare visits from the Mediterranean monk seal.

Visiting Butrint

Butrint, the ancient city a few kilometres south of Ksamil, has Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian layers and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1992. The national park around it was declared in 2000. It covers 29 km², from the village of Berdenesh in the north to Cape Stillo in the south, and includes the Ksamil islets, according to AKT.

Adult entry is ALL 1,000 (about €11), and children under 12 go free, according to the park’s ticket page. The online ticket shop charges the same ALL 1,000 for Albanian and foreign visitors, or ALL 800 (about €8.70) each for groups of ten or more. Online tickets are valid for one month from purchase and are not refundable; there is also a ticket office at the site. The ticket shop lists these opening hours:

• 1 April to 31 October: 8:30 am to 8 pm, last entry 6 pm.
• 1 November to 31 March: 9 am to 5:30 pm, last entry 3 pm.

The park’s visitor FAQ suggests allowing about two and a half hours and warns that there is nowhere to leave bags. The Saranda bus continues past Ksamil to Butrint, a ride of about 10 minutes and ALL 100 (about €1.10) from Ksamil, so the two can be combined in one day. For more on Albania’s heritage sites, see our culture guide.

Getting there

From Saranda

Local buses run from Saranda along the coast road to Ksamil and on to Butrint. In its May 2025 guide to the route, Saranda Web gave fares of ALL 150 (about €1.60) from Saranda to Ksamil and ALL 200 (about €2.20) to Butrint, paid to the driver when you board, with departures every 30 minutes from about 7 am to 8 pm in season. The ride to Ksamil takes about 20 minutes and can take longer in July and August traffic. Timetables change with the season, so confirm at the stop. Taxis cost much more; agree the fare before you set off.

From Tirana

The usual route is a long-distance coach from Tirana to Saranda, about five hours on the inland road, then the local bus to Ksamil. Our travel tips on getting around cover coach fares, the Tirana terminal and renting a car.

From Corfu

Ferries and hydrofoils from Corfu arrive at Saranda port; from there, take the bus or a taxi south to Ksamil. Finikas Lines, one of the operators, runs hydrofoils and slower passenger and vehicle ferries. Its website mostly gives the crossing as about 30 minutes but also quotes an average of 1 hour 30 minutes, so check the time for the sailing you book. The company tells passengers to bring a passport or ID for the immigration checks at both ports. For entry rules, see our visa and costs guide.

Best time to visit

Weather2Travel’s climate averages for Saranda show the sea warming from about 16°C in April and 19°C in May to 24–25°C in July and August, staying near 24°C in September and cooling to about 22°C in October. Average daytime highs reach about 31°C in July and August.

July and August bring the warmest sea and the biggest crowds: beaches fill early, the coast road backs up and bus journeys take longer. June and September combine warm water with fewer people. AKT’s Saranda itinerary also mentions Ksamil’s mussel festival, held on 30–31 May in 2026. Outside the summer season, many beach bars, boat-hire stands and some restaurants close.

Growth and crowding

Ksamil’s beachfront has been built up quickly, and that growth has repeatedly clashed with the national park’s protected status. In June 2021 the National Territory Protection Inspectorate (IKMT) demolished a swimming pool near a hotel and an illegally built extension in Ksamil, and Saranda police arrested both owners for illegal construction, Exit News reported; Prime Minister Edi Rama said owners who had built illegally would also pay the clean-up costs. Demand keeps growing: INSTAT recorded about 9.4 million foreign arrivals in Albania in January–August 2026 (see our news brief on the figures). Expect building work and changes to beach layouts from one season to the next.

Know before you go

• Carry lek in cash for the bus, which you pay on board, and for small purchases; see our money tips.
• Ask the sunbed price, and what it includes, before you sit down; the top band applies on the main beaches around the islets.
• The free public section is small, so arrive early in July and August if you want space without paying for a sunbed.
• Pack water shoes if you plan to land on the islets.
• Book accommodation early for July and August, the busiest months on this coast.

To fit Ksamil into a longer trip, see our seven-day Albania itinerary, which spends a day on Saranda and Ksamil.

Prices, timetables and beach rules last checked 14 October 2026.