Ksamil Islands Island

Address: Ksamil Islands, Ksamil, Vlorë County, Albania

Hours: Open year-round

Admission: Free (beaches/islands are public)

The Ksamil Islands are a small group of islets off the coast of the village of Ksamil on Albania’s southern Ionian shoreline. The islets sit inside a sheltered bay known for shallow, clear water and sandy beaches.

Visitors use the islands for short boat trips, swimming and beach excursions; the area is noted for its small-scale tourist infrastructure on the mainland and easy day visits from the nearby resort town of Sarandë. The islands themselves are uninhabited and composed of a handful of rocky and sandy islets.

The islands lie close to the southern Albanian coast near the Butrint archaeological area and the broader Albanian Riviera, fringed by low coastal hills and Mediterranean vegetation.

• Access: Many of the islands are only a few hundred metres offshore and can be reached by short boat rides or, in calm conditions, by swimming from the Ksamil mainland beaches.

The Ksamil Islands are reached from the coastal village of Ksamil in Vlorë County. From the regional hub of Sarandë it is a short drive south (roughly 10-20 minutes) along the coastal road into Ksamil; regular local minibuses (furgons) and taxis also run between Sarandë and Ksamil. From the village you can walk to the small piers or beaches and take short boat trips to the nearby islets in summer.

• Go early morning or late afternoon to avoid the peak-day crowds and the large numbers of Sarandë day-trippers that arrive around midday in summer.
• Take a short local boat taxi from Ksamil beach to hop between the tiny islands-boats run frequently in high season from Ksamil's small jetties and are the fastest way to explore multiple islets.
• Explore the smaller, sandier islets and the quieter coves on the island edges rather than staying at the busiest central beaches; the little islets have better snorkeling and fewer sunbeds.