One Day In Berat: The Best Berat Itinerary (2024)
I really, really loved Berat. It’s a pocket-sized city full of heritage and culture. Use this one day in Berat itinerary to explore the City of a Thousand Windows!
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A Bit About Berat, Albania
Berat is one of my favourite places that I stopped at during my 2 weeks in Albania. It’s called the City of a Thousand Windows because of it’s Ottoman-style houses that line the riverside with large wooden windows.
It’s a city of two quarters, has an incredible castle and history attached to it. It’s so historic that it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site alongside Gjirokaster. On paper, they are very similar but have their differences that make each worth visiting.
If you’re not sure whether you do want to visit both, I have written a guide on Gjirokaster vs Berat.
I actually spent 4 nights in Berat because of my preference to travel slower. You definitely don’t need to stay that long, and I believe a one day in Berat itinerary will give you a good taste of what it’s all about!
One Day In Berat Itinerary
This one day in Berat itinerary is perfect for your first time in the city. It’s just enough time for you to see the main highlights.
Day 1:
Morning
With only one day in Berat, doing a Free Walking Tour will give you as much information as possible about the history of the city.
On this tour, you see pretty much everything! It will take you all over, including Berat Castle, the historic Mangalem and Gorica Quarters and Boulevard Republika. So, once you’re done – you can go back and explore what you found interesting in more detail.
If you choose not to do the walking tour – I recommend focusing on the Mangalem and Gorica Quarters during the day, before returning to your hostel for lunch or eating at a local restaurant.
Check out my guide on how to cook in hostels
Planning a trip to Berat?
Afternoon
After you’ve relaxed for a little bit, you can can do a few different things depending on what you’re keen on!
For me, I focused on the outdoors during my Berat itinerary – so I reckon you should climb up to the St Michael’s Church on the cliffside which overlooks the Gorica Quarter.
It can be a bit annoying finding the pathway, but the start is here, right next to LUNDRA Fast Food. Head up that staircase and head left and keep following the path.
Once you get to the top you’ll be rewarded with a fantastic view! You can enter the church for free, but it’s kind of expected that you leave a donation.
If you don’t want to do this, there’s a couple of museums that I didn’t check out in case it’s more your style than mine. The National Iconographic Museum and the Ethnographic Museum.
After you’ve done this, at around 5:45pm – start walking up to Berat Castle. This is the best thing to do on this one day in Berat itinerary.
Pro tip: The best thing about the castle is that it is open 24 hours a day, but only staffed until 6pm – so if you enter after then you won’t have to pay.
See: My full, in-depth Backpacking Berat guide
Night
The walk up to Berat Castle is pretty steep, so make sure you bring decent shoes. Once you’re there – go crazy!
The castle grounds are so cool and I felt it was more authentic than the Castle of Gjirokaster. Make sure you check out the lookout over Gorica Quarter!
It’s the best place to watch the sunset in Berat too! Take a seat on the castle walls and watch as it dips below the horizon.
If you were going to have one meal at a restaurant during your one day in Berat itinerary, make it dinner at Temi Albanian Food. It was soooooo delicious! I had a traditional Albanian meatball dish and it was the best meal I had in Albania.
Meals here range from 350-600 LEK, which is definitely more expensive than cooking in hostels like I usually do. That being said, I always make sure I try a local meal at at a restaurant at least once in a city so I don’t miss out on the culinary side of things.
It’s a family-run place and they are so lovely, as I paid they gifted me a couple of fruits to take with me!
Credit: Kladji Cena (Pexels)
Once you get back in town, you can finish off your Berat itinerary with a stroll along Boulevard Republika as it comes to life at night!
Check out my post about how to get from Tirana to Berat
2 Days In Berat
With this one day in Berat itinerary, you can hit all of the main sights in the city.
But, if that seems a little rushed to you – that’s okay! You can extend your stay to spread out your activities or even take a day trip from Berat out to the Osum Canyon through an *expensive* tour or driving.
If you fancy it, you can try your luck at hitchhiking out there. I didn’t get to visit Osum Canyon during my trip because I didn’t want to spend almost 50 Euros on a tour, was unsure about driving and I definitely wasn’t ready to hitchhike just yet!
I’m a budget slow traveller, and I actually spent 4 nights in Berat. I saw the main things I wanted to see – so after that, the way of life became the attraction! It was such a chill place to hang out for a few days.
Where To Stay In Berat
There’s a few good hostels in Berat to choose from for your one day in Berat itinerary – with most being in the Gorica Quarter.
When people come to Berat, they tend to stay at either Maya Hostel or Berat Backpackers (who are owned by the same person). The latter was actually the first hostel to open in the city, but recently it’s gone a bit downhill.
I took a chance on a brand new hostel (at the time) that only had a couple of reviews – Hanna’s Hostel. I really liked it!
It’s located on the castle side, the owners were really friendly, it was very clean, had a great kitchen (the first thing I look for when travelling) and they cooked up an amazing free breakfast every morning.
The only downside is that it attracts a few less people than the other main hostels, so it can be a hit or a miss with meeting people depending on when you stay.
So during your one day in Berat itinerary, I definitely recommend staying at either Maya Hostel or Hanna’s Hostel.
If you can’t book either of these hostels, check out my guide on how to find the best hostel.
Check out my post on the pros and cons of visiting Berat
How To Get To Berat
Great! You’re pretty much set to spend for your Berat itinerary! Now, you just need to know how to get there.
Most people head to Berat after spending a few days in the capital, Tirana.
Between the two cities there are regular direct furgon lines (minibuses) which means you don’t really have to worry about your schedule – simply turn up to the bus station and find a furgon with ‘BERAT’ on the windscreen.
I’m currently writing a dedicated guide on how to get from Tirana to Berat as both bus stations aren’t located in the city centre, so you’ll need to catch a separate city bus to get closer. I found it a bit confusing for my first time and there wasn’t a lot of good info out there!
You can also catch a direct furgon to Berat from a few other places – Durres, Vlore & Gjirokaster. In my guide on how to get around Albania on a budget, I explain exactly how to go about getting a furgon. It can be a bit scary for first-timers as there is no way to book tickets online!
Here’s a map with some rough trip lengths between places:
Gjirokaster to Berat: 3hrs
Tirana to Berat: 2.5hrs
Vlore to Berat: 2hrs
Durres to Berat: 2hrs
Headed to Tirana afterwards? Have a look at my Tirana itinerary!
Berat Travel Tips
- Have cash – In Albania, it’s pretty rare for restaurants, tourist attractions of hostels to accept card payment. During my time in the country, only the supermarkets accepted card.
- I recommend getting money out of a Credins Bank ATM, so you don’t get charged any fees.
- In the historic Mangalem and Gorica quarters, the cobblestone streets can be very steep! So bring comfortable shoes to wear.
- Berat gets extremely hot in the summer, and very humid. I recommend doing this one day in Berat itinerary on either side of summer in the shoulder seasons.
- Have a look at my guide on 10 things you should know before backpacking Albania.
See my post on free things to do in Berat
Travel Insurance For Berat
If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel – end of. I’m a big advocate for using travel insurance when solo travelling as it will save my arse if anything goes wrong. I use Worldnomads, easily the best company out there for long-term travellers. Get insured with these guys when using this Berat itinerary.
2 Days In Berat Itinerary: Final Thoughts
So there you have it! Berat. The City of a Thousand Windows is one that can’t be missed when backpacking Albania.
It’s unique, has great architecture and history, it’s people are very friendly and is incredibly affordable.
Make sure you use this one day in Berat itinerary for inspiration!
Check out all of my posts about Albania
Book Your Trip With My Favourite Resources:
Cheap Flights: I always use Skyscanner to browse for cheap flights. It offers so many options to help you find a good deal! It even allows you to search for “anywhere” if you haven’t decided where to go yet!
Accommodation: I start my hostel search with Hostelworld. Most hostels are now on this platform making it the place to find the best hostel for you.
Travel Insurance: If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. It is so important to have when travelling as it will save you from illness, injury, theft and cancellations! I always use Worldnomads when travelling on a budget as they have the best deals for me.