DUA Lipa has been all over the world – according to her Instagram posts, from Italy to France, and of course, Albania.
In fact Dua’s love of the Albanian Riviera has resulted in soaring popularity – and for good reason.
It might not be the first place that comes to your mind when looking for a holiday – but parts of Albania have incredible beaches with beautiful seaside towns.
And it’s getting more popular too with statistics revealing that tourists visiting Albania nearly doubled from 6.4million in 2019 to 11.7million in 2024.
It’s no surprise that certain destinations have become more popular – some look like they belong in the Maldives.
One spot that has featured on Dua Lipa‘s social media is the pretty village Ksamil which is made up of four islands.
The village is in the south of Albania very close to Corfu – in fact on a clear day you can see across to the island.
Ksamil has white-sand beaches, turquoise waters, and offshore islands that you can swim to from the mainland.
There are more private rentals than big hotels in Ksamil – and on Booking.com they start from as little as £51 per night in September.
The easiest way to get to Ksamil is actually to fly into Corfu Airport and take a quick ferry crossing across.
Another spot that Dua Lipa has highlighted is the seaside village, Dhermi, which in the summertime is called a ‘bustling seaside paradise’.
It has pebbled beaches, beach clubs, a historic old town, and one of the biggest attractions is Pirates’ Cave.
Visitors can explore the natural sea cave by boat – and as the name suggests, it was used by pirates.
They used the sea cave to store stolen goods and hide their ships in the 17th and 18th centuries.
For larger resort towns, Sarandë is a popular one, and known as the ‘city’ of the Riviera.
It’s surrounded by the blue waters of the Ionian Sea with seafood restaurants and cheap beer, with pints as little as £1.30.
Popular coastal spots in the area include Pulebardha Beach which visitors have described as “magnificent”.
Another is Plazhi Pasqyra or Mirror Beach, which one local called their “favourite beach in the area” with “beautiful underwater reefs.”
It’s cheap too, for example, a room at Kalemi’s Beachside Hotel in Sarandë can be book for as little as £45 per night in September.
Albania is hot during the summer months too with July and August temperatures reaching highs of 38C.
Getting there doesn’t take long either, flights from the UK to Tirana are just over three hours.
Or if you fancy getting to Ksamil, a flight to Corfu takes three hours 10-minutes followed by an hour sailing.