Best Anchorages in Saranda & South Albania

Saranda Bay is the main anchorage for Sarandë (pop ~40,000), Albania's principal sailing hub in the south and the closest Albanian port to Greece — just 4nm across the strait from Corfu.

Ksamil South Mooring Buoys is the premier anchorage in southern Albania and one of the most beautiful in the entire Mediterranean — three limestone islands set in turquoise water 8km S of Sarandë, connected to the mainland by a white sand spit.

Ksamil North Channel is the less-visited alternative to the famous south mooring buoy field, offering the same exceptional water clarity and turquoise Ksamil environment with less crowding.

Ksamil East Island (Merkur) provides a sheltered E-facing cove that is quieter and less visited than the famous south buoy field, offering pristine sandy surroundings on an uninhabited island accessible only by water.

Butrint Approach Anchorage gives access to one of the most layered and remarkable archaeological sites in the Mediterranean — a UNESCO World Heritage Site where Greek (4th century BC), Roman, Byzantine, and Venetian civilisations built one on top of another on a promontory at the entrance to a coastal lagoon.

Livadhja Cove is a small, quiet transit anchorage 3nm S of Sarandë on the passage to Ksamil, partially sheltered from the prevailing NW Maestral by a headland.

Aliki Bay is the southernmost practical anchorage on the Albanian coast before the maritime border with Greece, positioned 2nm N of the Albanian-Greek boundary and used by boats transiting between Albania and Corfu (Greece) as a final overnight stop or staging anchorage before the 4nm crossing.

Sarandë Outer Roads is the deep-water waiting anchorage NW of Sarandë harbour, used by larger vessels that cannot access the inner bay areas, by boats waiting to enter the port, and as a temporary anchorage during periods of strong Corfu Strait NW wind when the inner bay becomes congested.