After spending nearly a month in Albania, Gjipe Canyon and Beach was hands down my favorite experience! It’s a beach that’s located next to a canyon with 40 meter high walls, making for dramatic surroundings. Since it’s not an easy location to arrive at you feel a free traveler’s vibe in these parts, bordering on hippie and potentially lawless (in a good way).
⚠️ The most practical thing to know about Gjipe is that every transaction will be cash only so make sure you bring enough money for your meals, kayak rental, beers and water, cost of staying at the camp, etc. ⚠️
Helpful Map of Gjipe
How to get to Gjipe Beach
Gjipe Beach is located in the middle of the two other popular beach destinations of Jalë Beach and Dhërmi Beach. It’s likely that your jumping-off point to get to Gjipe is from one of these nearby beaches.
By Car (most convenient!)
Rental car will be the most convenient because it gives you the most freedom location-wise and schedule-wise. I acquired mine in Sarandë for 35€/day. It was a janky manual transmission car that ran on diesel. It’s all I could get the day of and it did what it needed to do.
The parking costs 300 lek/3€ for the day and 1000 lek/10€ overnight which I think is pretty steep. As you will likely find out in Albania, almost nothing is free for tourists and this is the closest location you can park to the trail.
To get to the parking lot/trailhead from the main road, you’ll have to drive along a narrow street that is wide enough to fit only one car but is meant as a two-way. We pulled over on the sand next to the road to allow a car coming in the opposite direction to get by. In the process we actually got our car stuck in the sand and had to get out to push!
Hike down 20-30 minutes down a rough rocky dirt trail down to the beach. The hike is a bit rough in the hot sun but the views of the beach while you descend are well worth the trek.
By Kayak
If you are feeling sporty and your base is located at Dhërmi or Jalë, a great option is renting a kayak for the day and making your way along the coast to Gjipe. I personally kayaked halfway from Gjipe to Jalë at Marble beach and that journey took around 20 minutes. A kayak journey from Dhërmi to Gjipe or Jalë to Gjipe would take 45 minutes to an hour. The main advantage of kayaking is that you’re able to stop and explore all the tiny beaches and coves along the coast at your own leisure.
By Boat
Arrange a private boat transfer or sign up for a boat tour from the convenient locations of Dhërmi or Jalë. Along these beaches you will see posters and signs for these tour companies.
By Bus
Accessible transit is tricky in these parts! There are no public buses that will take you to Gjipe but there are furgons, which are cheap Albanian minibuses that connect major cities and towns. The furgon you should take is the one that goes between Sarandë and Dhërmi. You’ll have to notify the driver when to drop you off along the main road SH8. From here it’s a 2 km walk to the parking lot and another 1 km hike down to the beach.
By Hitchhiking
As soon as I turned off the main road and onto the road that leads to the parking lot I passed by a young couple with massive backpacks in the middle of the hot afternoon. Although my initial reaction was to keep driving, a few meters later I felt a pang of guilt and reversed the car. I allowed two strangers to sit in the back of my car. Turns out they were a German couple hitchhiking through Albania.
The two told me that they had nothing but a positive experience hitchhiking in Albania. They said that the locals were extremely friendly and had even made some friends. They also never had to wait longer than 15 minutes for someone to pick them up. Turns out this was a win-win for me and the couple because they got a ride and I made some new friends!
By Walking
If you are down to endure the hot sun and want to get your steps in, consider walking along trails from Dhërmi or from Jalë Beach.
The easy 3 mile (5 km) hike from Jalë to Gjipe follows an old goat’s path and passes by a few virgin beaches.
The path from Dhërmi to Gjipe starts at the southern end of Dhërmi beach and passes by St. Theodhori Monastery before arriving at Gjipe. You also have the option of starting from the town of Dhërmi.
⚠️ Take extreme caution in the heat and make sure to wear proper clothing to protect yourself from overgrown trails. Do your research before you embark on these hikes because the trails may not be recently maintained ⚠️
⛺️ Camping at Gjipe ⛺️
I spent the night at Gjipe Eco Campground in the canyon and it was a totally unique experience. This hostel-like campgrounds has a bar, a dining area, outlets to charge your phone, kayak rentals, showers and running water. It even had wifi that was reliable enough to put me on a Zoom call which is amazing since the setting feels so remote.
I highly recommend that you spend the night in Gjipe not only because of all the effort it takes to get there but because there’s so much to experience.
The tent provided had a very comfortable mattress, pillows and clean sheets. It was 24€/night for two people with breakfast included which is served at the adjacent restaurant. Call ahead on Whatsapp to reserve your tent!
The vibe at this campsite definitely felt young, free-spirited and seemed like a good place to meet people. In the evening the reception would play music on the speakers and people gathered around the bar.
Besides this campground, I observed that a few people had set up their own tents on the beach. There really doesn’t seem to be any rules around here.
Things to do at Gjipe
You’d be surprised, Gjipe is not a very big beach whatsoever but there’s plenty of things to do here that could keep you entertained for a day or two.
Rent a Kayak and Visit Pirate’s Cove
We rented a kayak for 10€/person from the campground. The kayak allowed us to go further out along the coast to explore the various coves. The first point of interest is Pirate’s Cove which is maybe a 15-20 minute kayak trip up the coast. It’s a (relatively) big cave that you can stand inside. The only way you can get here is by boat. I noticed some some sun beds here for rent. Snorkeling is really great around here!
If you kayak even further you will reach Marble Beach, a small beach with an underwater arch that you can swim through. At this point you will be halfway between Gjipe and Jalë beaches. Feel free to keep going up the coast and you’ll be rewarded with more tiny beaches to explore!
Explore the Coves by Swimming and Jump Off a Cliff
Even if you don’t have a kayak you can still swim a short distance up the coast and find all of these tiny coves filled with white pebbles that you can explore and even stand or sit in. You will eventually reach a point where you can climb on to the rocks and jump off!
Enjoy a Sit-down Meal at a Dining Establishment
You would not believe it. There are THREE restaurants in the canyon to choose from. The prices are a bit inflated for the quality but surely the transportation costs are high due to the location. Don’t worry about needing to bring beer or enough water down to the canyon. You won’t be able to keep it cold anyways and you can buy some at one of the restaurants the bottom of the canyon (a tall boy will be about 600 Lek).
I ate at Restaurant Gjipe Beach for lunch and it was pretty average but it did the trick. It was absolutely packed with people for lunch.
For dinner I dined at Restorant Rrapi Gjipe. The shrimp pasta with zucchini was pretty good but the grilled seafood was borderline inedible (TBH my own mistake for ordering seafood at a restaurant in a remote canyon).
💶 The restaurants here are cash only 💶
🚾 FYI the most accessible toilet close to the beach is located next to Restaurant Gjipe Beach. Be warned – it’s a squatting toilet! 🚾
Rent a Sun Bed and Relax on the Beach (or Bring your own Umbrella and Towel)
If there’s a beach in Albania you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be sun beds for rent, including this remote canyon. However, for free you can bring your own beach umbrella and relax on the nice pebble beach. It’s pretty essential that you bring some kind of shade and sunscreen because there is NO cover on this beach! I did see a small stand selling basic beach supplies.
While taking a swim I unfortunately noticed that the water was greenish and not very clear. There was some foamy dirt and a bunch of trash floating around. I’m sure because this canyon is quite inaccessible the trash collection system isn’t very developed. There are a few trashcans on the beach so make sure you don’t contribute to the sad sad pollution of this beautiful beach!
Stargaze on the Beach (my Favorite!)
The stars in Gjipe Canyon at nighttime were the most abundant I’ve ever seen in my life. For some reason there were bean bags on the beach which I took advantage of for my seating pleasure. Looking up at the sky from the beach is incredible as the canyon behind you frames the night sky. I saw FIVE shooting stars that night! There’s also a bunch of people making fires and playing music on the beach. It was definitely a very hippie vibe.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be encouraging this on the internet but if I would not be surprised that, if you asked around, you’d be able to find illicit substances in these parts. I myself was able to enjoy a joint from my new hitchhiker friends along with the night sky. I imagine this beautiful wild location would be excellent for a trip of the mind 🍄.
Rave in the Canyon
One of life’s greatest pleasures is raving in a unique location. At the festival called Anjunadeep Explorations you can attend a rave within the 40 meter tall walls of Gjipe Canyon only footsteps from the sea. Each summer the record label Anjunadeep puts on a melodic techno festival in Dhërmi, Albania (in 2024 it took place during June 13-18). One of the festival stages is set up in Gjipe and is only accessible by boat through the festival. Definitely a unique opportunity!
👀 Watch my reel to see more of my time at Gjipe 👀
My experience at Gjipe was the most fun and memorable in all my time in Albania. There’s plenty to do to keep you entertained in the canyon for a day or two. I recommend exploring the coves along the coast and staying overnight because the night sky is stunning. Also it’s a bit of a trek to go up and down to the beach.
❤️ Valerie ☀️
Related Reading
For more Albania info, check out my One Stop Guide (slash Anti-Guide) to Albania