NEW PORTS OF CALL

Cruising is fast becoming or you could say has become a top choice for a holiday. Whether it is for a family, couple, young at heart folk – you name it cruising is now for everyone.  You will find the percentage is high for repeat cruisers so you will find customers who have cruised the med have visited a number of ports on more than one occasion. The cruise lines seem to have slowly introduced more and more ports, which for the avid cruiser it is more appealing. The most recent one is on the P&O Oceana itineraries. This year they have changed the departure to Vallatta instead of Genoa, and they are visiting Sarande in southern Albania. 9 out of 10 customers I speak to always ask where this is, and haven’t heard of it, and it doesn’t appear that other cruise lines are offering it. So what is there to do? Well let me tell you….

Butrint -Home to an ancient Roman City. Butrint is a park where you can relax in peaceful surroundings whilst admiring the ancient ruins. Here you will experience both relaxation and an educational trip in one.Private tours are around 5 hours and cost from £82pp.

If ancient cities are of interest you can also visit the local UNESCO world hertiage site of Gjirokastra- good luck trying to pronounce this one! The characteristics houses are built one above the other and here you will visit Gjirokastra castle that is home to national museum of weapons.

Sarande it’s self has a beautiful mediterranean climate and is situated right on the coast. If ancients ruins aren’t of any interest you can explore the city at leisure visiting the souvenir shops or the beautiful boutiques. It really does sound picturesque and worth a visit.

Sarande really is a place for castles. If visiting one isn’t enough you can also visit the castle of Lekursi  where you will enjoy magnificent views of Sarande Town, Ionian Sea and the island of Corfu. Or if you fancy something more low key why not visit the hypnotic pool of deep blue water, known to the locals as “Syri i kaltër” or the Blue Eye.

To me it sounds like a lovely port of call, and I imagine more cruise lines will begin to visit.

If you would like more information please call me on 0330 303 8471.