So many people head to the north of Albania to visit the mountains. The Albanian Alps (or the Accursed Mountains) have amazing hiking trails. The most popular of these is the hike from Valbona to Theth (or vice versa), which is generally easiest to do with a few nights either end in Shkoder. While I unfortunately didn’t have quite enough time for this, I still really wanted to get to the mountains! So I booked a daytrip to Blini Park and Lake Koman. This was by far the craziest day I had in Albania!

The Journey to Lake Koman

Our day started off early. We had our transfer to and from Shkoder included in our daytrip package, and got picked up at 8:30am. It was a full minibus that sat 8 people. We drove out of Shkoder and went into the mountains. I’m not going to lie, the roads getting to Lake Koman were pretty bad. The tarmac disappeared on half of the road at times (or the whole road), it was uneven in lots of places, and all of this on hairpin bends turning on the side of a cliff. I am so glad I wasn’t driving!! Luckily, our driver was an absolute pro. He knew every bend, every rock—he clearly did this route all the time. The scenery in the mountains only got better and better. It was just beautiful!

The Boat Trip on Lake Koman

We arrived at the boat launch for Lake Koman at about 10:00, where our driver kind of passed us over to another guy, who ushered us onto a boat. There were about 25-30 of us on the boat, including the people on our daytrip. The boat trip was the real highlight of my time in Albania—Lake Koman is absolutely stunning!

I almost felt like I was in a different world here. The water is a beautiful blue-green-turquoise color. The mountains rise up around the lake—I felt like I couldn’t stop looking around at the scenery.

I still can’t believe it’s real.

After 1 hour and 15 minutes we arrived at a sandbar and got off the boats. We didn’t really know what was going on, but every just started wading out in the water! So we did what anyone else would do, and followed a tall guy who had been on the minibus with us. I had known we would be wading through the water since our hostel had told us when we booked it. But I hadn’t expected to be wading as far as we did, in water up to our waists!

This river is the Shala River, which flows through a spectacular gorge into Lake Koman. It took 35 minutes of wading through crystal clear (and cold!) water before we reached Blini Park. Make sure you have a swimsuit or shorts that can get wet! We managed our flip-flops but walking was difficult—I’d recommend bringing water shoes if you have them.

What is Blini Park?

Blini Park is a resort on the River Shala, nestled in the mountains of Albania. It was one of the weirdest yet coolest places I’ve ever been! The beach is set up with volleyball nets, sun chairs, and a bar. The main building is the dining area and toilets, as well as some of the rooms. Besides the other foreigners who were with us on our minibus transfer (a German couple and a Finnish guy), everyone else was Albanian it seemed like! It was definitely a local experience, which I loved.

There was the option to add on an overnight stay at Blini Park. We didn’t opt for this (we had to get back to Tirana for a flight in two days’ time), but the Finnish guy did. Accommodation was a bit rustic, but overall the toilets were clean and it’s not too expensive.

We had lunch included in our package, which we had at 12:30 (not too long after we arrived after wading). There was a choice of meat or fish, both of which were tasty, and salad included. Alcoholic drinks were available to purchase from the bar if we wanted.

After lunch, we essentially spent all of the afternoon hanging out, chilling, and swimming and wading in the water. The water and the beach was just beautiful—it was an amazing place to spend the afternoon!

As the day went on, the bar on the beach opened and things went into high gear. Everyone was singing and dancing to the music, and more people were arriving after wading through the water! It was a big party and I was actually kind of sad we weren’t staying the night there. I can only imagine it was LIT.

Back to Shkoder

After a few blissful hours enjoying the sunshine and the water, we headed back to the boats. It was again about 35 minutes of wading, but this time we were at the front of a trail—so we had the whole canyon to ourselves at times! It is such a beautiful part of Albania and I’m so glad we were able to go.

Arriving back at the boat landing with no sign of our guide, we hopped on the boat we had taken, and thankfully started to recognize some of the people now trickling in at the sandbar. We left just after 4pm, and enjoyed another stunning boat ride on Lake Koman.

The scenery was almost even more beautiful on the way back!

Once we arrived back at the ferry launch, our driver and minivan were waiting for us and (after a short toilet break) we hopped back in. On the ride back, it was just us, and the German couple—I guess everyone else in our minivan was staying overnight at Blini Park! I loved seeing the mountains at this time of day, and we saw the beginning of a beautiful sunset over Shkoder as we drove back. Our minibus driver picked up a few randoms on the way back, but there was plenty of room in the van. We got dropped off at our hostel in Shkoder at 7:00pm.

Planning Your Trip

We booked our daytrip to Blini Park two days in advance at our hostel. It cost €40 per person, which was pretty steep for an excursion in Albania! That being said, all our transport was included, and lunch at Blini Park was included too. This would have been impossible to do with public transport in a day, so I thought it was well worth it. I do think it was worth the money—while it was a splurge in Albania, it’s nowhere near as expensive as a full-day excursion (with lunch!) in another city in Europe.

I was based in Shkoder for 3 nights, and spent my last full day on the trip to Blini Park. For my 3 nights, I stayed at Mi Casa Es Su Casa (Shkoder Backpackers) Hostel in a 10-bed dorm—you can read my full review here! You can search for hostels in Shkoder here, and for hotels here. You can also sign up to and search accommodation through Airbnb here.

The nearest airport to Shkoder is Tirana Airport, although if you’re flying into Podgorica Airport Shkoder isn’t a huge distance from the border with Montenegro. I always book flights through Skyscanner to find the best deals. Considering travel insurance for your trip? World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.

Blini Park and Lake Koman is a weird but amazing daytrip from Shkoder. If you have limited time in Albania and don’t want to go hiking in the mountains, visiting Blini Park is a great way to explore the scenery! It felt super random and a bit disorganized. But it was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Albania!

Have you been to Blini Park or Lake Koman in Albania? What was your experience like?!

You might like my other posts on Albania:

Why You Should Visit Shkoder, Albania

13 Things You Must See In Tirana, Albania

8 Of The Best Bars In Tirana, Albania

Visiting Berat As A Daytrip From Tirana

Hostel Review: Tirana Backpacker Hostel, Tirana

Hostel Review: Shkodra Backpackers (Mi Casa Es Tu Casa), Shkoder

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