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Reviews

• Butrint, Blue Eye and Lekuresi Castle - Great sites

  raaugustine,May 27, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  4.00

  All three locations are worth visiting and the most interesting was the archeological site, Butrint. I have always had excellent expriences with Viator and recommend using them and visiting these sites but, for this location in Saranda, Albania, I would suggest that Viator use a diffenent local tour company. Our guide, Santi (sp?) was very knowledgeable, friendly and flexible, however, I did have some significant issues with the local tour company contracted by Viator. I was booked for a 8:30 am tour but we were late boarding the bus although it was there. It was almost 9:30 before we left. The tour guide shared information she was given by a tour manager who was at the pick up point. To my knowledge, all passengers for the 8:30 am tour were ready. We were waiting for a group the manager claimed were having issues tendering to the pick up point. Two different ships were involved. Passsengers stated it was the responsibility of guests to get to the meeting point on time and didn't feel we should wait for more than a short time. One passenger spoke to the manager and indicated he was quite rude. We discovered that the 8:00 am group was also waiting and would be part of our group. I want to add that this was a small group excursion. The guide explained that leaving late was not her decision to make and we understood that. Finally, our bus left but then returned to the pick up point as the "late" individuals were on their way. Close to 9:30 am, a group arrived and were put on our bus. Many passengers, believing that that were just late were quite upset with the supposedly late group although one passenger made the situation very unpleasant. We later learned that, we had at least 3 groups with different tour times. There were scheduled for 8:00, 8:30 and 9:30. It turned out that the group that was supposedly late were not late and some shared their ticked that indicated a 9:30 tour. We ultimately found out that the local tour company decided to combine the groups and use two small busses. There were several passengers that chose the early tour so they would have time to explore the port area before having to tender back to the ship. The dishonesty of the local manager caused for some initial group tension when that should never have happened. Finally, our bus left and, to make matters worse, stopped at a gas station for fuel! That was completely unacceptable. We had sufficient time at the first two locations but the last location, at the castle, had to be shortened to get passengers back to the port. My group should have returned by 3:30 pm and got back by 4:00 pm. The tour guide did the best she could but I still felt that she, due to the misinformation she was given and passed along to us, had to deal with some very frustrated passengers through no fault of her own. I place the full responsibility on the local tour company but believe Viator should know what happened and would hope that, for future excursions, they would used another local company because the sites are well worth visiting.

• Good if you’re there for a day

  Lesley G,May 25, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  4.00

  In port for one day with a cruise on our first visit to Albania- wanted to see as much as possible and this trip covered many different aspects- ruins, beach, and geography! Unfortunately a slow start as they merged 4 different tours start times into one, so we wasted time waiting for the last group to arrive. Good modern comfortable transport. A guide who spoke good English and ensured the group stayed together. The cafe at the Blue Eye was great for a quick snack and very reasonably priced. Some in the group claimed they didn’t know about the €6.50pp fare for the little train to the Blue Eye but it was in the tour details. A good day out.

• Awesome day in Albania

  Patricia P,May 21, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Great combination of nature and history. Our guide, Santi, spoke perfect English and Greek I believe. Was well educated in the history of Butrint, and of her homeland. Only suggestion would be, you might need to bring a sandwich or something easy to carry as there was only a brief, quick stop to grab a bite to eat!

• Beautiful trip full of information

  V6332EGrobertv,May 8, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Good guide, nice trip and lots of information. Worth taking your time with Butrint.

• Did not get the tour we paid for

  Stephanie H,Apr 30, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  2.00

  This excursion was quite disorganized. For example, we were first put on a black Mercedes van for this excursion. Then, they later told us to get out of the van and go to the red bus, as we were put on the wrong tour. So then we sat in a red van and waited. Another couple joined, and then they told us to get out of the red van and go to the white one. Not a good customer experience at all, as we were bounced to 3 different vehicles - very chaotic! So on the white van I specifically spoke to two different tour guides to confirm the tour and that the one we booked had 4 stops/destinations. They said yes. We did the Blue Eye, then Lekuresi and then she said they’re switching guides. Another guide led the Butrint tour. I asked again about the stop at Ksamil to see the beaches and get lunch. She said no. Two other couples also said the same thing. However, she said she didn’t know what we were talking about, and there wasn’t time at this point anyway. So we never did get to have lunch or see the beach. It was a very frustrating experience, despite numerous efforts to ensure they had us on the correct tour. We paid for a tour with 4 stops, and time for lunch, and only saw 3 stops, with no lunch. No apologies or acknowledgment by the tour guide, or the company.

• Sarande

  Michelle Z,Apr 26, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  All sites were stunning & well worth the $60. Kella was an amazing guide! She knew multiple languages making everyone comfortable, very knowledgeable of Albania & the sites. She made the tour 20/10!

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Chaos at the Eye

  O3644CIcharlied,Apr 23, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  2.00

  All in all the tour was okay. This is and getting to the pickup, even though says cruise port, is quite a hike. This is a tendered port and since the tour is indecent of cruise line excursions can take time to get onto tender. The views from the castle were pretty amazing but did not have adequate time to explore. Following the castle stop we proceeded to the Blue Eye. To get to the actual eye you could either walk approximately 1 mile or purchase ticked for the tram to take you there. Unfortunately there ins only 1 tram shuttling people back and forth and the organization to get guests on is complete chaos almost to the point of fights breaking out. We chose to walkup to the site and take tram back. On the return trip several older friends of ours were shoved and literally thrown to the ground by inconsiderate guests fighting to get on. The tour never went to Ksamil and only stopped for about 10min at the entrance of Butrint park before heading back to port. The tour would have been excellent if it was better unorganized but unfortunately was not what we expected.

  

  

  

• Was ok

  Audrey L,Mar 22, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  4.00

  Should have been a small group. When our van was full, we should have left instead of waiting for other vans to be full. Other than that it was fine.

• Not really a small group.

  Darrel T,Mar 17, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  3.00

  The sites were nice but what was supposed to be a small group tour ended up with a 20 passenger mini-bus and three vans with only one guide. Because everyone didn’t get off the ship together because it is a tender port, we had to wait quite a while for the rest of the group. Many in the group weren’t aware of all the walking that needed to be done and weren’t up to it. Our guide did give information as best as possible at each stop but it would have been nice to have some narration on the drive.

• Not as expected

  Shannon J,Mar 17, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  3.00

  This was not a small group as advertised. 43 people 1 tour guide Our 8am tour started at 9am Because we had to wait for all 43 to show up.

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