Your holiday starts at the hotel in Tirana. We do not provide an airport transfer today. There is a shuttle bus that meets every incoming flight and taxis are always available and inexpensive (approx. €20 one-way). The journey time is 20-25 minutes. There will be a briefing at the hotel with the tour guide in the early evening, followed by a walk through downtown Tirana to a traditional restaurant where you will get a first taste of Albanian cuisine which is such an important part of this holiday.

After breakfast at the hotel, the group will take a 2-hour drive to the start of the first day's cycling. This provides a good introduction to the Albanian countryside, leading through rich farmland, deep valleys and via a number of towns including Elbasan. There will be a coffee stop, during which the support vehicle and driver will go ahead to the road pass at Qafe Thane (950m) above Lake Ohrid to set up the group's bikes. The local staff will make sure everyone is comfortable with their bike, before the ride starts with an easy descent via several sweeping curves to the lake shore. Thirty kilometres long and more than 250 metres deep, Lake Ohrid is simply stunning and is an important local fishery. Small boats can be seen out on the lake and there are usually several roadside stalls selling fish. Level cycling beside the lake leads easily to Pogradec and the adjacent settlement of Tushemist which comprises just 3 or 4 small hotels and restaurants. After a splendid waterside lunch, there's the option to cycle into neighbouring Macedonia (you'll need your passport) to visit one of the standout attractions of this region, the 16th century Byzantine-style Eastern Orthodox Monastery of Saint Naum. Set in pleasant gardens with strutting peacocks, souvenir stalls and restaurants, this is a great place to spend an hour or two before returning to the hotel in Tushemist. Time for a swim in the lake before dinner. The optional ride to the monastery and back is 12 kilometres and this is included in the figures below.

Cycling out from Tushemist, you'll pass through Pogradec again and soon begin a short sharp climb of about 150 metres up onto a plateau bounded by mountains. Turning off onto a minor road between 2 small lakes, the route meanders pleasantly with only a couple of short inclines, passing several small villages, with a limestone escarpment on the left-hand side and extensive and obviously very fertile farmed land of the Korce Plateau to the right. Horse-drawn carts are more common than tractors and you'll see waving kids, farmers working in the fields with scythes and lots of colourful flowers at the roadside. There's a coffee/Coca-Cola stop at an isolated café and later, beyond a junction with a bigger road, a long and leisurely lunch stop. After lunch, an easy 5 kilometre ride leads to the hotel in downtown Korce. Before dinner, the tour guide will take the group on a short city tour. The first school ever to teach in the Albanian language is here and there's also an impressive Orthodox cathedral, some colourful and interesting architecture and a quiet market area where you can stop for a coffee or a beer. Later, heading out for dinner at another traditional restaurant, don't be surprised to find that the streets are busy with local people having a good time.

Cycling directly from the hotel, there's a new section of road for the first 20 kilometres which comes to an end at the top of the 200 metre climb to the Barmash Pass (1150m). Close to Albania's border with Greece, the route now descends into a beautiful and rustic region with forested hills and some sections of rough road perfectly suited to the rugged hybrid bikes that are provided. After a brief interlude at Korce, you are back now to the riotous roadside flowers and timeless rural scenery that are such an unforgettable part of this Albanian experience. There's a quirky streamside chalet at 27 kilometres, the only place to stop for coffee during the morning's ride. Then, a gradual climb to a lunch stop at a restaurant in Erseke (1000m), one of the highest small towns in the country. The route continues to undulate on patchy roads with little traffic and the final climb amongst shading pine trees feels like the longest of the day, although it's not quite 200 metres. Tucked away in a hidden, wooded valley, Farma Sotira is a charming place, centred on trout-farm pools and with lots of other animals. The accommodation is in cosy twin-room cabins and there are both indoor and outdoor dining facilities. The trout is very good!

Enjoy your farmhouse breakfast of bread straight from the oven, fried eggs, salty goat's cheese and yummy home-made cherry jam with an espresso coffee to finish it off. Then, leaving the farm, there's a short ascent through a fresh and lovely 'alpine' area, followed by a cross-country ride on a meandering road. Look out for eagles, wild flowers, colourful bee-hives, shepherds and their sheep and farmers bringing in the hay in the old-fashioned way with pitchforks. You'll pass above a pretty lake and swing around and down to the large, red-roofed village of Leskovik. This is a good place to regroup, before starting a mega descent of more than 10 kilometres on a new road to the banks of a river close to the Greek border. The route levels out and continues to Carshoves, where you'll stop for coffee, before cycling onwards alongside the Vjosa River with towering peaks beyond. There are some sections of rough road and a few small farms before reaching the group's guesthouse in the Lengarica Valley. Lunch here and a free afternoon, although it's highly recommended to cycle up to the excellent hot springs at the head of the valley. There's a superb 16th century Ottoman bridge to cross to reach the pools which are at a temperature of about 25 degrees - not too hot. Another traditional Albanian dinner and overnight at the guesthouse. The optional ride to the hot springs and back is 10 kilometres and this is included in the figures below.

Cycling back to the road alongside the Vjosa River and turning right, the Dhembel range on the south-west side of the river rises above 2000 metres and is usually clearer in the morning light. The road follows the river and trends very gradually downhill as far as the town of Kelcyre, where the river turns westwards into the Kelcyre Gorge. Passing beneath a ruined fort at the entrance to this steep-sided valley, you'll soon reach a riverside café built astride a waterfall - a convenient place to take a break. There are some impressive river views on the next section, still descending gradually and with some farmed land now squeezed in alongside the river. Crossing the river on a steel bridge, you'll traverse around a spur and head generally southwards into the broad valley of the Drinos River. Crossing this river you'll meet the main Tepeljen-Gjirokaster road and cycle on this for just a kilometre to a very interesting roadside restaurant with springs all around it including one that has been channelled to cascade over the roof. After another fantastic lunch, rather than cycling on the main road, there's a 20 kilometre transfer to nearby Gjirokaster. After checking in at the central hotel, you'll have time to rest or to do some souvenir shopping in the adjacent market. At around 4pm, the tour guide will take the group on a city tour, to include the fascinating Skenduli House (dating from the Ottoman period), before hiking up to the fortress which dominates Gjirokaster and provides great views across the characteristic stone-clad rooftops of what is arguably Albania's most beautiful town.

Today you'll be heading out to Albania's sun-kissed Ionian coast and to make this easier there's a half hour transfer to the top of the Muzina Pass (550m). Here, you can grab a coffee or a soft drink at the café while the local crew unload the group's bikes from the trailer. The route starts out with a super and sinuous 8 kilometre descent from the pass and then a flattish run of around 15 kilometres alongside the clear Bistrica River (which at this point flows in a channel) to the outskirts of Sarande. From here, after another coffee stop, you'll set off on quiet roads to complete a scenic southward loop to Butrint amongst reed beds, orchards and farmed land. There's a little bit of up and down and reaching a small lake on the right side of the road there are views to Sarande and the hills of Corfu. At the narrow channel that links Lake Butrint with the Ionian Sea, you'll cross by way of a cable-drawn ferry and then take lunch in the shaded gardens of a restaurant. After lunch, there's a short guided tour of Butrint, one of the most important archaeological sites in the region with Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman remains. There's still the little matter of a 17 kilometre cycle ride to reach the group's sea-front hotel in Sarande, but anyone who fancies a break can choose to do this bit in the support vehicle. Arriving at the hotel mid-afternoon, there's plenty of time to take a dip in the azure-blue Ionian Sea, before dinner on the promenade.

Cycling directly from the hotel and along the promenade, there's a short, sharp climb out of town. There are no sea views at first, as the road runs inland of a coastal ridge, but there is a panorama of rugged hills to the east that rise up as high as 1850 metres with an isolated church in the foreground. At 14 kilometres, after further climbs amongst olive groves, there's a coffee stop in the colourful village of Shen Vasil. Beyond this point, the road approaches the sea once again and twists and turns above a succession of bays with views back to the Island of Corfu. The road drops down through Qeparo and crosses a headland where you may spot some more of Albania's ubiquitous concrete bunkers by the roadside. Built by the Communist dictator Enver Hoxha during the period between about 1965 and 1985, there are several hundred thousand of these in the country. On the next small promontory is Porto Palermo Castle which is thought to have been built by the Venetians. This is a good place to stop for lunch and the walk out to the impressive 3-sided fort provides an alternative perspective along the coast in both directions. Arriving at the hotel in the laid-back coastal town of Himare in the early afternoon, it's time to chill out. There's a long pebble beach, a few free-to-use sun loungers and not a lot else - enjoy.

After an early breakfast, the group will board the transfer bus for the 4-hour drive to Tirana Airport. The first part of the drive is spectacular, following the coast and passing through a number of seaside towns including Dhermi. There are views of the coastal strip known as the 'Albanian Riviera' as the road climbs via a series of hairpins up to the Llogora Pass (1027m). Dropping down to Vlore, through a valley bounded by high peaks, you'll leave the coastal strip and continue to the airport, with a coffee stop en-route. Arriving at the airport in the late morning allows plenty of time to check in for your homeward flight.