The moon’s reflection is dancing off the breathtaking Ionian Sea and the music’s so good, the staff are climbing on the bar to join in the party. This is not what I expected from my first trip to Albania.
When you tell relatives over the age of say, 45, that you’re heading to the former-communist stronghold, they’ll ask one question: is it safe?
Though its dictatorship fell in 1990, Albania has struggled to rebrand in the eyes of some holidaymakers, not helped by its regular mention in Westminster (in 2022, there were more Albanians applying for asylum in the UK than any other nationality, making it synonymous with the ‘small boats’ discourse).
Yet Albania has become one of the up-and-coming European destinations for those in the know, attracting a record-breaking 5 million tourists last year. How?
Enter Kala, a week-long festival held in the coastal town of Dhërmi, promising yoga by day, dancing by night, for a younger generation of visitor seeking paradise on a budget.
Kala markets itself as a luxury alternative for festival-goers looking to swap wellie boots for bikinis. Instead of a tent, you can choose from packages offering three-, four-, or five-star hotels. Forget beige burgers, the beachside restaurants serve seafood linguine, fresh Greek salads and quality woodfired pizzas.
It’s one of several festivals to set up shop on what’s been flamboyantly dubbed the ‘Albanian Rivera,’ with organisers working closely with the Albanian tourist board to overhaul the country’s international reputation.
So far, so successful. But first, you’ve got to get there.
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Getting there
I’ll be frank, Dhërmi is a pain in the arse to get to. You have two route options: fly into Albania’s Tirana airport and get a four-hour car transfer to the coast, featuring mountain views, perilous driving, and the threat of travel sickness. Or, fly into Corfu and expect sweaty palms as you race to make your transfers (a 10-minute taxi to the ferry terminal, a half hour boat to Albania, and another two-hour taxi to Dhërmi ). Having tried both options, the latter was marginally better.
The journey left us with one question: is Kala worth the hassle?
We arrived at the Elysium hotel after 12.5 hours on the move greeted by kind staff, warm showers and comfy beds. We agreed the room – advertised as five stars – may have been three in other European resorts. But it was clean, functional and at that point, we didn’t care.
The next day, my friend was first to open the curtains. ‘You have to see this view!’ she said – and she was right. The Dhërmi coastline is, quite simply, stunning.
The festival
The hotel is around a 15-minute walk to the festival site, where you’ll find four main stages. The Yacht Club (almost always empty), The Cove (picturesque, but pebbly), Empire (the main stage with live bands, drag dancers and all-round good vibes) and Splendour (the place to be for DJs sets basked in moonlight, where the party continues until the sun comes up).
The line-up features an eclectic mix of house, disco, funk, techno and everything in-between. Our favourites included Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra (infectious fun with a side of sax) DJ Yu Su (understated cool), Paula Tape (that iconic moonlit set that got everyone dancing) and a pop-up performance by CC:DISCO at a pizza restaurant (you’ve got to love a DJ that doesn’t take themselves too seriously).
We spent most days recovering by the pool or at the beach. But the standout wellness activity for me was a strawberry moon meditation session, and no, that is not a sentence I imagined typing. I signed up to the class because it sounded totally woo woo, expecting to collect a funny anecdote for this article. Instead, I enjoyed 45 minutes of intention-setting and emotional cleansing with the talented Aysha Bell, in a session that’s stuck with me weeks later.
If that’s not your thing, you can take a speed boat to the beautiful Gjipe beach, try beachside boxing, limber up for the evening with sunset yoga, get creative with prosecco and painting, or visit the water-side spa. Just remember, all these activities will cost you extra, with prices starting from £6 per class to £35 for a 30-minute massage.
The Kala organisers proudly state that a seven-night stay at the festival starts from just £299 per person, including a festival wristband. That doesn’t include flights or transfers and to really make the most of what’s on offer, you’ll need to spend more.
The food (as mentioned) is a step up from your usual festival fare, but it adds up. By the time you’ve bought a smoothie for breakfast (~ €5), halloumi wrap for lunch (~ €7) pasta for dinner (~ €14) and drinks all day/night (~ €6 each) and some miscellaneous snacks (~ €10) you can easily spend £50-£80 per day on food and drink alone, depending on the bars/restaurants you choose.
Several festival-goers we met lamented that Kala was not as cheap as they’d hoped, with vendors seemingly aware they have a captive audience who need fuel for a week of partying.
It probably explains why the crowd is older, aged 25-35 on average, with a high percentage of Cambridge-via-Dalston types pretending not to be posh. Most 18-year-olds could not afford it here.
Still, the atmosphere is overwhelmingly friendly. The boutique nature of the festival – which welcomes 3,000 guests max compared to Glastonbury’s 200,000 – means you see the same faces over and over again and feel a sense of community.
It also feels incredibly safe. Posters around the site remind folks that harassment and hate will not be tolerated, and the one time my friend received unwanted sexual attention from a male, the bouncer appeared unprompted to give him a warning. I’ve never seen that level of care for women’s safety and wellbeing at any UK festival.
Albania’s perception problem
As evidence of how strongly the Albanian government is pinning its hopes on Kala, Mirela Kumbaro Furxhi, the country’s Minister for Tourism and Environment, arrives to speak to a room of hungover journalists about Dhërmi’s tourism plans.
A stone’s throw from the site, there are new hotels under construction. ‘The professional standard is maybe not the best in the world, but it’s compensated for by the hospitality,’ she says, acknowledging that Albania is still a new player in this game.
She describes the country as the undiscovered ‘flower’ or Europe ready to blossom. So, why does she think some Albanians are still risking their lives to leave?
‘Because it is so difficult to get a British visa,’ she tells me. ‘They’re not risking their lives to go to France. A lot of Albanians are emigrating, for example, to Germany, because Germany has a system regulated with rules. You have not [got] this possibility. If you are creating a system, more normal, more reachable, such as Germany or France or Italy has, nobody would [travel in small boats].’
There’s misguided perceptions on ‘both sides,’ she adds, among Brits about what Albania is like, and among Albanians about what the UK is like.
‘In the UK, the perception created by politicians, using the media channels, is the perception that all of Albania is coming to the UK. No, no no.
‘On the other side, another perception used by traffickers is the perception in some villages that “everybody can go. And let’s go because there is the paradise.”
‘It is so hard to change mentality and to change perception in Albania and in the UK. But this is the war. We have won some battles, but not the war.’
The verdict
I thoroughly enjoyed Kala. With good music, good food, a packed day of activities and a stunning backdrop, you couldn’t ask for much more. As one French tourist put it: ‘No complaints, no regrets.’
But sadly, the infrastructure just isn’t there yet to support this level of tourism. The 12-hour journey home (which was almost 15 due to flight delays) was an absolute killer after the 4am bedtime of the day before.
So while I’m glad I went once, for now, I personally think Kala is too isolated to visit twice. But with a new airport set to open in Vlora (just 50km from Dhërmi) in 2024, maybe I’ll be coaxed back again.
Kala will return from 5 -12 June 2024. Sign up for tickets here.
Need to know info
Transport option 1:
Fly from Luton to Tirana Airport (Whizz Air). Get a 4-hour car transfer to Dhërmi.
Transport option 2:
Fly from Gatwick to Cofu (EasyJet). Get a 10-min taxi to the ferry port, then a two-hour car to Dhërmi.
Kala Packages (including festival wristband, not including transport):
3* hotel: £299pp for 4-person group booking, or £345pp for 2-person room.
4* hotel: £331pp for 4-person group booking, or £399pp for 2-person room.
5* hotel: £623pp for 3-person group booking, or £641pp for 2-person room.
For more info visit kala.al.
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