Llamani Beach, Himarë: The White Pebble Cove 3.5km South of Town, with Deep Blue Water and a Soviet Submarine Bunker Next Door

Albania | Himarë | Albanian Riviera

Llamani Beach (Plazhi i Llamanit) is just a few kilometres south of Himarë, a pebbled beach nicely located in a bay and secluded by rocks, best reached by car. The sea deepens quickly. The beach is recommended for adults and children who can already swim. The seabed is covered with large stones, so water shoes are necessary. Sunbeds cost €10 to €20.

The distance from Himarë town centre is 3.5 kilometres — 8 minutes by car on the SH8 south, then a gravel track to the beach edge. The parking situation has generated visitor friction: the lots adjacent to the beach are controlled by private beach operators, and visitors who arrive without intending to hire a sunbed are sometimes directed to leave. Arriving early in the morning before the beach operations are fully staffed reduces this friction significantly.

The pricing range is wide. Deck chairs cost €20 at the back, €30 in the middle, and €70 for the front row. Coffee costs €4; pasta €12 to €18. The beach is overpriced compared to the rest of Albania. The water quality is the specific quality that makes visitors accept the pricing — or at least come once. You can’t find blue water like this anywhere else nearby — very deep in a few meters, the water is very clear and waste-free.

Getting There: 3.5km from Himarë by Car, or Boat Taxi from the Port for $15–20

From Himarë town centre, drive south on the SH8 for approximately 10 minutes, watching for the signed turnoff to Llamani. The road is paved on the SH8 and becomes a gravel track for the final section to the parking area. A standard car can navigate it in dry conditions.

From the port of Himarë, daily boat taxis ferry visitors to Llamani — you can arrange for the boat to drop you in the morning and pick you up in the afternoon, giving you a private beach for the day for around $15 to $20 per person.

The boat approach is the specific arrival quality that the road approach cannot match — the view of the cove from the sea showing both limestone headlands simultaneously, the white pebble floor visible through the blue water before landing. The trip takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes from the Himarë port.

No public bus serves Llamani. The furgon minibuses on the SH8 can drop passengers at the highway turnoff; the beach is then a walk on the gravel track. A taxi from Himarë promenade costs approximately €5 to €10 and takes under 10 minutes.

The Beach: White Pebble, Rapid Depth Increase, Snorkelling Left, Cliff Jump Right

Llamani is a compact bay between two limestone headlands, the white pebble floor giving the water its specific colour — the reflected pale stone against the depth producing the dark electric blue that the cove photographs for. The bay is recessed between the headlands deeply enough that the water is naturally calm even when coastal conditions to the north and south are rougher.

The water deepens quickly from the shoreline — within a few metres of the entry, swimming depth is reached. This is the water quality advantage (no sand suspension, total clarity) and the safety condition that all visitor accounts note: non-swimmers and small children need constant attention at the waterline. For confident swimmers, the depth is the entire point — the plunge into clear blue from the pebble entry is the experience.

Visitors can enjoy snorkelling on the left side of the beach or cliff jumping on the right side.

The snorkelling section uses the rocky formations at the western headland where the ledges and crevices produce the marine habitat that the clear deep water sustains. The cliff jump positions are on the eastern headland at heights that the visitor consensus rates as accessible for those comfortable with the commitment. The water below is deep and obstacle-free at the established jump points.

Water shoes are non-negotiable. The large stones on the seabed and the pebble surface above the waterline both require them throughout — from parking area to water and back.

The Sunbed Pricing and the Free Zone Reality

The three-tier sunbed pricing — €20 back row, €30 middle, €70 front row — is among the highest on the Albanian Riviera for a beach of this size. The front-row premium is the view from the water’s edge, the shade from the closest umbrellas, and the status position that the price reflects.

The “free” section of the beach is contested in peak season. One visitor account describes being told after arrival that lying on the sand without a sunbed rental was not permitted. Another describes arriving at 7am and finding adequate free space without difficulty. The practical advice: arrive early, bring your own towel and umbrella, and accept that the boundary between free and paid zones is enforced inconsistently depending on the season and the operator.

In late June or September, the pricing pressure and the crowd pressure both ease significantly. The peak August pricing — one visitor reported €65 for two beach beds — is the upper end that early-season and late-season visitors avoid.

The Soviet Submarine Bunker: Hoxha’s Coastal Defence, Best by Kayak

Near Llamani Beach, south of Himarë, is a bunker built during the Enver Hoxha era to house Soviet submarines. Although there is a walking track to it, it’s best reached by boat or kayak.

The fortified concrete tunnel — blasted into the cliff face to conceal submarines from NATO aerial reconnaissance — is part of the broader network of Hoxha-era coastal fortifications that the Albanian state constructed throughout the Cold War. Hoxha’s regime built over 750,000 bunkers of various types across the country between 1967 and 1986, including submarine shelters along the Ionian coast where the proximity of NATO-allied Greece and Italy across the sea drove the defensive investment.

The bunker near Llamani is accessible by the coastal walking path but the kayak or boat approach from Himarë port is the more rewarding angle — the view of the blasted entrance in the cliff face from the water is the specific perspective that gives the structure its scale. Hiring a kayak from Himarë beach and paddling south along the coast to Llamani — swimming at the beach, then continuing to the bunker before returning — is the full coastal day that the boat taxi approach compresses into a single visit.

Potami Beach: The Quieter Neighbour

Potami Beach — the name from the Greek word for river, for the underground springs that feed cool fresh water into the sea at the shore — is the quieter alternative within the Himarë southern beach sequence. Located at the far south side of Himarë town, it is accessible without the gravel track and private parking friction of Llamani. Beach clubs and restaurants operate along the shore at more moderate prices than Llamani’s premium end. For families with young children who need the shallower, less immediately deep entry, Potami is the appropriate choice over Llamani.

The Himarë Southern Coast Sequence

Llamani sits within the coastal sequence south of Himarë that extends toward Gjipe Canyon and Porto Palermo. Livadhi Beach Himarë Albania is the main town beach 3 kilometres north — longer, more developed, the beach that the Lonely Planet development concern applies to. Gjipe Beach Albanian Riviera is the canyon-mouth pebble cove 15 kilometres further south, reachable by the 2-kilometre hike from the trailhead parking. The boat tour from Himarë port that includes Llamani as a swimming stop commonly continues to the Gjipe area and the sea caves of the Ceraunian coastal cliffs.

Llamani Beach near Himarë on the Albanian Riviera is the white pebble cove 3.5 kilometres south of town — the deepest, darkest blue water on the accessible Himarë coastline, rapid depth from the shore, water shoes throughout, snorkelling on the left headland, cliff jumping on the right, €20 to €70 sunbeds with a contested free zone, private parking, a Soviet submarine bunker accessible by kayak nearby, and the boat taxi from Himarë port for $15 to $20 the best arrival mode.

Come early or come by boat.

The water is worth it.