Corfu to Saranda Ferry: My Honest Tips After 8+ Years and 20+ Crossings (2026)

I’ve taken the Corfu to Saranda ferry more times than I can count at this point, somewhere past twenty crossings in the 8+ years I’ve lived in Saranda.

It’s basically my version of a bus commute.

Every summer I get the same messages from readers: which company to book with, whether the border is a hassle, and what it actually costs, because half the advice floating around online is either years out of date or written by someone who’s done the trip once.

So here’s what I actually tell friends before they go, minus the exact timetable that would be wrong by the time you read this.

My Top Tips Before You Go

These are the two things I’d want you to walk away remembering, the rest of this post fills in the detail.

1. Greece is always an hour ahead of Albania, year-round. This isn’t a daylight saving thing that only trips you up twice a year, it’s permanent, Greece runs on EET/EEST and Albania runs on CET/CEST. If you’ve got a flight to catch out of Corfu, don’t cut it fine, you have less time than you think.
2. Budget extra time at the border, in both directions. The queue can be slow entering Albania and just as slow leaving it, not only on the way in. Security itself is relaxed both ways, but there’s no real sense of urgency from officials either direction.
3. Book a day or two ahead in July and August. Outside peak summer you can usually just walk up, but the ferries do fill up in high season.
4. Keep your passport somewhere you can grab it quickly, not buried in your suitcase, you’ll go through control at least twice on a single day trip.

Booking Your Ticket: Finikas Lines or Ionian Seaways

Two companies run the Corfu to Saranda ferry, and I’ve used both more times than I can remember.

Finikas Lines has been running this crossing since 1994 and is the bigger of the two, with more sailings a day once summer hits.

Ionian Seaways is the other option, a touch smaller, but just as reliable, and I’ve never had a bad crossing with them either.

Honestly, there’s not much between them. I book whichever has a departure time that suits me on the day, rather than being loyal to one.

A one-way ticket runs roughly €20 to €35, depending on the season, which boat you’re on, and whether you book online or at the office. Kids get a discount, and it costs more if you’re bringing a car across.

In July and August I always book a day or two ahead online, the ferries genuinely do fill up. Outside peak summer you can usually just walk up to the office and buy a ticket for the next sailing.

Sailings run pretty much every hour or two once the summer schedule kicks in. In winter that drops right down, sometimes to one or two a day, so it’s worth double-checking before you plan around it.

I book most of mine through Direct Ferries, which lets you compare both companies’ departure times in one place instead of checking two separate websites.

Finding the Ticket Office and Getting to the Port

Both ports are easy enough to find, but here’s exactly where to go so you’re not wandering around with a suitcase in the heat.

In Corfu, the ticket offices are near the port, past the big cruise ship docks. You can book online too, which is what I’d do in summer.

In Saranda, the ticket offices sit right by the port in the centre of town. It’s a small enough city that you won’t have trouble finding them, and if you get lost, everyone local knows where the port is.

The actual departure point in Corfu is about a 15 to 20-minute walk from town, past the cruise docks. You can walk it, but I wouldn’t recommend it in the middle of summer with luggage, a taxi or the bus is a better call.

In Saranda, the ferry leaves from the port right in the centre, an easy walk from most hotels and apartments in town.

What Actually Happens at the Border

This is the part nobody warns you about, and it’s the question I get asked the most.

Border security on both sides is genuinely relaxed.

Nobody’s searching bags or asking complicated questions, you show your passport, it gets stamped, and that’s about it.

Where it slows down is passport control, and that goes for both directions.

The queue at Albanian immigration in Saranda can be really long and moves slowly, whether you’re arriving or leaving, especially in peak summer when a few sailings arrive close together.

There’s no real sense of urgency from the officials either, so I’d rather you expect the queue and be pleasantly surprised than assume a 30-minute crossing means you’re through in 40.

The mistake I see first-timers make constantly is cutting it fine for a flight out of Corfu on the same day.

If you’ve got a flight booked, take an earlier ferry than you think you need, especially in summer.

Keep your passport somewhere you can grab it quickly rather than buried at the bottom of your suitcase, you’ll go through control at least twice on a single day trip.

How Long It Actually Takes, and Which Boat to Pick

Both companies run two types of boats: a fast hydrofoil and a slower car ferry, and the difference is bigger than you’d think.

The fast boat is quick, as little as half an hour, but there’s nowhere to sit outside, you’re in your seat for the whole crossing.

The slower ferry takes closer to an hour to an hour and a half, but it has two levels, so you can get out on deck.

If the sea’s calm, I always pick the slower boat and sit outside on the right-hand side heading to Saranda, you get the best view of the coastline as you come in.

Ask which one you’re booking when you buy your ticket, the names on the timetable board aren’t always obvious.

Luggage, Currency, and the Other Small Stuff

You’re technically allowed one suitcase, but in practice they’re pretty relaxed about it, I’ve never seen anyone turned away for having an extra bag.

Albania uses the Lek, not the euro, though most places in Saranda that deal with tourists will happily take euros too.

I still keep a bit of Lek on hand for taxis and small shops once I’m off the boat.

There’s also that one-hour time difference I mentioned up top, so double-check which time zone your ticket is printed in.

So, Is It Worth It as a Day Trip?

Yes, easily. It’s one of the smoothest border crossings I’ve done anywhere, and I still recommend it to pretty much everyone who asks.

If you’re based in Saranda or anywhere along the Albanian Riviera, it’s a genuinely easy way to spend a day in Corfu Town without much planning, grab an early ferry, wander the old town, and catch a later boat back. It’s one of my favourite day trips from Saranda.

Coming the other way, it’s still the easiest way I know to reach the Albanian Riviera if you’re flying into Corfu instead of Tirana.

It beats the alternative route through Athens for time and hassle, if that’s the comparison you’re weighing up.

Eight years and twenty-odd crossings in, I still haven’t gotten tired of this trip.