The island you see from the Lungomare: for 33 years Italian, then a fortress of the Cold War.
Sazan is Albania’s largest island, about 5.7 square kilometres of limestone at the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë, where the Adriatic meets the Ionian. Italian from 1914 to 1947 and later a Cold War fortress, it is still a military zone, so visits are by boat as day trips only.
The island that changed hands like a chess piece
Every evening, from the Lungomare, Sazan sits on the horizon at the mouth of the bay, a long low silhouette between two seas. It is Albania’s largest island, about 5.7 square kilometres of limestone where the Adriatic meets the Ionian, and its position has made it coveted for more than two thousand years. In 1264 Venetian and Genoese fleets fought a naval battle off its shores; by the 15th century the Ottomans kept a naval outpost here.
Then came the 20th century, and Sazan changed hands like a chess piece. Italy occupied it on 30 October 1914, Albania formally ceded it in 1920, and it came back only with the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947. For thirty-three years, the island that faces Vlorë’s seafront was Italian territory.
What followed was even stranger. Under Enver Hoxha, with Soviet help in the early years, Sazan became one of the most fortified places in the country: bunkers, command posts, depots and tunnels for submarines. Today they stand abandoned, slowly being taken back by the vegetation. It is eerie, beautiful and unlike anywhere else on this coast.
Sazan lies within the Karaburun–Sazan Marine Park and is still a military zone, so visits are by boat as day trips only, without overnight stays.
What you’ll see
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The view from the Lungomare
Every evening Sazan sits on the horizon at the mouth of the bay, a long low silhouette between two seas.
The southern cape
The southern cape of Sazan and its lighthouse, seen from the sea.
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Bunkers and tunnels
Bunkers, command posts, depots and tunnels for submarines, abandoned and slowly taken back by the vegetation.
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A day by boat
Sazan is still a military zone: visits are by boat as day trips only, without overnight stays.
Sazan in five dates
- 1264
Venetian and Genoese fleets fight a naval battle off its shores.
- 15th century
The Ottomans keep a naval outpost on the island.
- 30 October 1914
Italy occupies Sazan.
- 1920
Albania formally cedes it to Italy.
- 1947
It comes back to Albania with the Paris Peace Treaty.
Sazan in numbers
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5.7 km²
Area of Albania’s largest island
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4.8 × 2 km
Length and width of the island
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33 years
Italian, from 1914 to 1947
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1264
The Venetian–Genoese naval battle off its shores
Where it is
At the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë, between the Adriatic and the Ionian, visible from the Lungomare and from the hotel’s coast.
What to bring
- Sturdy shoes: bunkers and tunnels among the vegetation
- Long trousers: plants are taking back the old bunkers
- Windproof layer: open water where two seas meet
- Sun hat: for a half or full day out
- Water: for a day trip with no overnight stay
- Camera: abandoned command posts and tunnels
Is it worth it?
Yes, if…
you like places with layers of history, from a naval battle in 1264 to a Cold War fortress, and want a half or full day at sea.
Maybe not, if…
you hope to land and stay: Sazan is still a military zone, so visits are by boat as day trips only, without overnight stays.
Go on a calm day, and check current boat trip prices and visiting rules before you go.
Combine it with
Continue exploring
More places and ideas for your days around Vlorë:
- Sazan Island: Cold War history at the entrance to the Bay of Vlora
- The Bays of Karaburun by Boat
- The Sazan Island boat trip, stop by stop
- All attractions around Vlorë
- A complete Riviera itinerary from Vlorë to Himarë
- Archaeological sites in Vlorë: Amantia, Orikum, Kanina and ancient Aulona
- Where to stay in Vlorë: our complete guide
