Decision
Dhërmi or Palasë?
Four kilometres apart on the same coast, with the same water, and a sunbed price that differs by a factor of two to three. This is the clearest value decision on the Riviera.
Side by side
| Dhërmi | Palasë | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunbeds, 2026 | 2,000 to 4,000 lek for two loungers and an umbrella at the beach clubs. | Around 1,000 to 1,500 lek. |
| Why the price differs | Bashkia Himarë, which covers Dhërmi, has published no approved price ceiling, so every club sets its own. | Less developed, and most people drive straight past it for Dhërmi. |
| Getting there | On the SH8, with the old stone village high on the slope above the beaches. | The first beach below the Llogara switchbacks, four kilometres north. |
| What else is on it | The Kala festival, 2 to 9 June 2027, and the walk down to Gjipe from near the monastery. | Little. That is the trade. |
| The catch | You are paying for the name and the club, not for better water. | Its traffic is the pass's traffic, and the pass can sit in cloud on a summer morning. |
Our answer
Palasë, unless you came for the club. The two bays share a coastline and a sea, and the documented gap is 1,000 to 1,500 lek against 2,000 to 4,000 for the same afternoon. Dhërmi earns its price exactly once a year, during the Kala festival week.
IfYou want a lounger and a view and nothing elsePalasë, and keep the difference.
IfYou are here in the first week of June 2027Dhërmi. The festival is the reason and it will not be quiet.
IfYou want the old village rather than the beachDhërmi, up the slope, where the stone houses and the churches are.
IfYou are driving over the pass rather than through the tunnelPalasë. It is the first thing you reach and the descent is the best part of the day.
Sources: Albania Guidebook, Dhërmi (read 2026-08-25); Albania Guidebook, Albania's beaches ranked (2026) (read 2026-08-25); Albania Guidebook, Dhërmi (read 2026-08-25); Kala Festival, official site (read 2026-08-25).