Ksamil, the best known and the best equipped
Ksamil is the image everyone holds of Albania: clear water, four islets within swimming distance, pale sand. It is also the most developed stretch of the coast, with beach clubs, sunbeds to rent and music building through the late afternoon. The other side of that: in July and August it is full by nine. If you are here for atmosphere it is perfect. If you want quiet, look further north.
Dhermi and Jale, where the music is loudest
Dhermi holds the most serious nightlife on the Riviera outside Saranda. Its beach clubs run all summer and it is where the festivals land, Kala first among them in early June. Jale, next door, is the campsite beach with a young crowd, rawer and cheaper. Both are three hours' drive from Saranda: you do not go for an afternoon, you go for several days.
Gjipe and Borsh, for the exact opposite
Gjipe has to be earned: you leave the car at the top and walk down a canyon, or arrive by boat. There is almost nothing there, which is why people go. Borsh is the longest beach in Albania, kilometres of pebbles with very few people even in August. Neither has any nightlife, and putting them in the same plan as an evening in Saranda makes no sense: they are days of their own.
The real criterion: distance from Saranda
This decides everything, and beach lists never mention it. Ksamil is twenty minutes away and combines with a night out in Saranda the same evening. Himara is an hour and a half. Dhermi, Jale and Gjipe are two and a half to three hours, on a mountain road that is not quick and is far less so at night. So the beach you choose decides where you sleep, not the other way round.