Thirty minutes at sea, two operators
Two companies run the route, Ionian Seaways and Finikas Lines. The fast boat takes thirty minutes port to port; car ferries take fifty to seventy minutes. Fares run between nineteen and thirty euros per person depending on season and vessel. For a same-day arrival the fast boat is the right call: the price difference is small and the hour saved matters.
Timetables change enormously by month
This is what people find out too late. From June to 15 October there are up to thirteen departures a day, from morning until half past ten at night: you travel more or less when you like. In May, around eight. In April, four. And from January to early March, a single daily departure at nine in the morning. Landing in Corfu in November expecting a late-afternoon boat means sleeping in Corfu.
It is a border, not a domestic hop
You are leaving the European Union to enter Albania. There is a check, and you need your identity document, valid for at least three more months. Allow margin before departure: boarding closes earlier than on a domestic ferry. In high season check-in can take a while, and the boat will not wait.
Once in Saranda
The port is in town, a few minutes' walk from the seafront and the bars. Ksamil is about twenty minutes by taxi or local bus. That is the big difference from arriving at Tirana airport, which means four to five hours on the road to the Riviera. If you are coming for the Riviera rather than the capital, Corfu is often the faster route.