Europe’s ‘best kept secret’ has quiet beaches even in school holidays

“BEST kept secret” is a hackneyed term, but as we scan rows of empty sun loungers, perhaps the moniker is spot on for Durres.

It’s half-term in the UK and my family and I are on the stunning Albanian coast, just half an hour from the South-East European country’s main airport, at Tirana.

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The Adriatic is glistening under clear-blue skies, it’s a balmy 25C and beer is just £1.

So where are all the Brits? That’s a question we’re still pondering today.

We like travelling to southern Europe in the May half-term, before the extreme high-season heat of July and August — and on previous trips to Spain and Portugal during this period, we found resorts jam-packed with UK families.

But Brits clearly haven’t caught on when it comes to Albania.

The beachside hotels’ pristine swimming pools all sparkle like the ocean.

In fact, they are like millponds, because no one is here — until my two sons Tomas, ten, and Louis, six, leap in.

We’re staying at the Vila Sula Guesthouse in the centre of port city Durres, near the historic old town with its rugged Roman amphitheatre.

Hosts Aferdita and Ali are very friendly and our room is spacious, clean and comfortable, with air-con, an en-suite and a balcony.

There is a communal games area with pool table and darts, and our room, with a kitchenette and fridge, is just £22 per night, with breakfast at an additional £2.50 per person.

And with budget airlines offering flights here from the UK for less than £20 each way, this seems like a no-brainer when it comes to a wallet-friendly getaway.

We flew from Stansted and, because of the school holidays, we shelled out £493 for return tickets for one adult and two children.

However, the extremely low prices in resorts and around the city definitely made up for it.

There’s no swimming pool at our guesthouse, so we take an 18-minute taxi ride to the Henry Resort & Spa, a two-minute walk from Durres’s Golem Beach.

We’ve come to expect crowds when we go away during school holidays, which is why it feels so surreal to find the four pools, waterslides and sun loungers completely deserted.

The entry fee for us to have our own personal water park for the day works out at £8.50 per adult and £4.25 per child.

I swig back cold beers (around £1 each), while the kids slurp fruit juices, and despite the bar being just a short stroll from our lounger, our drinks are delivered straight to us by a waiter.

When it comes to cultural fun, there is plenty on hand back in the city.

We soak up some local history at the amphitheatre, where visitors can take guided tours, and marvel at Durres’s ancient city walls.

There is an abundance of bars and cafés with outdoor seating all around this area too, where you can pick up a coffee at £1 or ice creams from 50p to £1. For just 40 lek — around 34p — you can take the short bus ride from the city centre to Currila Beach, where a pair of sun loungers shaded by a parasol will set you back around £4 for the day.

Much like other areas of the city, apart from some local children and a couple of families from Denmark and Holland, there is no one else about.

Loaded pizzas

For seemingly endless golden sands, where you can see the Bay of Durres stretching on for miles, head to Shkembi Kavajes Beach, a 14-minute cab journey from central Durres.

With only us and two other families enjoying it, the kids can run free, playing in the sea and collecting shells, while I sip on Birra Korca at beachside hotel-restaurant Ylli i Detit.

It means starfish in Albanian, which seems fitting, with its own peaceful pool overlooking the ocean — and just like the aqua park at Henry Resort & Spa, my boys soon disturb its placid water.

Food is fantastic value here, and wherever you go in the city.

You can pick up grilled platters of local seafood for around £10 and loaded pizzas for a fiver.

If you want a budget breakfast or lunch, then local byrek pastries cost around £1.50.

These filo pies come layered with cheese, veggies and meats all crammed into a golden, crispy case — try Bule’s Best Byrek In Town, round the corner from the amphitheatre.

We find out that the locals consider this time of year the quiet, low season ahead of the busy summer, and we can’t help feeling other Brits are missing a trick.

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Albania is increasingly attracting UK visitors but most travel farther south to Vlora or Saranda, two to three hours’ drive from the airport, passing Durres’s miles of white, sandy beaches, just a stone’s throw from Tirana airport.

On our final day we wander through the city centre and find a crowd has gathered for a large folk-dancing festival.

Groups of children in traditional costumes from more than 15 nations, including troupes from neighbouring Kosovo and North Macedonia, perform for the crowds.

This is just one of several folk festivals that run throughout the spring and summer months and it’s the biggest crowd we’ve seen all holiday by a long shot.

Well, I suppose we can’t expect to have the whole of the city to ourselves.