A Corfu day trip is the most popular excursion from Saranda, but an Albanian rental car cannot come along and Corfu runs one hour ahead. The fast hydrofoil crosses in about 30 minutes; the standard car ferry takes 50 to 70 minutes. Foot-passenger fares for 2026 (Finikas Lines, Ionian Seaways, Albania Luxury Ferries, port tax included when booked direct) are about 20 euros one-way or 38 euros same-day return on the fast ferry, and 19 euros one-way or 35 euros same-day return on the standard ferry; children 5 to 12 pay half and infants 0 to 4 are free but need a boarding pass, with no senior discount. A typical day trip for two adults on the fast ferry costs about 80 euros all-in, including roughly 4 euros to park the rental car. The official Saranda port tax is only 5 euros on departure and 0.50 euro on arrival and is bundled into the ticket, so a third-party demand for a 20-euro cash port tax is an agency markup, not a real fee. Rental cars are blocked twice over: most Saranda contracts forbid entering Greece (the rare exceptions cost 150 to 230 euros with a Green Card Greek extension of 40 to 80 euros), and Ionian Seaways and the other operators refuse to carry rental cars across the border at all, tightened by Greek authorities since September 2025. Park the car instead at a guarded lot near the terminal such as Parkim 24 Ore on Rruga Mitat Hoxha for 3 to 5 euros per day, or free at most hotels. Corfu (Eastern European Time) is a constant one hour ahead of Saranda (Central European Time) year-round, so a 09:00 departure from Saranda lands at 10:30 Corfu time and a 19:00 return from Corfu reaches Saranda at 18:30. Be at the port 60 minutes before departure and join passport control 45 minutes ahead. Since 10 April 2026 the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) takes a facial scan and four fingerprints from non-EU travellers at Corfu, adding 45 to 90 minutes in summer 2026; UK passport holders were temporarily fingerprint-exempt. ETIAS is not required in summer 2026 (it starts in the last quarter of 2026). If you need a Schengen visa it must be multiple-entry, because a single-entry visa is consumed when you leave Greece and you would be refused the return ferry. The Corfu day counts toward the 90/180 Schengen limit; days in Albania do not. Best peak-summer pairings (Albania time out, Greek time back): 06:00 out and 20:30 back gives about 11 to 12 hours on Corfu, 08:30 out and 19:00 back about 7 to 8 hours, and 09:00 out and 18:00 back about 5 to 6 hours after EES processing. Book the fast ferry one to two days ahead in July and August.