Traveling to Tirana and Himare soon, need advice

Hello. I'll be visiting Albania for a week soon, really excited to come and explore this country. I'm planning to stay in Himare for three nights and need some advice.

1. What's the best way to get from Tirana to Himare and then back to Tirana? I've seen that there are buses. Not planning to rent a car, cause I'll travel alone and it would be expensive.

2. Is hostel a good option for staying or is it better to find a hotel/apartment/house? Private housing that I found on Booking and AirBNB is over 50 eur a night. Hostels are like three times cheaper, but I'm not sure if living with a bunch strangers is a good idea. I also saw someone online suggesting to find housing after arriving there and not to book in advance. What's your advice on this?

3. What activities in Himare and Tirana would you recommend and where? It would be ideal to go up some mountains, also saw that there are cool boat rides in Himare.

Thanks in advance for your help!