Travelling from Albania to Greece

I am travelling to Corfu and after spending a few days there, I will take the ferry to Ksamil. After staying in Ksamil for a few days, I need to go to Thessaloniki to catch my flight. I couldn’t find any train or direct bus. What would you suggest? Does BlaBlaCar work in that region? One idea is to take a bus from Ksamil to Ioannina, which takes about 3–4 hours, have lunch, see the city, and then take the next bus from Ioannina to Thessaloniki. Is Ioannina worth visiting? Also, what about the border between Albania and Greece — can I get stuck there for hours?