Coastal vulnerability is evaluated against inundation risk triggered by waves run-up, through the employment of coastal vulnerability indexes (referred to as “CVI”) introduced by Bosom García and Jiménez Quintana (2011). CVI are assessed through different wave climate characterizations, referring to regional (offshore wave climate) or local (near-shore wave climate) scale. The study is set along the Lalzit bay, a coastal area nearby Durres (Albania). The analysis reveals that the results vary due to uncertainties inherent in the run-up estimation, showing that the computational procedure should be developed by taking into account detailed information about local wave climate, especially concerning seasonal behaviour and fluctuations. Different approaches in choosing wave characteristics for run-up estimation affect significantly the estimate of shoreline vulnerability. The analysis also shows the feasibility and challenges of applying CVI estimates in contexts characterized by limited data availability, through targeted field measurements of the coast geomorphology and an overall understanding of the recent coastal dynamics and related controlling factors.