Albania Road Trip: Your Ultimate Itinerary & Guide

Index

General tips

Rental Car

As usual we rented our car with Avis. We initially thought of flying on Dubrovnik as a rental car was way cheaper over there, but you have to be careful as crossing borders isn’t always that straightforward. When we rented in Croatia we were allowed to go into Montenegro, but not into Albania. So we changed plans and rented in Albania, which was way more expensive, but we were allowed to go to each country we wanted. You do have to pay an extra 10 euro per day you are driving outside of Albania. We got a nice and recent car in Tirana which was a good partner during our roadtrip through Albania and Montenegro. On the 17 days we drove roughly 2000 km.

Driving Style

The driving style in Albania is something to be aware of. They drive quite active and at moments quite agressive. Certainly around and in Tirana you have to claim your spot. If you are a defensive driver you might to wait a long time to cross a street or get onto a road.

Money

In Albania and less in Montenegro they still prefer cash money. So it’s worth having enough cash with you. In Albania that would be LEK and in Montenegro EUR. As a withdraw of cash can be expensive abroad, you might want to bring enough cash to change into the local currency. Please make sure to avoid to do so in the airport or your hotel. The best is to find an exchange office in the street and check their rate on-line.

1. Tirana

We arrived by car in Tirana and you better brace yourself as the traffic is quite intense.

2. Durrës

Upon arrival in Tirana we decided to spend the first two nights in Durrës to settle in an absorb the first impressions of Albania. We rented the escape appartment at www.albania-rent.com. Lukas was quick in communication and the pictures were exactly as described. It was nice to rent a place from fellow bloggers after I was looking at several vlogs on Albania. The appartment is directly at the beach front and shops, bars and restaurants are nearby. The old town of Durrës might be just too far for some people, but we did it by foot. We had a 11.5 km hike when we were back at the appartment (Strava track)

The old town didn’t impress us too much. There is the Venetian Tower, the old Amphitheatre, Byzantine forum but except the Venetian Tower the locations weren’t that well maintained. We hike back and we enjoyed a magnificent sunset on the renewed boulevard. We can imagine it’s very busy during peak season but for us it was pleasantly crowded in the shoulder season. There are several beach and cocktail bars where you can enjoy the moment.

The next day we went for a day trip to Tirana and that distance was ok-ish, but it might have been more convenient to sleep outside Tirana in the direction of our next step. Now, the good thing was that the weather was awesome and we could still grab some sun at the Durrës beach which was nice.