How to get (t)here

Flight Connections to Albania

[tab title=”Tirana & Corfu”]

A complete list of airlines which operate connections to Albania can be found on the Tirana aka Rinas Airport website.

A list of all direct flights to Tirana, there are more direct connections from Italy (many different local carriers), Serbia (Air Serbia), Turkey (Pegasus) and Greece (Aegean Airlines). Click on bottom right side for a larger version of the table.

Many indirect flight connections include a stopover in Vienna, Belgrade or Italy. To find your flight we recommend Kiwi.com as it includes local and budget carriers, or Google Flights.

Note thata regular carrier has a luggage allowance of one checked bag up to 20-23kg and cabin / carry on bag of usually 8-10 kg in overhead storage size. Budget carriers usually do not include checked baggage, optional extra service.

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[tab title=”Podgorica, Pristina, Skopje, Ohrid”]

RyanAir, WizzAir and EasyJet offer budget flights to region airports.

For trips to Northern Albania and the Peaks of the Balkans, consider flying to Podgorica/Montenegro or Pristina/Kosovo – click the airport links for a list of airlines and destinations)

Ohrid allows easy access to South Eastern Albania, Skopje is further afield but may suitable for traveling the High Scardus Trail.

Border Crossings to Albania

see also ferry timetable arriving from Italy or Corfu by car
rated from 1-3 according to size and road conditions

  • Ioannina or Konitsa – Gjirokastra (Kakavia – Delvinaki): Great road
  • Igoumenitsa – Saranda (Qafa Bote / Konispol – Sagiada): Good road
  • Ioannina or Konitsa – Permet (Tre Urat – Melissopetr): narrow road with many turns, slow travel
  • Kastoria – Korca or Prespa (Bilisht – Kristallopigi): Good road
  • Zagoria (Sopik – Drymades): for locals only
  • Podgorica -> Shkodra (Hani i Hotit – Bozhaj): great road
  • Ulcinj or Bar -> Shkodra (Muriqan – Sukobin): good road, narrow with many turns
  • Plav – Vermosh or Kelmend -> (Vermosh – Gusinje): good mountain road, slow travel
  • Plav -> Cerem / Valbona (Qafe Vranice – Plave): only with special permit (write us) and 4×4
  • Podgorica -> Kelmend (Ceni/Cijevna-Canyon: Rraphsh – Muzeck): to be opened soon?
  • Ohrid -> Elbasan or Podgradec (Qafë Thane – Kjafasan): good road
  • Ohrid or Sv Naum -> Pogradec (Tushemisht – St. Naum): good road
  • Bitola -> Prespa (Gorice – Stenje): good road, minor crossing
  • Debar -> Burrel or Peshkopi – (Bllate – Bllato): potholed rough asphalt
  • Prizren -> Kukes (Morina – Vermice): great road (onward to Tirana toll!)
  • Gjakova -> Bajram Curri – (Qafe Morine – Gjakove): good road
  • Gjakova -> Has / Krume (Qafa e Prushit – Gjakove): minor crossing
  • Dragash -> Kukes (Shishtavec – Krusheve): for locals only

Bus Lines to Albania

Object to change without notice, always check ahead of departure! Most depart from Tirana’s international bus station at Asllan Rusi Sports Palace. Drivers from Ex-Yugo countries will often charge you around €1 per piece of luggage.

Minimum 5 daily connections, both minibuses and coaches, mostly via Prizren and/or Pristina, limited via Peja, to Tirana. Many more connections during the summer time, for example to Durres and Shkodra.

Twice daily route from Struga, Tetovo or Skopje to Tirana. Struga is few kilometers NW of Ohrid, public buses run almost every 15 min between the cities and a taxi costs about 5€

Depending on the season between once and thrice daily connections from Kotor, Budva or Podgorica via Shkodra to Tirana or Durres – those can easily be booked online.

Ulcinj by bus from Shkodra: 4€ / 560 lek, 2h travel time
Leaves Shkodra: 9, 14.15 and 16.00
Leaves Ulcinj: 6, 12.30, 16.30
Call Vllazen Lluja +355 69 20619 42 to confirm departure time
Departs from road in front of Hotel Rozafa, arrives at main bus station in Ulcinj. If you miss the bus you can take a taxi to the border and another onward to Ulcinj.

Podgorica (or Tuzle, onward public bus) only by taxi from Hani Hotit: ~50€. Albanian traders from Shkodra leave early in the morning to sell second hand products on the market in Tuzle and return in the early afternoon, you can get lucky and hitch a ride with them.
The minibuses from Kelmend (Tamara, Nikc, Selca, Lepushe, Vermosh) leave Shkodra about 2 pm from the Malesia Bar and can drop you off at in Hani Hotit (1.5 km from the border)

Many connections from several Albanian cities, there are ticket offices everywhere but difficult to plan ahead if you can’t book online.

One weekly departure from Kassel, Dortmund, Essen, Düsseldorf, Köln, Frankfurt, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Ulm, München via ferry (Bari – Durres) to Tirana and Pristina

Leaves Thursday morning, arrives Saturday 10:30 Tirana / 16:30 Pristina
operated by Iliria, one-way 100€ bus ticket + 45€ ferry ticket

Route via Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria operated by Drita Travel

Four major bus companies

Usually their websites don’t work so you have to call or drop by a ticketing office, those are widespread through the country.

Ferry Lines to Albania

Greece / Corfu -> Saranda

Finikas Lines (Albania) and Ionian Seaways (Corfu) operate a fast hydrofoil (30min) and regular passenger boat (70min) daily and year-around. The regular price of both boats depending on season and there’s no discount for buying return tickets.

Keep in mind that Corfu is in a different time zone (one hour ahead of Albania)!  

Italy / Bari, Brindisi, Ancona, Trieste -> Durres & Vlora

More up to date information and booking via Direct Ferries

Trains to Albania – nope

There is only freight transport between Albania and Montenegro and no other international train connections exist. You can however travel by train up to Italy’s Bari or Brindisi and take the ferry or travel on the famous Belgrade via Podgorica to Bar (Adriatic sea port) railway, one of Europe’s most beautiful rides.