How do I get to Tirana? Airport, bus, rental, taxi, boat

As a foreign traveller, it can be difficult to figure out “How do I get to Tirana?”. Therefore, I decided to write a blogpost about the best ways to get to Tirana from the airport, by bus, with a rental car, by taxi or by boat.

How do I get to Tirana? You can get to Tirana with the hourly airport shuttle bus (2.50 euro), with an airport taxi (25 euros), with an airport car rental (20 euros per day +), by bus from Durres (1.20 euro), by taxi from Durres (30 euros), by bus from Saranda (12 euros), by taxi from Saranda (165 euros).

Table of Contents:
1. How do I get to Tirana from the airport by bus?
2. How do I get to Tirana from the airport by taxi?
3. How do I get to Tirana from the airport with a rental car?
4. How do I get to Tirana from the airport by train?
5. How do I get to Tirana from Durres?
6. How do I get to Tirana by boat?
7. How do I get to Tirana from Saranda?
8. How do I get to Tirana by bus from another city in Albania?
9. How do I get to Tirana by bus from Montenegro, from Kosovo, from Macedonia or from Greece?

How do I get to Tirana from the airport by bus?

The most affortable way to get from Tirana International Airport to the city center of Tirana is taking the shuttle bus.

The airport shuttle bus operates between 8:00AM and 24:00PM. And the bus departs hourly on the hour. Which means there are bus departures at 8:00AM, 9:00AM, 10:00AM, 11:00AM, 1200PM, 13:00PM, 14:00PM, 15:00PM, 16:00PM, 17:00PM, 18:00PM, 19:00PM, 20:00PM, 21:00PM, 22:00PM, 23:00PM and 24:00PM.

You can see the timetable of the airport shuttle bus on this website: https://luna.al/?lang=en . Please bear in mind that Tirana International Airport is also called Rinas Airport, therefore, you must look at the timetable that says “From Rinas”.

The airport bus will drop you in the city center of Tirana behind the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Click on this link to see the location of the airport bus terminal in the city center of Tirana on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/6uJAYDor6crKGomu7

The National Theatre is located right on Skanderbeg Square, which is the central square of Tirana. So if you book a hotel close to Skanderbeg Square, you will be able to walk to your hotel from the busstation.

The airport shuttle bus costs 300 Albanian Leke, which is roughly 2.50 euros.

Don’t worry about finding the bus stop at the airport, because Tirana International Airport is a very small airport. It is very easy to navigate and find your way to the bus stop at the airport.

The only disadvantage of the airport shuttle bus is that it does not operate between 01:00AM and 7:00AM. So if you arrive at the airport in the early morning hours, your only alternative is taking a taxi.

How do I get to Tirana from the airport by taxi?

The easiest way to get from Tirana International Airport to the city center of Tirana is taking a taxi.

The journey from Tirana International Airport to the city center will take you between 30 minutes and 45 minutes depending on traffic. The airport is actually quite close to the city center, so if you are lucky, you might be at your hotel in 30 minutes. But most days there is quite a bit of traffic in the city center, which will slow your journey down significantly.

A taxi from Tirana aiport to the city center of Tirana will cost you 2500 Leke. Or between 20 euros and 25 euros depending on the location of your hotel in Tirana.

Important! When you have passed the border control and the luggage collection, you will enter the arrivals hall of the airport. When you enter, you will usually be approached by “unofficial” taxi drivers.

I would recommend to only take a licensed taxi. The licenced taxis have an offical parking space in front of the terminal building, they are yellow coloured and they have logos of the airport and Auto Holiday Albania (AHA).

The offical taxis operate of a set price list, so you won’t have any surprises when you pay the bill. You can find the Tirana Airport taxi service price list here: https://tiataxi.al/travel/.

How do I get to Tirana from the airport with a rental car?

There are many car rental offices at Tirana International Airport, where you can rent a car. All the familiar names are present, like Hertz, Sixt, Avis, Enterprise, Eurocar and Europcar.

After the Coronavirus crisis, not all the car rental offices have a physical office in the airport terminal building anymore. Therefore, I recommend reaching out to the agencies by email before you travel to Albania.

So that the representative from the car rental company can wait for you in the arrivals hall with the car keys upon arrival.
A car rental in Albania will cost 20 euros per day or more if you are look for a more fancy model.

These are the contact details of the car rental agencies that offer pick-up from the airport:

Hertz Albania operations@hertzalbania.com
Sixt Rent a Car sixtalbania@europe.com
Avis Albania info@avis.al or avis@avis.al
Enterprise Rent a Car info@albaniacarrentals.com
Eurocar Rentals reservation@eurocar.al
Europcar info@europcar.com.al
Albania Airport Rent a Car info@albaniaairportrentacar.al
ARA Auto Rental info@ara.al
Green Motion reservations@greenmotion.al
Pepa Rent Car reservation@peparentcar.al
RCA Rent a Car in Albania info@rca.al or info@loginalbania.al
Sicily by Car Auto Europa rezervime@sicilybycar.al or tiranaapt@sicilybycar.al

Attention! If you plan on renting a car in Albania, you must be aware that driving in Albania can be daunting as a foreigner.

Albanian drivers can be chaotic and don’t follow the rules very strictly. If you have any hesitation at all about your abilities to navigate the chaotic driving style of the Albanians, I would strongly recommend you do not rent a car and book a car with driver instead.

How do I get to Tirana from the airport by train?

You cannot get from Tirana International Airport to Tirana by train, because the airport does not have a train connection.

Albania has a very old train and rail network, that was built in the communist period, which ended in 1991. Since that time, the rail network has not been maintenained or refurbished. As a result, Albania has only a few operating trains, with very limited departure times. Therefore, travelling in Albania is not something I recommend for foreigners.

How do I get to Tirana from Durres?

You can get from Durres to Tirana by bus, by taxi, with a rental car or by train (train not recommended).

If you would like to travel from Durres to Tirana by bus, it will take you roughly 35 minutes depending on traffic. The busses to Tirana depart from the Intercity Bus Terminal in Durres, which in Albanian language is: “Stacioni i Autobusëve Durrës”. The bus terminals address is: Bus Terminal, Rruga Adria, Durrës, Albania

If you click this link, you can see the location of the Intercity Bus Terminal in Durres on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/Nyn2UQYmaxpToCLAA

The busses from Durres to Tirana depart very regularly. You will be able to get on a bus to Tirana every 15 minutes between 5:30 AM and 21:30 PM. I recommend you check the website of Gjirafa Autobus. This is the website, where you can find all the bus timetables in Albania. This is the link for the Albanian bus timetables: https://gjirafa.com/Autobus

A bus ticket from Durres to Tirana only costs 150 Leke, which is roughly 1.20 euros. Make sure you bring some cash Albanian Leke, because Albanian bus drivers do not accept credit card payments. There is no need to buy a ticket online, simply show up at the bus station and pay the driver in cash.

The Albanian busses are independently operated, which means that the bus driver owns the bus. When you get to the bus station the bus drivers will approach you and ask you for your destination. Simply mention “Tirana” and they will get you on the correct bus within minutes.

If you take a taxi from Durres to Tirana it will cost you 30 euros for a one-way trip or 45 euros for a round trip. There is no UBER taxi in Albania, but if you would like to get a taxi, you can call Merr Taxi https://merrtaxi.com/tirana-taxi-fare-calculator .

If you would like to use a taxi app, I would recommend downloading the UPs Taxi app or the Speed Taxi app or Taxi.al.

It is very easy to drive from Durres to Tirana with a rental car, because there is a direct highway connecting the two cities. Simply follow the signage in Durres and you will be in Tirana’s city center in no time.

Although, Durres has a train station, I would not recommend taking the train. Because a few years ago, the government broke down the train station in the city center of Tirana. Therefore, the trains from Durres do not go to the city center, but instead to Kashar, which is a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Tirana.

Moreover, the trains in Albania date back to the communist period, which ended in 1991. And after the communism, there was no refurbishment or investment in the train and rail network, therefore, the trains are old and slow.

How do I get to Tirana by boat?

Tirana is not a seaside city. However, if you are travelling from Italy, you can take the ferry boat from Bari in Italy to Durres in Albania. The ferry journey from Italy takes 8 hours. Then from Durres, you can take a taxi or bus to Tirana in only 30-45 minutes.

How do I get to Tirana from Saranda?

You can get to Tirana from Saranda by bus, by taxi or with a rental car. There are no trains between the two cities.

By bus, it will take you roughly 6 hours to get from Saranda to Tirana. There are 6 bus departures per day from Saranda to Tirana. The busses depart at 5:30AM, 6:30AM, 8:30AM, 9:30AM, 10:30AM and 14:00PM. I recommend that you check the bus timetables on the website of Gjirafa Autobus here: https://gjirafa.com/autobus

The bus from Saranda to Tirana costs 12 euros for a one-way ticket and 24 euros for a return ticket.

The busses from Saranda to Tirana depart from the Stacion Autobuzi, in the Onhezmi Street in Saranda. Click this link to see the location of the bus station in Saranda on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/kzpHjuEyT3rWudTU9

You do not have to book any ticket for the bus online. Simply travel to the bus station with cash Albanian Leke and pay the bus driver directly. Albanian people do not reserve tickets online or pay by credit card for their bus tickets.

If you would like to get to Tirana from Saranda by taxi, you will most likely be charged between 165 euros and 188 euros for a one way trip.

For instance, the official Tirana Airport Taxi company has a set price list and they charge 165 euros from Saranda to Tirana. You can check their price list here: https://tiataxi.al/travel/ . You can also check prices on the Merr Taxi Price Calculator here: https://merrtaxi.com/tirana-taxi-fare-calculator . Merr Taxi quotes 188 euros for a one way trip from Saranda to Tirana.

If you are renting a car and you would like to drive from Saranda to Tirana, you have a choise between two roads.

Option 1 is taking the coastal road that connects Saranda with Vlore. This road turns and twists alongside the beaches of the Albanian Riviera, it is a very scenic route, but it takes longer. After Vlore, you will drive by Fier and Durres to get to Tirana.

Option 2 is driving to Tirana via the quicker inland route. Along this route, you will drive by Gjirokaster and Tepelene to get to Tirana.

Both the coastal road and the inland road are of good quality and can be driven with a regular rental car, no need to rent a 4 wheel drive.

How do I get to Tirana by bus from another city in Albania?

If you would like to get to Tirana by bus, you can check the routes and timetables on the website Gjirafa Autobus. Click this link to open the website of Gjirafa Autobus: https://gjirafa.com/Autobus

Every city in Albania has an “Intercity Bus Station” where all the minibusses for the different cities in Albania come together. You can find the address by checking Gjirafa Autobus or you can simply ask the people at your hotel.

How do I get to Tirana by bus from Montenegro, from Kosovo, from Macedonia or from Greece?

Of course, you can travel by bus from Albania’s neighbouring countries to Albania. However, as a foreigner, it can be difficult to find the Albanian language websites. And sometimes, you simply cannot figure out, the names and timetables of the different bus operators.

So to help you in your search for an international bus connection to Albania, I have made a small lists of websites that can help you plan your travels.

– Top Lines https://top-lines.al/
– Autobus Albania https://www.autobus.al/
– Sharr Travel https://sharrtravel.com/sq/udhetime-me-autobus/
– Drita Travel http://www.dritatravel.com/destinacionet.asp

About me

About me

I am an Albania Tour Guide, who organizes 1-day, 2-day or multiple day private tours in Albania. I arrange your transportation and I am your English speaking guide. So that, you get to experience the most beautiful places in Albania!
Kind regards, Manon

Welcome to Albania!

I am a Tour Guide in Albania

I am an Albania Tour Guide, who organizes 1-day, 2-day or multiple day private tours in Albania.

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