How to get from Athens to Tirana?

If you are planning to travel from Athens to Tirana, you might be wondering what is the best way to get from Athens to Tirana. In this blog post, I will describe how you can get from Athens to Tirana by flight, by bus, by taxi, and by rental car.

How to get from Athens to Tirana? You can get from Athens to Tirana with a direct flight or a bus. Aegean and Air Albania offer a 1 h 15 min flight from Athens to Tirana. The Athens-Tirana bus costs 40 Euros p.p. There is no railway. Taxis and rental cars cannot cross the border.

In this blog post, I will describe the best way to get from Athens to Tirana. I will discuss where you can book a flight. Which bus companies offer a bus from Athens to Tirana. And why travelling by train, by taxi or by rental car is not really an option.

The best ways to get from Athens to Tirana

The quickest way to get from Athens to Tirana is to book a direct flight with either Aegean airways or Air Albania. A direct flight only takes 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The cheapest way to get from Athens to Tirana is to take a bus with either Top Lines, Star Travel or ALB Trans. A bus ticket from Athens to Tirana costs only 40 euros per person.

The most expensive way to get from Athens to Tirana is taking a taxi. Taxi drivers from Athens charge between 500-700 euros for a ride from Athens to the Kakavia border. Taxi drivers from Greece cannot cross the border. So you will need to find another taxi driver in Albania after you have crossed the border.

It is not possible to travel from Athens to Tirana by train. Because there are no railways across the border between Greece and Albania.

It is very difficult to find a car rental company in Greece which will allow you to drive the rental car across the border to Albania. Most Greek car rental companies do not allow their cars to leave Greece.

How to get from Athens to Tirana by flight?

You can get from Athens to Tirana by flight. You can book an aeroplane ticket from Athens to Tirana with either Aegean or Air Albania.

Aegean offers a direct flight from Athens to Tirana, which takes 1 hour and 15 minutes. Aegean is a Greek airline.

Air Albania is a rather new airline from Albania. Air Albania offers a direct flight from Athens to Tirana which takes 1 hour and 15 minutes.

How much does a taxi from Athens to Tirana cost?

It is not possible to take a taxi from Athens to Tirana. The taxi drivers in Athens can only bring you to the Greek-Albanian border. Because the Greek taxi drivers are not allowed to pass the Greek-Albanian border.

A taxi from Athens to the Kakavia border crossing costs around between 500 – 700 euros. One taxi company called Athens Taxi 247 quoted 500 euros for a taxi from Athens to the Kakavia border. Another taxi company called Athens Taxi Wagon Service quoted 700 euros for a taxi from Athens to Kakavia.

Anyway, the bottom line is that it is very expensive to go by taxi from Athens to Tirana. Especially, since a bus ticket costs only 40 euros and there are direct non-stop flights available from Athens to Tirana, which only take 1 hour and 15 minutes.

How to get from Athens to Tirana by bus?

You can get from Athens to Tirana by bus.

There are 3 x companies that operate busses from Athens to Tirana, these are:
1. Top Lines
2. Star Travel
3. Alb Trans

A bus ticket from Athens to Tirana costs 40 euros per person.

Bus from Athens to Tirana operated by Top Lines

Top Lines offers daily busses from Athens to Tirana. There are two bus departures from Athens to Tirana per day. In the morning, the bus from Athens to Tirana departs at 8:30 AM. And in the evening, the bus from Athens to Tirana departs at 19:30 PM.

A bus ticket from Athens to Tirana costs 40 euros for a one-way journey for an adult. A return ticket from Athens to Tirana and back costs 70 euros. And there are discounted rates for children from ages 4 to 10 years old.

The bus from Athens to Tirana departs from “Platia Karaiskaki” in Athens. You can see the location where the bus departs on a Google Map here: https://goo.gl/maps/GrGPzsY2FjRrzDXXA

You can check the bus timetables from Athens to Tirana on the website of Top Lines here: https://www.top-lines.gr/sq/cmimet-e-biletave/  This is the Greek website of Top Lines, which sells bus tickets from Athens to Tirana.

If you are looking for a bus ticket from Albania to Greece, you can look at the Albanian website of Top Lines here: https://top-lines.al/cmimet/

The bus from Athens to Tirana also makes stops at different cities in Albania along the journey. So with Top Lines, you can also book a bus ticket from:

-Bus from Athens to Shkoder
-Bus from Athens to Tirana
-Bus from Athens to Durres
-Bus from Athens to Lushnje
-Bus from Athens to Fier
-Bus from Athens to Elbasan
-Bus from Athens to Berat
-Bus from Athens to Tepelene
-Bus from Athens to Gjirokaster

Bus from Athens to Tirana operated by Star Travel

Star Travel operates a bus from Athens to Tirana on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The bus departs from Athens at 12:30 PM.

A bus ticket from Athens to Tirana costs 40 euros per person.

The bus from Athens to Tirana departs from “Platia Karaiskaki” in Athens. You can see the location where the bus departs on a Google Map here: https://goo.gl/maps/hNd3ut79mLoS5BzT8

You can book a bus ticket by phone by calling +30 6984 733 901. Or you can contact Star Travel via WhatsApp on +355 699 605 501, +355 692 026 695, +355 6920 266 98 or on +355 698 733 511.

Bus from Athens to Tirana operated by ALB Trans

Alb Trans operates 2 or 3 daily busses from Athens to Tirana.

The bus from Athens to Tirana departs at 8:00 AM, 18:30 PM and 20:00 PM.
The bus from Tirana to Athens departs at 4:00 AM, 15:30 PM and 17:00 PM.

You can book your bus ticket for ALB Trans online, but if you prefer you also have the option to go to one of their agencies in person.

Albtrans Tirana
Bulevardi Zogu I, Tirana, Albania
Telephone number +355 42 239 203

Albtrans Athens
Ag.Konstantinou 56-60 Metaksurjio
Telephone number 0030 2105202185

Furthermore, Albtrans also has offices in Durres, Lushnje, Fier, Berat, Corinth and Piraeus. You can see the locations of the Albtrans agencies on the website of Albtrans here: http://www.albtrans.net/en/contact-us

Is there a train from Athens to Tirana?

There is no train from Athens to Tirana. Because Albania does not have train rails that cross the border. So you will not be able to travel from Athens to Tirana by train.

Albania is one of the few European countries that is not connected to the European rail network. This is due to the fact that the trains and rails in Albania were constructed during the communist period in Albania.

And during the communist period, Albania was isolated from the rest of the world, similar to North Korea today. So really, the communist dictator was not interested in creating train rails across the border.

Since the fall of communism in Albania in 1992, the rail network and trains in Albania have not been expanded or refurbished.

Can I rent a car in Greece and drive the rental car to Albania?

It will be difficult to find a car rental company that will allow you to rent a car in Greece and drive the car across the border to Albania.

I wanted to find out what the prices were to rent a car in Greece and drive it across the border to Albania. I was interested in the daily rental price, insurance pricing and cross border fees.

However, all the Greek car rental companies that I got in touch with immediately informed me that, they do not allow driving abroad with their rental cars.

Some of the responses I received were:

“According to Terms & Conditions it is not allowed to cross borders of Greece with the rental car” by Global-Rent-a-Car Greece

“However please be advised that cross border is not allowed, when renting with GM Greece.” by Green Motion Greece

“Thank you for your interest in renting a car by Aramis but unfortunately we do not allow our vehicles to cross the borders.” by Aramis Rent a Car Greece

“Thank you for your email but we apologize we have stopped giving cars out of Greece for insurance purposes.” by Clio Rent a Car Greece

So if you plan on hiring a rental car in Greece and driving to Albania, I suggest you reach out to as many car rental companies as possible before you travel. Because it may be very difficult to find a car rental company that does allow driving a Greek rental car to Albania.

How do I get from Athens to Albania?

You can get from Athens to Albania by flight or by bus.

You can book an aeroplane ticket from Athens to Tirana with either Aegean or Air Albania. A direct flight from Athens to Tirana takes 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You can book a bus ticket with two bus operators: Top Lines or Star Travel. A bus ticket costs 40 euros per person.

The busses from Athens to Albania, do make stops in different Albanian cities. So you can take a bus from:
-Athens to Tirana
-Athens to Berat
-Athens to Fier
-Athens to Elbasan
-Athens to Durres
-Athens to Shkoder
-Athens to Lezhe
-Athens to Fushe Kruje
-Athens to Lushnje
-Athens to Tepelene
-Athens to Gjirokaster
-Athens to Vlore

You can book bus tickets on the website of Top Lines Greece here: https://www.top-lines.gr/sq/bileta-online-greqi-shqiperi/

Is there a train from Greece to Albania?

There is no train from Greece to Albania. Because there are no train rails that cross the border from Greece to Albania. So it is simply not possible to travel from Greece to Albania by train.

Albania has a limited number of trains, which only travel within the Albanian borders. These train rails were constructed between the end of the Second World War and 1992, during the period that Albania was a communist country.

During the communist period, Albania was isolated from the rest of the world. Similar to how North Korea is isolated from the rest of the world today. Therefore, the communists did not want to construct train rails that crossed the borders.

Unfortunately, since the fall of communism in 1992, the Albanian rail network and trains have not been expanded or refurbished. So till this day, you cannot travel to Albania by train from any other country.

Is there a bus from Greece to Albania?

There is a bus from Greece to Albania. One of the companies that operate daily busses from Greece to Albania is Top Lines.

Top Lines operates daily busses from Greece to Albania, these are their bus routes:

At 8:30 AM, the Top Lines bus departs from Athens. The bus makes stops in Albania in Tirana, Fier, Berat, Kucove, Elbasan, Rrogozhine, Durres, Shkoder, Lezhe, Lac, Fushe Kruja, Lushnje, Tepelene, Gjirokaster and Vlore.

At 19:00 PM, the Top Lines bus departs from Athens. The bus makes stops in Fier, Berat, Kucove, Lushnje, Tepelene and Gjirokaster.

At 19:30 PM, the Top Lines bus departs from Athens. The bus makes stops in Tirana, Durres, Shkoder, Lezhe, Lac, Fushe Kruje, Elbasan, Rrogozhine, Lushnje, Fier, Tepelene and Gjirokaster.

You can book bus tickets on the website of Top Lines here: https://www.top-lines.gr/sq/bileta-online-greqi-shqiperi/

How do I get from Tirana to Greece?

You can get from Tirana to Greece with a non-stop flight from Tirana to Athens or by bus. There is no train from Tirana to Greece. Taxi drivers only drive to the border, so you will need to find another taxi driver once you have crossed the border with Greece.

Aegean and Air Albania are two airlines that offer direct flights from Tirana to Athens in Greece. The flight from Tirana to Athens takes 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You can get from Tirana to Greece with the Top Lines bus. A bus ticket costs 40 euros for a one-way journey.

The bus from Tirana to Greece departs at 4:00 AM, 15:00 PM and 17:00 PM. These busses from Tirana to Greece make stops in Janinë, Arta, Amfiloxia, Mesologji, Egjio, Kiato, Korinth and Athens.

You can see the bus timetable from Tirana to Greece on the website of Top Lines here: https://www.top-lines.gr/sq/oraret-e-udhetimeve-nga-shqiperia-per-ne-greqi/

Related Questions

How to get from Thessaloniki to Tirana? You can get from Thessaloniki to Tirana by bus from Star Travel. The bus departs from Thessaloniki at 6:30 PM every day. The bus ticket costs 40 euros per person. The bus from Thessaloniki to Tirana departs from the K.T.E.L. Thessaloniki. To book you can call +30 698 473 3905

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