How to get from Tirana to Ulcinj? Bus, Taxi, Car rental

In this blog post, I will describe the best ways to get from Tirana to Ulcinj. I will describe how to get from Tirana to Ulcinj by bus, by taxi or by car and what you can expect to pay.

How to get from Tirana to Ulcinj? You can get from Tirana to Ulcinj by bus, by taxi or by rental car. The bus from Tirana to Ulcinj cost 20 EUR, departs at 6 AM and takes 2h 45min. A taxi costs between 95-125 EUR. A rental car costs at least 20-25 EUR + 15 EUR for a Green Card at the border.

In this blog post, I will give you all the information about getting from Tirana to Ulcinj. I will describe ticket prices, bus companies, journey times, and bus stations, compare taxi rates, compare car rental rates, discuss insurance, and train & railways and I will discuss getting a bus from Shkoder to Ulcinj at well. 

The best ways to get from Tirana to Ulcinj

Let me give you a quick summary of the best ways to get from Tirana to Ulcinj. So that you can decide what option is best for you. Then I will give more details below.

Tirana to Ulcinj by bus (quick summary)

• A bus ticket from Tirana to Ulcinj costs 20 euros per person
• Bus departs at 6:00 AM from the International Bus Station in Tirana
• The bus arrives at 8:45 AM at the Ulcinj bus station
• You can book a bus ticket via Drita Travel

Tirana to Ulcinj by taxi (quick summary)

• A taxi from Tirana to Ulcinj costs between 95 and 125 euros
• The cheapest companies are Speed Taxi, Green Taxi and Smart Taxi

Tirana to Ulcinj by rental car (quick summary)

• Expect to pay at least 20-25 euros per day for a cheap rental car
• You pay 15 euros at the border for a Green Card insurance document
• If you are travelling in July / August, agree on a deal beforehand
• Driving in Albania as a foreigner can be daunting

How to get from Tirana to Ulcinj by bus?

You can get from Tirana to Ulcinj by bus. A bus ticket from Tirana to Ulcinj costs 20 euros per person. 

The bus from Tirana to Ulcinj departs at 6:00 AM in the morning. It takes 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to Ulcinj. So you will arrive in Ulcinj at 8:45 AM.

I have personally spoken with the bus operator Drita Travel to check the timetable and pricing. However, you can double-check the bus timetable from Tirana to Ulcinj on the website of Gjirafa Autobus, which you can find here: https://travel.gjirafa.com/ In the Albanian language, Ulcinj is written as “Ulqin”, so that is what you will need to input on Gjirafa Autobus.

Or you can reach out to the bus operator directly, to check the latest bus timetable. The bus from Tirana to Ulcinj is operated by Drita Travel. You can find the website of Drita Travel online here: https://dritatravel.com/ 

Tirana bus station

The bus from Tirana to Ulcinj departs from the International Bus Station in Tirana.

In the Albanian language: Stacioni Qendror i Linjave Nderkombetare
In the English language: Tirana International Bus Terminal

You can see the location of the International bus terminal in Tirana on a Google Map here: https://goo.gl/maps/daaiXh47Y7gbQstdA The address of the bus terminal is: Stacioni Qendror i Linjave Nderkombetare, Rruga Ali Kolonja, Tirana, Albania. 

The International bus terminal in Tirana is located within a 15-minute walking distance of the city centre. From the central Skanderbeg Square, take Rruga e Durresit. This will bring you to a large roundabout, that the Albanian people call “Ringu”. Because there is a shopping centre, called the Ring Shopping Centre next to the roundabout. There is also a shiny silver artwork in the middle of the roundabout. 

Continue walking straight ahead for another 1 minute, until you see the “Asllan Rusi” Sports Palace (in the Albanian language: Pallati i Sportit “Asllan Rusi”). Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/34x41heNGuxRE25y8 The international bus station is located behind the sport palace.

Ulcinj bus station

The bus from Tirana to Ulcinj will drop you off at the Ulcinj bus station. You can find the Ulcinj Bus Station on Google Maps here: https://goo.gl/maps/RCzbAt77Bn6hEQQv9 The locals in Montenegro call this bus station: Autobuska Stanica Ulcinj. 

How much does a taxi from Tirana to Ulcinj cost?

A taxi from Tirana to Ulcinj costs between 95 and 125 euros. To give you a good overview of the taxi prices from Tirana to Ulcinj, I reached out to the most popular taxi companies in Tirana and compared their rates.

• Ups Taxi charges 110 euros for a taxi from Tirana to Ulcinj.
• City Taxi Tirana charges 125 euros for a taxi from Tirana to Ulcinj.
• Green Taxi charges 95 euros for a taxi from Tirana to Ulcinj.
• Smart Taxi charges 100 euros for a taxi from Tirana to Ulcinj.
• Speed Taxi charges 100 euros for a taxi from Tirana to Ulcinj.
• Merr Taxi charges 120 euros for a taxi from Tirana to Ulcinj.

Taxi drivers offer a set rate for a ride from Tirana to Ulcinj. So the taxi meter is not applicable. The taxi meter is usually used for shorter rides within Tirana city, like from your hotel to a restaurant for instance.

If you want to take a taxi from Tirana airport to Ulcinj, you can take the official Tirana airport taxi service. The Tirana airport taxi service charges 140 euros or 17500 Leke for a ride from Tirana to Ulcinj. 

The advantage is that the official Tirana airport taxi service always has taxis waiting in front of the airport terminal building. But of course, in this case, you will save a bit of money by pre-booking another taxi service mentioned above.

How much does it cost to rent a car and drive from Tirana to Ulcinj?

It costs at least 20-25 euros per day to rent a car in Tirana. If you plan to drive from Tirana to Ulcinj, you will also need to pay 15 euros for a Green Card insurance document. You buy the Green Card insurance document at the border with Montenegro because the Albanian insurance does not cover Montenegro. 

You will need the permission of the Albanian car rental company to drive to Ulcinj because it is over the border with Montenegro. That being said, any car rental company that I reached out to in Tirana, was willing to give permission for Ulcinj.

To give you a good overview of the car rental prices in Tirana, I reached out to several car rental companies and compared their rates.

• Avis Rent a Car Tirana charges 25 euros per day for an Opel Corsa Manual 2022. A Green Card for Ulqin in Montenegro costs 15 euros.
• G Rentals Tirana airport charges 20 euros per day for an Opel Corsa 2021. It is allowed to take the car to Ulqin in Montenegro.
• Green Motion Tirana airport charges 20 euros per day for a Skoda Fabia. Plus an additional 50 euros for a cross border fee.
• Eagle Car Rental Tirana charges 25 euros per day for a Hyundai i10. A Green Card for Montenegro costs 15 euros at the border.
• Sixt Car Rental Tirana charges 25 euros per day. A Green Card at the border with Montenegro costs 15 euros. And you need to pay 15 euros extra to get permission from Sixt to cross the border.
• Easy Rent Tirana charges 30 euros per day for a Fiat Panda. It is allowed to drive the car to Ulqin, but it costs an additional 10 euros per day for authorization to drive in a foreign country. You will need to buy a Green Card at the border yourself.
• Albania Airport Rent a Car charges 20 euros er day for a Skoda Fabia 2019. And a Green Card costs an additional 15 euros. 
• Hertz Tirana Airport charges 22 euros per day for an Opel Corsa, 10 euros for full insurance and 15 euros for a Green Card. 
• City Rent Albania charges 25 euros for a Ford Fiesta. And a Green Card for Montenegro costs 15 euros, which you pay at the border.
• ARA Auto Rental Albania charges 20 euros per day for a Fiat Punto 2018. And Green Card Insurance costs 15 euros at the border with Montenegro.

IMPORTANT – If you are travelling to Albania in July or August, it is the absolute top of the high season. So you will most likely pay more for a rental car since the cheapest cars won’t be available anymore. And as a result, you will only be able to rent a more expensive rental car.

IMPORTANT – I highly recommend you reach out to car rental companies in Albania before you travel. I have received messages from travellers who paid 50-70 euros per day for a rental car. There might be a better deal out there for you, but you must reach out to several car rental companies and compare their offers, to get a good deal.

IMPORTANT – Driving in Albania as a foreigner can be daunting and challenging. Albanian drivers have a chaotic and sometimes aggressive driving style. Of course, there are rules on the road, but Albanian drivers often do not follow these rules. That being said, you are the only one who can judge your driving experience and ability. But I will say that if you have any doubts about driving in Albania, I recommend you take a bus or taxi instead.

Is there a train from Tirana to Ulcinj?

There is no passenger train from Tirana to Ulcinj. There are several reasons why you cannot travel from Tirana to Ulcinj by train.

• Tirana does not have a train station. The old train station in Tirana was demolished in 2013. I am writing this blog at the end of 2022, and I can report that no new train station was built since 2013. 
• Albania does not have international railway connections for passenger trains. The main reason for this is that the railway network was constructed by the communist regime. During the communist period, Albania was isolated from the rest of the world, similar to North Korea today. Since Albania was isolated, there was no need for an international railway connection.
• There are very limited national trains within Albania. Since the fall of communism in 1992, there has been little or no investment in trains and railways. Therefore, many of the railways are currently not in use. There are as few as 2-3 operational trains in the whole country. As a result, the Albanian people travel by car or by Furgon minibus. So you should do the same, take a bus, taxi or rental car instead.

Tirana to Ulcinj km

The distance from Tirana to Ulcinj is 140 kilometres. The drive from Tirana to Ulcinj will take you approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. You will drive from Tirana to Shkoder first and then from Shkoder onto the border to get to Ulqin. 

It is worth making some stops in Shkoder for sightseeing along the route if you have the time. Shkoder has a beautiful castle called “Rozafa Castle” with nice panoramic views. There is also a beautiful village named Shiroke on the shore of Lake Shkoder. And the city centre of Shkoder has a nice Venetian-style boulevard with ice cream, coffee houses and restaurants. 

How to get from Shkoder to Ulcinj by bus?

You can get from Shkoder to Ulcinj by bus. A bus ticket from Shkoder to Ulcinj costs 7 euros per person. 

The bus from Shkoder to Ulcinj departs from Shkoder at 9 AM and the bus arrives in Ulcinj at 10 AM. So the journey from Shkoder to Ulcinj takes 1 hour. 

The bus from Shkoder to Ulcinj departs from Hotel Rozafa in Shkoder. You can see the location of Hotel Rozafa on a Google Map here: https://goo.gl/maps/5rWhjiU7gumrsaBw9 At the end of the bus journey, you will be dropped off at the Ulcinj bus station. 

The bus from Shkoder to Ulcinj is operated by Vllazen Lluja. I have personally double checked the timetable and pricing with the bus driver. 

Ulcinj to Shkoder bus

You can also take a bus from Ulcinj to Shkoder. The bus departs from Ulcinj at 12:30 PM and the bus arrives in Shkoder at 13:30 PM. The bus from Ulcinj to Shkoder costs 7 euros per person. 

The bus departs from the Ulcinj Bus Station. You can see the location on Google Maps here: https://goo.gl/maps/RCzbAt77Bn6hEQQv9 The locals in Montenegro call this bus station: Autobuska Stanica Ulcinj. 

The bus from Ulcinj to Shkoder is operated by Vllazen Lluja. I have personally spoken with Vllazen Lluja to double-check the timetable and pricing.

Related Questions

How to get from Tirana to Shkoder? You can get from Tirana to Shkoder by bus, by taxi or with a rental car. The bus from Tirana to Shkoder departs from the Regional Bus Station, takes 1 hour and 45 minutes and costs 400 LEK (3.30 euros). By taxi, it costs 54 – 72 euros varying by company. A basic rental car is 20 euros a day + 25 euros for petrol for a one-way drive.

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