Is there a train from Greece to Albania?

If you are planning to travel from Greece to Albania, you might be wondering if there is a train from Greece to Albania. Let’s discuss train travel from Greece to Albania.

Is there a train from Greece to Albania? There is no train from Greece to Albania. Albania is one of the few European countries with no railways across the border. So there is no railway and there are no passenger trains from Greece to Albania. Albania has very few operational trains. Therefore, bus travel is popular in Albania.

In this blog post, I will explain why there are no trains from Greece to Albania. And I will detail what trains operate within Albania’s borders. And of course, I will explain how you can get from Greece to Albania by flight, by bus, by ferry or by car.

Can you take a train from Greece to Albania?

You cannot take a train from Greece to Albania. Simply because there is no railway between Greece to Albania. A railway between Greece and Albania was never constructed. So it was never possible to travel by train from Greece to Albania. There are currently no plans to build a railway from Greece to Albania. 

Within Albania’s borders, there are only a handful of trains in operation. There are a few national passenger trains, but the reach of the train network is very limited. 

Basically, Albania does not operate any passenger trains that cross the borders. Albania has no international passenger trains. Albania has land borders with Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Greece, but there are no trains over any of those borders to the neighbouring countries. 

This is the reason why bus travel is popular in Albania. There are international buses to all of the neighbouring counties. And small local busses called “Furgons” transport passengers to all destinations within Albania’s borders.

The main reason why Albania does not have International trains is that the railway network was constructed during the communist period. From the end of the Second World War until 1992, Albania was ruled by a communist regime. And until 1985, Albania was ruled by a dictator called Enver Hoxha. 

During communist rule, railways and trains were constructed in Albania for the first time. Before the Second World War, Albania simply had no trains and no railways. So all the railways in Albania date back to the communist regime. 

However, the trains built by the communist regime were national trains. Because Albania was an isolated country, similar to North Korea today. Albania was isolated from the rest of the world. Few foreigners entered Albania and the Albanian people were not allowed to leave their country.

So of course, the communist regime did not construct any trains from Albania to its neighbouring countries. Because Albania was isolated. 

“Since the first years after the liberation, the government led by Enver Hoxha has presented to Albanians ambitious projects for the economic, educational, cultural and social development of the country. Using the mobilization of the masses, typical of totalitarian systems, it undertook a series of projects to improve the Albanian infrastructure including roads and railways. The latter were built for the first time in Albania.” Quote from Bunk’Art bunker museum in Tirana (source)

Since the fall of communism in 1992, the railways and trains have not been upgraded or refurbished. As a result, trains drive very slowly and there are fewer and fewer trains every year. 

In essence, the railway network, trains and train stations are in desperate need of an upgrade and some investment. So few Albanians and even fewer foreigners travel through Albania by train. 

The Albanian people simply prefer the small buses called Furgons. As travelling by bus in Albania is faster and a more effective way of getting from A to B. 

If you would like to experience one of Albania’s trains. You can check the most current timetables on the website of Hekurudha Shqiptare (In English: Albanian Railways) here -> https://hsh.com.al/index.php/projekte/ 

IMPORTANT. The Hekurudha Shqiptare website shows this System Map. However, many of the railway lines on this system map are actually not in operation. More information is below.

Railway Map from Hekurudha Shqiptare (In English: Albanian Railways) (source)

To give you an example. From 15 March 2022 until 13 June 2022, there was 1 x train on Saturday and 1 x train on Sunday between Elbasan and Durres. And there was 1 x train on Tuesday between Shkoder and Lac. And the rest of the railways were not in use.

Another example. From 11 June 2022 until 18 September 2022, there was 1 x train on Saturday and 1 x train on Sunday between Elbasan and Durres. And the rest of the railways were not in use.

Tirana does not currently have a train station. The former train station in the capital city was demolished in 2013, to build a new boulevard. A new railway station or railway connection to Tirana has not been built since 2013. So it is not possible to take a train to Tirana or from Tirana to anywhere else. 

Athens to Albania train

There is no train from Athens to Albania. You cannot take a train from Athens to Albania, because there is no railway from Greece to Albania. Albania does not have railways across the borders. Albania only has a few national passenger trains. 

If you want to travel by public transport from Athens to Albania, you can take a flight from Athens to Tirana or an international bus from Athens to Albania. More information is below.

Travelling from Greece to Albania

Because you cannot travel by train from Greece to Albania, let’s have a look at some alternative ways to travel from Greece to Albania. In the next paragraphs, I will discuss:

• Flight from Greece to Albania
• Bus from Greece to Albania
• Ferry from Greece to Albania
• Rental car from Greece to Albania
• Taxi from Greece to Albania

Greece to Albania flight

Of course, the quickest way to get from Greece to Albania is by taking a flight. You can fly from Athens Airport to Tirana Airport. The flight from Athens to Tirana takes only 1 hour and 20 minutes. 

The main airline that flies on this route is Aegean, which is the main Greek airline. But recently the newer Wizz Air Airline has also added a flight on this route. 

Albania really has only 1 x airport. The main airport is Tirana International Airport (also called Mother Theresa Airport) near the capital city. Albania has recently added Kukes International Airport, which is in a remote mountain area near the Kosovo border. However, most of the sightseeing spots in Albania, like the coastline and UNESCO cities are nearer Tirana Airport.

Is there a bus from Greece to Albania?

There is a bus from Greece to Albania. Below you can see the bus routes, timetables and ticket prices for bus companies, like ALB Trans, Top Lines and STAR Travel.

Bear in mind, that taking an international bus from for instance Athens to Tirana will take you a long time. A bus from Athens to Tirana can take around 15 hours on the bus. Whereas a flight from Athens to Tirana only takes 1 hour and 20 minutes. 

ALB Trans bus from Greece to Albania

You can book a bus ticket from Greece to Albania with ALB Trans. ALB Trans offers 3 x buses per day from Athens to Tirana and from Tirana to Athens. ALB Trans has a bus departure from Athens to Tirana at 8:00 AM, 18:30 PM and 20:00 PM. You can book a ticket online or via the phone, the contact details are on the website here: http://www.albtrans.net/en/ 

Top Lines bus from Greece to Albania

You can book a bus ticket from Greece to Albania with Top Lines. Top Lines is a bus company that runs daily buses from Greece to Albania and back from Albania to Greece. 

These are the bus routes from Greece to Albania. 

• 8:30 AM – A bus departs from Athens to Tirana. This bus also makes stops in Shkodra, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Berat, Tepelene and Gjirokaster.
• 19:00 PM – A bus departs from Athens to Tirana. This bus also makes stops in Shkoder, Durres and Lushnje. 
• 19:15 PM – A bus departs from Athens to Albania. This bus makes stops in Fier, Berat, Lushnje, Tepelene and Gjirokaster.
• 19:30 PM – A bus departs from Athens to Tirana. This bus makes tops in Durres, Lushnje, Elbasan, Tepelene and Gjirokaster. 

A bus ticket from Athens to Tirana costs 36 euros per adult for a one-way trip or 25 euros per child aged under 12 years old. 

You can buy a bus ticket from Greece to Albania on the website of Top Lines here: https://www.top-lines.gr/top-lines-athina/ 

STAR Travel bus from Greece to Albania

You can also book a bus ticket from Greece to Albania with STAR travel. STAR travel operates daily buses from Greece to Albania. 

This is the bus timetable for STAR Travel: 

• At 13:00, there is a bus from Athens to Tirana. This bus makes stops in Kalkidha, Thiva, Livadhia, Lamia, Kardhica, Trikala, Grevena, Bilisht, Korce, Pogradec, Prrjenjas, Librazhd, Elbasan, Rrogozhine, Durres and finally Tirana. 
• At 14:30, there is a bus from Ksanthi to Tirana. This bus makes stops in Kavalla, Drama, Asprovalta, Selanik and Veria.

A bus ticket from Athens to Tirana costs 40 euros per adult for a one-way trip. You can get in touch with STAR Travel via Facebook and WhatsApp. 

Can you take a ferry from Greece to Albania?

You can also take a ferry from Greece to Albania. The most popular ferry is from the Greek Corfu island to Albania. 

Corfu island is a Greek island but it is located in front of the Albanian coastline. There are daily ferry boats from Corfu to Saranda, which is a city in the South of Albania. A ferry from Corfu to Saranda takes only 35 minutes. And a ticket from Corfu to Saranda costs 20-23.80 euros for an adult on a one-way trip.

Corfu island also has an airport, called Corfu airport. Sometimes, it might be attractive to book a flight to Corfu island. And then take a ferry boat from Corfu to Saranda. 

This is especially attractive if you plan on spending your holiday in Saranda or Gjirokaster in the South of Albania. Because Saranda for instance is a 5-6 hour drive from Tirana airport. Therefore, flying to Corfu and taking a short ferry ride might be more attractive in terms of the travel time required.

If you are interested in taking a ferry from Corfu to Saranda, you can check the websites of Ionian Seaways and Finikas Lines, who are the main ferry boat operators on this route.

Rental Car from Greece to Albania

It will be difficult (and most likely impossible) 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.

Many Greek car rental companies won’t allow driving their rental cars over the border, because of their insurance policy. So you might need to consider some alternative ways of travelling from Greece to Albania, like booking a flight or a bus ticket.

Taxi from Greece to Albania

It is not possible to take a direct taxi from Greece to Albania. Basically, the Greek taxi driver will take you to the Greek-Albanian border. And drop you off at the border. You will then need to cross the border by foot and find yourself an Albanian taxi driver on the other side of the border. 

In essence, Greek taxi drivers are not allowed to pass the Greek-Albanian border. So it is not a very comfortable way to travel, especially if you have luggage.

I reached out to some taxi drivers in Athens, to give you an idea of the pricing. 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 the Kakavia border. Because you would then have to pay separately for a taxi once you are in Albania. 

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.

Related Questions

What is the closest Greek island to Albania? The closest Greek island to Albania is Corfu island. Although Corfu is a Greek island it is actually located in front of the Albanian coastline. There are daily ferry boats from Corfu island to Saranda (Albanian city), which take only 35 minutes. 

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