Getting Around Albania: Buses, Furgons and Cars

Albania has no slick national transport network, and that is part of its charm. You get around on shared minibuses, rebuilt highways and the occasional ferry across a fjord-like lake. It works, once you understand the unwritten rules.

Here is how to move around the country, town to town and coast to mountain, with the real costs and the quirks worth knowing before you set off.

Furgons: the local backbone

The furgon, a shared minibus, is how most Albanians travel and how you will too. It is cheap, at 3 to 8 € for most intercity trips, and covers routes the buses do not.

The rule to accept: a furgon leaves when it is full, not to a timetable. That means turning up early at the departure point, usually a specific street or lot rather than a formal station, and being ready to wait. Ask your guesthouse the night before where the morning furgon leaves from and roughly when, since the good runs go before lunch and dry up in the afternoon.

Intercity buses

On the busier routes, larger air-conditioned coaches run alongside furgons, with something closer to a fixed schedule (allow for a 15 to 30 minute delay). Tirana to Saranda, for example, costs about 15 to 18 €. These are more comfortable for long hauls and worth choosing over a cramped furgon when you have the option.

There is no single national timetable site you can fully trust, so confirm departures locally the day before, and be at the stop early.

Hiring a car

For reaching the wild coves, mountain villages and the best of the Riviera, nothing beats your own car. Expect 35 to 60 € a day for an economy vehicle in summer, plus fuel. A standard saloon handles the main routes fine, you do not need a 4×4 for the classic southern loop.

Your EU or UK driving licence is accepted, and the minimum hire age is usually 20. For two people planning a lot of coast and mountains, a car often works out barely more than furgons once split, and buys you the freedom buses cannot.

Driving in Albania

Driving here has a reputation, and it is half deserved. The good news: the main highways (Shkodër-Tirana, Tirana-Durrës, Tirana-Saranda) have been rebuilt and drive well. Off those, expect potholes, wandering livestock and confident overtaking.

Practical advice: drive defensively, keep your distance, and avoid the mountain roads after dark, where unlit bends and oncoming traffic make for a nervous evening. The Llogara pass down to the Riviera is the most spectacular drive in the country, so save it for daylight and a clear head.

Ride-hailing and taxis in cities

Within cities, a local ride-hailing app is your friend. Neither Uber nor Bolt operates in Albania, so use one of the homegrown apps instead, such as Speed Taxi, Vrapon or Patoko. Rides cost around 2 to 4 €, with a clear price shown before you book, so you skip the taxi haggling entirely. Street taxis exist but insist on the meter or agree the fare first, as tourist-area drivers will quote high.

Ferries: Koman, Corfu and Italy

Three ferries are worth knowing:

• Lake Koman ferry: one of Europe’s great boat rides, through a steep, fjord-like gorge, and the usual way into the Valbona-Theth hiking region.
• Saranda to Corfu: 30 minutes to an hour across to Greece, easy as a day trip, passport required.
• Italy to Durrës: overnight ferries from Bari and Ancona, popular for bringing a car.

From Tirana airport into the city

Most trips start at Tirana International Airport (Rinas), about 18 km northwest of the centre. Three ways in:

• The airport bus (Rinas Express) runs to the centre roughly every hour for a few euros, the cheapest option and fine if you travel light.
• A taxi is quick but pricier, and airport drivers quote a fixed fare rather than run the meter, so agree it before you get in.
• A local ride-hailing app can be cheaper than an airport taxi if you can catch a signal on arrival, which is exactly the moment a pre-installed eSIM pays off.

If you have booked a hire car, the desks are in the terminal, so you can pick up and drive the rebuilt highway straight into town or south toward Berat.

Which option to choose

Here is the quick decision guide by traveller type.

Navigating and staying connected

However you travel, you will navigate on your phone: checking furgon points, following rebuilt highways that maps sometimes lag behind, calling a ride, and reading real-time driving directions on mountain roads. On exactly those roads, the signal is at its weakest, so reliability matters.

Albania is outside the EU, so your Europe roaming plan will not help. Set up an eSIM for Albania before you go, and thanks to our negotiated roaming agreements it connects to several local networks and picks the best available signal, which is exactly what you want on a switchback above the Riviera.

With Orange, the service used by over 300 million customers, you keep your bearings everywhere: 200+ destinations covered, quick activation by app or QR code, 24/7 human support, and 100% refunded if you do not use your eSIM.