Albania Travel Guide - Getting There

The national airline is Albanian Airlines (LV) (website: www.flyalbanian.com). Established in cooperation with Tyrolean Airways, the airline operates services to major European cities.

From Tirana to London is 4 to 5 hours (including stopover times, the shortest being via Zurich, 45 minutes, and via Rome, 1-2 hours). Other connections are slow. Passengers may travel via a number of cities including Athens, Belgrade, Budapest, Vienna and Zurich.

Mother Tereza (TIA) is 26km (16 miles) from the capital. To/from the airport: An Albtourist shuttle runs to the city centre every three hours (journey time – 30 minutes). Taxis are also available. Facilities: Small duty-free shop, car hire, bank and light refreshments are available.

US$10 is levied on all foreign nationals. Nationals of Albania pay Lk1,000.

Main ports:
Durres has ferry connections to Italy (to Bari is about 9 hours, to Brindisi and to Trieste is 23 hours, to Ancona is 16 hours).
Vlora has ferry connections to Bari (journey time – 9 hours) and Brindisi (journey time - 18 hours).
Saranda has a connection with Corfu.
Shen Gjini has ferry connections to Bari.
Ferry services are run by Adriatica Line (website: www.adriatica.it) and Agoudimos Lines (website: www.agoudimos-lines.com), amongst others.

There are no international passenger services at present.

Road links to the Kosovo region are either closed or too dangerous to use, owing to political tensions in the region. There are possible crossings at Hani i Hotit (Podgorica in Montenegro), Bllata (Diber in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Qafa e Thaës (Struga and Ohrid in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Tushemisht (Ohrid in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Gorica (Resnja in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Kapshtica (Florina in Greece) and Kakavija (Ioanina in Greece). 

Parking places are generally available near hotels or at other designated areas.

Bus: There are bus services to Istanbul, Sofia and Athens.