Sign in with Facebook- Join for free
- Sign In
Sign in with FacebookLatest Durres hotel reviews
Helpfulness
The Albanian rail website would probably be sued for false advertising in any other country. It's main page depicts a super fast French TGV speeding through the countryside in a blur. I think they may have lifted the picture wholesale from the SNCF site, because there's nothing remotely resembling a TGV on the grassy tracks of Albania's limited railway system.
The train station is Durres is the hub of the Albanian rail network. Rusty Green diesels from the Czech Republic chug into the small station pulling ancient Italian and Austrian carriages with broken windows and torn seats. They clack along the dilapidated rails at such slow speeds it takes over an hour to cover the 18 miles between Durres and Tirana.
But I loved them. They are an experience and they are cheap. The return ticket from Tirana cost me less than a euro. It costs me more than that to travel on the U-Bahn in Frankfurt for two minutes.
Updated May 17, 2007
Website: http://www.hsh.com.al/
Helpfulness
Transport in Durres is concentrated in one place. You've got a cavernous train station next to a collection of buses, furgons and taxis, and just up the road is the port where you can sail over to Bari.
Buses leave from outside Tirana train station very frequently for Durres, dropping you off by the train station there too. You pay on board, it costs a hundred and something lek, and takes just under an hour.
Alternatively you could take a train. Albanian trains are very very very slow, and my journey up to Shkoder was is enough to put you off trains for life...however, Durres is close enough to Tirana to make taking the train an attractive option. There aren't many trains a day though, four or five only. A one-way ticket is a hell of a lot cheaper than taking the bus, although the journey time is considerably longer.
What amused me was the fact that the train was pretty much empty, yet there were dozens of railway staff in smart uniforms barking orders at all the passengers. Look out for the colourful "rustic" intermediate stations...blink and you will miss them! The train itself was fairly rundown, with all the windows smashed in...I realised why when we neared Tirana, as groups of kids in the suburbs like to pelt the train with rocks.
Written Jun 13, 2008
The Albanian trains are one of my favourite memories, Tirane to Durres is 50 leke per person (50 US cents), the train has no windows, everyone is cheerful and you get many vendors. It's great fun and very safe!
Written Jul 6, 2004
Sponsored Links
1 Review and 3 Opinions I didn't like the place where this hotel is situated. I think 10 km from the city centre at the...
Durrësi, the main harbor in Albania
Durrësi is one of the oldest cities of Albania. It was founded by Epidamnos, king of the Taulants, an Illyrian tribe. He gave the city his name. In 627 BC, Illyrian invaders from Corynth and Corfu...
Underwhelmed by Tirana? How about a daytrip to the coast? Durres? Take the Tirana-Durres Express...it's quicker than walking, but only just! I thought Tirana was quirky. Well, so too is Durres. An......
Since its foundation by Greek colonists in the 7th century BC, the city has passed through the hands of every powerful empire in the region, before finally becoming the short lived capital of the...
I lived in Durres for 5 months from November 2001 to April 2002. I worked in support of the KFOR mission at Comm Z West, I experienced a lot of life there, but maybe not as in depth as I had my own......
Football is sometimes taking me to places I never would have thought I would get to see. Thankfully Sweden every now and then is drawn against a country where I haven't been before, and then it's...
Build your own Durres page
Sponsored Links
Comments