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The majority of the roads on the route I drove looked like this. They were not good, not wide enough for the volume and size of traffic. But even the worst roads were not as bad as the UK foreign office made out, they claim travel is only possible with a fourwheel drive vehicle we only found a 10km strech that warranted 4wd (see main page).
Around the capital city, Tirane, the roads probably improve a bit. This was more like it. We pulled off the riverbed road right on to this newish looking dual carriageway complete with crash barrier, it connects Tirane with Durres, the country's main port.
Just when you thought you were in the middle of nowhere a young albanian lad would pop up from the roadside juggling bbq'd corn on the cobs (presumably because they were too hot to handle) and run along the side of the van trying to tempt you into purchasing them.After driving for 8 hrs we eventually found Ali Pashas Taverna where we spent the night. Although traffic hammered past all night long, dogs barked and the bar played Kylie Minogue till 5am (could have got all that at home)
Most of the buses that I saw in Albania take the form of a white transit minibus, especially in the rural areas, they are everywhere and on more than 1 occasion I had Albanians waving me down from the roadside. The other vehicles packing the roads are older Mercedes and BMW taxis with Albanian number plates but original country id badges mostly 'D' 'NL' or 'A'
There was absolutely nowhere to pull of the road to stop and we passed roadside graves on almost every bend in the road between Fier and Palokaster, all with photographs of the tragic victims, some for whole families lost in a single accident. It made driving very nerve wracking especially since I couldn't get any insurance cover for driving in Albania back in the UK and served as a reminder not to stop for too many photo opportunities.
Not all Albanian roads are rubbish, just most of them. A policeman at Durres advised me to turn inland at Fier and take the road toward Tepelene and on to Gjirokaster then on to the Greek border at Kakavi. This road resembled a single track country road, it was virtually bend after bend and you could only average about 50kph. The only thing that gave it away as a major route, that was just not up to the job, was the exceptionally high levels of traffic on it. Mostly buses, taxis and trucks with wagons, The drivers of which all tend to drive foot to the floor and use their horn in place of brakes. I often had to mount the verge to save my van from a heavy scraping.
As we journied south of Tepelene the roads definately improved although It had still taken10 hrs constant driving to travel the 500km across Albania.Fuel was more expensive in Albania than in Greece or Serbia Montenegro at 100 Lek =1 Euro a litre for Diesel and 120 for Petrol.
The best way to get to Southern Albania is to take a ferry from the main port in Corfu town, opposite the Hotel Atlantis (the port is a 10-minute taxi ride from Corfu airport). There at least one passenger ferry per day ( the Kaliope).The ferry journey takes 1 hour and 40 minutes. There is also a hydrofoil service operated by Petrakis Lines (the Flying Dolphin), which takes 30 minutes.See my Saranda tips for more details.
When we crossed the border between Montenegro and Albania in 2005, we fist found, 50 meters before the border a car wheel washer : a “pond” across the road, with 10 cm deep of water, across which you had to drive and that was supposed to “disinfect” the bottom and tyres of the car. Strange! What for, I do not know! The first photo was taken on the way out of Albania, better than on the way in, one never knows !When entering Albania, you have to pay a tax (10 euros) per person and get the ticket shown on the second photo for the car. You must give it back when leaving Albania and you have better nor to loose it, otherwise, you should be in great trouble. What exactly, I don’t know!Entering Albania, there were 5-6 cars waiting in line and it took between half an hour and an hour to pass. On the way out, in the evening, it was faster and a quarter an hour was enough.
This was Tirana airport in 1988, with the Swissair jet that made the flight to Basel. It did not really look like an airport but more like a park! It is now called “Mother Teresa’s Airport” and I suppose that the building has been extended.
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Reviews and photos of Albania attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Albania sightseeing.
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Q: Hello all I'm planning to visit Albania in 2012 and i need every bit of advice going. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of...
A: I have been to Albania several times over the years and i would say you should try and make a visit to Berat aswell as Girokaster. These places are very scenic places...
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