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In 1988, when the people had to go somewhere, they could either walk or take the bus. There were many busses, often with a trailer. Most of them were not in good condition, had broken windows, doors that did not close and they were absolutely packed. In Tiranë, there were queues at every bus station. The exhaust expelled large clouds of a terrible black smoke.
The only Albanian airline is the "Albanian". Flights are not very frequent.The prices are not very cheap. But if you have no other possibilty ...Tirana is also connected by a few other European airlines.
To Tetovo: Departing daily from Tirana at 09:00, arriving in Tetovo at 18:00. Departing daily from Tetovo at 10:00, arriving in Tirana at 19:00. Also minibus run the route (min. 8 people). The bus starts near the train station.There also runs a daily bus to Kumanovo near Skopje. At 21h in the evening.It starts from the office of the comany. This office is in the center.But I don't know the name of the road.So please ask at the tourist office.It arrives early in the morning. From Kumanovo you can go to Skopje by bus.
To Athens: Departing daily from Tirana at 06:00 and 08:00, arriving in Athens at 20:00 and 22:00, respectively. Departing daily from Athens 22:00, arriving in Tirana at 14:00 the next day. Approx. US$ 60 (return). Contact: Albania Interlines, Blv. Zogu I, 54,(18.11.05) This is subject to changeThe bus is run by the greek railway company and Albania Internlines.Check the timetable it might be old.The timetable is also inculuded in the "Kursbuch Europa" this book contains all European railway schedule. It can be bought in all german railway stations.The tickets in Athens are sold in the office near Larissa station. Go over the brigde an left.In the Larissa station they will tell you where to find the office
Local transport: There are busses, minibuses and shared taxis connecting cities and villages. Busses usually leave according to a schedule with the first one in the early morning. Minibuses and shared taxis leave when full. Is easy to find out what routes they serve if there is a sign displacing the direction, if not it’s useful to look at the registration plates. The letters are indicating the place where they are registered. DR – Durres; EL – Elbasan; FR – Fier; GJ – Gjirokastra; KO – Korca; KR – Kruja;LE – Lezha;PG – Pogradec;SH – Shkodra;SR – Saranda; TR – Tirana; VL – Vlora) Anyway ask around for direction to double check!In Durres busses, minibuses and shared taxis are leaving outside the railway station. There are city busses operating in Durres, Tirana and Shkodra. Tickets will be sold by the conductor.
There are daily ferries leaving Durres to Italy. To book a passage you need to step in one of the many travel agencies. A ticket to Trieste is 60 € for a deck passage (40 € for a motorbike) and 12 € embarkation fee.Meals & drinks are not too cheap on board (0.3 l beer is 2,50 €)The procedure in the Durres harbour is the following: on the left side of the gate is a window where your ticket will be checked. Also you will receive a number which you have to keep with your passport, as it will help the Italian customs officers to identify your passport when you arrive in Italy. When you are allowed to take your vehicle through the gate you have to return the sheet of paper you received when you entered Albania. For every day of your visit you have to pay one €!. Next step will be the passport and customs check before you are allowed to drive towards the ferry. There will be another passport...
Travelling by train is as cheap as it is slow! A ticket Durres – Tirana is 50 Leke one way or 80 Leke return. Eight trains making daily the trip that takes about one hours. There are timetables outside Durres train station and inside the one in Tirana.Don’t get confused about the Tirana train station: its an insignificant building at the end of Boulevard Zogu I Pare. The ticket office is opened some 15 minutes before a train is departing.
The roads in Albania are unpredicatable. In some areas the roads are fine and there are even a few motorways but when you get a bad road it's pretty bad. It's not that they are gravelly but there are full of pot holes. The reason why half the country's car population is Mercedes is because they are 'apparently' the best cars for suffering the bad roads. Also in the north of the country where the roads are very winding, there are no barriers on the mountain passes which some drivers may find un-nerving. Albania's roads are not farm tracks, they are just full of pot holes inplaces!Albanian roads are relatively safe and Albanian people are helpful and very resourceful if you were to break down.And no the roads are not full of bandits waiting to jump out on you!
I loved using this short piece of railway line. It was difficult to find the ticket office in Durres : a small hidden window that only opens on alternate tuesdays if you are wearing a red sock - but things may have changed by now and become more user-friendly more recently.The rolling stock was all ex-italian and falling to pieces, but you can also spot some cast -offs from other countries such as China.As the vast majority of people take the bus, so this option is fairly uncrowded.If the train fails (not uncommon) en-route you can just jump off and pick up a bus from the main road which runs parallel for most of the way.
Being such a poor country, what surprises all the visitors is to see so many ercedes Benz cars in the streets. All kinds, sizes, models, 4 out of 5 cars in Sarande was a Mercedes...On the other hand, there were no Mercedes shops or advertisings, so I gues those cars don't come exactly from a shop!!
Sheraton Tirana Hotel and Towers Tirana
4 Reviews and 70 Opinions Having spent approximately 5 months in the Sheraton-Tirana, I know the "ins" and the "outs" of the...
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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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