Travelling by car in Albania is definitely the most flexible mode of transport. Albania's roads have improved significantly in quality since the first decade of the third millennium, and tarmac roads can now be used almost everywhere.
It's no problem to rent a car in Albania, which is also a convenient option for getting around Albania, given the large number of cheap flights from all over Europe.
How to book a car in Albania?
Albania is not an exceptional country in the global context, with most of the major car rental companies such as Sixt, Alamo, Europcar and dozens of others operating here.
Due to the large number of rental companies, we recommend using the classic comparison engine booking.com/cars, which will sort all available cars by price, size or any other criteria you choose.
On booking.com you can book a car directly at the same or sometimes even lower prices than directly through the car rental websites.
You will usually rent a car in cities with an international airport or in tourist centres. However, by far the most car rental companies operate at Tirana airport, where prices are the lowest thanks to competition.
You can also book a car at Kukës Airport, in Sarandë, where ferries arrive from Corfu, or in Durrës, the largest port city. However, prices in these locations can be up to 2x higher than in Tirana.
Car rental prices in Albania
Car hire in Albania is relatively cheap in the low season and relatively expensive in the summer season from about mid-June to the end of August.
During this period, large crowds of tourists head to Albania, especially to the seaside, but they often rent a car for trips inland.
Prices also vary according to the length of the rental; the longer it is, the lower the daily rental amount.
- Renting for 7 days during the summer - from 110 eur
- Renting for 3 days during the summer - from 55 eur
- 7 days off-season rental - from 66 eur
- 3 days off-season rental - from 33 eur
International driving licence and other documents
You don't formally need an international driving licence to drive in Albania, and in practice you probably won't be asked for one. Albania recognises driving licences from all EU countries.
If you want to get an international driving licence just in case, Albania recognises both existing types (Geneva and Vienna).
Car rental companies usually require a credit card for rental, but if you pay extra for insurance, a debit card will be sufficient.
Petrol prices in Albania
Due to frequent price changes, there's no point in writing specific amounts here, but in general petrol in Albania is quite expensive, and of the surrounding countries only Greece has a higher price.
Normally you will pay roughly between 1,60 eur and 1,80 eur for a litre of petrol or diesel.
Gas stations operate on a self-service basis anyway, and their density is also good. You can find petrol stations literally at every turn, even in the more remote mountain towns.
Petrol prices are always quoted per litre.
Traffic regulations in Albania
Road rules in Albania are very similar to the rest of Europe, if only because Albania is a candidate country for EU accession.
Thus, seat belt use is compulsory, you are not allowed to talk on the phone while driving and the rules for driving on roundabouts are the same as here, i.e. the car driving on the roundabout always has the right of way and the turn signal is given when leaving the roundabout.
However, the speed limits differ:
- municipality / built-up area - 40 km/h
- outside villages - 80 km/h
- expressway (sign on blue background) - 90 km/h
- motorway (sign on green background) - 110 km/h
Fines in Albania are not very high, but the police often target cars with foreign license plates, so we definitely recommend obeying the regulations, especially the speed limit in the village.
Traffic and other tips
Both the will to obey the rules and respect for the police are completely unfamiliar concepts among many Albanian drivers.
Albanian drivers are very skilled at breaking the rules and need to be very aware of local traffic to avoid accidents.
What are the biggest mischiefs of drivers in Albania?
- turn signals - turn signals here are given completely randomly and, for example, when changing lanes, practically not at all
- speeding - especially outside villages it is rarely observed
- overtaking - probably the most dangerous habit. Albanians overtake absolutely everywhere, not excluding winding mountain roads where you can't see 100 metres ahead. On the wider roads, you can be overtaken from the right by a lane
- right of way - especially in cities, the legal right of way is often replaced by "first come, first served"
And just for the record, Albanians love German cars, especially Mercedes. There is probably no country in the world with a greater concentration of Mercedes than Albania.
The quality of the roads in Albania
The quality of the roads has improved significantly. Even in the first decade of the third millennium, it was still common for even relatively large towns in remote areas to have only dirt roads. This is now only the case in small mountain villages, but the vast majority of the country can be reached by ordinary roads.
Their quality is a little worse at times, though, so you need to allow for the occasional pothole and pothole, but unless you're going to be heading off to downright off-the-beaten-path tourist destinations, you don't need a big 4x4.
Highways in Albania: toll or vignette?
The motorway network in Albania is far from complete and, especially in the main Tirana - Shköder - Montenegro border direction, motorways are noticeably lacking. Traffic is very dense in this part and there are often long slow-moving queues of cars.
You will only encounter a true motorway between Tirana and northern Albania on the 20 km stretch between Tirana and Skadar.
Albania's longest motorway , the A1, runs continuously for about 80 km over challenging mountainous terrain towards the town of Kukës and on into Kosovo. This motorway has shortened the journey from Tirana to Kukës or Kosovo from about 7 hours to just 2 hours.
The A3 motorway connects Tirana with the town of Elbasan about 45 km to the south.
The last motorway A4 is about 30 km long and connects the resort of Vlorë with inland Fier. It is then followed by a four-lane expressway which leads to Tirana via Dürres / Drac.
Motorway stamps are not used.
Tolls are only paid for the longest A1 motorway, or for the 5.5 km long Kalimash tunnel, which is not passable. You can pay at the toll gate only in cash at 600 all or 5 eur. You can also pay in euros.
