Transportation
Renting a Car in Albania: Complete Guide
Renting a car is the easiest way to see Albania. It is also where first-time visitors most often get caught out. Here is what to know before you book.
Updated 1 September 20266 min read
Tirana & Central
Tirana Travel Guide
Albania's loud, colourful, fast-changing capital. Most trips start here, and it deserves more than a transit night.
- City breaks
- Food and cafés
- First night in Albania
- Day trips to Krujë and Berat
Updated 1 September 2026
- Time needed
- 1 to 2 days
- Airport
- TIA, 25 min by bus (~€4)
- Best area to stay
- Blloku or the centre
- Mid-range hotel
- €50 to €90 per night
Tirana surprises people. It is not pretty in the postcard sense, but it is lively, safe, cheap and easy to like: painted apartment blocks, a huge café culture, decent food and a compact centre you can cover on foot.
Most travellers use it as a gateway. That is fine, but a full day here makes the rest of Albania make more sense. Start at Skanderbeg Square, walk down to Blloku for coffee, and pick one of the two Bunk’Art museums for the communist-era history.
Getting there and away
Tirana International Airport (TIA, often called Rinas) is 17 km northwest of the centre. Buses to the coast and the south leave from the South and North Bus Terminal on the edge of the city, not from the centre. Allow extra time to get there.
Costs
Tirana is the most expensive place in Albania outside the August coast, and it is still cheap. Expect around €2 for an espresso, €8 to €12 for a good restaurant meal and €50 to €90 for a solid mid-range hotel.
Getting there & around
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Costs, safety & planning
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Tirana: common questions
Is Tirana worth visiting or should I go straight to the coast?
Give it at least one full day. The centre is walkable, the café scene is genuinely good and the Bunk'Art museums explain the country you are about to travel through. If you only have a week, one night on arrival and one on departure works well.
How do I get from Tirana Airport to the city?
The Rinas Express bus runs roughly hourly to the centre for a few euros and takes about 25 to 40 minutes. A taxi is a fixed rate of roughly €20 to €25. See our Tirana Airport transportation guide for details.
Where should I stay in Tirana?
Blloku for cafés, restaurants and nightlife; the area around Skanderbeg Square for sights and buses; near the Grand Park if you want quiet. Avoid staying far out only to save a few euros: taxis add up.
Keep exploring
Other destinations
Albanian Riviera
Sarandë
The busy hub of the southern coast. Ferries from Corfu, a long seafront promenade and the best base for Ksamil, Butrint and the Blue Eye.
Albanian Riviera
Ksamil
Albania's most famous beaches. Caribbean-coloured water, tiny islands you can swim to, and crowds to match in high season.
Adriatic Coast
Durrës
Albania's main port and the closest beach to Tirana. Long sandy beaches, Roman ruins and big resort hotels to the south.
Adriatic Coast
Golem
The resort strip south of Durrës. Long sandy beach, pine trees, easy access from the airport, and the bar where you might bump into us.