Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Many of the airline offices are on Rruga Durrësit, just off Sheshi Skënderbeg. Alitalia (tel: 230 023; Sheshi Skënderbeg) has an office behind the National Museum of History, and Swiss International Air Lines (fax: 232 011; Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit) and Austrian Airlines (fax: 374 355; Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit) are at Rogner Hotel Europapark Tirana.

The furgon (minibus) system can seem pretty confusing at first, so pay attention now: all furgons going north (Kruja, Lezha, Shkodra) leave and drop you off at the Zogu i Zi terminal just off Rruga Durrësit. If you are going south, your bus/furgon will leave from Rruga e Kavajës, west of Sheshi Skënderbeg. Note that both buses and furgons normally leave when full. Pay the driver or conductor on the bus.

For car rental, Hertz (255 028; Rruga Ded Gjo Lulli) and Europcar (246 192; Rruga e Durrësit, L.61) offer similar no-fuss services. Driving in Albania is only for those with nerves of steel and is not recommended as roads are often bad and kamikaze local drivers try to overtake on even the bendiest of bends.

The run-down train station is at the northern end of Bulevardi Zogu I. Eight trains daily go to Durrës. Trains also depart for Elbasan, Pogradec, Shkodra and Vlora.

Getting around

Mother Teresa Airport is 26km (16.2mi) northwest of Tirana. There is no public transport to the airport so you'll have to taxi it to and fro. Taxi stands dot the city. Make sure you reach an agreement with the driver before setting off. Radio Taxi (tel: 377 777), with 24hr service, is particularly reliable.

Some of the major hotels offer guarded parking; others have parking available out front.