Car or no-car for the Albanian coast?

SPOILER ALAERT: you need a car

I won’t need to beat around the bush for this. If you are visiting the Albanian coast without a car, you’re going to find it quite difficult to get around as the public transport system can be a little bit unreliable. So unless you have the money to hire a private driver or get a taxi everywhere, then a car is going to be your best friend.

Don’t get me wrong, it very well might be manageable without a car but you’d need some good patience and the interest to logistically map out each place you want to visit to a tee. Whilst I am completing a 4-month solo trip, I was lucky to have my old London flatmates come and visit me in Albania which meant it was affordable to hire a driver to take us from Tirana to Sarandë. When in Sarandë we did actually rely on a few PT buses, however they were never on time and grossly busy for the most part. They also obviously are a bit more reliable to major attractions like Gjirokastër and the Blue Eye, but outside of this I wouldn’t have loved using it the whole time.

This was my car when I picked it up… so yes a little more than dirty 😅

My friends left me after a few days which is when I decided I wanted a car as I couldn’t afford to hire a driver every time I wanted to visit a town. I had based myself in Himarë but had hired the car from Tirana airport. If you do a little bit of research about driving in Albania, EVERYONE states not to drive in Tirana city, so I opted to pick up from the airport instead.

If you’re a confident driver and not driving on the right for the first time, you will have no issues driving in Albania. I think it is spoken about too much that it actually creates more anxiety than it needs to. Yes, the drivers can be a bit chaotic and not many road rules are followed but I found they were all really respectful and as long as you were aware of your surroundings (which any driver should be, no matter what country it is) than you will be fine. Do a quick google of driving basics and you’re off.

Now, if you have seen my insta reel about Southern Albania, you will know I wouldn’t recommend going any further than Himarë. Maybe and a big maybe, Sarandë at a push so that it’s easier to visit Gjirokastër but aside from that I don’t think there is anything worth visiting down that way. Himarë on the other hand, has some gorgeous beaches, nice little hikes and the towns themselves were 10000 x more authentic than some further down south….. Ksamil I am looking at you 👀

In Himarë I was able to visit beaches like Gjipe, Borsh, Jale and Porto Palermo due to having the freedom of the car. They were all very pretty and without the car would have virtually been impossible to see. Although I didn’t stop, you could also easily visit the towns of Dhërmi, Vlorë or Berat as you drive out of or into Tirana.

During the summer period the cars are slightly more expensive, but still quite affordable considering standard European pricing. The company I rented through was a small business recommended by our previous driver when my friends were with me. However, I wouldn’t choose them again as the car was a little bit dirty when it arrived and had no fuel in it whatsoever. In saying that, I had no other issues and they were pleasant to deal with so if you do a bit of reddit research you can come across other companies that you might feel comfortable renting through (outside of the main companies like Sixt, AVIS, Europcar).

You can use websites like Booking.com to compare different rental companies and obtain good deals.

One important note for driving in Albania is that if by some unfortunate reason, you are involved in an accident (big or small) you should stop your car where it is and call the police straight away. This is common practice and I have been told the police act quite quickly, but if you don’t do this then the insurance won’t cover the damage as a police report is required.

Whilst I only had the car for the south of Albania, you could definitely continue your hire period as you make your way up to the alps as well. The driving here is a little bit more sketchy with narrow roads, but the same rules apply. As a whole, if you are someone who is happy waiting for public transport and being crammed into a bus, then you could get away with not needing car, but if you want to make the most of your time then I highly suggest spending your pennies.

It’s worth it, trust me.

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