Getting around
.jpg "An old Trabant")
Because Albania is relatively small, it´s quite easy to get around and see all the high lights, such as beautiful Shkodër, or Sarande on the coast. There are plenty of hotels, but, as the quality and prices can vary a lot, you may want to check out which hotel you are going to be staying at. We recommend bus travel, as travelling by car can be daunting.
Bus
Buses are always an inexpensive way to travel. Albanians cruise around in socalled furgons, small 9 to 12 seaters. These are privately owned, and don´t have timetables or reservations. When the driver decides he has enough passengers, he´ll go, so better get comfy. It´s very cheap though: eg the trip Tirana–Durrës will only set you back 100 lekë.
Apart from getting around in Albania, which has lots of cheap bus routes linking all its major cities, there are busconnections to neighbouring countries. From the Albanian capital Tirana, buses leave for Prishtina (€30, 10 hours, 343km, three a day) leave from behind the museum near Sheshi Skënderbej. Buses bound for the Bulgarian capital of Sofia (€40, 17 hours) leave from Albtransport (223 026; Rr Mine Peza, Tirana; weekdays from 8am to 4pm).
Buses headed for Macedonia, going via Struga (€10, six hours, 197km, six per week) and on to Tetovo, leavefrom the front of the train station. You can purchase tickets from the Pollogu travel agency (04-23 500; 069-209 4906; Pall. 103, Bul Zogu I). It’s not easy to find hard to find, as it´s on the second floor of an apartment building; it´s right next door to a very orange café, called Pause.
Train
Albanians who can affort to, avoid the train. No toilets, decrepit cars, broken windows and to top it all off, they´re incredibly slow. Train tickets are also dead cheap so if you´re in for an Experience, you might want to have a go! We recommend the bus.
Riding a bicyle
Don´t.
Car or motorcycle
We don´t recommend it. Back in communist days only party members could drive cars, and road upkeep was very low on the country´s list of priorities. Since then, the amount of cars has exploded, but roads are a mess and there doesn´t seem to be much of a traffic code. Don´t drive at night and stay away from the mountains, especially in winter. Of course, if you are an adventurous type, by all means go for it, but maybe bring a well insured four wheel drive.
It can be tricky to bring your car to Albania. Not a lot of tourists realise that you need a Green card that allows you to go there, otherwise you´re not insured! Insurance companie aren´t overly thrilled with Albania, so you´d better check. It´s really far easier to use public transport.
Border crossings
Unlike other experiences (the Polish border springs to mind) Albanian border crossings are generally hassle free. Albania borders on the UN-monitored territory of Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece.
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