Are you planning a trip to Albania? Then you are in for a treat! I well and truly fell in love with Albania, its people, its landscape, and its food. The perfect time to explore Albania is now, while it remains raw and authentic. And the best way to find the hidden pearls of Albania is to rent a car. We found a great deal on RentalCars.com (my go-to) for just £75 for the week, making it the ideal destination for a road trip. But beware, driving in Albania is not as straightforward as you might think! This is why I have created this guide for driving in Albania.

Like my previous driving guides, this article is tongue-in-cheek in some places, although everything I write is a reflection of what I experienced during my one week road trip in Albania. I hope that you find it useful in preparing you for what’s to come and that you also have some fun reading it!  

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get commission if you decide to make a purchase through my link at no cost to you.

Important considerations before driving in Albania

I don’t advise driving in Albania unless you are a confident driver.

As you will see from my tips and stories below, it is a challenging country to drive in. I’m not alone in this belief either, there are many tales of nightmare experiences all over the web including the UK Goverment website!

Taken verbatim from the government website “Albanian driving can often be aggressive and erratic. Deaths from road traffic accidents are amongst the highest in Europe.” Also on the government website “If you are travelling at night, watch out for unmarked road works, potholes and unlit vehicles.”

None of this is an exaggeration, so please don’t drive if Albania unless you are a confident driver. If you are from the UK, I don’t advice making Albania the first place where you try driving on the opposite side of the road! However, that being said, with the right precautions it is a brilliant country to explore with the freedom of a hire car. So if you think you have what it takes, keep on reading!

So, “What are my best tips for driving in Albania?” I hear you ask.

Stay clear of Albanian Drivers!

They will come at you from everywhere! We heard that until recently, many people could get driving licenses by simply paying to get a license without taking any lessons. I’m unsure if this is accurate, but having observed Albanian drivers for the last week, I can see why some might think this!

They swerve A LOT!! Imagine following someone who is drunk or texting. Well, that is what being on an Albanian road is like; only the majority of the drivers are doing it!! So keep your eyes peeled because you might have to swerve out of the way at any given time!

If I could only give you one tip for driving in Albania, it would be “be prepared to swerve at any given time.

I thought we were meant to drive on the right.

Theoretically, you should drive on the right-hand side of the road, just like everywhere else in mainland Europe. However, not everyone agrees! We saw multiple cars driving on the wrong side of the road, one of them even driving the wrong side down a dual carriageway!

We saw people taking a roundabout the wrong way, turning onto main roads on the wrong side, and even a car taking a blind corner on the wrong side!

Why? Well, I can only assume they are planning on moving to England and are therefore getting their left-hand practice in!

Speed limits are optional

Locals seem to take the approach that speed limits are optional. As do police. I was driving along a winding road and the speed limit when they decided to overtake me going into a corner (they didn’t have their blue lights on). However, we did also see a lot of cars that had been pulled over by the police so I would exercise caution and drive according to the speed limits.

It’s not always that easy to know what the speed limit is. In city limits and towns they are regularly marked with 50 km/h being the most common limit. However, when you leave these areas you will see just a white circle with a black diagonal line through it. This indicates that 50 km/h no longer applies. What it doesn’t do is tell you what the speed limit is after that. My understanding is that on national roads outside of built up areas, the speed limit is 90 km/h unless it says otherwise.

A new approach to overtaking

In addition to continuously swerving and driving on the wrong side, they also have a very liberal approach to overtaking. If they want to get past, they will. They might toot their horn to ask you to move over, but they won’t think twice about pulling out to get past, regardless of whether it is a blind corner or not. They also don’t appear to be particularly concerned if there is oncoming traffic. There is simply an assumption that others will move out of the way.  

Remember my most important tip for driving in Albania? Yep! Be prepared to swerve at any given time! I’m sure you are starting to see why!

Why park when you can dump the car?

Double and triple parking are standard. I’m unsure how I got a parking ticket when cars were left abandoned in the middle of the road while their owners went about their business, yet I was parked by the curb in an area specifically designed for parking!

Also, be aware that parked cars will pull out without looking, and people will open their doors without checking. So, back to point 1! Be prepared to swerve at any given time!

If, like me, you do happen to get a parking ticket for parking appropriately (I’m still not sure why I got it), all you need to do is find a post office. You will be able to pay for it there. Our fine cost us 600 LEK (£5).

Cyclists are no better!

Cyclists swerve as much as cars and seem to have no reason to keep on living. They will pull out into traffic without even a glance towards impending danger.

Just like cars, cyclists will often cycle against traffic (including down the fast lane of a dual carriageway). Amazingly, the vehicles don’t even bat an eyelid at this behaviour. They simply swerve and keep going!

But it’s not just on the road you need to keep an eye out. They ride on the pavements too! And they will often zoom across pedestrian crossings without warning.

Beware of pedestrian crossings

And talking of pedestrian crossings, these aren’t straightforward either! Apparently, zebra crossings are relatively new, and nobody agrees on how to handle them. The theory is that you stop to give way, but in practice, drivers only appear to stop if you actually step out. If you wait for them to stop before you step out, you could wait a while!

And please don’t expect them to stop unless you are crossing their particular carriage. In the UK, we wait for everyone to reach the other side before moving on. Not in Albania; if you aren’t in imminent danger of being run over, they will keep going. In fact, we saw a police car accelerate so that they could avoid stopping for some pedestrians.

Your age doesn’t matter either. A mum walked across the street, but her kid stayed behind. I stopped to let him cross, as did the minibus coming the other way. However, the car behind the minibus decided he didn’t have time for such nonsense, so he overtook the minibus, swerved to avoid me, and didn’t even register the fact we had stopped to let a young kid cross!

When crossing, make eye contact with the driver and be prepared to run if they show no signs of stopping!

When driving, be aware that people love to hang out by the curb (sometimes even at the pedestrian crossing) without any intention of crossing! This is probably why people only stop if you step out.

Who’s right of way on roundabouts?

Roundabouts are also a relatively new concept, and it seems nobody can agree on the actual rules. What you are meant to do and what people do are very different things.

You are meant to give way to cars already on the roundabout (like you do throughout the rest of Europe and the UK), but many still believe they should give way to those joining the roundabout. The result? Chaos! Some people stop mid-roundabout, others stop before joining the roundabout, and then there are those who have no intention of stopping at all!

The best tip I can give you for dealing with Albanian roundabouts is to treat them like a merge. Be prepared for any eventuality! On the busy roundabouts within Tirana and the airport, the police controlled the traffic, which made it a bit easier. Elsewhere, luckily, they weren’t too busy, so they were easy enough to navigate using a bit of a “merge” mentality.

Who needs indicators?

You can’t rely on indicators to guess what other drivers are thinking. We saw them used incorrectly more times than we saw them used correctly. People would indicate right to go left. Sometimes, they wouldn’t indicate at all, and then, at other times, they indicated for no apparent reason. In other countries, you might rely on road positioning in the absence of indicators, but that doesn’t work in Albania either. We saw people going all the way to the right of the carriageway to then turn left. We saw people going into oncoming traffic (left lane) to turn right. Sometimes, they drive down the wrong carriageway simply because their left-hand turn is 200 metres ahead. Be prepared for the unexpected!

Without a doubt, the most challenging thing about driving in Albania is the unpredictability of other drivers.

The roads might explain the swerving

I used to complain about potholes in the UK. I don’t think I ever will after seeing the potholes in Albania. You could easily lose a car down there. They are so big! So, aside from constantly being on the lookout for swerving locals, you also need to do a fair amount of swerving yourself to avoid falling into the abyss.

Some of the roads are not too bad. For example, the road from Tirana to Shkodër isn’t too bad. There is the odd pothole, but they are easily navigable.

The road from Tirana to Burrel though is a whole other story. Burrel is not on the tourist path, and although busy, there seemed to be little concern for the road surface. It felt like doing some form of slalom weaving in between potholes. That’s when they were avoidable. Sometimes, the pothole covered the entire road!

Other times, it looked like a cement truck had crashed, spilling all its cement on the road and leaving a little cement mountain to climb over. Sometimes, the road was subsiding, ready to disappear down the side of the mountain at any point, and there were also sections where, frankly, there was no road!

Driving in Tirana

We started our trip in Tirana which meant navigating the hectic Tirana traffic. I won’t lie, my cortisol levels were sky-high by the time we reached our hotel in the centre of Tirana. We were using Google Maps which was trying it’s best but due to roadworks and tall building it couldn’t always keep up which meant we often found ourselves having to change lanes last minute. I think most cities are stressful to drive in and you do need to take a pretty defensive approach. Nobody is going to be polite so make sure you are assertive with your decisions.

If it’s your first time in Albania I’d say leave Tirana until the end. At least that way, by the time you reach the city you will be comfortable with Albanian driving!

Google Maps

Don’t always trust Google Maps. Many dirt tracks are listed as roads on Google Maps so Google (and Apple in fairness) have a propensity for taking you down these tiny, narrow, gravel or dirt tracks. These tiny little lanes with grass growing in the middle are marked as white roads on Google while the bigger roads will be marked in yellow.

Just because a road is yellow though, doesn’t mean it’s good. It’s probably full of potholes and potentially gravel in places too, but at least it is a proper road!

Don’t expect to to pay for fuel by card

Albania is very much a cash society with credit cards not widely accepted outside of Tirana. I made the assumption though that we would be able to pay for fuel by card, however the station we stopped (which admittedly was small), did not accept cards. Having done some more digging it seems that this is a common occurrence not just in small stations, so make sure you have enough cash with you!

The other thing to bear in mind is that fuel is not cheap, in fact it was very much in line with the rest of Europe. This surprised me since accommodation and food is actually reasonably cheap in Albania.

Something else that you might not be used to is that fuel stations are manned, so someone will fill up the car for you. Again, we only had to fill up once, but reading other blogs this seems to be common.

Enjoy the scenery

Albania is beautiful, and there is so much worth exploring beyond the tourist trail. For all my tongue-in-cheek comments about Albanian drivers, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the countryside with the freedom of my own wheels.

The drive to Theth from Shkodër is one of the prettiest drives I’ve done (and one of the scariest), and had I not had a hire car, I wouldn’t have inadvertently crashed a birthday party and been invited to join them for lunch! That’s a story for another time!

So, although I urge you to take great care on the roads of Albania (their swerving is no joke!), I also encourage you to hire a car and enjoy this wonderful country.

Bonus tip for driving in Albania

Stay calm. Despite the craziness of it all, nobody seemed to get angry behind the wheel, and everyone just rolled with it (excuse the pun). I’m used to people being quick to find their temper in the UK and the US. But not in Albania. I only saw one person toot their horn in anger; the rest seemed utterly oblivious to the near-death experience that had just unfolded in front of them!

If you do end up in an accident, the emergency number is 129 and by law you need to wait until the police arrives. The government website does say that minor altercations can escalate quickly and to be careful as people could be carrying guns. I can’t speak to this and saw no evidence of it.

Renting a car in Albania

In order to rent a car in Albania you need to be over 18 years old and hold a valid driving license. Most car hire companies will also require a €1000 deposit which can then take up to 14 days to be refunded.

I would also add that although not a legal prerequisite you should make sure you are confident driving on the right hand side of the road (and a confident driver in general).

We got a really good deal with CarWizz which we I booked through RentalCars.com. They scan all the available providers and give you the best choice based on price and reviews. I’ve used them across Europe and the US and have found significantly better deals than by going direct to the rental companies. I paid £75 for the week for a SKODA Fabia which was perfect for what I needed.

Tirana Airport has loads of car rental companies including the big names that you will be used to as well as lots of local firms. There are then additional companies outside the airport and those which you need to take a shuttle to. CarWizz was a short 5 minute walk from the terminal.

I would always recommend getting excess insurance. If you have enough money to cover the deposit, then I’d recommend getting a reputable third party insurance as they are much cheaper. I actually wrote an article about the pros and cons of third party excess insurance which I recommend you read if considering renting a car in Albania (or anywhere for that matter!).

Do I need to hire a 4×4?

I’ve heard lots of people recommend to hire a 4×4. Personally I don’t think it is necessary. Despite ending up on white roads, gravels roads and very potholed roads, our little Skoda Fabia coped just fine. We took the mountain road to Theth and that was also not a problem in our small car.

Unless you plan on going off-roading, save yourself the expense.

Is it safe to drive in Albania?

This is a question that lots of people have asked me, but can I honestly answer whether it is safe to drive in Albania having only been there a week. It is definitely much riskier than many other countries I have driven in, however I also thoroughly enjoyed exploring Albania with the freedom of a hire car. When I return I would rent a car again, however, I would do so in the knowledge that the odds of an accident are much higher than elsewhere in Europe.

So, with all that being said, enjoy driving in Albania! Have a wonderful time, and please remember that although this blog is my truth (what I experienced), but not everyone’s truth.

If you are looking for other driving guides, do check these out:

Tips for driving in Spain

A guide to driving in the US

Tips for driving in the Cotswolds

Still not convinced that driving in Albania is for you?

If after reading this you are thinking that maybe driving in Albania isn’t for you, then an alternative would be to either use public transport or book a tour. We did a day trip to Berat with Albania My Tours. This took the pressure away from needing to drive in and out of the city again, and it also meant that we got to experience Berat with a knowledgeable guide that was able to bring it alive for us.

So if you are thinking that a guided tour would be better than driving in Albania I wholeheartedly recommend Albania My Tours. They offer single day and multiday packages throughout Albania which will take all the hassle out of driving.

Finding accommodation in Albania

Accommodation was surprisingly cheap! We stayed at Hotel Vila 15 in Tirana and then Hotel Tradita in Shkodër. We booked both for £45 a night for a twin room! It is worth noting we were there during the shoulder season and likely found them on a deal, but even still, I thought they were really good value for money, especially as both hotels were lovely!

I found both of them on Booking.com which is my go to for finding places to stay.

Did you find this article helpful?

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