Tirana
Albania's capital and a handy transport link to the rest of the country as well as Montengro, Tirana is an ideal place for travellers wanting a quick stop from Montenegro before moving onto Albania or for those wanting to spend a few days. We stayed in Tirana for 1 night and used it to break up our journey from Montenegro into Albania and discovered how great it is. With lots of quality bars and restaurants with a cable car which provides unbelievable views of the city, Tirana is certainly one to add to the ever growing list.
Getting to Tirana
There are 2 major ways of getting to Tirana and depending on your situation the best way could be different. Firstly, Tirana has an international airport which receives flights from lots of major countries including the UK (Luton airport), Italy, Greece, Turkey and Germany. The airport is not massive, therefore there are limited destinations that fly here. So if you're looking for a direct flight here just check which locations actually fly here.
The second option to arrive here is the one that we took, by bus. Prior to our trip to Tirana we stayed in Montenegro for 1 week so we took the bus from the capital of Montenegro Podgorica all the way to Tirana. The journey itself took around 6 hours in total, around 4 hours driving time, a 30 minute comfort break and around 1 hour going through border control. The rest of the journey time was taken up by bad traffic, particularly around the Sköder region which is very popular in summer.
We used the company Drita travel for our journey and overall we would say it was an OK experience. We purchased our tickets online a good few weeks before departure to save time and our ticket was around £17 for two people and included paying for baggage which we thought was great! However, the bus driver said as this was not his company's ticket that didn't count, so we paid an extra €4 for the luxury of putting our bags in the hold. Not great but not catastrophic by any means, just be wary of this if you buy tickets online.
The bus itself was a standard coach which did not have a massive amount of legroom or air conditioning which did make it a little tough in 35°C heat, but it wasn't too uncomfortable. Another thing to note as well is DONT ask the driver to drop you off at the airport on route if that's not where the bus is going. A couple of passengers asked our driver and eventually the driver got extremely angry, got out of his seat and nearly hit the man! Then he charged them €100 just to stop off, so our advice is don't ask them to drop you off there. Stay the night in Tirana and then make your way there the next day!
Arriving into Tirana
If you arrive into Tirana by plane you will be quite a way from the centre of the city, there are regular buses that you can catch into town and it will drop you off a walkable distance from most major attractions.
If you use the coach that we did you will arrive at the international bus terminal which is about a 20-30 minute walk into the centre of the city. We managed this with our heavy bags but it was not easy especially in peak summer heat so I would bare this in mind. A taxi from the bus station to the centre will cost around €5-10 so it is possible to avoid the heat. As we walked we became aware of how cheap some things are in Albania compared to our native UK. For example a bottle of Fanta was 90 Albania lek which is the equivalent of 70p, crazy! We also saw that there are plenty of Vodafone shops and mobile shops to buy a SIM card if you need to, as Albanina does not come under most providers networks so you will not have any data around here. A SIM card for 10 days was €25 and would give you plenty of data for that time. If you struggle to obtain Albanian lek in your country there are also exchange service which will change Euros or Pounds into lek at a very good rate. €100 gave us 10,060 lek. We walked to our AirBNB and then decided on what to do in this great city.
Getting Around Tirana
Tirana has a very structured public bus system with many lines running in all directions and delivering passengers to all the major attractions in the city. You can download an app called Moovit which will plan routes for you and give you live updates on bus schedules. Admittedly we did find it difficult to interpret the timetable and found it very tricky to locate stops and times, when at bus stations the vast majority don't have the schedule there so you just have to stand and wait for the bus line that you want. On the app it says that wait time can be anywhere between 3 and 13 minutes, but we waited over 20 for the bus we wanted and it did not arrive and there was no schedule to check against. As we were in a rush we decided on getting a taxi to where we needed to be, but if you are willing to wait then buses are a much cheaper option with tickets being around 40 lek or 32p!
Traffic in Tirana is a little bit crazy, be ready for people cutting across roundabouts, plenty of beeping horns simply for being stuck in traffic and plenty of shouting from angry drivers!
The Dajti Express
Probably the most popular tourist attraction in the city is the Dajti Express. Just over 4.5km long this cable car is like nothing we have ever been on before. It provides absolutely stunning views and exhilarating steep climbs over the course of a 15 minute journey. This is where we got our taxi to from the Skanderburg main square in the city. With traffic it took around 20 minutes and cost 1200 lek (£10) although outside of peak season it is probably cheaper. Again outside of peak season we imagine tickets are cheaper, but 1 ticket for an adult up the cable car was 1400 lek (£11).
This is pretty good value for how long the journey is and how spectacular the journey is.
(You may notice options for other activities too, more on that later).
When travelling up the cable car on a clear day you can see for miles, you can see lake skadar which is nearly 100km away!
Ballkoni Dajtit
At the top of the cable car it is more than just a viewpoint. Whilst the view is absolutely amazing there are also plenty of things to do while you are up there. There is mini golf, a restaurant, a viewpoint, a children's play area and animals too! We paid a visit to the restaurant called Ballkoni Dajtit which has a stunning view whilst you eat.
We would highly recommend stopping off here for some food and drinks as they are priced around the same as the city centre but it is almost worth paying that just for the location and the view! Here we had a local beer (€2.50), a glass of local wine (€3), a traditional curried meatball dish (€10) and a beef noodle dish (€11) which were all amazing and definitely worth the price!
The last ride down from the top is 7pm and it is a great time to go as it is just approaching sunset and the orange haze across the city is beautiful. After food we had a quick 'photoshoot' and then made our way down.
We feel that the Dajti Express should be at the top of anyone's list if you are travelling to Tirana as it is a truly unforgettable experience.
Nightlife
Instead of paying for another taxi home we thought we could walk back to our apartment and take in Tirana from the streets, making drink breaks at some bars along our route.
As we walked through the streets we realised just how many cute bars and restaurants that Tirana has to offer and all at reasonable prices, especially for a capital city! After walking for about an hour we stopped at the Doctor Artist Lounge for a drink. This bar has a really cool vibe with egg chairs, cool lighting and good prices.
The 2 glasses of red wine that we had came to 1000 lek (£8) and was really good quality. This, like all the bars we saw, was popular with locals and there was a very positive buzz around the entire city as we walked back.
Overall Verdict
Overall we would highly recommend Tirana as a play to stay for a short break. There is not that much to do in the city, which is why we thought it was perfect for a stop over before heading to the Riviera. With cheap prices, good quality food and drink, helpful locals and the amazing Dajti Express we would definitely recommend. Also on one final note, to show how cheap Tirana is for some things...
You can get a pint can of Peroni for 89 lek in supermarkets, the equivalent of 72p in the UK! You really can't go wrong in this city!
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