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This blog provides information and tips on driving in Albania including road conditions, crossing borders, police & parking.
Contents
1. Introduction
In April 2023 we began a 3 month road trip from the U.K. to the Cyclades Islands in Greece and back.
On the way down to Greece we drove through France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and North Macedonia. On the way back we drove up through Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Germany and France.
We drove about 8,000 miles in total in our 10 year old Ford Focus. The only mechanical issues were:
A broken spring from hitting a pothole in Greece.
The plastic undercarriage protector coming loose.
Replacement of worn brake pads.
The engine management warning light being on for about 4,000 miles. On our return to England a diagnostic test found that the catalytic converter needed replacing.
When planning our trip the one week drive through Albania caused the most anxiety. There is a lot of bad press about Albanian criminals in the U.K., but the Albanians remaining in Albania were very nice!
There was also a lot written on the internet about the roads in Albania being poor and the Albanian's poor driving standards. More about that later!
2. Crossing the Albania Border
We had lived in Africa for 17 years and crossing borders there can be an ordeal. I thought it might be the same with Albania, but fortunately I was proved wrong and there were no hassles.
On our drive down to Greece we stayed at Ohrid in North Macedonia (see my blog Ohrid Town, North Macedonia: Travel Guide). We weren't intending to enter Albania at that point. We had read that it wasn't possible to buy Albanian car insurance at the nearby Tushemisht border crossing.
As most U.K. motor insurance policies don't cover non EU countries that would have been a problem for us. I was concerned that we might have a similar problem when we drove back to the UK through Albania.
When we drove up to Albania from Greece we had the choice of 2 border crossings. The main border crossing is at Ioannina in Greece, which is about 30 kilometres inland. I was sure we would be able to buy car insurance at that Albanian border post.
I wanted to cross at the smaller and quieter border crossing on the coast at Igoumenitsa in Greece. If we couldn't buy Albanian car insurance there we would waste a few hours having to drive over to the Ioannina crossing.
The Albanian passport control at the smaller Albania border post (Qafe Bota) was very quick and efficient. Nearby was a small office with a sign saying Green Card and we parked there. A friendly agent sold us 3rd party car insurance for Eur 49 for a 15 day period. Insurance for 30 days could also be purchased. The decision to use this border crossing worked out well.
When we drove from Albania to Montenegro we were just waved through by the Albanians at the Muriqan border crossing! See my blog Albania to Montenegro - Week 9.
3. Road Conditions in Albania
From what I had read on the internet I feared that the Albanian roads would be terrible and the Albanians would drive crazily. The Albanian drivers were certainly bad at tailgating and overtaking on blind corners. However, they weren't much worse than in other southern European countries
The roads we drove on weren't at all bad apart from one section north of Kruje that had quite a few potholes. There were a couple of sections of new roads that were really good. The roads in the eastern region of Albania may be a different matter.
The new road from Gjirokaster to Saranda is excellent (see photos on my blog Albania to Montenegro - Week 9). The new Vlore bypass road is also very good, although they haven't stabilised the hillsides that it cuts through and there is some rockfall.
The road up the famous Llogoraja pass is in good condition and not difficult to drive on, despite all the hair pin bends. It is far easier than the Kotor Serpentine road in neighbouring Montenegro.
4. Police and Radar Traps in Albania
We might have been fortunate but we didn't see any radar traps whilst we were driving in southern Albania. Nor did we see many police cars.
It was a different story in central and northern Albania. On our last day driving from Kruje to the Montenegro border there were about 5 police radar traps! Drivers coming from the other direction always warned us by flashing, although we never intentionally broke the speed limit.
We never saw any stationary speed cameras but apparently Albania has them. I am not sure how Albania would have got us to pay a fine if we had been caught.
I also found the speed limits to be very frustrating when we reached the more urban central and northern parts of Albania. Particularly on the sections from Vlore to Berat, Berat to Kruje and Kruje to the border with Montenegro.
The speed limit on Albanian main roads drops to 40 kilometres an hour whenever there is a side road. Albanians don't seem to slow down for these side roads and we didn't see police enforcing the 40 kilometres per hour speed limit.
On our route from Vlore to Montenegro it was very built up. We were constantly having to slow down to 50 kilometres an hour whenever we reached a settlement.
When combined with the 40 kilometres per hour side road speed limit it became very irritating. To make matters worse the towns and villages weren't very attractive.
We were concerned that the Albanian police may target foreign cars. However, there are a lot of foreign cars on the main coastal road from Montenegro to Greece and they don't seem to do so. Albania seems to welcome tourists rather than hassle them.
5. Fuel & Parking in Albania
Fuel in Albania is cheaper than in neighbouring Greece, but a lot more expensive than neighbouring Montenegro. The autotraveler website provides the fuel cost per litre for each European country. We always filled up before crossing over to more expensive countries and left an expensive country with little fuel.
The price per litre does vary between petrol stations. There are plenty of petrol stations, but there were quite a few abandoned ones, probably due to too much competition.
Parking is free on the streets unless indicated otherwise. We did pay for parking in Himare as there isn't much free parking (see my blog Himare, Albania: Travel Guide).