Hiring a car and road tripping around Albania is by far the best way to see this beautiful country. Not only is a road trip in itself a great experience, but having your own car enables you to see so much more and plan your visits to avoid the crowds (which can be a big problem during peak season in Albania).
However, there are a few things you need to watch out for both when hiring a car, and driving in Albania. There are dodgy companies, crappy cars and crazy drivers on the road, so knowing what to expect can be the difference between having that trip of a lifetime and finding yourself in a sticky situation.
We’ve hired cars in dozens of countries around the world and through a lot of research we were able to have a pretty smooth 31 day road trip around Albania. Here’s everything you need to know about hiring a car in Albania and what to expect on the roads.
What to know when renting a car in Albania
We’re going to start with some advice for renting a car in Albania, but if you’re more interested in what driving is like, skip this to this section.
In the last few years Albania has seen a huge increase in tourism, which has meant demand for rental cars has gone through the roof. Businesses are struggling to keep up with this new found popularity and it’s also meant that a lot of chancers and scammers have leapt in to take advantage.
Knowing what to look out for can help you avoid any potential pitfalls.
1. Avoid the absurdly cheap
Like all things in life, if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. Car hire in Albania isn’t expensive, but we recommend avoiding anyone who claims to be charging less than €20 a day.
It’s very likely that when you pick the car up you’ll find that certain things (such as mandatory insurances) weren’t included in the cost and you could be faced with accepting whatever price they charge or finding an alternative car at the last minute.
2. Know what’s included: insurance, mileage and more
A common scam in the car rental industry is not including mandatory insurance in the upfront price (something that even happens in the US). Many companies will omit legally compulsory insurances such as Third Party insurance in their price and you won’t be able to find out what the charge is until you arrive.
We used DiscoverCars.com as they show what is included with every rental on the listing and give a rating for how good the offer is.
They also state why the score is excellent, eg because it includes all the insurances you need, zero security deposit and tells you the excess/deductible for any insurance claim.
We’d also recommend getting unlimited mileage, as you’ll be surprised at how quickly the kilometres can clock up.
You can check the latest prices and availability on DiscoverCars by clicking the button below.
3. Expect a few scratches & dents
We’re a bit unusual when it comes to car rentals because we actually prefer having a car that’s a bit beaten up. That’s because having damage before you pick the car up means it’s far less likely you’ll be stung with any charges for minor damage yourself.
So if you’re like us, hiring a car in Albania will be right up your alley as the vast majority of rentals have seen their fair share of scrapes and scratches.
This is particularly true at the cheaper end of the market, as there was barely a panel that didn’t have a mark on the Skoda we rented.
If the idea of a scratched up car is unappealing, then we’d recommend looking at some of the established international rental companies such as Europcar, Avis, Hertz and Budget, as they are more likely to rent cars that are in good condition.
However, one thing to be on the lookout for no matter who you rent from is mechanical issues. Before driving away, get the Whatsapp number of the rental company and ask what to do if you have any issues.
The oil warning light came on in our car about 50km after we drove off and we were able to text them and get an almost immediate answer (they’d already changed the oil but the warning still came on for a day or so).
4. Take the time to photograph and video the car
The biggest problem we saw when pouring over online reviews were people getting stung for dents and scratches that they claimed were already there before they rented the car. However, they didn’t take the time when picking it up to inspect it thoroughly and note every single imperfection.
We understand that the last thing you want to do after a flight and under the baking sun is meticulously inspect the car, but trust us, it could save you a lot of money. Don’t rely on their damage report, go over the top and categorise every slight imperfection.
Also check the inside of the car - the seats, the floor, everything. Videoing will also help, but sometimes the resolution isn’t good enough. Get your condition report watertight so that you don’t have to worry when it comes to handing the car back.
5. Do you need a 4WD/SUV?
For the average road trip you don’t need a 4WD or an SUV. The roads are in good enough condition (see the next entry) to mean that you don’t need the power of a 4WD to get to the main attractions. We found that even the road to Theth - while steep - was perfectly fine in a small car. If anything, having a small car will make the single lane roads and tight parking spots much easier to navigate.
6. Our tips when choosing a car
As we mentioned above, we used DiscoverCars.com to hire our car in Albania and we had a very good experience. It was also much cheaper than many of the competitors.
The search results present individual cards which help you quickly compare each rental company, the car, and the essential info.
As you can see below, you can easily see the type of car, credibility of the rental company, essential policies and the price.
We’d recommend looking for a “fair” or “excellent” offer on the result, unlimited mileage, free cancellation and a good score for the rental company as a whole.
It’s also worth having a quick look at the reviews for each company as sometimes recent stinker reviews can be absorbed by historically good ones.
You’ll want to give some leniency on the reviews though, as people are often more motivated to write scathing reviews than glowing ones. It’s rare to find a rental company anywhere in the world with flawless reviews, but if the same complaints consistently crop up it’s probably best to steer clear.
You can click on the button below to see prices and availability below.
7. Get excess insurance cover
We also recommend buying excess insurance cover to remove the risk of losing your deposit or paying a hefty fee if the car gets damaged.
You can buy this directly with the rental company, but we choose to buy a separate insurance as it tends to be a lot cheaper.
It means more hassle as you have to act as the go-between of the two parties, but we’ve often found that rental companies will charge eye-watering amounts to reduce the excess to zero (often twice the daily rental price).
What it’s like driving in Albania
Before we dive into this section, I’d like to state that driving in Albania on the whole is fine. The scenery and landscape is beautiful and despite what it may sound like in the upcoming section, we will be hiring a car when we head back in a couple of months time!
We wouldn’t have been able to see a fraction of the country without our own car, and despite a few times where my blood pressure went up, I’d say 90% of the time, driving was pretty chill. However, here’s a few things to help you know what to expect and some tips to help you prepare.
Road conditions
Contrary to what you might read online, we’d say the roads in Albania are in very good condition and they are getting better and better, with new gravel roads being sealed as we speak.
There’s the occasional pothole, and the road between Tirana and Durres has seen better days, but on the whole we felt the roads were good and really easy to drive on.
There are still some dirt roads, but the dirt roads we drove on were well graded and didn’t require a 4WD. We’d even go so far as to say that the standard of roads in Albania was better than the UK…. (sorry Blighty, we still love you).
If you want to get off the beaten track, particularly in mountainous areas, then you will likely need a 4WD and road conditions will be more rustic.
It can feel a bit like Mario Kart!
Driving in Albania can feel a bit like a rollercoaster at times. For around 90% of the time you will be lulled into a false sense of security with drivers that appear completely calm, normal and rational. Then out of nowhere, someone will park in the middle of a highway, put their hazards on and walk off to do their shopping (this genuinely happened).
We’ve hired cars in Bali, Thailand, Jordan, Turkey and many countries famed for their wild driving, but Albania took the biscuit for just how crazy some of the drivers can be. Unlike in countries such as Egypt and India where the driving is consistently crazy, the moments of madness were sporadic enough in Albania to catch you by surprise.
We’re still trying to work out what the laws on roundabouts are because most of the time everyone seemed to drive at full speed onto them as if giving way simply wasn’t a rule.
To help you understand what the drivers are like, imagine you are playing Mario Kart: even when things appear normal, you’re moments away from something crazy happening. We came to realise that overtaking on single track blind corners, driving the wrong way down a one way street and tailgating at high speed are pretty much national pastimes.
However, if you’re calm and confident, you’ll soon find your rhythm with the madness. It was only when coming back to the UK that I remembered that I didn’t have to crawl onto a roundabout to make sure someone wasn’t going to clatter into us at 70 kph.
The roads can be narrow and there are confusing one-way systems
In cities such as Tirana, Shkoder, Gjirokaster and Berat, you’ll find utterly confusing and narrow one way systems that don’t seem to make any sense. We tried to check into our accommodation in Shkoder to find that literally every road to the property had a no entry sign (makes sense when you remember what we said about rules being mere guidelines….).
The roads in the cities and the road to Theth can be very narrow, and when paired with many drivers reluctance to be patient, give an inch of space or move, it can make for a stressful time. The key is to always keep an eye out for passing spots, keep calm and slow down. Be prepared to reverse to a spot which has more room to pass, as it’s very likely that oncoming cars won’t move a millimetre.
However, just remember that by and large it’s not like the Amalfi Coast where you can get into serious trouble. The majority of the time, it just makes your journey slower.
The locals ignore the laws, but you shouldn’t
You’ll notice a big difference in how the drivers act when the police are around. Suddenly the speed limits are adhered to, the wild overtakes stop and calm descends on the roads. But when the police aren’t around, the free for all resumes.
Don’t be fooled into thinking there are no rules though. We saw people ignoring speed limits and no parking signs, only to find themselves being pulled over and getting a hefty fine. While you will be fearful of creating a major tailback, we recommend keeping to the speed limit and not joining everyone else who has parked in a no parking area however tempting it may be!
Park in the private car parks
Street parking throughout Albania can be a confusing affair. You’ll see locals ignore the no parking signs (the blue circles with red lines), the painted curbs that designate no parking, and in many places you’ll scratch your head trying to decipher the rules as to whether you can park on the street or not.
The best thing to do is to search out one of the many private car parks in the cities. They tend to patches of gravel that are manned by a gent smoking a cigarette, but most of the time they are pretty cheap and much less hassle than chancing the street. Outside of Tirana which was generally double, the going rate tended to be 100 Lek (1 Euro) for an hour and about 500 Lek (5 Euros) for the entire day. In places such as the underground car parks in Berat and Gjirokaster, it was 200 Lek for up to 3 hours.
We’d also recommend double checking if your accommodation has parking as not all hotels and guesthouses do. Some will say “parking on site”, only for you to find it is on the street outside which never has a space available!
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