Albania by Car: Why Renting at Tirana Airport Is the Smartest First Move You'll Make

Albania has been on the list for a while now. The problem is that most people who finally go underestimate it on arrival and overestimate how well they'll get around without their own transport. The two mistakes are connected.

The country's best parts — the Albanian Riviera, the Ottoman hilltowns, the mountain valleys in the north — are spread across a compact but varied landscape. They're not well-served by public transport and they're actively better than photos suggest once you're actually there. The travelers who see the most of Albania are almost always the ones who rented a car at the airport and started driving the moment they landed.

The Airport Is the Right Place to Start

Tirana's Nënë Tereza International Airport (TIA), located at Rinas about 17 kilometers from the city, is small by European standards but efficient. The arrivals hall empties quickly, and the row of car rental desks on the pavement outside is impossible to miss.

The team at Rent Point Albania runs their airport desk around the clock — 24 hours, 7 days a week — which matters for anyone arriving on late-night budget flights. Rather than sorting a taxi to the city, sleeping off the journey, and then organizing transport the next morning, you can be behind the wheel in under 20 minutes and heading wherever you want.

Pick-up is also available at Tirana city center and at the Port of Durrës, making it a practical option for travelers arriving by ferry from Bari, Ancona, or Brindisi.

No Credit Card. Unlimited Kilometers. Transparent Pricing.

Two things stand out immediately. First, no credit card is required — a frustration that catches plenty of travelers off guard with other companies. If you're on a debit card, a Revolut, or paying in cash, the process works exactly the same.

Second, every vehicle comes with unlimited kilometers and VAT already included in the price. The number you see when you search is the number you pay. For a country as drive-able as Albania — where it's entirely realistic to cover 500 kilometers in a few days of exploring — this matters more than it might initially sound.

Prices start at around €23 per day for small automatics and scale up through compact SUVs (€27–36/day), 7-seat SUVs (from €77/day), and 9-passenger vans (from €98/day). The fleet is modern and regularly maintained.

What to Drive, and Where

For Tirana and the coast: any compact works fine. The main road south through the Riviera — from Vlorë to Saranda — is well-paved and one of the most rewarding coastal drives in the Balkans, with pull-off points above beaches at Dhermi and Himara that you'd never find on a bus.

For the mountains: the north changes things. The Valbonë Valley and the road to Theth — two of Albania's most spectacular landscapes — involve sections that are unpaved, steep, and narrow. A higher-clearance SUV isn't optional here; it's the difference between completing the drive and turning back.

For groups: the Ford Transit and Hyundai Starex vans make sense for families or travelers who'd otherwise be splitting across two cars. Priced per vehicle, not per person, they tend to work out significantly cheaper than multiple smaller rentals.

The Drives Worth Planning Around

The Riviera Loop — Start in Vlorë, take the mountain road over Llogaraja Pass, and wind down to the coast. Spend a night in Himara or Dhermi. Continue south to Saranda and Ksamil. Return inland through Gjirokastra and Berat. This is Albania at its most rewarding, and it's essentially impossible to do well by public transport.

The Northern Route — Shkodra to Valbonë via the Komani Ferry is one of the genuinely great journeys in the Balkans. The ferry runs through a flooded gorge of almost absurd beauty. The road in and out of the mountains on either side requires the right vehicle.

The UNESCO Towns — Berat and Gjirokastra are both day-trip distance from Tirana but are better experienced overnight. Being able to drive between them on a quiet back road, rather than reverse-engineering bus schedules, is the kind of freedom that makes a short trip feel long in the best sense.

A Note on Driving in Albania

The country has improved its road infrastructure significantly over the past decade, and main routes are in good shape. Mountain roads narrow considerably in rural areas and require patience more than skill. Fuel stations are less frequent outside cities, so fill up when you can. Driving norms are assertive but not chaotic — it feels more Mediterranean than alarming.

Albania is a country that punishes passivity. The travelers who wait to figure things out on arrival tend to see a fraction of what's actually there. The ones who land, walk out of the terminal, and pick up their keys with Rent Point Albania at Tirana Airport tend to leave wondering why they didn't come sooner.

The car rental is where that trip begins.