Tirana and Albania: getting there, bunkers, cable car and day trips to Krujë, Durrës, Berat and Gjirokastër

Tirana suits you if you are interested in contemporary history, castles and Ottoman-era old towns. Two bunkers from the communist dictatorship are now museums, and buses run to Krujë, Durrës, Berat and Gjirokastër. The old towns of the last two are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In 2026 the airport keeps growing: from January to July it counted 19% more passengers than a year earlier. The number of passengers from Germany to Tirana, by contrast, stayed almost the same, up 0.5% (provisional figures, own analysis of Destatis data). The National Historical Museum on Skanderbeg Square has been closed for restoration since March 2024, and according to the Ministry of Culture its exhibits have been moved out.

Tirana suits you less in high summer and in late autumn. In July and August the mean daily maximum is 30.7 °C, and in November and December an average of 172 and 148 mm of rain falls (temperature 1961–1990, precipitation 1951–1980).

Getting there and from the airport into the city

In 2025 Tirana ranked 31st among the most-flown foreign destinations from the main German airports, with airports of the same city or island counted as one destination. In total, 796,570 passengers boarded there with Tirana as their destination (Federal Statistical Office). Most departed from Dortmund (129,722), Frankfurt (115,725) and Memmingen (94,144). The strongest month was July, the weakest February (breakdown by airport and month: own analysis).

Nënë Tereza Airport (TIA)

It is 17 km from the centre to the airport, which lies in the north-west near the village of Rinas and, according to the city, is also called Rinas Airport. In 2025 it counted around 11.6 million passengers. Because of the rush, it recommends allowing at least 3 hours before the return flight (notice of 4 December 2024, still online in September 2026). According to the airport's partner list, cash machines are in the check-in area and the arrivals area, while currency exchange offices are only in the check-in area.

Rinas Express: 400 lek, around the clock

The Rinas Express bus to the centre is operated solely by the company LU-NA. It runs day and night, in both directions every hour on the hour, and costs 400 lek or €4 (as of September 2026). In Tirana it stops behind the opera and ballet building on Skanderbeg Square. According to the airport, the journey takes 30 to 40 minutes.

Taxi: only yellow cars with the AHA logo

The official taxi service at the airport is provided by the company Auto Holiday Albania (AHA), around the clock. For the ride to the centre, the airport allows 20 to 25 minutes (as of September 2026). The airport advises getting only into licensed cars: painted yellow, each with the logo of AHA and that of the airport on the left and right. You can book the ride in advance via tiataxi.al.

Other buses from the airport

A second line runs daily from 7:00 to 18:00 every hour on the hour to the Nord–Süd (Veri-Jug) long-distance bus terminal, in 20 to 30 minutes and for 300 lek or €3. The company Adis runs direct to Durrës several times a day for 600 lek (as of September 2026).

Getting around: city bus, taxi, long-distance bus and car hire

City bus: 40 lek according to the city and the cable car operator

An official city bus fare is missing from the sources reviewed; the city's visitor website and the cable car operator give 40 lek per journey (as of September 2026). To Bunk’Art 1 and the cable car, the blue line Qendër–Porcelan (no. 11) runs from the Clock Tower in the centre. According to the cable car operator, it runs all year from 5:30 to 24:00 every 5 to 20 minutes and takes 20 to 30 minutes.

Taxi in the city

In the city centre you can hail taxis with a meter; an official tariff regulation is missing from the sources reviewed. The cable car operator advises insisting on the meter or agreeing a fixed price before getting in. With Merr Taxi it has agreed fixed prices to the valley station, each one way: 750 lek from the centre (1 km around Skanderbeg Square), 2,000 lek from the airport (as of September 2026).

Long-distance buses from the Veri-Jug terminal

Buses to the north and south of the country start from the Tiranë Veri-Jug terminal on Rruga Kastriotët (Kthesa e Kamzës), on the north-western edge of the city. The road transport authority publishes the timetables on its eTransport platform, but gives no fares there. For the four excursion destinations the following applies (as of 26 September 2026):

Car hire: the rules according to the ADAC

The airport's partner list includes 18 car hire companies (as of September 2026). The ADAC states that the German driving licence is required and also recommends the international one. The permitted speeds are 40 km/h in built-up areas, 80 outside them, 90 on expressways and 110 km/h on motorways. A limit of 0.1 per mille applies, the lights stay on during the day too, and from 1 November to 30 April snow chains must be in the car. You report every accident to the police, even if the damage is minor (as of September 2026).

Where to stay: the neighbourhoods compared

According to the tourism agency, Tirana is 30 km from the Adriatic. If you would rather sleep by the sea, you will find Durrës in the last row.

Where “—” appears, the sources reviewed give no drawback (all details as of September 2026).

Sights: times, prices and rules in 2026

The sources reviewed give current admission prices only for the castle of Gjirokastër, not for Bunk’Art, the Dajti cable car, Berat with the Onufri museum, Durrës and Krujë.

Skanderbeg Square, Et’hem Bey Mosque and Clock Tower

Skanderbeg Square received its present form in 2017, and a year later the redesign won the European Prize for Urban Public Space. Natural stone from all parts of Albania was brought together for the paving. The Et’hem Bey Mosque on the square was built between the late 18th and the early 19th century and is known for rare frescoes with landscapes and flowers. Visitors may go inside (as of September 2026).

According to the city, the same patron, Haxhi Et’hem Bey, had the Clock Tower next to it built in 1822. After a restoration it was opened to visitors, according to an undated article by the city; a spiral staircase with 90 steps leads up to a height of 35 m. Whether you can climb it in 2026, and at what times, the sources reviewed do not say.

The National Historical Museum on the square (opened in 1981, around 6,200 objects) has been closed since March 2024 and is being thoroughly restored. According to the Ministry of Culture, the first construction phase included packing the exhibits and moving them out (announcement of 4 August 2025). In April 2026 the culture minister reported the façade as finished; next come the strengthening of the building and a redesigned exhibition. At the time of the closure, a construction period of four years was mentioned; the sources reviewed give no new date (as of September 2026).

Bunk’Art 2: the Ministry of the Interior bunker

Bunk’Art 2 is on Rruga Abdi Toptani, according to the city a one-minute walk from Skanderbeg Square. According to the tourism agency, the nuclear-proof bunker of the Ministry of the Interior was built in the late 1980s and has been a museum since 2016. Its 24 rooms cover the gendarmerie, the police and the secret police Sigurimi from 1912 to 1991; the operator allows an hour.

Since 26 October 2025 it has, according to the operator, been open daily from 9:30 to 18:30 (as of September 2026). In both bunkers all texts are in Albanian and English, and tours and audio guides are available in English or Italian.

Bunk’Art 1 and the Dajti cable car

Bunk’Art 1 is on the edge of the city on Rruga Fadil Deliu, next to the cable car's valley station. The museum in the nuclear bunker of the dictator Enver Hoxha goes five floors deep: 106 rooms on 3,000 m², reached through a long, dimly lit tunnel. The themes are the communist army and everyday life under the regime. Since 1 June 2026 it has been open daily from 9:30 to 17:30; in winter 2025/26 it closed at 16:30. It is cooler inside than outside, so bring a jacket and allow at least an hour.

The Dajti Ekspres cable car climbs 4.7 km up Mount Dajti in about 15 minutes; according to the operator, none in the Balkans is longer. It runs on Mondays and from Wednesdays to Fridays from 9:00 to 18:30, at weekends until 19:00; it rests on Tuesdays, except on public holidays (as of September 2026).

Tickets are sold only at the valley station and are valid on the day of purchase; if you only want to return the next day, say so when you buy. Children up to 3 years old travel free. At peak times, such as on public holidays, there can be queues; the operator advises coming between 9:00 and 11:00. Parking at the valley station costs nothing (as of September 2026).

House of Leaves and Pyramid

The House of Leaves (Shtëpia me Gjethe) was home to the central eavesdropping post of the secret police Sigurimi; today a museum there shows original surveillance technology. The Pyramid of 1988 is, after its conversion, a centre for culture, technology and youth education.

Krujë: Skanderbeg Museum and Old Bazaar

Krujë is 20 km north of Tirana. In the 15th century Skanderbeg led the resistance against the Ottomans; Krujë is regarded as the city of this national hero. The Skanderbeg Museum and the Ethnographic Museum are housed in the castle, the latter in a house of the Toptani family from 1764 with around 1,000 objects. Craftspeople sell filigree work, copper and wooden goods, carpets and traditional costumes in the Old Bazaar, a cobbled lane from the 17th century.

Durrës: amphitheatre and beach

Durrës was founded in 627 BC and has been continuously inhabited ever since. The amphitheatre was built in the early 2nd century AD under Emperor Trajan and held about 15,000 to 20,000 spectators. According to the tourism agency, it is regarded as the largest of the Roman amphitheatres on the Balkan peninsula. It was only discovered in 1966, by chance, and today it is on Albania's tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage.

After damage from the 2019 earthquake, the Archaeological Museum was closed from 2022. It has been open again since 28 April 2026, with more than 3,200 finds according to the Ministry of Culture. In July 2026, according to the investigative portal Reporter.al, it was open only until 15:00 and not at all at the weekend. For swimming, beaches stretch along a long section of coast, and there is also the modernised waterfront promenade.

Berat: castle quarter and the Onufri icon museum

Berat was added in 2008 as an extension to the Gjirokastër World Heritage Site; together they cover 58.9 hectares. UNESCO sees in them rare examples of Ottoman-influenced architecture. The old town consists of Mangalem, Gorica and the castle quarter, and Berat itself bears the nickname “city of a thousand windows”.

The castle, still inhabited today, stands on a rocky hill above the river Osum. About 1.4 km of wall with 24 towers enclose around 9.6 hectares; of the roughly 42 churches there once were, about eight are preserved. In the castle, the “Onufri” icon museum in the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary from 1797 displays icons and church objects, around 200 pieces in all from the 14th to the 20th century.

Gjirokastër: the stone city and its castle

The tourism agency calls Gjirokastër “the stone city”. Typical are multi-storey stone houses reminiscent of towers, and roofs of stone slabs. The castle, at an altitude of 336 m, houses a weapons museum, a prison with inscriptions by prisoners and an aircraft that has stood there since 1969. In August 2026 the castle had 62,006 visitors.

Admission costs 400 lek, 200 lek for pensioners and people with disabilities, and 120 lek for pupils and students. Children up to 12 years are free (as of September 2026). The house of the writer Ismail Kadare was rebuilt after a fire in 1999 and has been open to visitors since January 2016. According to the timetable, the bus from Tirana takes 4 hours 31 minutes, so it is better to plan an overnight stay.

Best time to travel: climate in Tirana month by month

The monthly values come from the climate table of the German Weather Service for the Tirana station (WMO number 13615) at 90 m elevation. Temperatures and rain days are averages for the years 1961 to 1990, precipitation comes from the years 1951 to 1980, and the hours of sunshine from 1956 to 1970. The temperatures match the normal values that Albania has reported to the World Meteorological Organization. Only for November does the WMO file give 12.1 instead of 17.1 °C, which does not fit its own annual mean of 21.0 °C.

May, June and September bring highs of 23.8 to 27.7 °C with 5 to 9 rain days. In July and August the mean daily maximum is 30.7 °C, and the highest value in the measuring period 1956 to 1990 was 41.5 °C. November and December are the wettest months, with on average only 3.8 and 2.9 hours of sunshine a day. The castle of Gjirokastër already opens for shorter hours from 1 October.

Costs

The table gives prices from operators and authorities. Flight, hotel, car hire and long-distance bus prices are not listed here.

Tourist tax: 140 or 350 lek

The city of Tirana levies a tax on overnight stays in hotels, motels, pensions, guest houses and private accommodation. In the administrative units of Tirana, Kashar, Dajt and Farka, hotels with 4 or 5 stars incur 350 lek per night, otherwise 140 lek. In the rest of the municipality a uniform rate of 140 lek applies (as of September 2026).

Practical information

Money, time, electricity and emergency numbers

Payment is in lek (ALL), banknotes come in denominations from 200 to 10,000 lek, and some prices for travellers are also given in euros, for example for the airport bus. Albania has the same time as Germany, and daylight saving time also follows the EU rule. The sockets are types C and F, with 230 V and 50 Hz (as of September 2026).

You can reach the ambulance service around the clock on 127, the police on 129 and the fire brigade on 128 (as of September 2026). According to a 2020 announcement by the State Police, it also takes reports via 112.

Mobile phone and public holidays

The EU rule “Roam like at home” does not apply in Albania (as of September 2026), so check your tariff before the trip. The public holidays still to come in 2026 are 22, 28 and 29 November and 8 and 25 December. If the November holidays fall on a weekend, the day off is made up on the next working day. The Bank of Albania therefore also closes on 23 and 30 November and on 1 December (the bank's holiday calendar, as of 29 October 2025).

The current rules on entry, safety and health are given by the German Foreign Office.

Who this is not for

• If you handle heat badly and can only travel in July or August: The mean daily maximum is then 30.7 °C, and the highest value in the measuring period was 41.5 °C.
• If you want dry weather in late autumn: November and December bring on average 172 and 148 mm of rain on 12 days each.
• If you mainly want to see big museums: The National Historical Museum in Tirana has been closed for restoration since March 2024.
• If you want to know admission prices in advance: Bunk’Art and the Dajti cable car give no prices online, and cable car tickets are only available at the valley station.
• If you want to do Gjirokastër in one day: The journey there alone takes 4 hours 31 minutes according to the timetable, and the long-distance buses start on the edge of the city rather than in the centre.