Tirana car hire

With colourful streets, thriving café culture and daily neighbourhood markets, Tirana is a great place to kick off your Albanian adventure. But why stop there? Add a hire car to your Tirana package holiday to discover Albania’s natural wonders at your leisure, from pristine Albanian Riviera beaches to the majestic Accursed Mountains.

There’s a large number of local and international car hire providers in Tirana city centre.

Europcar (+35 545 800 600) on Rruga 29 Nentori and EagleRent (+35 569 916 3388) on Ibrahim Rugova are both central, while Avis (+35 567 603 8900), at the National TV Headquarters, is close to the SH3 expressway.

Other Tirana city centre car rental options include:

• Hertz: +35 567 408 8800
• Enterprise: +35 567 600 0900
• Albarent: +35 542 267 660

Driving in Tirana and Albania can be unpredictable. Traffic is often busy with reports of erratic driving, such as sudden lane changes and infrequent use of indicators.

There are some car parks in Tirana, with pay-and-display street parking usually identifiable by blue markings. Some city centre hotels have their own private car parks too.

Outside Tirana, the roads are more relaxed, but it’s still worth planning your route. Albania’s expressways, like the SH2 to Durres or the SH4 towards Vlora, are good for long journeys and there are no toll roads either.

Rural roads, on the other hand, are often uneven, unpaved and unlit at night. Hiring a 4x4 car in Tirana is a good idea if you’re heading somewhere remote or mountainous.

Speed limits are usually 40km/h (25 mph) in urban areas, up to 90km/h (56 mph) on open roads and 110km/h (68 mph) on expressways.

• Min. age required to hire a car: 18–21
• Which side of the road: Right
• Credit card requirements: Most companies require a credit card for a deposit
• Any additional requirements: An International Driving Permit (IDP), while not essential, might be worth having