My Albania route:
- Tirana
- Berat
- Gjirokaster
- Durres
The day before I left Gjirokaster, I walked into a shop that could have been an information center or someone’s house. There was a woman sitting so I asked her if there was a direct bus to Durres, she got up and looked at some papers adorning the walls that seemed to be timetables and then called someone. Again, not sure if I was intruding in someone’s house. She was lovely (very on brand for Albania) and informed me that there was no direct bus and that I’d have to go to Tirana.
In my head, this meant I would need to catch a bus going past Durres to Tirana and then backtrack on another bus to Durres. So I was pleasantly surprised when the bus stopped on the side of the highway near Durres and told me to get out, along with 2 locals.
There seems to be a theme here with the buses.
Since the other stragglers were Albanian, they walked with me to catch another local bus to the center of Durres. I think it was 0.70 euro cents.
eat.
I ate at Spaghetteria Luli, I knew I would be in Italy in less than 18 hours, but all the other food places weren’t rated very high or they weren’t open for lunch. So I got myself some Italian food in Albania.
You know when you’re thinking I just want something light, then you order the tagliatelle cream sauce with 16 cheeses, and 3 variations of bacon (spek, parma, fat). When it arrives there is extra parmesan on the table and so you springle a heavy handed helping to treat yoself. Afterwards, because you’re over 30, you think I hope this doesn’t reek havoc on my bowels.
I went to the Fresh Market (as seen on Google) and got 1kg of cherries. Now were having a party.
cheap.
One activity that I partook in was exchanging my Albanian LEK for euros.
THRILLING.
I should have found the place with the best exchange rate (I usually shop around), but I was in no mood. So I went into the second place I saw, which had a longer line up than the first one. I can not stress enough how out of character this was. Like Mother Teresa clubbing seals. It was way below my cheap standards of finding the best exchange rate. THAT’S how out of sorts I was about Durres.
travel.
Now, although Durres has a beach, I came here to catch the ferry so I wasn’t expecting WOW, but I was expecting more than what I got.
While at the restaurant, I started chatting with two Turkish guys and they asked me what there was in Durres and I said nothing. I walked past the dilapidated Durrës Amphitheatre and went out of my way to see the Venetian Tower of Durrës, both which were a let down. I know I sound pompous, but you walk 31 minutes to see the tower next to the highway and then you can judge.
The one good thing I heard about Durres was the Archeological Museaum (Muzeu Kombëtar Arkeologjik), so naturally it was closed the day I was there.
The fenced ferry in Durres
On offline maps it shows a massive fence around the ferry port in Durres. When I looked at directions it said I could enter near the end by the Venetian tower. 28 minute’s later I found out this isn’t true. There is a locked turnstile with car access only. Then the map told me I would have to go back all the way around.
I was not pleased.
I walked 40 minutes around this fucking fence with a 10kg backpack, nearly getting hit by transport trucks due to the lack of sidewalk-
– only for there to be a walkway over the highway to the terminal !!
You wouldn’t believe where this walkway access point was. Go on, guess.
THIS IS MENTAL. I can’t.
You have to go into this unmarked glass door entrance near the bus station (Stacioni i Trenit Durrës). I was more likely to find Narnia then this fucking entrance. There was a security guard inside like that makes it more legit.
Major. Eye. Roll. Of. Anger.
Pulling this stunt made me dislike Durres with a fiery passion.
booking a ferry from Albania (Durres) to Italy (Bari)
I booked the ferry online directly with Adria Ferries 4 days before departure. €45 for a private cabin with a shared toilet (in June, so it wasn’t high season yet). There were some good tips in this Wander-Lush blog.
departing by ferry in Durres
The check-in ticket desk opened 17:30-20:00 for the ferry from Durres to Bari with a departure time of 22:00. This is where you need to check in and get confirmation/ your actual ticket to board. If I remember correctly, The security line opened at 19:30 since there was an earlier ferry departing at 19:00.
For security, you line up to get your passport checked, then have to leave your bags against the wall and then stand back with the passengers while a DRUG SNIFFING DOG sniffs your bags.
10/10 experience.
Especially because the police officer caretaker of the doggie LET ME SNUGGLE/PET THE DOGGIE while I waited. Ah man, don’t let anyone ever tell you to not follow your dreams because I swear I’m living proof living proof dreams come true.
Normally, I get reactions like “the dog is working, don’t touch it”, “this is a seeing-eye dog, don’t distract it”, ” or “why are you touching my dog, get away from me”.
People can be so negative sometimes.
Once onboard, there are signs directing cabin passengers to pick up their keys downstairs. I gave my passport and got the key to my cabin. They told me we had to drop the keys off the next morning at 07:30.
My cabin had a bunk bed, mirror and a small sink with running water along with some electric sockets.
There were toilets with 3 stalls about 1 minute away from my cabin, but I never saw anyone use them but me.
After I got cozy and ready for bed at 21:20 I panicked thinking that another person would be bunking with me- jangling their key aggressively at the door while I was half asleep making me shit myself, so I went downstairs to confirm I wasn’t sharing my cabin. The guy said no with an implied you idiot look.
In my defense, the confirmation email was mostly in Italian with a bit of English saying:
INSIDE CABIN BUNK BEDS 2 PAX BASIN – without facilities
Usually you have to pay a single supplement or some bs so I just, you know what, I don’t need to justify myself.
The ferry was delayed (not because I was playing with the drug-sniffing dog), which they informed us of via the speakers, which you can mostly hear from inside a cabin with the door closed, but some of it was a bit scratchy and so I couldn’t always tell when they were speaking English. They kept updating us every 15 minutes until we departed so I didn’t fall asleep until after that nonsense was done.
It wasn’t the worst sleep of my life- I was scared at the start in case there was a titanic situation (too soon?). I was a few floors above the waterline, but I had an inside cabin so for a while there I was practicing how long I could hold my breath for. Then I realised that I was doomed so I may as well get some sleep before I die. I’m so glad I’m never dramatic.
Despite departing an hour late, we still needed to hand in our cabin key at 0730. They did announce through the speakers at 07:00 that they keys need to be returned, but definitely set an alarm.
arriving in Bari, Italy by ferry
You wait with everyone else (there is a sign) and they open the doors for foot passengers. I mad-dashed out for some reason, only to wait in a passport control line.
0/10 experience because there were no doggies on the Italian security side.
You can walk from the Bari ferry terminal to the center without having to go around some massive fucking fence so I was quite charmed by Bari already.
I started walking (don’t expect pedestrian paths) and an ozzie chick asked if she could follow me.
She told me that she slept on a chair near the restaurant while all the lights were on since she didn’t want to buy an expensive ticket for a cabin. She paid €38 for her standing room only ticket. I broke the news to her that I had a cabin to myself and only paid €45. She laughed because she was young and spritely and could sleep sitting on a hard chair and not get arthritis from it.
what I should (have done) in Albania
Everyone said I should make my way down to the nicest beaches with cheaper prices than Greece called Himare, but with the bus situation and lack of train situation, I decided not to.
Himare is the more quiet, local experience compared to Sarande, but I didn’t go to either so yah that’s that.
