Pickup
Return
🎁 Use code WELCOME3 during checkout to get discount on your first booking with us. Enjoy! ☀️
Car rental in Tirana is where most journeys through Albania begin. TIA remains the country’s only international airport, so even travellers heading for the Albanian Riviera or the mountains around Theth usually collect their car here first. The airport is around 17 km from the city centre, with the drive taking roughly 20–30 minutes via the SH60 outside rush hour.
Tirana also tends to offer the lowest rental prices in Albania. In low season, economy cars can start from as little as €5–10 per day, while July and August usually sit closer to €15–30. The capital also has the country’s widest choice of automatic cars, as both international chains and larger local suppliers are concentrated around TIA.
Tirana is cheaper and offers far more choice than anywhere else in Albania. The smartest approach is often to collect the car on the day you leave the capital, rather than immediately after landing.
If your flight is delayed, just send the flight number on WhatsApp. We track arrivals and wait at no extra cost when we’ve been informed in advance.
Tirana is the one place in Albania where you genuinely may not need a car
Local guides say this all the time — and they are largely right. Skanderbeg Square has been pedestrian-only since 2017, Blloku is packed with cafés and bars but notorious for impossible parking, and places like Bunk’Art, the Et’hem Bey Mosque and the Pyramid are either walkable or a short taxi ride away. If you’re spending only one or two days in the capital, having a car often creates more hassle than convenience.
The usual approach is simple: land at TIA, take a €20–25 taxi into town, spend a day or two exploring Tirana, then collect the car when it’s time to head towards Berat, Krujë or the coast. Most TakeCars partners support exactly this setup, with collection available both at the airport and from city offices near Kavaja Street.
Only paying for a car when you truly need it is unusual advice in the rental world, but in Tirana it can easily save travellers €100–150 over a short stay.
If you’d rather avoid taxis, the LUNA Express bus runs between TIA and Skanderbeg Square 24/7. Tickets cost 400 lek and the journey takes around 30 minutes.
Volkswagen Golf 8 in Albania
it was actually really perfect. 💯 Amarildo was a top guy. The car was lovely and clean and exactly as described. He was really professional, helpful and kind hearted. Can’t recommend him enough if I’m honest. It was a very seamless transaction, the website was very easy and convenient to use. Especially being able to contact the rental agency immediately. I was originally a little nervous of renting as it was my first time in Albania, but it was an amazing experience and it couldn’t have gone any better and stress free for me. Really appreciate it. 😊
Volkswagen Touran in Albania
The car rental went very well.
Ford C-Max in Albania
Everyrhing gas fantastic, the car got us wherever we needed to get
Volkswagen Touran in Albania
it was fine, thanks
Hyundai Santa Fe in Albania
Everything went off without a hitch
Kia Rio in Albania
We got other car, not the one we have booked, much bigger. Maybe it wouldn't be such a problem except we drove on the south, where roads are narrow and mountainous A guy who brought us a car was nice, friendly and gave a discount, nevertheless it wasn't a pleasant experience
SEAT Ibiza Tsi in Albania
Everything was fine in terms of registration and the rental process. A little inconvenience with the return arose with the office itself. We asked to postpone the time of car delivery a bit, but the office refused.
Volkswagen Golf 7 in Albania
Thanks, everything was great, the car is super!
Suzuki Swift in Albania
everything was great. Appreciation. Very attentive and caring host
Volkswagen Golf 5 in Albania
Everything was very good .
Ford Focus in Albania
to be precise, it wasn’t ford, however the car rental went very smoothly. So I’m satisfied and I will be happy to recommend your company
Ford Fiesta in Albania
All was good
Baic Senova D50 in Albania
everything went great
Where to drive from Tirana: routes and day trips
Tirana sits almost perfectly in the middle of Albania, which makes it an ideal base for road trips. Most of the country’s major sights are within 60–90 minutes of the capital. Berat — the UNESCO-listed city of a thousand windows — is around 1 hour 30 minutes via SH4. Krujë and its famous Skanderbeg fortress are roughly an hour away along SH27. The beaches of Durrës can be reached in about 40 minutes using the toll-free AK1 motorway.
For shorter escapes, Mount Dajti is right on the edge of the city. The Dajti Express cable car is only 15 minutes away, with hiking trails, panoramic views and terrace cafés waiting at the top. Lake Bovilla and Theth in the Albanian Alps are better suited to overnight trips, with winding mountain roads stretching the drive to around 2.5–3 hours.
One of the most popular Albania road trips is Tirana → Berat → Sarandë → Gjirokastër. Five to seven days is a comfortable pace. Most travellers collect the car at TIA and either return it in Sarandë or loop back to Tirana.
The new Llogara tunnel, opened between 2024 and 2025, has shortened the drive to the Albanian Riviera by roughly an hour compared with the old mountain pass.
Picking up the car at TIA airport and in the city
TIA operates around the clock and sits roughly 17 km north-west of central Tirana. After exiting arrivals, the rental desks are on the right-hand side of the terminal. Some partners also meet travellers directly outside the terminal or at the nearby car park with a sign. The paperwork and vehicle inspection usually take around 10–15 minutes.
Traffic changes everything during rush hour. Between 7:00–9:30 and 16:00–18:30, the journey into the centre can stretch beyond 40 minutes instead of the usual 25. If you’re heading straight to a hotel, taking the LUNA Express bus into the city and collecting the car the following day is often the easier option. Some partners offer free hotel delivery within Tirana, while others charge around €10–20.
If your flight is delayed, send your flight number on WhatsApp before departure. We monitor arrivals and wait free of charge when informed ahead of time.
Always inspect the car carefully at pickup. Take timestamped photos of every panel, wheel and window — it avoids most disputes when returning the vehicle later.
Rates in Tirana vary throughout the year depending on the season and the rental length.
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
How expensive is renting a car in Tirana: average daily rates for a one-week car rental, across all car classes.
-
1. Compare cars in Tirana
We make it easy to compare prices and rental terms in Tirana so you can rent a car more easily
-
2. Secure your online booking
Reserve your vehicle with a small deposit, and we guarantee it will be waiting for you upon arrival in Tirana.
-
3. Share your rental experience
Help others make the right choice when renting cars on TakeCars Tirana.
Parking and traffic in Tirana
Central Tirana is divided into three paid parking zones managed by Tirana Parking. Zone A in the centre costs roughly 100 lek per hour, Zone B around 40 lek, and Zone C approximately 20 lek. Charges apply on weekdays between 7:30 and 20:00, plus Saturday mornings. Parking is free overnight, on Sundays and during public holidays. Payments can be made through the Tirana Parking or ParkAlbania apps, while SMS payment only works with Albanian SIM cards.
Where to park in the centre
The safest and most practical option is the underground car park beneath Skanderbeg Square. It costs around 500 lek per 24 hours, is monitored 24/7 and can be accessed via Kavaja Street. Another reliable alternative is the Toptani shopping centre garage.
If you’re planning dinner or drinks in Blloku, taking a taxi is usually far easier than driving — parking spaces disappear quickly, especially in summer evenings.
Skanderbeg Square has been fully pedestrianised since 2017. Some GPS apps still try to route cars across it, so ignore the instruction and circle round via Kavaja Street instead.
Rush hour in Tirana usually runs from 7:30–9:30 and 16:00–18:00. The worst bottlenecks are the Outer Ring (Unaza) and Durrës Street, so adding an extra 20 minutes to journeys is sensible.