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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.
Car rental reviews in Tirana
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 5 in Albania
The rent did perfectly.
Mercedes-Benz E220 in Albania
Everything was fine.
Mercedes-Benz B-Class in Albania
I rented it, but got different car because the owner said the Mercedes clutch broken down. Everything was good, only the check out was difficult because of language
Mercedes-Benz E220 in Albania
It was Good, car was old but in general it was ok
Ford Fiesta in Albania
everything was very good, the car worked very well, service nice too. I recommend it. Thanks
Audi Q7 in Albania
Everything went very well. Pickup and delivery was seamless. The price was fair. Quality of the car was ok it was a bit worn out and the brakes were not good.
Volkswagen Touran in Albania
it was ok
Volkswagen Golf 7 in Albania
Thanks, everything was great, the car is super!
Volkswagen Golf 5 in Albania
We enjoyed it, is was smooth and we had a good time in Albania
Ford Fiesta in Albania
Everything was great, we got the car quickly, the car was clean with a full tank. At the end of the rental we picked it up where it was convenient for us, exactly at the agreed time. So thank you for the good service 👍🏻
Volkswagen Golf 6 in Albania
im Albania we needed to change the car because It doesn't work well We contacted with Aldi and in the same day they changed us the car for another one. We made a agreement with the fuel and the second one worked ok. So at first we had a bad opinion because they gave us a bad car, but then a well opinion because they changed It fast.
Volkswagen Golf 5 in Albania
Everything went well, thank you
Volkswagen Golf 5 in Albania
Everything was fine.
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.
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How expensive is renting a car in Tirana: average daily rates for a one-week car rental, across all car classes.
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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.