Car Rental in Durres
Durres occupies an unusual position in the Albanian rental landscape. It is the country’s second-largest city and its main port — ferries run to Bari and Ancona in Italy — but it is so close to Tirana (35 km, connected by Albania’s best motorway) that it barely registers as a separate rental market. The honest advice: unless you are stepping off an overnight ferry from Italy and need a car immediately, pick up at Tirana Airport. The selection is five times larger, the prices are the same or lower, and the drive to Durres takes 30 minutes on the A1 motorway.
That said, Durres has its uses. For travelers arriving by ferry from Italy, a local pickup saves the trip to Tirana and gets you on the road immediately. A few agencies near the port cater specifically to ferry arrivals, though “agency” is a generous term — these are typically small operations with limited fleets. Advance booking is essential. Prices start around 12 EUR per day for economy cars, roughly matching Tirana rates, though the choice of vehicles is more constrained.
Durres itself is a beach city with a long, sandy waterfront, a surprisingly impressive Roman amphitheater, and not much else to hold a car-driving tourist. Its value is as a base — cheaper and quieter than Tirana for hotel stays, with easy motorway access to everywhere. The A1 runs to Tirana in 30 minutes. The A2 connects to Fier and eventually Vlora (2.5 hours). The SH3 heads east to Elbasan and then to Lake Ohrid and the Macedonian border (3 hours). Everything fans out from this flat, port-side starting point.
Driving tips
The A1 motorway between Durres and Tirana is the best road in Albania. It is modern, divided, well-lit, and tolled (though tolls are very low — under 1 EUR). This is where Albanian motorway driving is at its most European. Enjoy it while it lasts, because the road quality drops once you leave the A1/A2 corridor.
Durres city driving is straightforward. The city is built on a grid, the streets are wide by Albanian standards, and traffic is light compared to Tirana. The one-way system in the old town area near the amphitheater catches some drivers off guard, but the area is small and easily navigated once you orient to the waterfront.
The road south from Durres toward Kavaja and Fier is a two-lane highway through flat agricultural land. It is unremarkable but functional. The first section parallels the beach zone south of the city — Golem Beach, Qerret Beach — where summer traffic creates bottlenecks on weekends. Outside of those seasonal pinch points, the route flows easily.
Speed cameras are present on the A1 motorway and on the approach roads to Durres. Police checkpoints are common on the highway between Durres and Tirana, particularly on Friday evenings and Sunday evenings when weekend traffic peaks. Keep your documents accessible — they check rental papers, not just your license.
Fuel stations along the A1 and in Durres are plentiful. Kastrati and EuroMax are the reliable brands. Fuel costs 1.45-1.55 EUR per liter. The full-to-full policy is standard at most agencies, though some smaller operators use a full-to-empty model — check at pickup.
Parking
Durres is one of the easiest cities to park in across our entire coverage area. The waterfront promenade has ample street parking that is free or nominally metered. The old town area near the amphitheater has small lots that rarely fill, even in summer. The only crunch point is the ferry terminal on departure days, where the paid lot (2-3 EUR flat rate) fills with vehicles waiting to board.
The beach strip south of the city — Golem, Qerret, Mali i Robit — has informal parking along the beach road. In summer, attendants appear and charge 0.50-1 EUR. Off-season, everything is free and empty. For the beach hotels along this strip, most have their own parking.
Border crossing
Durres works as a starting point for cross-border trips, though it sits about an hour further from most border crossings than Tirana. Montenegro via Shkodra is about 3 hours (drive the A1 to Tirana, then north to Shkodra and the Hani i Hotit crossing). North Macedonia via Elbasan is about 3 hours (SH3 east to Elbasan, then continue to the Tushemisht crossing at Lake Ohrid). Greece is the longest — about 5 hours south through Fier and Gjirokastra to the Kakavija crossing.
For ferry-arriving travelers who plan to explore Albania and then cross into a neighboring country, the Durres-to-Ohrid-to-Skopje route is a classic. The drive from Durres to Ohrid takes about 3 hours through increasingly scenic terrain — flat coastal plain to Elbasan, then mountain passes and lakeside roads to the Macedonian border. It is one of the best transitional drives in the western Balkans.
Most agencies allow cross-border travel from Durres with the same terms as Tirana — advance notice plus a fee of 20-50 EUR depending on the destination. Confirm at booking. The ferry terminal agencies may have more restrictive terms, so clarify before you commit.
