Albania has a reputation for terrible roads that is about fifteen years out of date and a reputation for alarming driving that is entirely current. The motorways are good, the main routes are mostly fine, and the coastal road over the Llogara pass is one of the best drives in Europe. What has not changed is the behaviour: overtaking into blind bends, lane markings treated as guidance, right of way as a negotiation, and a cow on the road at exactly the moment you are least expecting one.
What the roads are actually like
Motorways and main national routes: good and improving.
Secondary roads: variable, with surface quality changing abruptly.
The coastal Riviera road: spectacular, winding, slow and worth every minute.
Mountain roads to the north: from well engineered to gravel with no barrier.
Village approaches: frequently unpaved, which is a hire agreement problem.
Signage: adequate on main routes, sparse elsewhere.
The driving culture
Overtaking on bends and over solid lines, routinely.
Lane markings treated as advisory, particularly in towns.
Right of way established by confidence rather than rule.
Pedestrians and animals on rural roads without warning.
Furgons and taxis stopping anywhere, instantly, without indicating.
Horns used as communication rather than as complaint.
Practical notes
Documents in the car, because roadside checks are routine and normal.
Fuel is widely available on main routes and thins out in the mountains.
Parking is informal in most towns and paid in central Tirana.
Speed enforcement is real and conducted from the roadside.
A toll on at least one motorway section in the north.
Winter brings snow closures on the passes, including Llogara occasionally.
The drives worth taking
The Llogara pass, from Vlore to the Riviera, which is the best road in the country.
The Riviera coast road, south from the pass, slow and beautiful.
Saranda to Gjirokaster, inland over the hills with the Blue Eye on the way.
Shkoder to Theth, into the Alps, on a road that has been progressively surfaced.
The Vjosa valley, towards Permet, which almost nobody drives.
Not the Tirana ring road, at any hour, if you can avoid it.
Where this fits in an Albania trip
A week or ten days with a car is how most people see this country properly.
For the hire itself, the excess and the paperwork, our guide to renting a car in Albania covers the contract.
For doing it without a car, which is entirely possible, our guide to Albanian public transport covers the furgons.
And for a route that uses the good roads in the right order, our southern Albania itinerary covers the plan.
The short version
The roads are much better than the reputation and the driving is exactly as advertised, so drive defensively, expect to be overtaken on a bend, and assume right of way is negotiable. Add half again to every estimated journey time and be parked before dark, which is the one avoidable risk here. Get the unpaved road clause in writing if the mountains are in your plan. Keep your documents in the car for the routine checks. And take the Llogara pass in the morning.
Those drive times are exactly where most Albania plans come apart, because the distance on the map and the distance on the road are not the same number. How to plan an Albania itinerary that actually works turns that into a method, with realistic timings and a view on where to cut.
