Getting to Albania is simpler than the internet makes it look, and the internet has one specific problem: it keeps telling you to fly into an airport that is not open.
Strip that out and the picture is clean. One international airport, three year round ferry routes from Italy, a short hop from Corfu that thins out sharply outside summer, and four land borders. Here is what each of those actually gives you, and which one suits the trip you are planning.
There is one international airport, and it is Tirana
Tirana International Airport, which you will also see written as Rinas or Nene Tereza, handles effectively all of Albania’s scheduled passenger traffic. It is the only functioning international airport in the country.
It has grown fast. Wizz Air has run as many as fifteen based aircraft here at peak, and Ryanair based a fourth aircraft at Tirana in April 2026, taking its summer network to somewhere around forty three routes. That expansion is why fares from much of Europe are now genuinely cheap, and it is also why the route map changes every season. Airlines add and drop Tirana routes constantly, so check the airline’s own booking engine rather than a route list in an article.
The airport sits close to the capital, so the arrival is easy. There is no train from the airport, whatever you may have read: the choices are the airport bus, a taxi from the official rank, or a pre booked transfer. Our guide to Tirana airport transfers covers what each costs and where the rank actually is.
Vlora airport is not open, whatever the guides say
This needs saying plainly, because a remarkable number of sites publish “Vlora Airport 2026” guides as though it were a live option.
Vlora International Airport is not operating. It did not clear certification, the announced Chair Airlines service from Zurich was cancelled, Nordic charter contracts were cancelled, and the government issued penalty invoices over the delays. There is no scheduled service to plan around and no seasonal summer programme quietly running in the background.
If your plan was to fly straight into the south and skip the drive, that plan does not exist yet. Vlore the town is very much worth going to, and our guide to Vlore covers it, but you get there by road, by the Brindisi ferry or by looping down the coast.
What the flight map actually looks like
Low cost carriers dominate, and the strongest connections are from Italy, the UK and Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria, the Benelux countries and Switzerland, with a heavy seasonal skew towards summer. Several routes exist only between roughly May and October, which is the single most common reason a flight somebody found in January has vanished by the time they book.
Albania is not a long haul destination in scheduling terms. Travellers from North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Asia should expect to connect through a European or Turkish hub rather than looking for a direct service. That connection is usually the most expensive part of the trip and the part worth booking earliest.
Tirana fares move fast in summerCompare carriers before the July and August peak, when the cheap seats go firstFerries from Italy: three routes that run year round
The Adriatic crossings are the quiet alternative, and the obvious answer if you want your own car in Albania without paying cross-border fees on a hire.
| Route | Crossing | Frequency | Fares from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bari to Durres | From about 7.5 hours | Around 3 to 6 daily in high season | Mid 30s EUR |
| Brindisi to Vlore | About 4.5 to 7 hours | Up to about 7 a week | Around 45 EUR |
| Ancona to Durres | About 16 to 19 hours | Up to about 7 a week in summer | Around 78 EUR |
Operators on these routes include Adria Ferries, Grandi Navi Veloci and Ventouris. All three routes carry vehicles, and all three run through the winter at reduced frequency.
A few things the fare tables do not tell you. Many Bari sailings are overnight, which is either a free night of accommodation or a bad night’s sleep depending on whether you book a cabin. Vehicles, cabins and reclining seats are all charged on top of the passenger fare. And August books out, both for cabins and for vehicle space, so this is not a route to leave until the week before.
Frequencies and fares here move with the season and the operator, so confirm on the operator’s own site before you plan around a sailing.
Leaving Italy or Greece is a Schengen exit
The ferries are not domestic transport, and neither is the Corfu hop. Both cross out of the Schengen area, and what that means depends on your passport.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens have free movement rights. None of the below applies.
Everyone else, including British, American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and South African passport holders, is crossing a Schengen external border. The EU Entry/Exit System has been fully operational since April 2026, after a phased rollout that began in October 2025, at Italian and Greek border points, which means biometric registration on the way out and again on the way back. There is nothing to apply for, and ETIAS is not live, so no authorisation needs buying. Days spent in Albania do not count against a Schengen 90 in 180 allowance, because Albania is outside both the EU and Schengen.
Albanian entry rules run separately and also vary by passport, from a full year for US citizens down to an e-visa requirement for a handful of nationalities. Our guide to Albanian entry rules sets out which group you fall into.
Which arrival suits which trip
Fly to Tirana if you want the widest choice, the cheapest fares and a car waiting at the terminal. This is the right answer for most first trips.
Take the ferry from Italy if you are bringing your own vehicle, already touring Italy, or actively want the slow arrival. Durres and Vlore both put you closer to the coast than the capital does.
Take the Corfu boat to Saranda if the trip is a southern beach one. It is short, it drops you in the middle of a working town rather than three hours from one, and while sailings are frequent in summer, winter service is reported at around one return crossing a day and is more exposed to weather cancellations, so confirm the current timetable with the operator.
Cross by land from Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia or Greece if Albania is one leg of a Balkans route. It is straightforward, and the one thing to sort in advance is written permission if the car is a hire.
