Hiring A Car In Albania (And Why We’re So Glad We Did)
- Bec Luck-Baker
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
When we were planning this trip, we knew we wanted to spend our time in Albania moving from place to place. The whole point was to soak in the country’s diversity—from lakeside towns to beachy escapes to misty mountain villages—so staying in one spot just didn’t make sense. But that kind of trip meant we needed a solid plan for getting around.
After a lot of research (mostly my late-night rabbit holes on travel blogs), it became clear that public transport in Albania... well, it exists, but let’s just say it’s not the most efficient or reliable, especially when travelling as a family. Think old minibuses with no set timetable, lots of changes, and very little wiggle room for seven-year-old meltdowns. Not ideal.
So, we quickly realised that hiring a car in Albania was the way forward.
Originally, we’d only planned to rent a car for the Albania leg of our journey and then hop on a bus from Albania into Montenegro. But once we looked into it properly, that plan went straight into the bin. Why? Two big reasons:
The bus route from Albania to Montenegro was long. Like, “waste-a-whole-day-of-your-holiday” long.
The reviews were... mixed. Let’s just say it didn’t sound like the sort of journey you want to do with a child who's already powered through multiple hours of winding mountain roads and sightseeing.
So we pivoted again and decided to keep the hire car all the way through Albania and into Montenegro. The only snag? British Airways wouldn’t let us do that via their car hire portal using our Avios points—the dreaded “cross-border restriction” strikes again.
Enter: Green Motion.
After a bit of digging, we found Green Motion—a car rental company that allowed cross-border travel and came highly recommended by fellow travellers. Not only were they much more flexible than the bigger brands, they were also significantly cheaper and you could still collect Avios if you clicked through from the BA app. (A quick tip: you earn 7 Avios for every £1 spent when booking via the app link—even if you go direct to the provider's site after clicking through.)
We booked a small automatic car (a Hyundai Venue, which turned out to be brand spanking new) for 10 days with the Premium Plus insurance package, all for €660. For peace of mind, that price included full cover with zero excess, which we highly recommend—especially in Albania where the driving style is… let’s call it “assertive.”
What Kind of Car Should You Go For?
That really depends on your needs, but for us, a compact car did the job perfectly. Our Hyundai Venue was roomy enough for the three of us, had a decent-sized boot for our bags, and—crucially—came with Apple CarPlay. Total game changer. We used it for navigation, blasting our road trip playlists, and the occasional urgent request for Pink Pony Club remixes from the back seat. (Legend.)
Unless you're planning to go truly off-road, most main roads in Albania are fine for a regular car. Just brace yourself for the occasional pothole and sudden sheep crossing. We would suggest making sure the car is an automatic especially if you plan on driving the mountain roads as it makes it so much easier.
What About a Booster Seat?
You can rent a child booster seat from Green Motion—but just a heads up, it gets pricey fast. They charge per day, so if you’re hiring a car for over a week, that cost starts to stack up pretty quickly.
Instead, we brought our own: the BubbleBum Inflatable Booster Seat. We were actually gifted ours before the trip and honestly, it was brilliant. Jax loved it—he said it was super comfy—and we loved how easy it was to use. You just turn the valve, give it a quick puff of air, and it’s ready to go. It also packs down really small into a little travel bag, which made it perfect for flying with and chucking in our luggage. No bulky plastic seat to lug around, no stress. Highly recommend it for any family doing a fly-drive adventure.
What Insurance Cover Should You Choose?
No question: go for the highest level of insurance with zero excess. It gives you total peace of mind, and trust me—you’ll want it. The roads are... lively. Overtaking is a contact sport. Parking is creative. And while we didn’t have any issues ourselves, it was comforting to know we were fully covered if something did go wrong. We did have one little hiccup—somewhere between mountain switchbacks and random mega road works, we hit a rock in the road. A proper, sharp, wheel-destroying beast of a rock. It blew the tyre instantly and left a decent dent in the alloy too. Thankfully, there was a spare in the boot and after a quick roadside pit stop (cue Oli channelling his inner mechanic with Jax peering over his shoulder), we were back on the road in no time.
This is exactly why we went for the full insurance cover with zero excess. We've not heard a peep from Green Motion since, so fingers crossed it’s all sorted. When we dropped the car off in Montenegro, the guy barely even looked at the damage—he just nodded, smiled, and sent us on our way. Casual.
Collecting Your Car at Tirana Airport
One quick heads-up: Green Motion isn’t located inside the main terminal like some of the other car rental desks. It’s a five-minute walk from the arrivals area—across the car park and just over the road. They do send clear instructions, but it’s worth knowing in advance so you’re not wandering around with tired kids and suitcases wondering if it’s a scam (it’s not). Once we found it, the whole pickup process was smooth and efficient and we had the car and we drove away within 10 minutes of getting there. It is worth noting though that you should always film around the outside of the vehicle just in case and note the fuel level as our agreement was FULL to FULL but when we got ours it was empty.
Enjoyed this post? If you'd like to support our travels (and possibly fund Jax’s next double-scoop detour), you can Buy Us an Ice Cream. We appreciate it more than you know!
تعليقات