Getting around
You've landed at Rinas, the bags are on the trolley and the family is already calling. Here's how to get where you're going, using only what the airport and the operators publish themselves. Prices and times checked Oct 2026.
Updated 2026-10-21
The airport line is run only by Luna (LU-NA shpk). It leaves every full hour, day and night, in both directions. In town it stops behind the Palace of Opera and Ballet, next to Skanderbeg Square. The airport says the ride takes 30–40 minutes.
Price: the airport lists 400 lek (€4.50) one way, and Luna's own site lists €4. You can buy the ticket online or on the bus, cash or card, in lek or euro. No booking is needed. Big suitcases are fine on day buses. For a night bus, Luna asks you to check with them first about luggage.
The airport's official taxis are run by Auto Holiday Albania (AHA), branded TIA Taxi. They're yellow, with the AHA and airport logos on both sides, and they wait in front of the terminal. The airport says the ride to the centre takes 20–25 minutes and costs about 2,200 lek one way. TIA Taxi's own site lists Tirana from €25 at a fixed price, and you can book there in advance.
You can pay in cash (lek or euro), by card or by bank transfer, per TIA Taxi.
Hermes Airport runs a shuttle between the airport and Shkodër for 1,000 lek one way. Per the airport's timetable, it leaves the airport at 11:15, 12:45, 17:30 and 20:10, and leaves Shkodër for the airport at 07:30, 11:00, 14:00 and 16:00.
By official taxi, TIA Taxi lists Shkodër from €75.
Staying in Tirana first? Buses from Tirana's South-North Terminal to Shkodër include Elalba's, and Gjirafa Travel lists 23 a day from 07:00 to 17:00 for €5, but only as a timetable: it doesn't sell these tickets online (checked 21 Oct 2026).
Adis shpk runs a daily bus between the airport and Durrës for 600 lek. Per the airport's timetable, it leaves the airport at 08:30, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00, 19:00, 21:00 and 23:00, and leaves Durrës at 06:00, 08:00, 09:30, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00 and 21:00.
By official taxi, TIA Taxi lists Durrës from €30.
Going from central Tirana instead? Gjirafa Travel sells Tirana–Durrës bus tickets and lists departures from 06:00 to 21:00. For example, Riki Trans runs from Garibaldi Square to Durrës Plepat station for €3, in about 40 min (checked 21 Oct 2026).
The airport doesn't list a direct bus to Sarandë or Ksamil. The usual way by bus is in two steps. First, take Luna's second line from the airport to the South-North Bus Terminal in Tirana. Per the airport, it leaves every full hour from 08:00 to 18:00 and takes 20–30 minutes, for 300 lek (€3.50) per the airport or €3 per Luna. From the terminal, take an intercity bus south.
Book bus tickets online: Gjirafa Travel sells Tirana–Sarandë tickets from the South-North Terminal, with Tisa Travel and Olgeno Travel & Tours, for €17 one way. Departures run from 07:00, and the trip takes about 5 to 6.5 hours. For Ksamil it shows connections through Sarandë (two companies, one change, €19), but as a timetable only, not for sale online. Prices and times checked 21 Oct 2026; check with the operator for anything else.
eTransport, which the airport points to, lists Albania's official bus lines and stations.
Landing in the evening? The terminal line stops at 18:00, so you'd need the city line or a taxi, and probably a night in Tirana. By official taxi, TIA Taxi lists Sarandë from €200 and Ksamil from €210.
Prefer an app? These two local taxi apps show the price before you book. Checked 21 Oct 2026 against their store listings and their own sites.
Fixed fare shown before you book, in Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan, Gjirokastër, Sarandë, Shkodër and Vlorë, plus fixed-price transfers to and from Rinas airport. Pay by card or cash, same price.
Taxi app for Tirana and other Albanian cities, with transparent pricing. Its site lists Tirana, Rinas airport, Shkodër, Durrës, Lezhë and Vlorë.
Ratings copied from the App Store and Google Play on 21 Oct 2026, shown only where a store has 20 or more ratings. App names and icons are trademarks of their owners (Patoko Sh.p.k., Speed Taxi Five Stars Sh.p.k.); icons are from their App Store listings. App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
Picking up a rental car at the airport? Before you set off, read our car rental and driving guide, and the Tirana–Prishtina driving guide if you're heading to Kosovo.
Yes. Luna's line between the airport and central Tirana (behind the Opera) runs 24/7, every full hour, in both directions.
The airport says about 2,200 lek one way with the official AHA taxi. TIA Taxi's own site lists it from €25.
The airport doesn't list one. Take Luna to the South-North Terminal (08:00–18:00), then an intercity bus. Check that bus's times with the operator or on eTransport.
Hermes Airport's shuttle costs 1,000 lek and leaves the airport at 11:15, 12:45, 17:30 and 20:10 (per the airport, Oct 2026). TIA Taxi lists Shkodër from €75.
Checked 21 Oct 2026. Rules change; always confirm with the official source before you travel.
Mirë se erdhët