Car vs Public Transport
We travelled through Albania and crossed the border into North Macedonia. We opted for buses instead of renting a car and we’re glad of it. The stories and memories from bus rides and interactions with the locals made our trip.
If you’re keen to get your own car, crossing the border will be much easier as it’s only really the transport links that make it tricky.
Bus schedules
There are direct bus links from Tirana (Albania’s capital) to Ohrid (North Macedonia) but if you’re heading from anywhere else it can be a bit trickier (but not impossible). If you’re following our itinerary, you’ll end your Albanian adventure in Berat.
Instead of having to go out of your way to get to Tirana for the bus link, we’ve provided this guide to help you cross into North Macedonia from Berat.
If you’re not following our itinerary, and are planning a route into North Macedonia from Tirana there are up to 4 bus routes a day heading there. You can book the bus here, and it will take roughly 2 and a half hours (border processing time-dependent).
TIP: bus schedules can be unpredictable (although we didn’t experience this) so it’s often better to ask locals the times for the following day. If you ask at your hotel/hostel they will be happy to help, but part of Albania’s charm is that you can also ask a passerby by and they will go above and beyond to help you (trust us, you’re about to find out!)
Berat – Ohrid
Before going to Albania, we’d read it was best to get the bus to Elbassan and then ask for the furgons (small buses, like a collectivo in South America) to the border, and then walk across and hop in a taxi the other side.
We didn’t end up taking this route (but the one below), and it’s a good job we didn’t because when we arrived at the border we didn’t see any taxis. If we’d have walked, we’d have ended up lugging our bags for a couple of km until a petrol station to try to get a taxi there.
Don’t fancy this either? Try the below route
- Aim for the Elbassan bus from Berat. They run quite frequently but it’s always best to ask your hostel/hotel the day before for up-to-date timings in Albania. The bus takes around 2 hours and costs approx 400 lek (£3/ $4). It’s best to aim for a morning bus to make sure you have enough time to get to the border, and cross
- Tell the driver you want to go over the border to Ohrid (North Macedonia). Don’t just say ‘Lake Ohrid’ as this lake borders Albania and North Macedonia so you might end up still on the Albania side. You want to end up in Ohrid town.
- This step takes a little bravery because ultimately you follow whatever happens next trusting the helpful people of Albania. At this point, hopefully, you’ve had lots of experiences with this unique hospitality Albanians have and it doesn’t feel such a leap. Trust us, we were apprehensive, and it went really smoothly (see for yourself below)
Our journey
We informed the driver of the Elbassan bus we wanted to go to Ohrid town over the border and he said it was possible. In Albania it’s common to pay your bus fair during the ride rather than before. Often if we or another passenger gave too much money by accident, they would let them know and give them money back – how honest.
We presumed this driver would be taking us to the border, but we pulled up in Elbassan and it turned out he had called ahead to arrange another bus. He let us know which one to get on and told us this would take us to Ohrid. He had arranged this with the driver on the phone.
At this point we didn’t know how long this next bus would be or where it would drop us but we’d been in Albania for a couple of weeks and had a lot of faith that it would work out due to the extreme helpfulness of the local people. The bus reached its destination which wasn’t the border, but sure enough, he told us ‘stay on for Ohrid’ as all the other passengers got off.
The next bit admittedly felt a bit sketchy (but wasn’t!). After everyone got off, the bus driver veered off the main road. He pulled up and dropped off some mattresses at a mattress shop (as you do). In Albania, we often found the buses also acted as a convenient delivery system between businesses in neighbouring towns.
Once he’d dropped these off he took us to a back road and we glanced at each other feeling very foolish. We needn’t have worried because he was just getting his car keys. His son threw them off the balcony of their apartment and he gestured for us to get in his car. He typed on his phone he would drop us off all the way in Ohrid (not just at the border) for only €40. This was a couple of hours round trip for him so he was really helping us out (since we had no clear plan about how to get transport after crossing the border).
We crossed at Qafë Thanë (sometimes called Kafasan) border and Ohrid town is around 30-40 minute drive from the border. The crossing itself went smoothly and didn’t take that long (probably in total 20 mins).
Currency
Albanian Lek is a closed currency which means you can’t change it anywhere else other than within it’s borders into another currency. We had some Lek left and gave it to the driver as a thank you and he seemed grateful. We always got the sense in Albania, that locals help you to be helpful (as opposed to it being for monetary gain) and what he did for us was worth more than his original offer in our opinion.
We bade him farewell and he turned around back towards the border. We were there safe and sound and were happy we’d managed one of our more complicated border crossings.
Usually, there is a bus from A to B and the border comes between them (as is the case on most of the borders we’ve crossed) so this one felt a little trickier to navigate. As tourism picks up in Albania, there likely will be more bus routes to make this journey easier, but until then you can use this guide!
Tried our route or have a different border story to share? We’d love to hear it in the comments!