Travelling from Shkodër to Tirana by bus

In 2024 it was difficult to find information online about how to travel by but from Shkodër to Tirana by bus.

The route required two buses: one from Shkodër to Tirana Bus Terminal, and a local bus from there into the city centre.

Regional bus

The first leg is the regional bus from the centre of Shkodër to the Tirana Bus Terminal.

How to find the bus

This bus will pick you up near a big roundabout right in the centre of the city. The stop is mapped in OSM by https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/9712247329. It is by a large light-up sign that says "NEPTUN". There is an image below

When the buses run

I was told the buses run every hour, on the hour, which matched what I witnessed. However, I did find a sign nearby which listed a timetable shown below.

Getting on and buying tickets

The bus should have a sign in the windscreen saying Tirana or Tirane. If you have large luggage you can store it under the bus for no fee (at least on the day I went). Place your bags and then find a seat on the bus; you buy your ticket later.

The bus may leave before you've bought a ticket. That is OK. The bus might pick a few more people up along the road out of Shkodër. Once out of the city, the man working on the bus came around and collected the money from everyone.

The ticket was 400 LEK. This is cash only.

Getting off

The bus might make a few stops on the way to pick up or drop off other people, but you should stay on until the end. In 2024, the bus terminates on the road next to the main bus terminal under construction in Tirana. The local bus stops on this road too. The location of this stop in OSM is https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/5342454642 You should be able to grab your bags yourself. There was no bag ticket system on the bus.

Local bus

Finding the bus

I have no idea how often these buses run but I saw a few around. At the same bus stop linked above, you should look for a long white bus (mine had three sections to it). Unfortunately I couldn't find get a photo. There was someone working on the bus who had on a hi-vis vest and was standing outside when I arrived. He directed me onto the bus when I asked if it was going into the city centre (other buses might not go through the city centre).

Getting tickets

Tickets are bought on the bus with cash. The same man in hi-vis came around once the bus was moving and sold the tickets.

The ticket was 40 LEK. This is cash only and seems to be a fixed price, regardless of destination or distance.

Getting off

I got off the bus around here https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/11189542921. There were many other passengers getting off here too.

Now you are in Tirana city centre.