Train Travel

London to Albania

The main train operator in Albania is HSH (Hekurudhė ė Shqipėrisė), www.hsh.com.al. Also see www.angelfire.com/ak/hekurudha/

You can also travel by Ferry to Albania using the Tirrenia Line (formerly Adriatica Line) www.tirrenia.it and www.agoudimos-lines.com. For general tourist information see www.albania.starttips.com.

Visiting Albania is now generally trouble-free. Tiranė and Durrės are quite safe, but check with the Foreign Office's travel advice website, www.fco.gov.uk, before visiting some parts of Albania, particularly the border regions in the North-East of the country.

Visiting Albania - which Albanians call Shqipėria or 'Land of the Eagles' is known as the most mysterious country in Europe. In 1946 it was under a Stalinist dictatorship and for decades it was almost completely shut off from the rest of the world. In 1991, the Communist regime was overturned and although there have been in 1992 and again in 1997, most of Albania is now quite safe to visit - you can check with www.fco.gov.uk. Albania is easy to reach by train and ship, and EU citizens don't even need a visa - there is just a 13 Euro (US$10) entry tax to pay.

London to Durrės & Tiranė

Since there aren't any international passenger trains between Europe and Albania and travelling to some of the border regions isn't advised, the easiet way to get there is to travel by train to Bari in Italy and then sail overnight to Durres on the Tirrenia Line ship. It's an easy journey to book and very comfortable.

London to Tiranė. Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London Waterloo at 12:09 and arriving in Paris (Gare du Nord) at 15:59. Cross Paris by métro to the Gare de Bercy. Travel from Paris to Bologna overnight on the 'Palatino', leaving Paris at 19:00 and arriving in Bologna at 06:00 next morning. The Palatino has sleeping cars with 1, 2 and 3 bed rooms, modern 4 berth 'comfort' couchette and standard 6 berth couchettes.

Travel from Bologna to Bari on a modern, air-conditioned Eurostar Italia train, leaving Bologna at 08:56 and arriving in Bari at 14:52. Refreshments and meals are available in the trains restaurant car - the set menu costs 26 euros, a half bottle of wine 7 euros. In Bari, it's a reasonable walk across town to the ocean terminal near the old city.

Then set sail from Bari to Durrės in Albania on the overnight Tirrenia Line (formerly Adriatica Line) passenger ship. The ship sails daily from Bari ferry terminal at 23:00, arriving in Durrės at 07:30 next morning. Various cabins are available. Agoudimos Lines also sail overnight Bari-Durrės 3-5 times per week.

There are eight trains a day from Durrės to Tiranė. The 09:50 from Durrės will get you to Tirana at 10:50.

Tiranė to London. Set sail from Durrės to Bari overnight on the Tirrenia Line ship, leaving Durrės at 23:00 and arriving Bari at 08:30 next morning. Various cabins are available. Travel from Bari to Bologna by air-conditioned InterCity train, leaving Bari at 11:46 and arriving in Bologna at 19:04. Then leave from Bologna to Paris overnight on the 'Palatino', at 22:02 and arriving in Paris (Gare de Bercy) at 09:10 next morning. Couchettes and sleeping-cars are available. Travel from Paris to London by Eurostar, leaving Paris (Gare du Nord) at 11:43 and arriving London Waterloo at 13:25.

Approximate fares. London to Paris by Eurostar: Fares start at £59 return 2nd class, £139 return 1st class. There are no one way leisure fares, so for one way journeys, buy a return and throw away the return half.

Paris to Bologna by sleeper train:

***FARES***

Special fare - You will need to book at least 14 days in advance for couchettes, 30 days for sleepers. Limited places available at these prices, no refunds, no changes.

Normal fare - is refundable and flexible. There are no senior or youth reductions.

Child fare - A paying child should be between 4-11 years with own berth. Return fare twice the one-way fare. Children under 4 travel free if they share a bed with an adult.

Railpass fare - This is what you pay if you have railpasses (Eurail, Interrail, etc) covering both Italy & France. If your pass only covers one country the supplement will be higher.

You can save about 6% on these Paris-Italy fares by paying in euros at voyages-sncf.com, instead of paying in GBP with UK agencies or websites. Bookings open 90 days before departure. On some peak dates, 10-20% higher fares may be charged.

Bologna to Bari by Eurostar Italia - About £34 one-way or £68 return in 2nd class, £44 one-way or £88 return for 1st class, including 'Eurostar Italia' supplement.

Bari to Durrės with Tirrenia Line (formerly known as the Adriatica Line). Return fare, including a basic cabin berth in 2, 3, or 4-berth inside cabin with washbasin: £82 low season, £99 high season (July-September). With a berth in a 2, 3, or 4-berth outside cabin with shower & WC: about £125 return in high season. 50% supplement for single occupancy. With just a reclining seat, the fare is about £75 return in the high season. Visit www.tirrenia.it or www.agoudimos-lines.com for up to date information.

Buy tickets - Book the ship first, by calling Tirrenia Line's UK agents, SMS Travel & Tourism, on 020 7244 8422. SMS Travel & Tourism have an online reservation system and can normally confirm your reservation there and then. You can confirm prices and sailing times on the Tirrenia Line website, www.tirrenia.it, but you can't book online. Agoudimos Lines also offer Bari to Durrės sailings to a similar overnight schedule 3-5 times per week. Visit www.agoudimos-lines.com for dates, times & prices.

The rail part of the journey can then be booked either online or by phone. The best way is to book online, first at www.voyages-sncf.com to book the London to Paris & Paris to Bologna parts of the journey, then www.trenitalia.it to book the Bologna to Bari train. To book by phone, call any European rail agency, such as Ffestiniog Travel on 01766 512 340 or Rail Europe on 0870 5 848 848.

Travelling by train in Albania

Travelling by train in Albania will certainly be an experience - there are second hand coaches from Italy and Austria hauled by Czech built diesels - clickety-clacking across the countryside at about 35 mph. You'll probably find lumpy seats, sometimes torn and even broken windows. Since the fare is only around 30p you can't moan too much! Visit www.hsh.com.al for timetable and fares.

***Timetables and fares***

Fares & buying tickets. Fares are incredibly cheap - Durrės to Tiranė one-way costs 55 Lek, or about 30p. Durrės to Shkodėr is 135 Lek, about 75p. Tickets sold are for the next train only.

Albanian trains offer one class only. Some trains use worn out, second-hand Italian coaches with a side-corridor and compartments. Other trains use slightly newer second-hand Austrian coaches with open seating.

Things to see in Albania.

The former residence of Enver Hoxha (pronounced 'Hodja') in Tiranė. Enver Hoxha was Albania's president and dictator from 1946 until his death in 1985. Albania aligned itself with the USSR from 1944 until 1960, when the two countries fell out over Khruschev's demands for a Soviet submarine base at Vlorė. In 1961, Albania broke off diplomatic relations with the USSR and re-aligned itself with the Peoples Republic of China.

The mosque of Ethem Bey, dating from 1793, on Skėnderbeg Square in Tiranė. The clock tower next to it dates from 1830. There are some 750,000 small concrete bunkers all over the Albanian countryside. The bunkers were built on the orders of Enver Hoxha after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

The Roman amphitheatre in Durrės, dating from the 2nd century AD and first excavated in around 1960.

The historic town of Kruja is 38km from Tiranė, and can be reached by minibus-taxi in about an hour. Skėnderbeg made Kruja his capital from 1443 to 1468.

The Thomas Cook European Timetable

The Thomas Cook European timetable has train, bus and ferry times for every country in Europe, plus currency and climate information. It's essential for any independent traveller. You can buy this online at this website. See Menu.