Berat is one of the most visited destinations in Albania. Arguably called Albania’s most beautiful city, Berat is a UNESCO World Heritage site. A road trip by car should take about 90 minutes and a taxi costs around 80 €. But how to reach Berat by bus?
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Budget-friendly bus options to Berat
If you are on a budget this post gives you a complete insight. Your trip is divided into 3 parts if you start from Tirana
- Reaching Tirana bus station from your hotel (15 – 45 min dependent on traffic)
- Tirana to Berat bus (2 – 2.5 hrs)
- Berat bus station to Berat city center (~ 15 min)
Tirana to Berat bus timings
Bus tickets to Berat – There is one bus every 30 minutes from Terminali i Autobusave të Jugut dhe Veriut or North Terminal.
To know how to reach this bus station in Tirana, read my blog post All you need to know about Tirana. Buses to Berat are normally a mini-van or furgon. All bus routes to Berat start from this terminal.
If you are on a day trip to Berat, I highly recommend having an early start and plan to reach Berat by 9 am as it is hot and humid in summer. Your energy is already lost when you reach Berat by bus.
Ticket price
One way: ~400 leks/person (~5€)
The official currency in Albania is the Albanian Lek (ALL or lek). You can pay later when the bus starts in cash. Euro is not generally accepted. The price is fixed, so no tourist traps. The drivers are genuine, unlike Egypt.
The conductor collects the money but doesn’t give the ticket. But if you insist, he will provide the ticket which contains the price and other details.
On rare occasions, the driver collects the cash when you get down to the destination.
Reaching Berat by bus
The journey is mostly countryside and the roads are single lane. Berat is about 100 km south of Tirana and the bus ride takes 2 – 2.5 hours considering the traffic and road conditions. It has multiple stops during your journey.
It gets really hot during summer, so always have a bottle of water during bus rides.
Berat bus station
Buses from other cities don’t reach the Berat city center. Instead, the terminal is 2km away at a fuel station and called Terminali i Autobusave.
The terminal has a well-maintained Cafeteria with a free toilet and free wifi. The area is clean and a nice place to kill your waiting time.
Update August 2022: The bus from Tirana costs 500 Lek and it reaches the city center. This saves you time.
Local bus to Berat city center
The Berat bus transportation has only one local bus running through Berat. It is painted in Blue color with #1 on it. Since the Berat bus station is the last stop, you can get inside and wait.
It takes ~15 minutes to reach the city centre and the ticket costs ~40 leks (~ 0.4 €). It is not easy to find out where to get down as bus stops are not easy to identify. Get down here and you can hike to the Berat castle directly.
Locals say that there is one bus every 12 minutes, but expect to wait at least 20 minutes. Have a nice trip to the most beautiful city in Albania.
Bus travel tips for Berat
- Use the toilet inside the Cafeteria at the Berat bus station. It’s free and super clean. The one outside isn’t maintained well.
- As there are two major bus terminals in Tirana, tourists easily get confused. Both of them are in opposite directions. Depending on your destination choose the correct terminal.
- At the Tirana terminal, the drivers wait for the bus/minivan to be full. So even if the driver calls you to have a seat, wait outside. There is a good chance that another driver starts early.
- The last bus leaving back to Tirana from Berat bus station is at 4 pm. Sometimes drivers cancel the trip if there aren’t enough travelers to earn a profit. So I highly recommend you take the one at 3.30 pm.
- To make your trip pleasant in Berat, contact Bruno from Berat free walking tour. Being a local, he offers free walking tours around Berat. Don’t forget to tip at the end.Â
- The drivers only accept cash. So carry the local currency during all the bus trips in Albania.
Time of visit: June 2021
Very helpful! Thank you!
You are welcome
Update August 2022: The bus from Tirana costs 500 Lek and it goes all the way to the city center. You can still get out early at the Bus Terminal if you tell the driver, if you want to.
Thank you so much for the update.
Thank you so much Praveen. I’m going to be travelling solo to Berat from Tirana, and as 50+ small asian woman, nervous about the travel. This post has really reassured me. Do you know if I can get a taxi to Berat city centre from the Berat bus station.
Hi,
Yes, definitely you can take a Taxi. The bus terminal is big. Therefore, you can ask locals for a taxi or use google to find one. Have a nice trip.
Very helpful! Is it possible to return to Tirana in the afternoon from the Autobusave terminal in Berat?
Hi ila,
Yes, you can return. We took the 3.30 pm bus from the Autobus terminal in Berat. The last one is at 4.30 pm but it is risky. Sometimes, the driver cancels if he has fewer passengers. The best is to confirm with the terminal directly in the morning when you reach Berat.
how do you recognise the bus from tirana to berat?
just by paper in the front?
but also the name of the company, i see different names