Rinas

Rinas is a village about seventeen kilometres northwest of Tirana, and it is on the map for one reason: Tirana International Airport Nene Tereza sits beside it…Rinas is a village about seventeen kilometres northwest of Tirana, and it is on the map for one reason: Tirana International Airport Nene Tereza sits beside it. This is the only commercial airport in Albania, so effectively every visitor who arrives by air passes through here.

The run into the city takes about thirty minutes outside the rush and there are three ways to do it. The airport bus runs to and from the centre through the day at a very low fare. Taxis wait at the rank and are metered, though the fare is usually agreed at the door. Pre-booked transfers cost more than the bus and less than the hassle of arranging anything at one in the morning, which is when a lot of the low-cost flights land.

Most of the country's car rental supply is collected here rather than in the city, which matters if you are driving straight out to Kruja, Durres or the south instead of going into Tirana at all. There is no reason to stay in Rinas itself beyond a very early departure, and a handful of hotels near the terminal exist for exactly that.