Does anyone know if it%26#39;s possible to take a furgon/minivan/taxi from Pogradec to Berat? If so how much would it cost and how long would the trip take? We will be crossing the border from Ohrid, Macedonia early am and want to try and go straight to Berat for the afternoon/night then onto Tirana the next morning rather than trying to do Berat as a day trip from Tirana if that makes sense!
Many thanks
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Hi Spoongirl,
I actually have the same question, so will be very interested to see the responses. We are planning the same journey in September in reverse -- Berat to Ohrid. We assumed the %26quot;worst case%26quot; scenario and figured on going from Berat-Tirana, then Tirana - Pogradeci. I figured we%26#39;d inquire once we got to Berat about transport to Pogradeci, and if it wasn%26#39;t going to work out, just plan to go to Tirana first.
After Ohrid we%26#39;ll be coming back to Albania to do the coast -- so we%26#39;d like to get from Pogradeci to Vlora. Again, I%26#39;m planning to go through Tirana in the event something more direct can%26#39;t be arranged.
When are you traveling?
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Hey Craig201,
We%26#39;re travelling in May, it%26#39;s part of a great big loop round the Balkans so we%26#39;re trying to squeeze in as much as we can with the limited time we%26#39;ve got in each country.
If we can%26#39;t get to Berat from Ohrid in a reasonable amount of time we%26#39;re going to head straight to Tirana, spend the afternoon/night there and then try and do Berat as a day trip the following day (mixed reviews about how realistic this is as a day trip but Lonely Planet seems to think it is). What we really want to do is go from Ohrid to Berat, spend the night there and then head to Tirana first thing the next day and see Tirana and Kruja. Then it%26#39;s off to Kotor the next day.
We have found an agency in Macedonia who do a transfer from Ohrid to Tirana for 95Euros if we%26#39;ve cracked by then! I%26#39;m going to see what they say about Ohrid -Berat. http://www.skopjehotels.com.mk/
The timings for the rest of our trip have worked out really well with scheduled transport so we can probably throw a bit more of the budget into the Albanian leg if it means we can see everything we want to.
If I find out anything else I%26#39;ll let you know!
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I%26#39;m not sure if you can get a furgon from Pogradec to Berat. If you do end up having to tavel from Ohrid to Tirana, there is a bus that leaves at about 12.30 pm from Struga which is 14km from Ohrid itself. From outside the fruit/veg market you can share a taxi for a very reasonable price to Struga. The bus then runs all the way to Tirana - though it does take longer than it woudl to drive as the most direct route over the mountains is to steep for the bus so it crosses over the border and then heads out to Durres befoe coming back in to Tirana. We found it quite difficult to find info about getting to Albania from Ohrid and found conflicting info from the tourist office in Ohrid as well as locals. We made this trip in September last year and the bus left Struga at 12.30pm and took approximately 5 to 6 hrs.
We had also wanted to go via Berat from Ohrid but were unable to find any direct public transport from the Macedonian side.
Lurls
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Thanks for the info Luris.
I think the idea of taking a taxi to Struga, and then catching the bus to Tirana might be a bit easier than getting to Podgradeci and then taking a furgon to Tirana. I guess the only concern is whether the bus will officially stop in Struga (hate having to waive a bus down from the side of the road) or perhaps the bus could be full. We%26#39;ll see when we%26#39;re there what makes the most sense.
Spoongirl -- when you go in May, please report back regarding what you found regarding transport from Ohrid to Berat. Hopefully you won%26#39;t have to go thru Tirana, but it won%26#39;t be the worst thing in the world if you have to (a few extra travel hours).
If you do need to backtrack to Tirana, perhaps do Ohrid-Tirana-Berat in one day? Might be kind of long, but should be possible. I believe furgons depart Tirana for Berat until about 5pm. You might not get to Tirana in time to catch a furgon if you take the bus from Struga as Luris suggests, but if you go via Podgradeci and get a very early start, you should be in Tirana by early afternoon.
That way you can spend the night in Berat, visit much of the next day, then head up to Tirana in the afternoon (I think the last bus is at 3pm). You can then continue north from there.
Best of luck, and really look forward to hearing your insights when you get back from your trip!
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Hey, if you take taxi from Albanian side you could get to Berat for aproximetly $150 although I need to confirm that. Maybe this would be the best and quickest option from Macedonia to Berat. Otherwise if you don%26#39;t like taxi, I would go to Tirana and then from there to Berat, it is approximetly 2,5 hours drive.
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Hi
Re bus from Struga, you won%26#39;t need to flag it down as there is a proper bus depot there and you can buy tickets at the counter for the bus which should guarantee a seat if you get there at least half an hour earlier than it leaves. There is also a little cafe for snacks/coffee etc while you wait.
Lurls
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I%26#39;d suggest making Berat your first and best stop. It%26#39;s a jewel. You can combine a furgon from Pogradec to Elbasan or Rrogozhine and then catch one heading to Berat.
If you need more info, e-mail me at sksintirana@hotmail.com.
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