Popular Airport | Samana El Catey Intl. Airport |
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Popular Airlines | |
Approximate Flight Duration | 10 hour 40 min |
Approximate Travel Distance | 8543 Km |
Tirana, the capital of Albania, makes you feel the magic of Ottoman architecture with its mosques and baths dating back to the 1600s. The surface area of Tirana, which is close to Istanbul’s, is a very calm city in terms of population. You need to use Tirana International Airport to visit this city.
It cannot be said that Tirana offer good service in terms of public transport. Until 2013, there were in-city train services that served the city along the shoreline. This line is not used now. The bus is the only means of public transport available for use in urban transport. Train services are now only an option for intercity transportation. A tourist information office is located in the Rruga Ded Gjo Luli district, north of Skanderbeg Square, which forms part of Tirana city center. We recommend you to visit this office to facilitate your access to the city. English speaking office staff can explain you how you can get to where you want to go through the maps.
Passengers who do not want to use public transport can choose to take a taxi or rent a car from the city for a more comfortable ride. The city center is quite small. So, if you have time, you can also visit the city center on foot. It is useful to remind that the frequent construction work done in the center may prevent your walk. It is also possible to rent bicycles in certain areas of the city. Although it is difficult to say that Tirana is a bicycle city, cycling is a pleasant option for short distances.
There are not many alternatives to get to Tirana International Airport from Tirana by public transport. First of all you have to come to Skanderbeg Square from where you are, then you have to transfer. Therefore, we recommend that passengers who wish to travel more comfortably should consider taxi or car rental options.
The Rinas Express, which takes you from the central square to the airport, is the only option for getting to the airport by public transport. Rinas Express is departing from the north of the Skanderbeg Square, near the other bus stops. The departure time of the buses, which operate between 6 am and 6 pm, may be earlier than the scheduled time. For this reason, we advise you to be there at least a few minutes before the departure time.
If the place you are in is located in a more remote part of the city, you have to get on one of the buses to Skanderbeg Square to get to the city center. After you arrive at the airport, you reach the terminal after passing taxi stops and car parking areas.
The train services are not providing access to the city anymore. However, it is possible to use trains, although with limited opportunities, for long distance travel. With these lines it is possible to travel to Durres, Shkodra, Elbasan Vlore and Librazhd.
MerrTaxi and SpeedTaxi are taxi stops used for intra city transportation. We recommend that you use one of these two stops. While it is possible to use a pirate taxis, many of these taxis do not use taximeters, so it is possible that you pay more for them.
You can rent a car from Rent A Car offices located in the city. However, if you are planning to stay in the city before going to the airport, it can be very difficult to find a parking place. Besides, the pavements of the roads in the city are not well. For this reason, driving can be a stress factor.
With the free Wi-Fi connection you can take advantage of at Tirana International Airport, you can use the internet from your devices, and you can spend your time untiringly until your flight. There is also a special area for the passengers who smoke in the Segafredo Bar section of the airport. In the check-in hall there are sweet shops, newspaper dealers, bookstores and jewelers. You can spend time in the Airport Bar and Piazza Restaurant in the arriving passenger area and in Segafredo Bar and Coli's Bar in the departing passenger area. Apart from that, there is also a Business Lounge at the airport.
You can take a taxi, the most practical method, take the bus, rent a car, ot a transfer service to get from Samana El Catey Airport to Samana city centre. You can reach Las Galeras in 1 hour, Samana city centre in 40 minutes, Las Terranas in 30 minutes, and Sanchez in 10.
Even though there aren’t direct buses to Samana city centre to Samana El Catey Airport, the buses leaving to Sanchez, which is 8km away, might save you some time. You can first go to Sanchez from Samana El Catey Airport in 10 minutes if you take a taxi, and then take the bus to Samana, which should take you 1 or 1.5 hours. These buses operate under Caribe Tours and the price for the ticket as of 2017 is 1-3 dollars. These buses leave from Sanchez every hour and it’s possible to make a reservation by calling (809) 221 44 22.
If your arrival time is in the late hours or if you prefer the quickest and least hassle free method then you can take one of the taxis that are available 24/7 outside Samana El Catey Airport. If your hotel is at Sanchez then you can reach it in 10-12 minutes. The cost for this should vary between 30-40 dollars. To reach Samana city centre with a taxi on the other hand takes around 100 dollars. It might be a good idea to share the taxi with some other passengers to split the fare.
There are many local and international car rental agencies in Samana El Catey Airport and so you will have some good alternatives regarding price so you can pick the agency that is the most suitable for your budget. If you make a reservation before your arrival then you can get even better deals. To reach Samana city centre from Samana El Catey Airport by car we recommend taking the Turistico del Atlantico/133 road from Aeropuerto El Catey.