Howdy all. Today I’m writing for you about the journey from Tirana, Albania to Florence, Italy from last year’s Dhaka to Dakar adventure. I’ve already covered this in a vlog, which is included in this post, but I wanted to write it down too because I’m trying to do a full retelling of the experience and some people don’t want to watch a 20-minute video on the subject either. I suspect at least.

After a full day of sightseeing Tirana – read about it HERE – I returned to my little hotel to prepare for the next 24 hours or so which would see me move on from Tirana and head to Italy by ferry and train mostly and make my way to Florence, Italy, which was a total distance of 977 kilometres as I calculated it back a year ago now. So let’s look at it segment by segment.

Segment 1 – Tirana to Durres, Bus and Bus, 36 kilometres

The first segment was the shortest of the day and I left early evening (around 5-6pm) from Tirana to get to Durres, the Albanian port city where the ferry leaves for Bari, Italy. Firstly from central Tirana I needed to get to the Southern Bus Terminal, and so I took a local bus from just off Skanderbeg Square. There were a number of busses you could take, I ended up on bus 55.

At the Southern bus terminal I found the Durres bus easily, there were a few buses there but I just asked and got pointed to the right bus. They leave every half hour or so I believe, and take a little over half an hour to Durres.

Once in Durres the sun had just about set. The bus finishes close to the ferry terminal, in a big ol’ car park. There are a number of places selling ferry tickets, but I had already booked mine online. There was a walkway from the carpark around a corner, over a main coastal road right to the ferry terminal, in all it was about a five-minute walk.

Segment 2 – Durres to Bari, Italy by ferry 229 kilometres

So once at the ferry terminal I took my online printout and got my boarding pass. I had to wait about 30 minutes there for boarding and immigration, there really wasn’t much at the terminal except for a small café without a lot of options so I just grabbed a drink and worked on my diary. Just a heads up there were a family there begging for money I don’t know if that’s a regular thing or depends on the day. It was the kid who was begging for money so generally I don’t give out money in that circumstance.

Once the boarding procedures start and immigration is ready, a line appeared as if out of nowhere. It wasn’t that big a line – not that many passengers were taking the ferry and I think those with vehicles went through a different gate – but it didn’t move fast. This might have been because going to Schengen Europe Albanians probably needed visas and so they all had to be checked closely. It was a quick process for me when I got to the front of the line.

Then I found myself outside with the ferry a short walk in front of me, and I boarded through the rear of the boat. It’s a fair size and from what I read can take a little under 1000 passengers and quite a few vehicles. I chose it over going this segment by land because it’s only 229 kilometres over the Adriatic Sea to Italy. To go by land, with bus the main brand of transport, would have taken a few days and I would have had to go through Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia to get to Italy.

I found my way to my cabin, which I paid only 99 Euro for and had a four-berth cabin to myself with a little bathroom which included a shower. The price was excellent. It was March though, so the off season.

The exact schedule was a little unclear, 10pm departure which turned out much later, the time of arrival in Bari wasn’t really clear either. I’m pretty sure we only travelled for 4-6 hours in total. I had the added and unexpected complication of Daylight Savings starting on the journey, so in fact I lost an hour overnight and was woken up by the crew at around 430 – 5am. There were a couple of restaurants but they weren’t busy, the whole boat was pretty quiet. I toured the decks and the ship for the vlog before watching us finally leave Durres, and then headed to the cabin for sleep.

After being woken I dressed and packed and presented near the lifts on my level. The boat was large and the ride so smooth you couldn’t tell if you were moving or stationary. In fact we still had 30 – 40 minutes to go and then just as long before people started being let off the boat. In short – could have slept a whole lot longer!

Walked out the rear again as one of the last people out and regretted it because I don’t think immigration was even open and when it did open I was at the back of queue and it took a long time to get everyone through. Then I took a right turn once off the boat and walked a good kilometre before realising I should have turned right and the exit to the main road was just there. It would have been about 8am by this time or a little later.

Segment 3: Bari to Roma Terminal by train, 431 kilometres

It took a while to get a taxi, so many people had already got one with the time I had wasted, and it was also Sunday. There was a bus stop just inside the gate, but I didn’t see a bus the whole time I was there so I don’t know if it was running on a Sunday nor where exactly it would have taken me.

Bari was bright and sunny and seemed pretty pleasant. I got dropped off at the station for a fixed price – 15 Euro I think it was. At the station I found it a bit confusing. I lined up for a ticket but at the counter for Tren Italia I was a bit shocked at the price, so I thought I would try the ticket machine. The ticket machine it turned out was for a different company, and I found something a little better but it wouldn’t let me buy tickets for it – perhaps it was full although it wasn’t clear.

So I went back to the ticket office to find the train I had enquired on was now sold out so it was a couple of hours wait for the next one. I was told I got the last seat on it too – not sure how true that was but I booked all the way to Florence via Rome for a somewhat expensive (I thought) 127 Euro in second class.

I was able to eat something and relax a bit before it was time to go back and catch my train. The train to Rome was as bit more comfortable than the second train and went superfast taking not much more than 2 hours for the 431 kilometres, the longest and almost fastest segment of this tip. Italian/European countryside out the window and a friendly Italian couple opposite, a few charging options, it was an excellent on time service. However I couldn’t fit my large backpack in the above storage area and ended up with it stuck between my legs.

Segment 4: Roma Termini to Firenze by train, 281 kilometres

The final segment started in Rome with me at Roma Termini station waiting for the train to appear on the board. I had around 30-40 minutes at the station. It was a relief when the train left and I knew, as the sun went down, that I was on the final leg of the journey. It felt a little more tightly packed in terms of the size of seats, but that was offset by being able to fit my backpack above.

It was basically dark when I arrived in Florence and light rain had started to fall. I was looking forward to having a room and a bed, but the hotel had other ideas! It was 15 minute walk and very hard to find, and when I got to the door I discovered reception was only open from 8am to 3pm. I called a number and was directed to a different hotel to get my key and check in. Then back to my hotel. In the rain. It wasn’t a great system but I guess if they don’t have the staff…. It was around 7 – 730pm so not super late.

BUT – I had made it. Nearly 1000 kilometres covered by land and sea. And it all went pretty smoothly and well to be fair. NOW – I was in a city I have wanted to visit for many years, the incredible Florence – I would not be disappointed. But that’s a tale for another day! For now – Take care, look after yourselves and… May the Journey Never End!