We were really looking forward to exploring the Balkan countries, as they are more untouched and cheaper than many of our destinations. Our plan was to rent a car in Sarajevo, drive through some of the Balkan Peninsula, and drop it off in Serbia, however, this proved to be exceedingly difficult to organize. Many rental car companies do not allow their cars to cross borders. And one way rentals (especially between Bosnia and Serbia), are nearly impossible to find. We had given up hope of renting a car, and were literally on our way to the bus station in Sarajevo, when a friend of a friend who lives in Sarajevo was able to get us a car. What I had attempted to do without success for weeks, she succeeded in doing in 10 minutes.
We met the brother-in-law of the man who owned the car on a side street, paid cash, and signed papers in Bosnian. We didn’t know what kind of insurance we had, in case of an accident, but luckily we didn’t have to find out. All we knew is that we had this little car for three weeks, and were able to drive it in all the Balkan countries.
We got some strange looks, driving through some of these countries with a Bosnia and Herzegovina license plate. Speed limits are absurdly low. While locals totally disregard the speed limits, we tried to abide by them (or at least not drive double the limit like everyone else), since we read that cops can be tough, and we weren’t too anxious to encounter Balkan police. The low speeds combined with winding streets (and in some cases poor road conditions) mean that it took awhile to drive anywhere. Towns may only be 60 miles apart, but it took us 3 hours to drive there.
Driving in Albania was especially challenging. We needed special rental insurance to take the car to Albania, and now we understand why. Traffic lights, lane dividers and one way street signs are basically only there as suggestions. We saw 6 lines of cars on a 4 lane highway. Often, we shared the road with herds of sheep or goats. Many of the roads are heavily potholed. And by potholed, I mean unavoidable craters covering the road. Several roads are unpaved and covered in rocks. We may have felt a little more comfortable if we were in a Hummer, but our rental car was a little manual Dacia. Somehow, we were able to make it out of there without a flat tire.
As a whole, Balkan drivers are nuts. They overtake on blind corners on mountains, run red lights, and drive like they’re practicing for NASCAR, but Albanian drivers are the worst. This likely is due to the fact that they’ve only been driving for 23 years. Really. Before 1992, there were fewer than 1000 cars on the roads, and those cars belonged to government officials.
Paul devised a list of pointers for anyone considering driving in Albania.
- Forget the rules.
- Double any ETA.
- Drive double the posted speed limit.
- 4 lanes = 6 cars wide
- Overtaking is permitted into oncoming traffic and around corners.
- Do not yield to any traffic at roundabouts and intersections.
- Do not stop for pedestrians at any time.
- Owners of shiny Mercedes had the right to do whatever the Hell they want. If you cannot afford a shiny Mercedes, buy one anyway.
- Drink as much raki as you like. It can also be used as fuel.
- Pot holes, speed bumps, stray dogs, and the use of indicators can all be ignored.
We loved having a car, as it gave us the freedom to go wherever we want. Our days weren’t dictated by bus schedules. If we found a cute mountain village, we could stop and have lunch. Or we could swim on deserted beaches that we stumbled across. We hadn’t really planned on going to Albania or Bulgaria, but with the car, we were able to add them in, and Albania was one of our favorite places. Thank you so much to Juliet at Laundro Lounge for hooking us up with our rental car!