albania: road kukes - fierze

[felix-the-dr]

hi,

planning to ride through north-eastern albania this summer (july). considering to enter from kosovo (prizren road) and cross to kukes. on to roshit and would love to take the ferry at fierze and the boatride across on lake komani, then continue via komani to kruje or tirana.

we will be two girls on one dr 650 so i wonder:

-what the road is like from kukes-fierze. tarmac or offroad? or just big potholes?
-riding times (normal speed, thank you) border-kukes & kukes-fierze?
-is there only one boat a day, are there two in summer, or does it depend on the mood of the day? when are they - hours in travel guides vary?
-aparently the road from komani upto qyrsac is not sealed and rather eh... time-consuming. is that so?
-would it cause any problems that we're two girls? apart from the usual stares at girls on bikes?
-suggestions for bike-safe lodging welcome.


thank you!!
g

[Laura Bennitt]

Heya,

I'm in Albania at the moment, and planning on taking the komani ferry in a couple of days, so I'll let you know what I find out!

There is a new road opening any day now that runs more or less between Kosovo and Durres, but I don't know about getting on and off it - it may be a better way of getting to Komani from that side (I'm planning on coming from the coast).

I've been a girl on my own in Eastern europe for 2 months now, and until yesterday had no problem - a guy in Butrint tried to grope me (and missed!). He is however definitely the exception - everyone else I have met has been wonderfully friendly and welcoming, the manager at Butrint drove over in person to make sure it was sorted out after I reported what had happened, and to be honest it's something that's happened to me at home, one bad person not a bad country.

Again will post more info about the north of the country when I've been there! Feel free to PM me with more questions if you want.

Laura

[Vaufi]

The road from Kukes to Fierze is pretty good in albanian terms. It is tarmac, but the part from Roshit to Fierze has got several larger contruction sites. If I remember correctky it tok me roughly 4 hrs from Fierze to Kukes. In Kukes I stayed in the "Hotel Europa". If you want to keep up with Mr. Kofi Annan - he stayed in the "Hotel America" at the time of the Kosovo crisis

The road from Komani to Qyrsac or Skoder is pretty rough, but for any enduro quite doable, even two up. Just takes it's time. Took me from Skoder to Komani also about 4 hrs. Add 1-2 hrs for safety's sake.

There was only one ferry a day in October last year, but I was told that there are two during summer months, leaving from Koman at 10am and 4pm. takes about 3 hrs to Fierze, so there should be one from Fierze leaving around 1pm. Waiting at the ferry port at 12 should be safe.

Getting there isn't easy. No signs at all... When you enter Fierze coming from Kukes you will cross the bridge over the lake Komani. In the village centre turn left, travelling along the northern shore of the lake on a dirt road. After roughly 3-5 kms you will see a semi sunken old boat. That's the ferry port...

If you need any gps coordinates, just shout.

I believe Albania is pretty safe for women as well, esp. since you're two. Just stick to normal rules for travellers...

[felix-the-dr]

thanks a lot both.

@vaufi,

yes please, gps coordinates would be great! one more question:

kukes to fierze= 4hrs
boat = 3 hrs
komani to skhoder= 4 hrs (+2)
13 hrs. so you slept in kukes and in skhoder? i suppose there's nothing in fierze?


@laura:

yes please, keep us posted on the ferry experience! i've read about the kosovo-durres road, but it's not on my map yet. isn't it cutting lower?

thx again!
g

[Vaufi]

There is a hotel in Komani, but was closed in October - out of season. So I camped on a patch of lawn next to the school ;-)

In Skoder I had a room in the Kolping House, but that was pretty expensive for AL. 30 Euros... It shouldn't be a problem though to find cheaper hotels. In Kukes I slept in the Hotel Europa (10 Euros for a room).

Your email address isn't accessible on the HUBB, but if you send me an email via my HUBB-profile I'll send you the gps data. Includes several tracks and waypoints of the places I stayed overnight.

Just a heads up.

The British Foreign Office is still advising against travel to the NE area. I am not saying don't go, just be aware, one of the consequences is, it may invalidate your health insurance.
Check your home country advice.

Steve



We advise against all travel to the north east border areas (i.e. the districts of Kukes, Has and Tropoje) between Albania and Kosovo because of the risk of unexploded ordnance placed during the 1999 Kosovo crisis and the poor condition of the roads.

[Laura Bennitt]

Thanks for that Steve, I didn't know about that!

Felix-the-dr, according to my map it does cut lower, so only really useful if the kukes-shkoder road turns out not to be a good idea.

Also avoid the road south from Kukes to Peshkopi - I met a German couple who took 2 days to cover the 60km between the two....

Annoyingly I'm now stuck in Berat for another night, as the bike is making some worrying clunking noises. One of the guys at my hotel knows somewhere that fixes bikes, which is great but he was going to take me there at 12, then at 2, and now it turns out the place doesn't open again till 5! Highly annoying. Also if it isn't fixed I won't be attempting the road to Komani.

Anyone know if you can get a taxi or similar to Komani from Qyrhse? Ideally was hoping to do the return ferry trip in a day, but if the ride is that long it ain't going to happen!

Too many places to see, not enough time

Laura

[vlassishlk]

I entered north Albania (August 07), near Hani i Hotit coming from Podgorica. The road from Podgorica to the border was a one lane very narrow slippery bumpy road with a lot of trucks.
The road from the Albanian border crossing to Shkoder, was one of the worst tarmac(paved?) roads I have ever done. Even 30km/h was unsafe at most parts. A lot of police (and they always gave me the feeling that if they had spoted me sooner they'd be stopping me for something) and a lot of garbage and rubbish alongside the road. From Shkoder to Tirane and souther things got better but still a lot of police and lousy driving from everyone. It didn't seem safe to me to be honest.
I really didn't have much fun there.
We were 2 up on a CBF1000.
Vlassis

[Vaufi]

Originally Posted by vlassishlk

I entered north Albania (August 07), near Hani i Hotit coming from Podgorica. The road from Podgorica to the border was a one lane very narrow slippery bumpy road with a lot of trucks.
The road from the Albanian border crossing to Shkoder, was one of the worst tarmac(paved?) roads I have ever done. .....
...
I really didn't have much fun there.
We were 2 up on a CBF1000.
Vlassis

The roads are mostly a bit bumpy, as are most roads in originally "socialist" countries That's why I prefer to ride an enduro in these countries. They cope much better with bad road conditions than a street bike...

None-the-less, I got to like the people in Albania. A friendly buch of people

[Laura Bennitt]

OK, here is general impressions from a few days ago...

1) The road to Koman from Shkoder is tarmac. Not very good tarmac, and from time to time it turns to dirt but never for more than a few metres. It took me and hour and a half from Shkoder to Koman.

2) There is only one ferry a day in each direction. It leaves Fierze at 7am and returns there from Koman at 9am - so I didn't take it as I would have effectively needed 2 days.

3) I crossed at the other border crossing near Shkoder - can't remember the name of it but it's near Ulcinj. Road was fine though small, and the big amusement is the rickety wooden bridge crossing the river at Shkoder, it's one-way onla and there's no form of traffic control!! If you have to wait to cross be warned kids from the nearby slum will come over to beg and they will fiddle with anything they can reach on the bike!

4) Police in Albania all wear hi-vis vests, and I got the distinct impression they were genuinely out to catch people speeding not get money for themselves - I never got stopped, while in Ukraine I couldn't make it past as a tourist is an obvious target for bribes.

Hope that helps! Again feel free to get in touch if you want any more info!

Laura