We Almost Crashed Our Car! | Balkan Road Trip

The day started off very early around 4 am with all the excitement of the road trip edging us on. We had been preparing for our 10-day road trip for almost a month and our chosen start point was Montenegro.

We caught our 2 hr 50 min flight from London Stansted to Podgorica with Ryanair, not without some delays. The flight however, went by very quickly as we both decided to catch up on some sleep.

We got a car, and then another.

We landed just before 2 pm and went straight to meet our Greenmotion car rental representative. He showed us the ropes around the car and as we were about the leave, the car refused to start.

They found a replacement car for us very quickly and had to go through the checking process again. We took pictures of the whole car because it hadn’t been washed and we wanted to be on our way.

It’s important to make sure the car has all its paperwork in place. This includes the green card which allows cross border travelling.

About 20 minutes into our journey, the flat tire warning lights come on and concerns about our trip set in. We pulled into the next fuel station and topped up the offending tire. There were no more dramas with the car after this.

The Border! Don’t forget your passport.

We chose to cross the Albanian border at Hani i Hotit – Bozhaj. This was because we were heading towards Shkodër (Shkodra). Usually, this border crossing takes about 45 -60 min in low seasons however, it took us about an hour and a half to cross.

The queue was long, and some impatient drivers started using the opposite, oncoming lane to edge forward. We presumed this was the norm and decided to follow suit. This turned out to be a bad idea. As a result, we caused blockade and had to back up between trucks. An elderly couple who we were following also had to back up, but the driver seemed to mix up his directions and almost crashes into us.

Visas were not required as we are EU citizens and the checks by the officers went very smoothly; No stress! Albania is not currently on the Schengen agreement list of countries, but a valid Schengen visa should let you through.

The figures.

Cost breakdown for the trip so far:

• Return Flights from London Stansted – Podgorica for 2: £110/€116/$130 USD
• Green card for the car: £34/€40/$45 USD
• Air top up for tire (VAZDUH): Free
• Forest’s Whispers (Airbnb) 1 night: £25/€29/$32 USD