The Bari Durres ferry (traghetti Bari Durrazzo) is a convenient way to travel across the Adriatic between Italy and Albania. This essential guide answers all of your questions about tickets, immigration, the ferry ride itself – and much more.
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Important: This guide is based on my travel experience in 2019. Things change regularly – please check procedures, timetables etc. locally.
After our week in Sicily – and a much-needed break from the Balkans – it was time to head to northern Albania. We decided to take the overnight ferry from the Italian city of Bari in Puglia region to Durres (Durrës) on the Albanian coast.
It’s a seemingly straightforward, 230 km journey across the Adriatic, taking between 9 and 10 hours and costing as little as 50 Euro per person (a good deal when you consider it includes a night of accommodation).
The ferry ride was an interesting travel experience – but we faced a few challenges along the way. I’m surprised at just how little information is out there about the ferry and what’s required of passengers. Had we not been on the ball, we might have missed the boat.
This guide is designed to answer your questions about the Bari Durres ferry and provide the essential information both the ferry companies and port leave out.
Before you travel
Follow these steps before you travel from Albania to Italy on the Bari Durres ferry.
Applying for an Albanian visa
Many nationalities (including Australian, UK and US citizens) can travel to Albania as a tourist visa-free.
Check if you need an Albanian visa, and apply for one if you do, through iVisa.
Buying Bari Durres ferry tickets online
There are currently three ferry operators on the Bari Durres route: Adria Ferries, Ventouris Ferries and Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV). Picking one is like choosing the best of a bad bunch – all of them have pretty bad online reviews.
Adria is reportedly the best choice if you’re travelling with a car and about to embark on a road trip around Albania. We weren’t, so we chose GNV – but only because the price was slightly better.
What we didn’t realise at the time of booking is that the three companies share ships. Even though we booked GNV ferry tickets, we ended up on an AF Adria boat.
We bought our tickets directly through the GNV website. But I wish we hadn’t. When we printed our PDF booking voucher, we noticed that the system had issued two tickets in Ross’s name (for Mr. and Mrs.). There was no record of my name. I still have no idea how this happened, but it must have been a glitch with the booking system or an autofill error on our end.
We’re lucky the ticket attendant in Bari cut us a break and changed the name for us free of charge. Otherwise we would have had to fork out for another ticket at the last minute.
If you want the safety net of booking through a third-party agent, Direct Ferries offers competitive prices for all ferry companies on the Bari Durres, Bari Dubrovnik and Bari Bar routes. Check prices and availability for the Bari Durres ferry here.
Ticket types & prices
Adria, Ventouris and GNV all have a similar pricing structure. When you book online, there are several types of ticket to choose from:
| Type | Sleeping arrangement |
| Deck space | No seat or cabin – find your own spot to sleep in the lounge and use the public bathrooms. |
| Reserved seat | An assigned recliner seat, similar to a plane seat, in a large room. Use the public bathrooms. |
| Shared cabin (sex-segregated) | A bed in a 2 or 4 berth cabin. Washbasin in the room. |
| Private cabin (outside) | Your own cabin, either 2 or 4 berth (single bunk beds). Includes private en suite and a window. |
| Private cabin (inside) | Same as above, but with no window. |
| Deluxe cabin | Your own cabin for 2 people (double beds). Includes private en suite. |
To book tickets online, first select your destination and day of departure. You’ll be asked to input the age of all passengers and whether or not you’re travelling with a vehicle. On the next page, choose your preferred ferry company (note the departure time and travel duration), and then select your preferred seats.
To complete the booking, you’ll need to enter passport details for all travellers. You also have the option to add cancellation cover, which allows you to cancel your booking free of charge up to 48 hours before departure.
IMPORTANT! If you reserve your Bari Durres ferry tickets online, you will be issued with a PDF voucher and instructions to print it. It has a barcode and everything – BUT THIS IS NOT YOUR BOARDING PASS! To be allowed on the ferry, you must swap the voucher for tickets on the day of travel.
We couldn’t find any information about this process on the GNV website, nor were there any signs at the port in Bari. We only knew to do this after reading a thread on TripAdvisor. We also confirmed with a staff member at the ferry terminal.
Collecting the boarding passes is quite an involved process (as you’ll soon see). Had we not arrived early to swap the voucher, we would have been denied boarding.
See the next section for detailed instructions on how to collect your ferry tickets.
Buying Bari Durres ferry tickets in person
Adria, Ventouris and GNV all have ticket offices inside the Bari ferry terminal, and inside the Durres terminal at the other end.
At the time of writing, the GNV desk in Bari was papered over and clearly closed for the foreseeable future. Adria and Ventouris were both closed when we first arrived in the morning (at about 11am) but open from about 5.30/6pm.
There are some reports online that ticket prices drop closer to the day of travel. We booked a few months in advance, so I can’t confirm this. In summer, when the ferries often sell out, you wouldn’t want to take the risk.
Where to stay in Bari
If you’re transiting through Bari, you might choose to stay in the city for a night before your ferry ride. This is what we did.
We stayed at Il Prisicio, a bed and breakfast close to the train station and bus terminal. (It’s also a few blocks from the best focaccia in Bari and one of the best pizza joints in town!) We arrived late on a bus from Sicily, so this was a great option for us.
If you prefer to stay near the Bari ferry terminal, there are several B&Bs in the northern part of the Old Town. Il Trespolo Degli Angeli is close to the waterfront and comes recommended.
Day of travel
Getting to the ferry terminal in Bari
There are two passenger ferry terminals in Bari – make sure you go to the right one.
The terminal for international ferries to Croatia, Montenegro and Albania is the car ferry terminal, called Porto di Bari on Google Maps. It’s the large blue and glass building on the western side of the port.
The other terminal, Terminal Crociere, services cruise ships and boats to Greece. We made the mistake of going here first. Again, there was no signage to indicate which terminal was ours – we only realised our mistake halfway through the process of putting our bags in the left luggage room.
City bus number 50 runs from Bari Centrale train station to both ferry terminals. A single fare costs 1 Euro and tickets can be purchased at the kiosk outside the train station (directly to the left as you exit) or at any tobacco shop in the city. Remember to validate your bus ticket using the yellow stamp box on the bus.
The bus stops at the cruise terminal first. Make sure you get off at the last stop, right outside Porto di Bari.
Leaving luggage at Bari ferry terminal
On the left side of the Porto di Bari terminal building there’s a row of glass buildings that run parallel. The last of these is a luggage storage office (Gruppo Portabagagli) where you can ‘deposito bagagli’, AKA leave your bags.
The luggage storage is open from 8am until 10pm, and is closed between 1pm and 4pm for lunch. It costs 4 Euros per bag (far cheaper than the rate at Bari train station) for the entire day.
When you drop off a bag, you’ll be issued with a handwritten receipt that you must hold onto and present later.
We left two bags and had no problems whatsoever. As always, use common sense and never leave valuables in luggage storage.
What to bring on the Bari Durres ferry
If you don’t want to eat at the on-board restaurant, bring your own snacks for the ferry ride. Water on the boat isn’t potable so you’ll also need to bring bottled water (or a steri pen or similar).
If you’re a light sleeper, it’s also a good idea to pack earplugs.
Swapping your online reservation for a boarding pass
So you’re at the Bari terminal, snacks in hand, logged onto the free WIFI and ready to board. Not so fast.
If you booked your ferry tickets online, there’s one more thing you need to do first.
In one of the most ridiculous boarding procedures we’ve ever encountered, you have to swap your online voucher for boarding passes. Incredibly, this happens at a different location 2 km away from the terminal. Yep – you literally have to catch a bus to another location to collect your tickets.
As you exit the Porto di Bari terminal, you’ll see a glass bus stand directly on your left (if you caught the bus down, it’s same place the number 50 bus dropped you off). From here, you need to catch a shuttle bus to Marisabella, another port 10 minutes up the road.
Mercifully, the shuttle is free. But since it does a loop, it only runs every 30 minutes. Look out for the small white vans with ‘Marisabella’ in flashing lights above the window screen.
Get off the shuttle at the last stop, in front of the white tents. These are the ticket desks where you exchange your online reservation voucher for a ferry boarding pass.
You must present your passport or travel documents at this time (but you don’t need your luggage with you – leave that in storage for as long as possible). The shuttle idles in front of the tents before returning to the main terminal. If there’s no line, you can pick up your tickets and jump straight back on the shuttle (otherwise you need to wait 30 minutes for the next bus).
This process is the same for ferries to Durres, Dubrovnik and Bar and must be completed by all passengers who booked tickets online. You’ll see that each ferry company has its own service window.
When we found out about this the morning of, we thought we’d be clever and go down to Mirisabella early to beat the crowds. But sadly, the desks don’t open until 5pm.
That means you have a 4-hour window, from 5pm until 9pm, to collect your ferry boarding passes before getting on the boat.
By the time you wait for a shuttle, this extra step adds at least an hour to the check in process.
This process makes absolutely no sense to me – there are ticket windows in the main terminal, why not issue the boarding passes there instead of making passengers go all the way to Marisabella? The shuttle bus is tiny and runs so infrequently, I imagine it must be chaos in summer.
Boarding the ferry
We caught the Marisabella shuttle at 5pm and were back at the boarding terminal by 6pm. A friendly lady at the information counter told us that boarding for our 10pm ferry would commence at 7.30pm. The waiting area is comfortable enough (and air conditioned), so we waited there.
The boarding area is located at the far end of the terminal building. There are two separate lines, one for EU and another for non-EU citizens. At 8pm, people started trickling through. We boarded the ferry just in time to see the sun set over Bari from the upper deck.
We passed EU immigration, ran our bags through a security scanner, and exited the terminal through the back. Several ferries all board at the same time, so your boat might be docked a short distance away.
We were surprised to find our boat was not a GNV boat but an AF Adria boat.
We walked sheepishly up the car ramp and climbed the stairs all the way to the reception to check in. If you have a cabin, this is when you receive your key. You must leave a passport with the reception staff as collateral. This is exchanged back when you check out.
If you only have deck space or a seat, you can proceed directly to your seating area without visiting reception.
What is the Bari Durres ferry ride like?
Inside our Bari Durres ferry cabin
Because we booked months in advance, we went all out and reserved a private 4-berth seaview (i.e. outside) cabin. Sounds fancy, huh?
The cabin was, in fact, pretty basic. It reminded us of a sleeper train berth. The cabin comes with two sets of bunk beds fitted with clean linens, blankets, and full-size pillows. The adjoining bathroom has a toilet, shower and basin. We were also given two bath towels, although they are more like tea towels.
Our room also had a small portal window, two power sockets, a night table and a clothes cupboard.
There is no WIFI connection in the cabins, but there is free WIFI in the bar lounge area.
Deck space
At first we couldn’t figure out how to get outside – there is no exit to the deck on the restaurant level. Inside, you need to go up a floor and use one of the exits at either end of the cabin hallway.
Once outside, there are stairs to access the upper deck.
Eating & drinking on the ferry
The AF Adria boat has a bar/cafe and a large lounge area, plus a separate restaurant. Prices are reasonable (€1.50 for a coffee, €3 for a beer, and restaurant meals for €5-10.
Is the Bari Durres ferry ride rough?
The ferry ride is pretty smooth, but the engine noise in the cabins is extremely loud. It’s far quieter in the lounge area.
We heard a loud vibration all night. It didn’t bother me, but if you’re sensitive to noise you might not get much sleep.
There was no turbulence or rocking of any sort – in fact, we couldn’t really tell if we were moving or not.
Arrival in Durres
Disembarking the ferry
At 6am the next morning there was a loud speaker call out for passengers with cabins to check out. We couldn’t hear the announcement clearly in our room, only in the hallway. You’d do well to set an alarm to make sure you’re up in time.
We showered, packed, and checked out. By 6.30am, the upstairs bar area was full of passengers ready to disembark. A few people had clearly been sleeping in the lounge area, stretched out on the booth chairs.
The ship docked at 7am and after a 30-minute wait, we were free to disembark. There was no official direction to do so, but once we noticed people going downstairs, we followed. We walked out the back of the boat the same way we came, doing our best to avoid the huge lorries coming down the car ramp.
Albanian immigration
Once off the ferry, passengers walk directly into the Albanian immigration building where there are 4 desks processing passports. There was no line, so we walked straight through.
In the entry hall in Durres, we noticed electronic self-check in machines. If these are operational, I assume they take the place of the convoluted ticket exchange you have to do in Bari when travelling the opposite way.
Leaving Durres
Buses from Durres to Tirana
As you exit the Durres ferry terminal building, you’ll see a pedestrian overpass directly to your right. Walk over this to reach the railway/bus station.
Things are a bit hectic at the other end – we were met by a flurry of taxi drivers and money exchangers. We walked past them and jumped straight on a bus bound for Tirana (just ask around for the correct one).
These are large coaches that depart regularly once full. Tickets to Tirana cost 1 Euro per person and can be bought on board. Drivers accept both Euro and Lek, so don’t worry about changing money just yet.
Buses from Tirana to elsewhere in Albania
The bus drops passengers off on the western outskirts of the city at the Regional Bus Terminal – South Albania. From here, you can connect directly to buses bound for Berat, Gjirokaster, Vlore, and other destinations in the south of Albania.
Buses to Berat are regular, but Sarande, Gjirokaster and Vlore services are more ad-hoc. The Google Maps link above takes you to a photo of the bus timetable, signposted at the station.
Since we were going to Shkoder, we had to get to Stacioni I Veriut, where northern buses depart. It’s a 1.4 km walk east past banks and cafes. The two bus stations are on the same road, so it’s easy enough to find the one you need. Take a taxi if you prefer.
Buses to Shkoder depart Tirana every hour. Tickets cost 300 Lek per person ($2.70) when we travelled.
Bari Durres ferry: The verdict
Was the Durres Bari ferry worth it? Would I do it again, or even recommend it to other travellers?
If you know what you’re doing and you come prepared, I think the Bari Durres ferry is a nice way to travel. You can probably find flights for a cheaper price – but since the ferry includes a night of accommodation, it works out quiet well.
Are you considering taking the Bari Durres ferry from Italy to Albania? If you have any questions or tips for other travellers, please leave them in the comments below.
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That was great information. I still have a question about customs in Bari. I am booked to sail in March 2024. I need to get a customs stamp in Bari for VAT refund. Where is the customs office located in the Bari terminal? Did you see the office and notice their hours of operation? Any help or tips are appreciated.
Hi JP – I didn’t use the VAT refund facilities so I’m not sure. Let’s see if another traveller can answer your question.
Thanks Emily. That was invaluable information. I am not sure how we would have got sorted without your detailed instructions., most appreciated.
I am not sure why there is such a convoluted process but the fact that no information was supplied explaining what to do, makes it even worse.
Glad I could help! Hope you had a pleasant journey!
Thanks, great blog, it helped us too, as we were prepared and showed up early. We took the ferry yesterday, the process in Bari still functions as mentioned in the blog. Perhaps two things to add, that might be of use to others:
1. DO USE THE FERRY! My girl friend and I seriously doubted it due to all the 1-star reviews on Google, but did not really have a choice since we don’t want to fly. Though I will not write a review myself (since Google is evil), I will share it here: we had an AMAZING experience. The cabin is more than decent (most negative reviews seems to be written by people who did not have a cabin…In that case you probably shouldn’t complain in the first place – the experience is bound to be chaotic then…): shower with hot water, own toilet. The staff was kind, food and beverages reasonably priced (e.g.: cup of tea, 2 euros; compare that for instance to the ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki, 7 euros per beer!). More importantly: I slept like a baby, the boat did not make too much noise. Surely it helps that the tourist season is still to begin, as there were not too many people on the boat. Still, what a wonderful experience the ride was: it merely cost 140 euros for two people. And it beat the night train (which we had the night before, from Bari to Milan): no stops, better beds, privacy. And great views over the seas.
2. It does indeed appear odd, the way the process is organized in Bari, with the shuttle bus. Since there must be a reason (right?), my girlfriend suggested: perhaps it’s because the shuttle bus stopped halfway between the ferry and the place where you exchange your voucher for actual tickets, at a trucker’s stop, to pick up drivers who had parked there truck there in a designated area. In others words: perhaps this process is catered to truck drivers. After all, the ferries probably carry cargo, too (or even predominantly?). This is just conjecture, but might help you when you feel frustrated, too. Yes, Italians are crazy, but perhaps not in this respect
Thanks for the updates! I agree with you, it’s a fun experience!
Hi! Thanks for all this great info. Do you know if the voucher/ticket process is the same for the way back from durres to bari? Also, is it GNV the only company that does this, or is it all the ferry companies?
Hi Matt – I am not sure, but from previous comments it seems the boarding process at Durres is more straightforward. Best to check with the company directly just in case. Good luck and safe crossing!
Thanks again for valuable info. Going across with car in early April..
byeeee
steve
Good luck, Steve! Safe journey. Please feel free to drop back with any updates to the process.
Thank you very much for this guide! It was very helpful and avoid us a lot of stress!!
We took the ferry Bari – Durres on February 11th, 2023 and the process is still the same. GVN only changes the tickets from 5pm but we saw that Adria Ferries was opened to public.
Fortunately, due to the low season, the ferry wasn’t very crowded and, despite all odds, it arrived an hour early in Durres.
Thanks so much Leo for the update!
Tirana/Durres bus is now 200LEK or €2 and Tirana/Shkodar bus is now 400LEK. Will see what the ferry is like tomorrow. I really wanted to fly Air Albania back into Tirana but the Flixbus/ferry option was of course cheaper. Thanks for the article. KH
Thanks for the update Kelvin! Have a safe journey – and please drop back if you have any updates to share about the ferry.
Back again, I forgot to mention that as a foot passenger you have to walk up the car/lorry ramp which is a bit strange
Hi Craig – yes I remember walking up that ramp too! Thanks a lot for the travel report. Hope you enjoyed your time in Albania!
yes Albania was lovelly and I will be back later this year Vlore was great not so impressed with Durres but I must say nearly all things on the front were closed as they are building a new promenade so the bars open were much more expensive. Interesting to note that when you are getting the ferry back to Italy you can actually check in at the port terminal,BUT, be aware they will say to go through passport control at least an hour before the boat arrives and there are no toilets available
Thanks for the information, Craig!
Hi Emily another person that was saved the hassle of checkin,I actually got a taxi from Bari Central station as my luggage was heavy,luckilly the taxi driver said about the convoluted checkin so he took me to the tents waited then took me back to the boat.
Well what can I say about Albania,all my friends in the UK thought I was mad to go there(very dangerous they say),ALL of the Albanians I have met so far have been very friendly very helpful even when not taking your money, Vlore is wonderfull and even though it is December the temperatures are good average 18deg,and the place is so cheap.
Typcal Brit here,3 pints,3 vodka tonics and a takeawat pizza for £18
We’re you able to use card payment on the ferry or only cash?
Hi Claire, do you mean for the restaurant-bar? I am not 100% sure but I am confident that they do accept card. Maybe it’s best to take some cash just in case.
Thank you so much for this invaluable information! I was never going to take the ferry as I had a previous problem with them, but I did anyway. I’m so glad you mentioned needing to exchange your online voucher for a ticket at Marisabella. We went there a little after 5, got our tickets and proceeded to the terminal. Our online voucher said boarding began at 6, but they didn’t begin to board passengers until 7:30. By the time they got to us it was nearly 8. If we had just shown up with our online vouchers we might have missed the boat as there was barely enough time left to get to Marisabella and back before boarding closed at 9. I’m happy to say the experience on the Albanian side went very smoothly both coming and going. They were much more organized than the Italians. Thank you, Grazie, and Faleminderit!
Thanks Andrea for your trip report, I’m really glad you made the ferry as well! Enjoy your time in beautiful Albania!
I’m so glad I found this post! Thank you for the comprehensive write-up.
Fellow Aussie here, I’m doing the same trip today and can confirm that the contrived check-in process is still as you described it: as I write this I’m waiting for the return bus at the check-in desks under the white tented area, having just failed to check in because it’s only 12:30pm. I thought I’d see if I could do an early check-in since the bus happened to arrive at the terminal as I walked out from dropping off my luggage, but no such luck unfortunately, so I’ll come back this evening and check in then.
Also, the bag storage place wasn’t open, but I found one of the staff inside the (blue glass) terminal and he called someone to come open it up for me, in case that helps someone else. It reopens for collection from 5-9pm.
Thanks again for the helpful post – it saved me what would’ve been a stressful day!
Hi Dan – thank you so much for taking the time to leave this update. Sorry you had a similar experience! I thought they would have streamlined the process by now. This is very helpful for other travellers, so thank you again. Hope it all worked out and you had a safe journey!
This was an amazing find! Thank you for sharing all the details about the process!
You’re welcome, Bethany! I am not sure if the process is still the same – please drop back with any updates if you get a chance! Safe travels!
I travelled with my car from Bari to Durres on 27.09.2021 (Monday) Adrian Ferries.
There was so many bad reviews, so I prepared for worst, but I would say that actually everything was okay.
Booking:
I bought the tickets online from Adrian Ferries website, 1 car and two passengers. We chose deck seats (sleepers – these airplane seats) to save some money. Total cost was around 156 euros.
On the tickets there was note that check-in needs to be done at least 2 hours before.
Check-In:
We arrived to Bari early, so we left our car to parking place nearby, Parcheggio Saba Porto (reasonable price, I guess it was 1.5 euro for first hour and max 4 euros for entire day).
I decided to go by foot and check where we can do the check-in, so that we won’t have troubles in the evening and we can spend some time discovering Bari. Although I read your post, I don’t know why I still went to this Car Ferry Terminal building (this blue glass one). Nothing to do there 😅. Next bad decision was the attempt to walk to the check-in area (these white tents -Ansa di Marisabella) where the actual check-in happens. On the port territory you actually cannot walk this 3 km (you will find this out after 1 km, as there are some forbidden areas for pedestrians). Luckily we noticed the free shuttle bus on the half way and jumped onto that.
There was no queue, so we made our check-in at 15:50 and we were able to catch the shuttle bus back at 16:00.
We just showed this booking PDF from my phone and gave passports and car documents.
We received our tickets (+ some port security tickets) and was told that we can enter the port (bording) area from 18:30 to 20:30 (on the ticket there was written that gate is closing 1 hour before).
Boarding:
We arrived to port around 19:40. If you are travelling with a car, then the check-in is actually in logical place and all the signs nicely guide you through check-in area (we basically skipped this, as our check-in was already done. We just did a quick stop to pack some stuff). After this you will drive through port security (they will scan these small port tickets, not ferry ones), just follow the signs for Albania. Next stop should be the Border Control here
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HJkBuMMNHYn27qa48
We got to onto the ferry around 1 hr later at 20:50 (passengers are asked to leave the car when entering the ferry).
Ferry ride:
Our ferry was AF Marina. I would say that only 20 – 30% percent of car decks were full (top deck was totally empty, lowest deck was full and the middle one had few cars and trucks.
In the sleepers area there was plenty of the room and most of the people got 4 seats for sleeping and nobody didn’t care about seat numbers. I guess it was just because there was very few passengers.
Sleepers area was a little bit noisy (engine sound), chilly and there were some bright lights, so take your eye-blinds, earplugs and blanket with you 🙂
Thank you so much for the detailed report, Siim – this is extremely helpful for other travellers!
I booked passage from Bari to Durres. I had to change my travel plans. I got online to cancel my ticket and get a refund. There was no way to cancel online. I tried the emails listed and everything came back as undelivered. It said the recipients server refused to accept my email.
I tried calling. Some numbers were out of service. One said mailbox full. Another I got someone who spoke no English and hung up on me. I noticed that they had a number for an office in London, so I called there knowing I would get someone who spoke English. The agent there said I had to call Greece to cancel and gave me a number. The guy in Greece said I had to forward my confirmation email to him. I forwarded it and it came back undelivered the same as the others. They successfully got my money, but they have lost me as a future customer. I’m venting here because I couldn’t find a place to post on Traveladvisor.com or Trust Pilot. I booked directly through the Ventouris website. Maybe it might have gone differently if I had gone through one of the many booking agencies. But these people are theives!
I’m really sorry to hear that, Andrea! I can imagine how frustrating that must have been. Thank you for sharing the difficulties and suggestion to go through an agent, I’m sure it will help future travellers.
Safe travels.
hello, I will be in Albania in a couple of months and definitely want to visit Italy. Does everyone have to travel from the terminal to the ticket office or just those who purchased online? thanks.
Hi Niles, I can’t say for sure but I would assume it’s just online tickets that have to be ‘exchanged’. If you’re buying tickets at the dock, I’m sure you can ask there? It would be worth double checking at the time of purchase. Hope this helps!
Thank you!
At last some information!! It’s pretty difficult to find a good overview of this Adriatic crossing!
I’ve learnt a few things here! Thanks a lot!! We’ll book with a camper so we’ll go and book with Adria… even though the online reviews are absolutely dreadful… (But then again, most people who are satisfied, dont bother leave reviews ;-))
Glad I could help, Alex! They all have pretty bad reviews, don’t they! I didn’t think the experience was so bad. If you read closely most people seem to complain about the delays/disorganisation/lack of information.
Good luck and safe travels!
Thanks for your answer Emily!
As far as I’m concerned, if we can get a night of rest is a liveable cabin, without too much noise and smell, and end up the experience with a suitable breakfast, I’ll be ok with this… And if it’s worse than that, our simple camper will feel like a luxury suite for the rest of the trip 😀 And we won’t have to worry about a return journey since it’ll be by road 😉
That’s a good way of looking at it! It’s a memorable experience, let me put it that way. A bit noisy, but the cabins are certainly clean and comfortable.
I hope you enjoy the journey!
If you like crossing with ferries, and ever get the change to do the Navimag crossing from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales in Chile, don’t hesitate! I did this in February 2012. We got luck with the weather, and it remains one of my favorite solo traveling experience ever!
Just Googled it… Yep, that’s going on the list!
Hi,
This is perfect, and the photos especially help. If anyone has done this route with dogs (in kennels) will you please comment? I will be going Durrës-Bari then back sometime mid-December 2019 or early January 2020….and of course I will add a comment with my experience afterwards. (I am a US citizen living in Tiranë, so of course everything is “beaurocratically complicated”). Love your blogs!
Thanks Kai! Hoping someone who’s travelled with a dog can chime in. That would be much appreciated if you could drop back with any updates!
Happy travels!
Hi Emily!
thanks about good information.
we are planning to use this ferry next month.
Do you know when is the check-in time limit?
I checked direct ferries website,
it says
latest check-in are
Ventouris 120mins minutes prior to departure
GNV 240minutes prior to departure
Adria 150mins minutes prior to departure
do you think these limit is true??
Hi Fumie,
Yes, that sounds right. I don’t know how strictly those time limits are enforced, but if those are the stated caps, then I would go off that. The check in process is very time consuming (as you can probably tell from my post!). It’s always better to get in early, get the ticket thing done, then relax on the boat (in my opinion).
Enjoy your trip!
This was so helpful!! Thank you very much
Thank you for this amazing guide! We’re currently waiting at the port in Bari waiting to board the ferry. We would have been completely lost if we hadn’t read about picking up the boarding passes from the other side of the port! Fingers crossed it’s a smooth crossing.
Hi Andrew! Glad I could help. It was a bit of a stressful day for us, so I wanted to try and make things easier for other travellers.
Have a safe trip and a wonderful time in Albania!
I travelled on 31/8/19 and the procedure was exactly as described – thank goodness I read it before I got there!!! We departed three hours late but only arrived one hour late – ???!!!
Hi Chris!
Fantastic – thanks so much for dropping back and letting me know.
How curious! I suppose they were able to make up some time by speeding up during the night?
Enjoy your time Albania!
I’m currently on a train heading to Bari for the ferry – very glad I just read your report, otherwise the ticket process would have been very confusing!! Fingers crossed this somewhat convoluted process works out!! THANK YOU!!
Good luck, Chris! If you have time to drop back and let me know how it all goes, I would really appreciate it. It wasn’t long ago that I was there but things do change and I want to keep this post as up to date as possible for other travellers.
Enjoy the ride!