Updated October 21, 2026
Since 13 October, students and young Albanians have been protesting in Tirana against the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Several days have ended in clashes with the police in the city centre, and the footage has travelled a long way. If you have a trip to Albania booked for the coming weeks, you do not have to spend any of it in central Tirana. The airport is working normally, and Kruja is 20 km from it on a road that never enters the capital.
We live and work in Kruja. This page covers where the protests are, what the official travel advice says, how to get here from the airport and how to fill your days once you arrive. We will keep it updated while the protests go on.
Where the protests are
The protests began with a few hundred students outside the Ministry of Education, over tuition fees, the state of the universities and corruption. Within days they had grown into a wider movement calling on the prime minister to resign, which he has refused to do.
The clashes have been in central Tirana, around the Ministry of Education, the Prime Minister's office on Deshmoret e Kombit Boulevard and Skanderbeg Square. Protesters have set fire to government buildings and bank branches, and the police have used tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets. By 20 October around 300 people had been injured, more than half of them police officers.
Students have also marched in the centres of other cities, among them Durres, Shkodra, Elbasan, Korca and Vlora. The next large date is a national protest called for Saturday 24 October at 10:00, outside the Prime Minister's office in Tirana.
What the official travel advice says
The UK Foreign Office, in its update of 15 October, does not advise against travel to Albania. It tells visitors to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings, follow local news and do what the local authorities say. The US State Department still has Albania at Level 2, exercise increased caution, the same level it set in August because of crime.
Check your own government's advice before you fly. Travel insurance usually depends on it.
The airport is open, and you can reach Kruja without entering Tirana
Tirana International Airport (Rinas) said on 17 October that all flights were running to schedule, after rumours of disruption spread on social media.
The airport is north of the capital, on the side towards Kruja. From the terminal to Kruja is about 20 km and 30 minutes. The road crosses the plain to Fushe-Kruje and climbs the hill, and it never enters Tirana.
The airport bus to Tirana stops behind the Opera on Skanderbeg Square, right where the protests have been. If you are coming to Kruja you do not need it. A fixed-price private transfer from arrivals to Kruja costs €25 per car.
What it is like in Kruja
Kruja is a hill town of narrow streets below a castle, with no ministries and no university. There have been no protests in the town.
Kruja Castle, the Skanderbeg Museum, the Ethnographic Museum and the Old Bazaar keep their normal opening hours, and our tours are running on their usual schedule.
The nearest protest so far was on 15 October in Fushe-Kruje, the town on the plain at the foot of the hill. Pupils from its high school blocked the main street for a few minutes with smoke bombs, then left for Tirana. The airport road passes through Fushe-Kruje, so if anything is happening there on the day of your transfer, your driver will know about it in advance.
How to spend your days around Kruja
Everything worth seeing here is in the old town or on the mountain behind it, so you can fill three or four days without going near a city centre. Late October is a good time for it. The summer heat has gone and the castle is much quieter than in July and August.
| Place | From Kruja | Time to allow |
|---|---|---|
| Kruja Castle, the Skanderbeg Museum and the Old Bazaar | In the old town | Half a day |
| The Holy Cave of Sari Salltik | 7 km up the mountain, about 20 min by car | 2 to 3 hours |
| Rrapi i Ballabanecit, the old plane tree and spring | 1 km, 15 min on foot | About an hour |
| Cold War tunnels and the abandoned base | About 10 min north by car | About 2 hours |
| Droja canyon (Gryka e Vajes) | 4 km north | A full day with the hike |
| Qafshtama National Park | About 20 km, 30 to 40 min by car | Half a day |
| Zeza gorge and the Ottoman bridges | About 26 km, 35 min by car | About 2 hours on the path |
If you still want to see Tirana
From Kruja, central Tirana is 32 km and about 50 minutes by car, so it works as a short trip on a quiet day, with your bed up the hill. Check the news that morning, keep away from Skanderbeg Square, Deshmoret e Kombit Boulevard and the ministries around them, and leave if you see a crowd forming.
Do not plan to be in the centre on Saturday 24 October. Do not stop to film police lines or crowds either. Tear gas spreads well beyond the street where it is fired.
From the airport straight to Kruja
A private transfer from Tirana airport to Kruja is a fixed €25 per car, agreed before you travel. The driver meets you in arrivals and drives north, away from the city.
Or see Kruja with a local guide
Our half-day Castle and Old Bazaar tour can collect you from the airport and puts a local guide with you in the castle and the bazaar.
Travelling to Albania during the protests: common questions
Is it safe to travel to Albania during the protests?
The protests are concentrated in central Tirana, around government buildings, and the UK Foreign Office has not advised against travel to Albania. Keep away from demonstrations, follow local news and stay outside the capital, for example in Kruja.
Is Tirana airport open during the protests?
Yes. Tirana International Airport said on 17 October that all flights were operating to schedule with no disruption to services.
Are there protests in Kruja?
Not in Kruja itself. The nearest was a short protest by high school pupils in Fushe-Kruje, on the plain below the town, on 15 October.
Can I get from Tirana airport to Kruja without going through Tirana?
Yes. The airport lies north of the capital, and the 20 km drive to Kruja takes about 30 minutes without entering the city. A fixed-price private transfer costs €25 per car.
Which parts of Tirana should I avoid?
Skanderbeg Square, Deshmoret e Kombit Boulevard, the Prime Minister's office and the Ministry of Education, where the clashes have been. Students have called a national protest outside the Prime Minister's office for Saturday 24 October at 10:00.
