Port to Port: Our Journey Getting from Italy to Albania – A Step-by-Step Guide for Budget Travelers

If you’ve been following along, you know we’re no strangers to border crossings-but this trip packed in a few firsts even for us. From our first transatlantic cruise to navigating Italian trains and an overnight ferry to Albania, we learned a lot (sometimes the hard way). In this guide, we share our real journey from west coast of Italy to Albania, with the practical tips, surprises, and honest advice only firsthand experience can provide. Bonus! – You’ll get the knowledge we wish we had had!

Ready to ride along?

First Step: Getting to Rome – Our Journey from Civitavecchia Port to Rome

Arriving to Italy by cruise ship and wondering how to get from Civitavecchia to Rome on your own? We got you! After traveling full-time for years, we know how important it is to have honest, experience-backed info — and that’s exactly what you’ll find here.

Disembarking the Cruise Ship and Getting to the Train Station

The first leg of the journey was pretty smooth if a little confusing… There was was an announcement onboard our cruise ship that the Port had a free shuttle that would take you to the exit gate of the port (walking to the gate is not allowed!), and then the train station was a 10 to 15 minute walk, or you could pay Princess Cruise line for a transfer directly to the train station. However once we exited the cruise ship we were shuffled into a line for a shuttle bus that we then paid €6 per person and that bus took us directly to the train station. Not sure if the cruise line purposefully didn’t mention this, the port surprised us with something new or we just got lucky.

DISEMBARKATION TIP: Despite what the cruise line announced – Look for the direct bus to the train station (€6 per person, accepts cash and cards). This is faster and more convenient than the free port shuttle, which drops you at the port exit, requiring a 15-minute walk to the train station.

Train Schedule, Tickets and Journey Details

Once at the Civitavecchia train station, you’ll see a couple places out front with big signs and banners advertising tickets to Rome. Ignore these and head inside the station building instead. In there are self-service ticket machines where you can just buy a ticket without paying extra and having to refuse any up-sale spiel to add sightseeing tours.

The machines have an option to select English and they’re pretty simple to use. Like, they are designed so that literally anyone can just walk up and buy a train ticket, no advanced education required. The fare from Civitavecchia to Rome Termini station was €4.60 each (approximately $5.08), significantly cheaper than pre-arranged transfers or tour packages.

TICKET BUYING ADVICE:

• Skip the tourist ticket vendors outside the station
• Use the self-service machines inside (English option available)
• Standard fare is just €4.60 per person to Rome Termini
• Trains run frequently

Trains between Civitavecchia and Rome run frequently throughout the day. During our visit, departures were available at 10:27, 10:44, 11:07, 11:53, and many more times.

Since it was 10:21 when I bought the tickets, we elected to pass on the 10:27 option. Good thing, too – the departure platform was on the other side of the tracks and requires navigating under the tracks via a passageway. There is an elevator (it’s not easy to find!) but it fits only 2 or 3 people if they are traveling light. With all the cruise passengers arriving at once, the line for the elevator was not short. We chose the stairs rather than the queue and made the 10:44 train with time to spare.

Civitavecchia to Rome is a pretty short run but the regional train we took made several stops times along the way. We left Civitavecchia at 10:44 and were in our room in Rome by 12:15. (Now, to be fair, our room was about a block from Rome Termini station.)

LUGGAGE ALERT: The train was crowded and regional trains have limited storage space. Expect aisles and seats to be crowded with suitcases filing the aisle when cruise ships arrive. The small overhead racks won’t fit standard backpacks (my 19L daypack wouldn’t fit!).

A Taste of Rome

We didn’t plan to see much of Rome on this journey; we opted for basically a ‘No thank you helping’ to see how we felt about the city. We initially planned to stop for one night to avoid risking tight connections. The Bari-Durrës ferry route is a single overnight sailing at 22:00, arriving in Durres at 08:00. The ferry company asks passengers to check in 3 hours prior to sailing, which would mean leaving Rome no later than 14:00, which meant leaving Civitavecchia no later than 12:30. We had no way of predicting whether or not we would be off the ship and at the train station by 11:30 to make that happen.

As it turns out, our disembarkation from the cruise ship ran early and we could have made the whole journey in one shot but it would have been a long travel day (train to Rome, train to Bari, ferry to Durres)

Since we were then committed to spending one night in Rome, why not two? That way, we could have a full day of sightseeing and a casual travel day the following day. Based on arriving to Civitavecchia/Rome on a Tuesday morning, we had booked our ferry tickets for Thursday night.

PLANNING ADVICE: If you’re connecting to onward transportation from Rome, build in buffer time after your cruise. Disembarkation timing can be unpredictable, and Rome deserves at least a full day if possible.

We’ve not been to Rome before so we thought it would be good to take a day and see if we need to come back for a long stay or if we could just do day trips into Rome while staying somewhere with easy access by train. The second option is most likely the way we’ll go. The city is massive and somewhat overwhelming so we feel like it needs to be explored in small doses.

We’ll be in Albania for at least two months and will probably stay relatively close enough for a month or more afterward so we could do a few city adventures to see specific areas. We got a taste of what to see by spending the day on one of the Hop-on/Hop-off bus tours. (more on that in another post)

In other logistics news:
The Bari to Durres ferry arrives at 8am and since we really didn’t relish the idea of hanging out with our luggage until the 15:00 check in time after spending the night on the ferry, we booked our apartment in Durrës to start on Thursday, so when the ferry arrived Friday morning, we could just go straight in to the apartment.

Rome Termini Station – A Surprising Food Destination

Side note about the Rome Termini station – it’s not like the food courts of public transit stations in the States. We spent a full day (Wednesday) sightseeing on the Hop-on/Hop-off bus and ate three delicious meals at the station’s food court. (We used BigBus and Termini is their Stop 1).

We walked over to the station from our accommodation, had a light breakfast and coffee, rode the HOHO bus all the way around one loop, had lunch, rode the bus to stop 5 and spent a couple hours seeing the sights then caught it back from Stop 4 to Termini and had dinner – it was that good!

TERMINI STATION INSIGHTS:

• Multiple dining options from cafes to sit-down restaurants
• Good quality food at reasonable prices
• Perfect base for hop-on/hop-off bus tours (BigBus Stop #1)
• Convenient location for dropping in between sightseeing sessions

Rome in One Day: What We Learned

For cruise passengers with limited time in Rome, here’s what we learned from our experience:

• Use the hop-on/hop-off bus for an overview
• Complete one full loop to see what interests you most
• Then get off at 1-2 stops for deeper exploration
• Consider staying somewhere outside Rome with good train access for future visits
• The city is massive and best explored in “small doses”

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Getting from Civitavecchia Cruise Port to Rome – Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. At the Port:
   • Disembark your cruise ship
   • Look for the direct bus to the train station (€6 per person)
   • Alternative: Take the free shuttle to the port exit + 15-minute walk to the train station
2. At Civitavecchia Station:
   • Enter the station building (ignore ticket vendors outside)
   • Use self-service machines with English option
   • Purchase ticket to Roma Termini (€4.60 per person)
   • Check departure board for train times and platform number
   • Allow time to reach platform (may require stairs/elevator)
3. On the Train:
   • Journey takes approximately 60-90 minutes
   • Regional trains make multiple stops
   • Limited luggage space available
4. Rome Arrival Options:
   • Roma Termini (main station, central location)
   • Roma San Pietro (closest to Vatican)
   • Roma Ostiense (good for southern attractions)

Recommended Timeline from Ship to City:

• 8:00-10:00 AM: Disembark ship
• 10:30 AM: Catch train from Civitavecchia
• 11:30 AM: Arrive Rome Termini
• 12:00 PM: Begin city exploration

Returning to Ship Same Day? Allow at least 2.5 hours from Rome to reach your ship before all-aboard time (90 minutes train journey + 60 minutes buffer).

Second Step: From Rome to Bari by train

There are multiple train companies in Italy with some overlap of routes. We didn’t even think about that but the first train we tried to get tickets for only ran once per day and was sold out for that day. However, the ticket machines on the other side of the aisle gave us multiple options for Rome to Bari on Thursday. So, ya know, be aware!, LOL. You can probably buy in advance online but we like to live dangerously sometimes.

TRAVEL TIP: Check both Trenitalia and Italo ticket machines for Rome to Bari routes. Schedules and prices can vary, and some trains sell out quickly.

Rome to Bari is around 270 miles which takes 4 hours by train. Expect to pay around €69 per person for second class tickets. The overhead racks accommodated all of our bags; the 22″ roller was about as big a bag as I would want to heft up there but people were definitely putting larger suitcases up. We had seats facing each other across a table which was pure dumb luck – as we didn’t choose seats at all.

Another thing to keep an eye on (and this is for train travel in general, not specific to Italy) is to make note of the final destination of the train you want to board and the train number. When looking at the monitor for departure time and platform, there was no train to Bari; the train to Lecce stops at Bari. The NUMBER of the train is what you want to look out for. At Termini, platforms only show up on the monitor 15 to 20 minutes prior to departure so there is no point in going through the security door from the main area to the platforms way ahead of time. There’s nothing to do and no seating. You’ll be below ground level so be prepared for a flight of stairs or potentially a queue at one of the lifts.

I don’t know if it’s usual or had something to do with that days schedule but they stopped at Foggia for 15 minutes and a few people got off to smoke (and one guy to walk his dog).

The train station at Bari is not as interesting as Termini but there is a convenience store and a couple of cafes right at the station. It’s in a pretty concentrated business district so if you walk a block or two you’ll find a bunch more food options. There is a luggage storage place. We didn’t look at it because the one at Termini wanted 6€ per bag for up to 4 hours and I had no interest in paying someone $20 to watch our bags so we could walk around for a couple of hours. We just hung out at a cafe. We’ll probably get back to have a look at Bari sometime anyway.

Note about Visas – no not the credit card, the tourist visa. At the time of our visit to Albania many nationalities (including Australian, UK and US citizens) can travel to Albania as a tourist visa-free. If you are a U.S. citizen and intend to stay more than one year, or if you choose to work or study, you must apply for a residence permit. You can learn more through the U.S. Embassy in Albania website here.

Third Step: From Bari to Durrës by Ferry – An Adventure in Itself

Getting to the Bari Ferry Terminal

Once we had arrived to Bari, Italy, the journey got more interesting. When you exit the train station, turn to your left and you’ll see the gathering of buses. The city bus number 50 runs from the train station to port. It’s €1.5 per person and cash only. We checked Uber and it was US$27.

Make sure you know which ferry terminal you are departing from!

TRANSPORT OPTIONS FROM BARI STATION TO PORT:

• City Bus #50: €1.50 per person (CASH ONLY)
• Taxi/Uber: Approximately €27 ($30)
• Walking: Not recommended with luggage (30+ minutes)

Purchasing Ferry Tickets & the Confusing Ferry Check-in Process

We purchased our ferry ticket reservations directly through Ventouris Ferries. During the “seat selection” step we chose “2 BERTH OUTSIDE WITH FACILITIES” option. There are other options like just reserving a Seat, either inside or outside, or we could have upgraded to the LUX EXTERNAL WITH DOUBLE BED but that would have meant our cost would have been €135 x2 rather than €74 x 2.

Upon completion of the booking process, our “our ferry ticket reservation” were emailed to us.

CRITICAL INFORMATION: Your emailed ferry reservation is not your boarding pass. You must exchange it for a physical ticket at the ticket office, which is separate from the main ferry terminal. Arrive early, as this process can take up to 45 minutes.

Instructions from the Ventouris ferry company were extremely vague. There is a note at the bottom of the emailed ferry ticket reservation that states “TICKET COLLECT: FROM THE DEPARTURE PORT” and “You can collect your tickets from your departure and destination local agents, at least 2 hour prior to your departure” but doesn’t mention where “your departure and destination local agents” are…

We opted for the city bus to get us to the Port; a) because it was cheap, and b) the bus picks you up right outside the train station. The city bus dropped us just outside the port gates, within site of the Bari Port Ferry Terminal – which is NOT the correct starting point for this journey.

Knowing that we would have to figure it out once we got to the port we chose to arrive extra early, figuring that we would rather get it sorted and wait at the ferry terminal, than arrive “just in time” and then have to sort things out in a rush.

Once we got to the Bari Port Ferry Terminal we then needed to get to the ferry ticketing office which is on the far side of the port so that we could exchange our emailed ferry ticket reservation for boarding passes.

The public bus doesn’t go there and and from the looks of things you are not allowed to walk the route plus it is FAR (2.5 mile round trip). Thankfully there is a shuttle van that runs a continuous loop around the port, you can catch it in front of the terminal. If you are on the street facing the terminal building, you’ll see a little covered bus stop just to the right. (By the way, don’t bother to go inside the ferry terminal and ask the desk for assistance – talk about rude!)

If you choose to use Uber or take a taxi from the train station, they will probably take you directly to the ticketing office so if you’re pressed for time, that’s gonna be the way to go.

At the ticket office you will need to produce your passport as well as the emailed ferry ticket reservation in order to get your boarding pass. Then you get back on the shuttle to the terminal – not sure if it’s the norm or not but the shuttle bus we took to get to the ticketing office waited for us to get our tickets and then completed the route, circling back to the Bari Port ferry terminals.

That process, from getting off the bus, walking in to the terminal and getting the shuttle to the booking office and then getting back to the terminal took around 45 minutes – so plan accordingly!

Once you’re back at the terminal with your boarding pass there is limited seating inside and there are some benches out front. Not much is available by way of services – there is a cafe/snack bar, a tabacchi and a luggage storage place.

Boarding and Onboard Experience on the Bari-Durrës Ferry

The ferry departure was set for 10pm and we were told that boarding would begin at 7. So, at 7 we went and got in line. It was more like 7:20 by the time they actually started the customs and immigration process.

You show your passport and boarding pass and shuffle through to the immigration booth where you show your passport again and maybe get asked some questions about where you’re staying and for how long.

Funny story: When we told the agent we were staying at Durrës for two months he tried to correct me to either weeks or days because apparently that’s too long to stay in Durrës. “Why?, there’s nothing to do there and it’s not very big and touristy” he said.

A few people had to run their bags through the scanners and pass through the metal detectors but most – including us – did not. The process flows pretty smoothly, once they opened up the line we were through in just a few minutes.

Once you pass the immigration control, there is no signage at all. They just wave you towards a door that dumps into the parking lot. If you have good eyesight, like Sandra, you can see the sign over the door of the ferry that says “Passenger Entry”; located next to where they are loading cars on board. There is an elevator to take you up to reception on deck 7. It is not a large elevator. 3 or 4 people with luggage is gonna max it out. I would imagine that during tourist season when the ferry is full, there could be quite a line. Certainly when we arrived at Durrës the next morning there was about a 10 minute queue for the elevator down.

BOARDING PROCESS TIMELINE:

• Scheduled boarding: 7:00 PM
• Actual boarding start: 7:20 PM
• Required documents: Boarding pass and passport
• Security screening: Inconsistent (some passengers skip scanning)
• Finding the ship: Look for “Passenger Entry” sign near car loading area

At reception, we exchanged our boarding pass for a stateroom key and were led to our stateroom. I didn’t expect much so they did manage to overdeliver on accommodations; 4 bunks, 2 little chairs and a compact but functional wet-room style bathroom with shower. The room was bigger than we were expecting but…. “spartan” in the word that comes to mind.

We were settled into our room by 7:45. At some point, maybe 8:30(?) an announcement was made (first translation we didn’t catch because the speakers are in the hallway, but the second translation was in English) that the self-service area was open so we wandered down to get a bite to eat.

Ferry Food Warning

We do not recommend this option – We can not say this strongly enough – DO NOT RECOMMEND. Bring a sandwich or something if you need to eat between 8pm and the time you disembark in Durres. Go into the SPAR convenience store at the train station and pick up a ready-made or get a panino from the cafe next to it. Any food option off the ferry will be a better choice.

Also, even though there is a big sign right in front of the cash register showing all the various credit cards they accept; they don’t accept credit cards. I approached the problem a couple of different ways but the gal manning the register did not give a single shit about that sign. What she knew was the phrase “You have Cash?” IDK; maybe if I had just said “No, I don’t” then she could have figured out how to take a card but I kind of doubt it. One Google review we saw very pointedly stated that if you planned to eat on the ferry, bring cash because they don’t take cards. But, again, let me stress that eating on the ferry is the worst possible option.

We paid €23 for 2 burgers with fries and a bottle of water. The burger was literally just the patty and this was the worst ‘burger’ that we have ever been served. It was grainy and a wholly unnatural shade of pink inside. Not pink like raw beef would be; but pink like watered down FD&C Red-40 would be. The fries were only barely cooked enough to not just be potato spears.

To give you a proper frame of reference for how I feel about this $11 burger, I want to take you back to the late 1980’s when I was on active duty and sometimes had to eat MRE’s. (That’s “Meal, Ready to Eat” if you’re not familiar. ‘Field rations’ they were called in days of yore.) The unofficial marketing slogan for MRE’s was “MRE – It’s better than eating bugs” One of the more quickly traded away menus if a heat source wasn’t available was “Meat Patties in Red Sauce”. You’ll notice they weren’t specific about what kind of meat? Anyway, those ‘meat patties’ were better cold than the burger we were served hot on this ferry. (If you’re curious, Turkey ala King was the worst MRE to draw if you couldn’t heat it and only barely edible if you could heat it)

FOOD ADVISORY:

• The onboard restaurant serves extremely poor quality food
• Despite signage, credit cards are NOT accepted (cash only)
• Purchase food before boarding from the Bari train station
• Ferry has a bar on deck 8 and a small “casino” (video slots)
• There is a covered outdoor seating area on the top deck

There is a bar on deck 8 with a large seating area and what they call a casino. Just looking in the doorway, it looked like a dozen video slot machines. Above that is a large, covered, outdoor seating area.

The crossing itself must have been pretty smooth because we went to bed a little before 10 and the next thing we knew it was almost 6 am. We didn’t exactly rush about getting ready to depart since we weren’t arriving until 8 and land was still a good ways off, plus there was no way we were going to partake in breakfast aboard ship.

Early Warning Notice:
Here’s another thing they don’t tell you at any point of the transaction…. you have to be out of your room by 7am. At 06:55 we got a knock on the door telling us we needed to be out in 10 minutes. So, there’s that.

Welcome to Albania

Getting through Customs and Immigration took just a few minutes and we were officially in Albania. Our ninth country for the year. Of course, that’s only if you count 5 days in the US, a few hours each port day in Portugal, England (Gibraltar), Spain and France during our cruise, plus like 60 hours in Italy. So, really, Albania will be our third country for the year. We were in Chile at the New Year then spent almost 2 months in Mexico before the cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Italy.

ARRIVAL INFORMATION:

• Scheduled arrival time: 8:00 AM
• Actual arrival time: Approximately 7:55 AM
• Wake-up call: 6:55 AM (only 10 minutes to vacate room!)
• Customs process: Quick and efficient

Getting Around Durrës

There were taxis waiting out front at the port terminal. Good news for us, there was a sort of traffic control guy who spoke decent English matching people up with taxi drivers. He said 1,000Lek flat rate to where we are staying which didn’t feel bad for the approximately 3 mile trip. When I hesitated he said “Or 10 Euro” which was great because we DID have Euros but we had not yet done the exchange thing yet and we did not have Lek.

There was quite a little discussion about EXACTLY where we were going because the address* we had been given apparently meant nothing to them. Fortunately, we had a Google map with a location pin and they finally sorted out that it was near one of the big hotels that the driver was familiar with, so off we went. Our driver spoke zero English but I managed the correct Albanian phrase for “It’s right here” when I saw the restaurant our host had told us was in front of the apartment building.

*In Durrës (and much of Albania), formal addresses don’t exist except for big businesses, government offices, and newer developments. Street signs can be missing or inconsistent, and many people don’t really use detailed street addresses like in the U.S. Instead, locals often give directions based on landmarks — like “near the train station” or “behind the big market.” Want something mailed to you, make sure to have the sender write your name and phone number on the envelope – the post office will call you when you can come pick it up.

Actually, now that we’re taking Albanian language lessons, I’ve realized that the only part I pronounced correctly was the word for ‘here’ so he filled in the rest on his own!

TAXI TIPS:

• Standard fare to Durrës / Plazh hotels: 1,000 Lek (approximately €10)
• Euro is accepted if you don’t have local currency
• Have a location pin on Google Maps (addresses are not a thing in Albania)
• Having the name of a nearby landmark or hotel helps drivers find locations

Note About Public Transportation in Durres

There is a public bus system though you won’t find much helpful info on the official website and at the time of our stay in Albania, google map’s transit feature was completely useless. Durres By Bus is an unofficial rough guide if you’re adventurous enough to give it a go.

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Planning Your Italy to Albania Ferry Journey: Recap

Recommended Itinerary:

• Day 1 Morning: Train from Rome to Bari (4 hours)
• Day 1 Afternoon: Reach Bari ferry port by 7:00 PM (3 hours before departure)
• Day 1 Night: Overnight ferry to Durrës (10 hours)
• Day 2 Morning: Arrive in Durrës around 8:00 AM

Essential Packing:

• Passport (and visa if required)
• Cash (both Euro and some Albanian Lek if possible)
• Food for dinner and breakfast
• Entertainment for the journey
• Adaptor & Power bank for electronic devices
• Small toiletry kit for overnight

Budget Breakdown for two people

• Bus from cruise ship to Civitavecchia: $14
• Train Civitavecchia to Rome Termini: $10
• Lunch at Rome Termini: $10
• Rome to Bari train: $151
• Bus from Bari train station to Bari Port: $3.00
• Meal at the Bari Train Station: $23
• Ferry from Bari to Durres: $161 (varies by season and cabin type)
• Meal onboard ferry: $26
• Taxi in Durres: $11
• Total*: $409

*Using the currency exchange at the time of our visit

So there you go… whether you’re planning your own trip from Italy to Albania or just traveling along with us from your favorite chair, we hope this glimpse into our journey helps you feel a little more prepared — Every journey teaches us something new, and this one was no exception. Thanks for coming along — we can’t wait to share the next chapter with you!