Why Gjirokastër Rewards Independent Travellers with a Hire Car

Gjirokastër sits 230km south of Tirana in the Drinos Valley, enclosed by the Gjerë and Mali i Gjërë mountain ranges. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site — one of only two in Albania, alongside Berat — and you can spend two days walking its cobbled lanes, touring the Zekate House, and exploring the castle without once needing a vehicle.

The reason to arrange car hire in Gjirokastër before you arrive is the region around it. Antigonea, the Hellenistic ruins 14km east, has no public transport connection. The Bënja Thermal Baths at Përmet are 60km northeast — tour operators charge €150–200+ per couple to take you there; a rental car makes the same trip for fuel cost. The Kakavi border crossing into Greece is 22km south on a good paved road, and if you’re doing the classic Albania southern loop — Tirana to Berat to Gjirokastër to Sarandë — a hire car is the only way to do it on your own schedule.

The twice-daily bus to Sarandë (75km west) departs at fixed times that don’t account for a morning at the castle or a detour to Antigonea. A rental car from Gjirokastër removes that constraint entirely.

What’s Included with Your Car Hire in Gjirokastër

Rentrals works with trusted local and international suppliers at the Gjirokastër location. Here’s what’s available across the 100+ vehicle fleet:

Parking in Gjirokastër Old Town — The Complete Practical Guide

This is the question that matters most to every visitor arriving by hire car, and it’s rarely answered honestly on car rental pages. Gjirokastër’s historic UNESCO area is built on a hillside with extremely narrow stone-cobbled lanes. These lanes are pedestrian routes. You don’t drive a rental car into them under any circumstances — not briefly, not to drop luggage, not “just for a moment.” Emergency vehicle access must stay clear, and the lanes are genuinely too narrow for a standard vehicle to manoeuvre safely.

Here’s where to park, from most to least convenient:

Antigonea Ruins — The Hellenistic City 14km from Gjirokastër

Antigonea is a 3rd-century BC Hellenistic city founded by King Pyrrhus of Epirus and named after his wife Antigone. The site sits on a hilltop 14km east of Gjirokastër near the village of Saraqinishtë, overlooking the Drinos Valley with the mountain range that marks the Albanian-Greek border visible on clear days.

What you’ll find at the site: a grid-planned Hellenistic city with excavated streets, public squares, residential house foundations, storage areas, and the ruins of the early Church of Saint Michael — considered one of the oldest Christian structures identified in the Balkans. The city was abandoned in 167 BC following Roman conquest of the Epirus region.

Practically speaking, car rental in Gjirokastër makes Antigonea a 30-minute drive on standard paved road. Follow signs from Gjirokastër toward Saraqinishtë — the route is straightforward and any economy hire car handles it without difficulty. There’s parking near the site entrance and a short uphill walk to the ruins. Entrance is approximately €2–3. Guides are sometimes available locally; for a more structured visit, Caravan Horse Riding Albania organises horse-trekking approaches to Antigonea for those who want a genuinely different experience of the site.

The ruins themselves are largely unrestored and not heavily curated — it’s an archaeological site, not a theme park. Come with some background reading and the site rewards time. Spring and autumn are the practical choices: the hilltop is fully exposed and very hot from June to August between 11am and 4pm.

Bënja Thermal Baths at Përmet — 60km from Gjirokastër by Rental Car

The Bënja Thermal Baths sit on the Lëngaricë River approximately 60km northeast of Gjirokastër, roughly 1 hour’s drive through the Drinos Valley. The baths are natural geothermal pools fed by warm sulphur-rich springs that flow into carved pools along the riverbank. The setting is genuinely distinct: the pools sit directly beneath a 17th-century Ottoman stone arch bridge (Ura e Kadiut) with forested gorge walls on both sides. You soak in 32–36°C water while the river runs alongside you and the old bridge frames the view above.

Tour operators in Gjirokastër and Sarandë sell a Bënja Thermal Baths day trip for €150–200+ per couple, inclusive of transport and guide. In a car hire from Gjirokastër, you make the same trip for the cost of fuel — roughly €8–12 return in a standard economy car. The road follows the Drinos Valley northeast and is paved throughout. No 4×4 is needed. Standard economy cars and compact hatchbacks handle it without issue.

Combine it with time in Përmet town itself — a quiet southern Albanian market town known for traditional food, local wine, and rose-based products — for a full day out. The town has several good local restaurants serving Gjirokastrën-region cooking. Return to Gjirokastër by late afternoon and you have the castle at golden hour, which is worth planning around.

The Kakavi Border Crossing — Entering or Exiting Albania via Greece

The Kakavi/Kakavia border crossing is 22km south of Gjirokastër on a good paved road — approximately 25 minutes from the city centre. This is Albania’s main southern land border with Greece, connecting to Ioannina (60km south of the crossing) and from there to Athens by motorway or ferry connections from Igoumenitsa to Corfu and onwards.

A common travel pattern runs: fly into Corfu, ferry to Sarandë (75km west of Gjirokastër), drive or bus to Gjirokastër, then north through Berat and out through Tirana Airport. The reverse — fly into Tirana, drive south, exit via Kakavi to Greece — is equally popular.

If your supplier does not permit crossing into Greece, two practical options:

Driving from Berat to Gjirokastër — The Route That Matters

The most direct route between Berat and Gjirokastër is the Komar shortcut — but this road requires a 4×4 with high ground clearance. Do not attempt it in a standard economy car, compact hatchback, or standard SUV. The surface deteriorates significantly on the Komar section and is not covered by standard rental insurance.

Standard rental cars take the paved route: SH4 south from Berat to Tepelenë, then the SH73 east through the Vjosa River valley to Gjirokastër. Total distance: approximately 120km. Drive time: 1 hour 45 minutes. The road is paved throughout and the Vjosa valley section is genuinely good driving — wide river views, mountain scenery, almost no traffic on weekdays.

If you’re starting from Berat and plan to visit the Osumi Canyon area on the same trip, see the full Berat car hire guide — it covers the Osumi Canyon route distinction in detail, including which road is prohibited for standard rentals and how to reach the canyon activities at Çorovodë safely.

Vehicles and Pricing for Gjirokastër Car Hire

All paved routes from Gjirokastër — including Antigonea, Sarandë, Bënja Thermal Baths, and the SH4/SH73 route to Berat — are accessible in a standard economy or compact car. An SUV adds comfort on longer drives and inspires confidence on the rougher approach tracks to rural sites, but it’s not a requirement for the main Gjirokastër itinerary.

*Rates are indicative and vary by supplier, availability, and season. Book 3–5 weeks ahead for the best rates. All prices include basic insurance; full zero-excess cover is available as an upgrade.

Day Trips from Gjirokastër — Distances and Routes

Gjirokastër sits at the centre of southern Albania’s most historically dense region. All routes below are on paved roads and accessible in a standard rental car:

Driving in the Gjirokastër Region — What to Know

Frequently Asked Questions — Car Hire in Gjirokastër