Albania on a Norwegian Licence — A 0.01 Limit and Roads Rougher Than the Signs

Albania is an unusually comfortable swap for Norwegian drivers in one respect — both countries drive on the right, so there’s no mirror-image relearning at junctions and roundabouts. That removes the single biggest hazard most first-time visitors face. What replaces it are two adjustments that have nothing to do with which side of the car you sit in.

The first is alcohol. Norway already runs one of Europe’s strictest limits at 0.02, but Albania goes further still: 0.01 BAC, which is effectively zero. There is no margin for a glass of wine with dinner before driving back to the hotel, and enforcement is genuine — roadside checks are common along the coast through the summer season, and penalties stretch to on-the-spot fines and licence confiscation. If you’re driving, don’t drink at all. It’s a smaller change than for most nationalities, but the consequence of misjudging it is large.

The second is the gap between the speed signs and the actual road. Limits read 40 km/h in towns, 80 on rural roads and 110 on the newer motorways — but away from those motorways the surface is the real speed limit. Lane markings fade, edges crumble, and you’ll meet unlit vehicles after dark, livestock, and overtaking that comes from nowhere. The coast road and the mountain routes are spectacular and worth the trip, but drive to what you can see, not to the posted number. A camera or patrol catching you about 10 km/h over typically means ALL 5,000 (roughly EUR 45), paid on the spot, so carry some cash or a card.

On paperwork, your Norwegian licence carries no side-switch worry, but Albania sits outside the EU and an International Driving Permit is recommended — desks and police expect it alongside the licence and passport. Arrange it at home; you can’t get one locally. Fuel runs around $1.52 a litre, cheapest at supermarket stations, and the emergency number is 112.

Before you collect the car, read the full Albania driving guide for the equipment the car must carry, estimate any penalty on the Speeding Fine Calculator, and if a fine follows you home through the rental firm, our explainer on who pays driving fines abroad walks through how that works.