Traveling from Albania to Italy by ferry with your dog
- Book your ferry ahead
- Make sure the cabin is pet friendly
- No Wi-Fi on board! No power outlets in the rooms! Plan your entertainment ahead
- Get to the terminal at 150 min before departure.
- Don’t forget that you will need to pick up your actual tickets at the terminal in the port
- Board the ferry
- Enjoy the ride!
As the World continues to become increasingly pet-friendly, more options available for traveling with your dog around Europe; be it by car, plane, boat, or train – we have done them all with our Sage (a 5 years old, 55lb (25 kg) Labrador mix) and here is how you can do it too!
Our recent journey back to Germany with Sage took us from Durres, Albania to Bari, Italy via large ferry boat. Our first trip to Germany was flying from Boston to Frankfurt. Taking a ferry was a unique option because of traveling from Albania to Italy by ferry with our dog was not only a transport but our accommodations for the evening as well.
Mediterranean travel has numerous overnight ferry options servicing a multitude of ports from Spain to Greece to Northern Africa. This proved a great, cost-effective option because it serves as both transport and lodging. This was the first time we took Sage on a large boat and aside from her dislike of the muzzle, she handled the whole experience like a pro!
Online booking – Doing Your Homework BEFORE travel
❖Always try to book your ferry trip ahead of time – if you can’t, same day purchases are available but may cost more and/or be unavailable as not all rooms on a given boat allow pets
❖ Booking ferry tickets was relatively worry-free. We used Direct Ferries website that shows all the options among different travel companies like: Adria Ferries, Grandi Navi Veloci, Ventouris Ferries. You can also go to each company’s website directly after comparing the price differences. In our experience – we found that Adria Ferries was cheapest option and saved a few extra Euro.
Albania to Italy by ferry with your dog.
Make sure the cabin is pet friendly
❖ Seems obvious, but always double check to ensure that you are in fact purchasing a pet-friendly room. Our 2-person room stated that is was pet-friendly in the description and since it is an overnight journey, having beds seemed like a good idea to us…and it was!
Make sure to have a muzzle with you! There are signs on board of the ferry advising that dogs must be muzzled.
❖ As a nice bonus, there was no additional charge for bringing Sage nor was there a size restriction that we could gather, you simply need to add the number of pets that are traveling with. However, pets’ access while on the boat is limited. They are not permitted in restaurants and other areas, so you want to make sure you have some snacks for everyone with you.
❖ Important: Always check the rules and regulations on pet travel of your destination country. Make sure you always have your dog passport with you and up to date on the vaccinations.
No Wi-Fi on board! No power outlets in the rooms! Plan your entertainment ahead
❖ Note: There was NO Wi-Fi on board or power outlets in the rooms! So if you are the type that has trouble unplugging (us), you will need to plan your entertainment ahead of time.
In our experience – we did not know this prior to boarding our ferry with your dog so grab a good book or download some content before departing
Arriving at the Port in Albania for our ferry – Time to check in
● Arrive at the ferry port/terminal in Durres, Albania 2.5 hours (150 minutes) before your scheduled departure.
❖ Transportation companies encourage arriving no later than 150 minutes before the Departure because that is the time when they start allowing people to board the ferry. Albania to Italy ferry was scheduled departure was at 22:00, yet we were able to board it at 19:30. Though we arrived at the terminal around 18:00. The pre-board registration process took only a few minutes and we needed only our passports and reservation number.
Remember – You are leaving one country and traveling to another so there will be a passport control check on both sides of your journey. Albania to Italy by ferry with dog
❖ In our experience – Check to port entry procedures before arriving. The port location in Durres does not allow drop-offs directly in front of it, but rather an overpass just across the street. This is important to note is you are not “lite” travelers.
● Once you arrive, you must personally go the the terminal to receive your physical tickets. Ferry did NOT have an online check-in system, even if you purchased them online.
❖ In our experience – The port of Durres terminal is a bit on the small-side, but incredibly straight forward. It is one large room consisting of a cafe on the left side and ferry company’s booths on the right, with a large seating area just outside the main entrance.
Again, if you buy tickets online you will need to get actual tickets at the terminal.
● We received an email from Direct ferries with our reservation number and instructions on how to get to the port, along with how to get our actual tickets at the terminal. It proved to be a very easy process – Just make sure that you will arrive early enough to avoid potential wait lines.
Boarding the ferry – Taking to the High Seas in Slow Fashion
❖ In our experience – The boarding process was very straight forward. After clearing customs, we simply followed the signs and passenger designation markings to our deck (cabin number 231). The staff was helpful and everywhere during this process. We also found that most onboard spoke English which helped us navigate. We were asked to leave a passport with the reception to get our cabin keys. Even though the ferry boat is enormous, get yourselves prepared for some very tiny corridors and tight spaces.
❖ The room was a “reasonable” size, quite literally just enough space for the two of us and Sage. There was a private bathroom which was great (and recommended if you have a little extra $$) with a shared-shower cabin right next door which is shared among six adjacent cabins in our cluster. We largely stayed in our cabin during the night because of Sage and the overall exhaustion from traveling so having beds that were clean and surprisingly comfy was a nice way to travel to Italy for the first time!
When leaving the boat the following morning we had a chance to actually take a look around the ship. There was a nice café with a number of patrons enjoying a morning coffee and a restaurant nearby (closed at the time) with very reasonable prices/menu, so if you wanted a nice meal you would be able to get it!
Welcome to Italy!
❖ In our experience – When we arrived at the port in Bari, Italy and went straight to passport control. We were not asked for any documentation for Sage, but that does NOT mean you should be unprepared, because if we need passports to travel, your dog will need one too!
The authorities may not ask for it this time, but next time you may not be so lucky! To avoid an extra headache and to ensure a more pleasant trip, always have your pet’s passport with you!
Remember to schedule an appointment with a veterinarian for a check-up once a year and before any major undertakings such as long-distance travel. Your vet will be able to advise you on how to stay updated on your dog vaccinations and overall health. Always respect the rules, laws, and customs of every place you travel and have a great time exploring our beautiful world with your favorite companions!
Primary Take-aways
● Book your ferry ahead
● Make sure the cabin is pet friendly
● No Wi-Fi on board!No power outlets in the rooms! Plan your entertainment ahead
● Get to the terminal at 150 min before departure.
● Don’t forget that you will need to pick up your actual tickets at the terminal in the port
● Board the ferry
● Enjoy the ride!
Nice post!
Thank you!
I loved this post, its very useful as we will make the same journey with our dog. She has a French passport and has her rabies injection. However our Vet has said she needs a blood test and a certificate signed by two vets before she can arrive back in Italy from Albania!!!!! Maybe its a new rule?
Thank you for your comment. I did a quick search about entering Italy and this is a very useful website that I found
https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/caniGatti/dettaglioContenutiCaniGatti.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=4590&area=cani&menu=vuoto
It looks like you only need a blood test if you are coming from a third country, with French passport you should be ok.
Performing a rabies titer test in France, Italy or any other EU countries is a lot easier than finding someone to do it in Albania. We did it in Palermo prior to heading to Durres (via Bari) so as to make our return to Bari less stressful. Even in Palermo the vet drew the blood, then had to send it to a lab (~1 week), then she scheduled an appointment for us with the health department. These guys then filled out the titer page in our dogs’ passports. However he initially filled out the wrong page, so I recommend nicely pointing out that there’s a specific page for rabies titer that’s different from all the other vaccination pages, including rabies vaccination itself… The test itself was relatively expensive 150eur per dog (plus some vet fees) – in Palermo. (Why such a test is required in the first place for dogs originally vaccinated against rabies in US (or Europe) is beyond me. :))
“the rabies post-vaccination neutralizing antibody titration test. This blood test shall be performed at a Laboratory recognized by the European Commission. The list of the recognized laboratories is available at http://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/pet-movement/approved-labs/index_en.htm”
https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/caniGatti/dettaglioContenutiCaniGatti.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=4590&area=cani&menu=vuoto
Alex, Thank you for the providing this information it is very useful!
Lovely page 🙂 I’m on my way from Sweden to Europe with my dog. Between Durres and Bari, did you not need a titer test to entrance Italy and Europe?
Great page 🙂 I’m on my way to leave Sweden to Europe and Albania.
Did you need the titer test to entrance Italy from Albania¿
Happy new year 🥳
Hello Tobbe!
I traveled more then year ago to Barri, Italy from Albania. I do have the EU passport for my dog, and she is up to date on her shots. I was not asked any documentation in Barri. After a little research I do belive that they are asking for titer antibody test, I found this Italian government website “https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/caniGatti/dettaglioContenutiCaniGatti.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=4590&area=cani&menu=vuoto
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Great post. Where did Sage use the bathroom on the ship? Was there a designated pet relief area? Also what ferry line did you use?
Hello Veronica, Sage did not go to the bathroom while on board, we had extra pee pads with us, but di not needed them. the ferry line we used Adria Ferries, but there are a few to choose.