Wow, 6 hour bus ride with no toilet breaks ? 😊. Is there another bus route from Budva via Bar and Ucinj to Tirana ? Would that route be shorter or maybe more scenic ?
They definitely should have stopped at least one time. Taking a plane would have taken can more time because there are not direct flights from Montenegro so we thought this would be the best option. If nothing else it was an adventure. There are two bus options that go directly to Tirana. One leaves early and is about 6 hours. The other option leaves a few hours later and is 8 hours (more stops). None of them go through Bar or Ulcinj so you would need to make you way up to Budva to get the bus or take a local bus from Ulcinj to Shkoder. You could then get an Albanian bus from Shkoder to Tirana. That would definitely be more of an adventure. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Hello Miranda. This is a good question. There were no official rest stops along the way, but you could potentially use the bathroom at either Podgorica or at the border crossing. I would be very careful about this as the bus will leave whether or not you are on board. Also note that bathrooms are sometimes locked and in some bus stations, they charge a fee so keep some change handy. In Podgorica, we changed busses and while I (Chris) was lugging suitcases between busses, Stephanie was getting seats for us. This was a quick stop, but we may have been able to very quickly find a restroom. During the border crossing, there were three restrooms on the Albanian side of the border. The men's and women's restrooms were locked, but there was one single occupant restroom that was available. If you sit at the front of the bus, you can get off first, cross the border, and then have a few minutes to use the restroom on the Albanian side while everyone else is crossing the border. I tried to use that restroom, but there was a long queue. The bus almost left with someone in the restroom so I would suggest having someone on the bus while you escort your 9 year old to the restroom. Maybe you'll get lucky and all the restrooms will be open. It was honestly a bit disappointing that there wasn't at least one break somewhere, but it didn't seem to be a problem for most people. Good Luck and Safe Travels! -Chris
Wow, 6 hour bus ride with no toilet breaks ? 😊. Is there another bus route from Budva via Bar and Ucinj to Tirana ? Would that route be shorter or maybe more scenic ?
They definitely should have stopped at least one time. Taking a plane would have taken can more time because there are not direct flights from Montenegro so we thought this would be the best option. If nothing else it was an adventure.
There are two bus options that go directly to Tirana. One leaves early and is about 6 hours. The other option leaves a few hours later and is 8 hours (more stops). None of them go through Bar or Ulcinj so you would need to make you way up to Budva to get the bus or take a local bus from Ulcinj to Shkoder. You could then get an Albanian bus from Shkoder to Tirana. That would definitely be more of an adventure.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
No bathroom? We plan to do this next summer with our 9 year old. What did people do if they had to go?
Hello Miranda.
This is a good question. There were no official rest stops along the way, but you could potentially use the bathroom at either Podgorica or at the border crossing. I would be very careful about this as the bus will leave whether or not you are on board. Also note that bathrooms are sometimes locked and in some bus stations, they charge a fee so keep some change handy.
In Podgorica, we changed busses and while I (Chris) was lugging suitcases between busses, Stephanie was getting seats for us. This was a quick stop, but we may have been able to very quickly find a restroom.
During the border crossing, there were three restrooms on the Albanian side of the border. The men's and women's restrooms were locked, but there was one single occupant restroom that was available. If you sit at the front of the bus, you can get off first, cross the border, and then have a few minutes to use the restroom on the Albanian side while everyone else is crossing the border. I tried to use that restroom, but there was a long queue. The bus almost left with someone in the restroom so I would suggest having someone on the bus while you escort your 9 year old to the restroom. Maybe you'll get lucky and all the restrooms will be open.
It was honestly a bit disappointing that there wasn't at least one break somewhere, but it didn't seem to be a problem for most people.
Good Luck and Safe Travels!
-Chris
Thanks for getting back to me with so much info. Hopefully our driver isn’t smoking and we can sit near the front. Thanks for making this video.