thetrainfamilyThere are almost daily ferries from Vlore (Vlorë) in Albania to Brindisi in Italy. We took the trip in November 2023 and here comes our description of the trip.
Getting the Ferry Tickets
A few weeks before the sailing, we ordered the ferry tickets at https://starlines.it. We have learned that it is cheapest to buy ferry tickets directly on the ferry company’s website rather than on various agencies, as they often have to charge a commission.
The port of Vlore
In Vlore, a few days before departure we went to the port to find out how to get the ferry. We walked down the street Rruga Hektor Shyti. At the end of it, we saw a sign with “passengers” and a symbol with a pedestrian. This was exactly what we were looking for!
Ticket confusion
On the actual day of departure, we went down there again. The tickets stated that you had to arrive 3 hours before departure and that the tickets could otherwise be sold to others! We arrived 2.5 hours before departure, as we had the impression that this only applied in the summer (we sailed in November). On arrival at the ferry area, we entered where we had seen the pedestrian sign. There was no check of tickets, so we had the feeling that we had done something wrong. I turned back to a security guard, who spoke no English, but pointed over to an office. I got in contact with my husband and children and we went back out of the ferry area and towards the office. We could see people showing their online ticket here and getting it exchanged for a physical ferry ticket. We did the same. In the middle of it all, the lady to whom we had shown the tickets left and, as we still had a question, we kept standing. Then the printer broke and when it worked again, our son’s ticket came out of it. He already had a ticket, but we took it when the man who had fixed the printer gave it to us. Imagine if someone else got the ticket by mistake! The staff didn’t say a word to us. I therefore asked “do we have to go on the ferry now or can we wait”, to which they replied “now is okay — go now”. We then walked back into the ferry area and to our great surprise came to a large, new ferry terminal. Here we had to go through a metal detector which didn’t beep (despite coins and jewellery…) and our luggage was scanned (while the man at the scanner was looking at his phone and not once at the x-ray screen). We then showed our passports and could then go to the ferry “Ms Ionian Star”. We were the only ones to go out on the pier!
On the ship we showed our 6 (!) tickets, but they were just torn. We asked where we should go and somewhat reluctantly we were pointed to a door. Fortunately, it turned out to be the door to the restaurant. As soon as we entered we were greeted by signs we could understand! The ship was from Norway! (Danish and Norwegian are very similar). We sat down at “Lekerommet” (the playing room) and the children enjoyed themselves there. There were still two hours until departure!
My husband and the kids went exploring on the ship while I looked after our things. When there was half an hour until departure, the man from the ticket office suddenly came storming along with an employee from the ship. I immediately feared that something had happened to the kids, but then he started to say something about the tickets and then I understood that it was about the ticket we had been given too much. He had to have it back, otherwise he would have to pay for it! However, I did not have the ticket. My husband had it. Then we had to hunt for him! We split up. First I found the children. They thought my husband had gone to the toilet! Finally we managed to find him and also the ticket man. The ticket was handed over and the man ran off – – 10 minutes before departure!
The Adriatic Sea
The sailing trip went well. We sailed close past the island of Sazan. It is the largest island in Albania and is a military area that has been open to the public since 2015. As we passed the island, the waves were bigger and we were glad we had all taken a seasickness pill. However, it became calm again later. We moved from the “Lekerom” to a place with seats where the children could relax and listen to an audiobook.
There were not many passengers on the ferry. Most were truck drivers and generally people were either Italian or Albanian. There were no other children either. We therefore stuck out a little. It was probably all due to the fact that we sailed on a Tuesday evening in November.
The legendary MS Bohus
As mentioned, the ferry was Norwegian and we therefore started a competition to find as many Norwegian signs as possible. Our research showed that the ferry was formerly called “Ms Bohus” and was a car- and passenger ferry, owned by Color Line, which sailed on the Sandefjord–Strömstad route. It had been sold in 2019 and began sailing between Albania and Italy in 2020. It was originally built in Aalborg, Denmark in 1971 and had sailed on many different routes, e.g. between Denmark and Sweden (Varberg-Grenå). It was nice to have a greeting from home.
Arriving in Brindisi
When we arrived in Brindisi, we went straight from the ship to passport control. However, we ended up waiting a long time as there was only one passport control line and the internet went down just as the policeman was going to check our passports. He therefore had to give up the computer and use the phone instead. While we were waiting, three other employees had a loud argument, in which they, among other things, lashed out with their arms to emphasize their loud arguments. A little special for us Nordics.
After passport control, our luggage had to be scanned and then we could leave the port area. We were immediately accosted by a taxi driver who wanted to drive us to the center for 20 Euros. Fortunately, there was also a bus, where the same trip would cost 6 Euro for all of us. That made our decision easy.
An eventful day was over and the sailing trip was well over. The sailing trip can definitely be recommended. A big plus was that the ship was in the same condition as when it sailed in Norway and that made the trip extra pleasant. The fact that we had a few “bumps” on the journey is now completely normal for us and part of the charm of being a backpacker.
