A Digital Nomad's Guide to Working from Tirana

Tirana is small enough to cross on foot and busy enough that you will not run out of places to go. This guide covers what you need to work from here for a week, a month or longer.

Why Tirana Works for Remote Work

The centre is compact. Cafes, restaurants, supermarkets and the main park all sit within a short walk of each other, so a working day does not depend on a car or a commute.

The clock helps too. Albania is on Central European Time, which means calls with a team anywhere in Europe land inside a normal working day. English is widely spoken in Tirana, especially by younger people, and the city has a strong cafe culture.

How Long You Can Stay

Citizens of the EU and of many other countries can enter Albania without a visa and stay for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. US citizens can stay for up to one year. The rules depend on your passport and they change, so confirm yours on the official e-visa portal before you book.

For a longer stay, Albania has a residence route aimed at remote workers: the Unique Permit for digital mobile workers, introduced in 2022. It runs for up to a year and can be renewed. The conditions are set by the authorities, so read them at the source before you plan around it.

Getting Online

Albania has two mobile networks, Vodafone Albania and One Albania. Both sell prepaid SIM cards with data and both have counters in the arrivals hall at Tirana airport, so you can be online before you reach the city.

Cafe WiFi is fine for email and browsing, but it varies from place to place and slows down when the room fills up. If your day includes video calls or large uploads, a dedicated line matters more than a big number on a speed test. At Innospace the WiFi is dedicated, so the speed stays the same however many people are online, and there are private call booths for meetings.

Where to Base Yourself

• Blloku. Closed to ordinary citizens during the communist years, Blloku is now the city's busiest quarter for cafes, restaurants and bars. It is the most convenient base if you want everything on foot, and it is where Innospace is.
• Around Skanderbeg Square. The historic centre, with the main museums and the airport bus stop. About fifteen minutes on foot from Blloku.
• Near the Grand Park. South of Blloku, the park and its artificial lake are where the city goes to walk and run. The streets are quieter and the centre is still a short walk away.
• Pazari i Ri. The New Bazaar area, east of the square, is built around a food market and is lively in the evenings.

Where to Work

For an hour of email, a cafe is enough. For a full working day you need what a cafe cannot promise: a desk you can keep, a connection you can rely on and somewhere quiet to take a call. We compare the options in Places to Work in Tirana.

Innospace is a 560 m² coworking space on Rruga Pjetër Bogdani in Blloku. You can book a pass online for a day, a week or a month:

Not sure which one fits your stay? Read Day Pass, Weekly Pass or Monthly Pass.

A Working Day in Blloku

A typical day looks like this. Arrive from 09:00, when the space is staffed, and take a desk. Coffee and fresh water are included, and there is a kitchen with an espresso machine. Take your calls in a booth. At midday, Blloku's lunch spots are a few steps from the door. When the weather is good, the 70 m² veranda is the place to spend the afternoon. On a Weekly or Monthly Pass you can come back after dinner, because access is 24 hours.

Practical Notes

• Money. The currency is the Albanian lek. Cards are accepted in most places in the centre, but markets, small shops and some taxis take cash only.
• From the airport. Tirana International Airport is about 17 km from the centre. An airport bus runs to a stop near Skanderbeg Square in 30 to 40 minutes, and taxis wait outside arrivals.
• Language. Albanian is the national language. In Tirana you will get by in English in most cafes, shops and restaurants.
• A local address. If you need a business address in Tirana, see our Virtual Office.