Tre ditë në Shqipëri me makinë me qira – çfarë nuk duhet ta humbas?

Hi everyone, I’m organising a trip with 10 other people around mid-August. We’ve hired cars from the airport and are staying in Durrës. We’ll definitely want to go to the beach given the high temperatures, but we’d also like to visit some lovely places and try the local food.

I’ve put together this rough itinerary:

Day 1, Thursday Aug 13 (arrivla)

Land at 08:45, pick up the cars, drive to Durres (about 40 min). Check in and settle. In the afternoon we walk the old town: Roman amphitheatre, Venetian tower, archaeological museum, the Albanian college, the Great Mosque, and King Zog's villa on the hill. Dinner at 2 Kitarrat.

Day 2, Friday Aug 14 (Tirana)

Drive to Tirana (about 40 min). Skanderbeg Square, Et'hem Bey mosque, Bunk'Art 2, the Pyramid, and Blloku. On the way back we stop for a late lunch at an agriturismo in Maminas. Afternoon is beach time in Durres, dinner by the sea.

Day 3, Saturday Aug 15 (Kruje and Cape of Rodon)

Morning drive to Kruje (about 1h) for the castle, the Skanderbeg museum, and the old bazaar. Then over to Cape of Rodon (about 1h from Kruje) for the castle, the little church, and a swim in the quiet bays. Back to Durres in the evening (about 1h). Dinner at a hilltop agriturismo.

Day 4, Sunday Aug 16 (departure)

Check out, quick stop at Preza castle on the way to the airport (about 35 min from Durres), return the cars.

A few questions:

1. Is Saturday too much? We keep reading that August traffic and parking eat up a lot of time.

2. Is the road to Cape of Rodon ok for a normal rental car? We heard the last stretch can be rough.

3. Anything near Durres, within about 1.5 hours, that is worth swapping in?

Thanks a lot in advance!