Traveling to Algeria is possible without a tour agency and isn’t very difficult. If you just go through this survival guide, I will tell you all you need to know before going to Algeria. You will see that you can travel in Algeria by yourself, and you don’t need to spend extra money for organised tours!
Traveling to Algeria
May I have your attention please? Do I have it? Yes?! OK! Announcement: traveling in Algeria does not mean you will be moving on camel or donkey all the time. It’s a civilized country! They have planes, trains and buses as well as cities with buildings and cars. They really do.
A point of this silly joke was to show that Algeria is much more developed then most of the people think! You may laugh, but some people really don’t know where is Algeria, even though it’s the biggest country in Africa. Others know where it is, but the only thing they know about it is the Sahara desert. True is that, the desert occupies four-fifths of the Algerian territory. Nevertheless, traveling in Algeria is not just the desert experience. They also have a beautiful coastline, ancient Roman Empire ruins, stunning heritage of Ottomans, Spanish, French and much more. Articles about beautiful destinations in this country are in the section: ALGERIA. In this post I will mention several practical aspects you need to know before traveling to Algeria.
Safety in Algeria
Lots of tourists are afraid to come to Algeria. No wonder why, if the last news most of the people had about this country, is the terrorism back in 90′. The knowledge about Algeria abroad is very little and outdated. Hence, there are many issues concerning safety in Algeria I would like to discuss. For instance terrorism, kidnaping, pickpocketing, safety for girls traveling to Algeria, dress code, where to go and where better don’t go and general informations. Therefore, I decided to devote a separate article for this important matter – Safety in Algeria – Survival Guide 2.
Language in Algeria
The official language in Algeria is Arabic (Algerian dialect) plus people speak French as it was a French colony. For those who can speak the classic Arabic – it’s totally different, but you can survive. For those who cannot speak either French nor Arabic? Yyyy, well… you will have a hard time due to the communication barrier.
English? Most of the young people learn English at school so should speak. In practice, it’s not easy to find people speaking English, to be honest. Prepare some handy dictionary in French or use the translator to survive in Algeria.
Money withdrawal
In Algeria you have to use local currency which is Algerian dinar. There are not many places in the whole country where ATM accepts international bank cards. First option is the airports in Algiers or Oran. Second one, is ATMs in a huge hotels like Sheraton. Third, would be trying the regular banks, but I think it’s a waste of time, they will most likely refuse your card.
ATMs on the airports accept foreign cards as VISA or MasterCard, however, please note that it’s not sure that it will work. For example, right now, while I am writing this, one of my readers contacted me and asked for advice: where to withdraw money in Oran? She went to the airport and to Sheraton to try, and both ATMs which accept foreign cards had no money. When she asked around nobody could tell, when the ATM will work… Welcome to Algeria! She went through the city, checking some banks and finally succeded in AGB bank in Oran. Gulf Bank Algeria ATM had money, accepted Visa and all the story finished happily.
As you can see, you can be left without money in Algeria if you count on the ATMs. The same with paying by card – foreign card will not be accepted. Therefore, you need to bring cash with you in dollars or euro and exchange.
If you have been to Algeria, and know other places where ATM worked for your foreign card, please write it down in the comment. It may be a huge help for people being suck with no cash in Algeria, looking for solutions.
Money Exchange in Algeria
Exchanging money on black market in Algeria.
When I am traveling around Europe, I would never think about exchanging money on the street or some black market, because I would be afraid that they will cheat me. I remember traveling in Bulgaria, and hearing some offers on the street to exchange money. Thankfully, I had read before, that I should always exchange money in the bank or exchange office while in Bulgaria. In Algeria, things work differently, and it’s more profitable exchanging money on the black market.
The exchange rate on the black market in Algeria is much higher than you would get in the bank. The difference is significant. For example, for end of 2018 1€ in the bank was 137 da, while on the black market you got 210 da! One US dollar was 118da in the bank and 185da on the black market. See the huge difference? I ended up having much more money than I was expecting!
I understand that you may have problems in finding a black market in Algeria as a tourist. For some reason there is no arrow showing the direction. Just joking. It can also happen that they will try to cheat you as you are a tourist, you never know. Therefore, I highly recommend going there with a local person. What if you don’t have friends in Algeria? When I travel, I tend to meet local people thanks to Couch Surfing and it’s always a huge help for me.
I will never forget this moment when going with a couch surfer in the city of Oran to the black market. A ordinary street, with old men sitting in front of the shop, drinking coffee. There were few stores in a row, and we entered the jewellery shop, with a door behind to another small room. A man was sitting there, ready to exchange what we had. All looked like a scene from a movie.
Navigation / Maps in Algeria
The mobile app which works the best for maps in Algeria is Waze. You can find your way to historical places, hotels or restaurants.
Where to sleep in Algeria
Hotels in Algeria are very expensive, in compare with living costs in the country. As mass tourism does not exist in Algeria, competition is low and hotels can impose the price they wish. They host a lot of people coming for business or tourists from organised tours. Those don’t really mind the price, as their stay is pre-covered.
Prices of the hotels in Algeria start from around 30€ and go up to 200€, where most of them are over 50€ a night. It may sound a decent price, if you are from France or Australia but mind that Algeria is a cheap country. 50€ was actually the budget I was spending in one week there! But I never stayed in a hotel and was traveling with locals.
This reminds me of situation in Timore Leste – another not touristic destination I travelled to, nota bene, just before coming to Algeria. In Timor, prices of the hotels were extremely high and often there was no other option to choose. Thankfully, in Algeria there are other solutions.
There are hostels or rather youth hostels, which offer a very basic condition. You can stay cheap indeed, like 2 € per night in a dorm style room. Of course, girls and boys in a separate part of the building. If you are lucky, you will have fresh sheet and clean room. I wasn’t. I was stuck in a hot room with no AC and with no water in the shower. Toilets are always common in the youth hostels and not necessarily clean. You will find some of them using the Waze app and typing in hostel or auberge des jeunesse – youth hostel in French.
The best middle-price option will be airbnb, which you will easily find in the big cities. Prices are very convenient for a room or even for renting the whole apartment.
Again, I recommend Couch Surfing as a great way to stay with a local host family. Is it risky? Of course, it always is, no matter the country. However, if you choose the person with many positive references, trustable profile description, preferably living with family (what is very common in Algeria), you will most likely have a great time. If you don’t have experience in this community, I wrote a guide depicting first steps in Couch Surfing. Higly recommended as the best way to explore the culture, see the country and have memorable experiences with locals.
Camping is Algeria is an option too. Lots of locals put a tent on the beaches or in some green areas. There are also authorized camp sides in the places which are famous for local visitors.
Sim Card & Internet in Algeria
Wi-fi? What is that? I haven’t heard about it in Algeria. OK, I am exaggerating, it does exist in a big hotels, some people’s apartments or offices. The fact is, that for few weeks in Algeria I never got a chance to use it, to be honest. Hence, if you want to have Internet in Algeria, you need to get local sim card with data. The prices vary depending of the internet data but it will be around 5-10€ per month. There are 3 different networks. From my experience, I don’t recommend getting Djezzy due to a very poor signal out of the big cities. Much better range had Mobilis.
Transportation in Algeria
As I mentioned on the beginning, Algeria has variety of means of public transportation. They have buses, planes, trains, trams in five cities, taxis and metro in the capital city – Algiers.
Moving with public buses or trains around the country is very cheap. For example train from Algiers to Oran – was around 7€ for ~ 400km. Trains are fine, and they are faster than the bus, which may stop in many cities. Both – trains and buses, are very convenient, well, depends with which country you compare… From my traveling experiences, transportation in Algeria was quite good. The condition of the main roads in Algeria is fine, so you can move around quickly.
Going far south to the desert, I advice checking the prices of the planes. Inside Algeria you can find cheap flights and skip spending 2 days in the bus.
Taxis are relatively expensive in comparing with other means of transport, however, local people use them a lot for few reasons. First, city buses are slow and their schedule is unpredictable. Second, because it’s common to share the taxi ride, so it’s much cheaper. Taxi drivers tend to cheat tourist, so be careful! What I would recommend, is to download Yassir mobile app, which is an equivalent to Uber. You can see the price prior the ride and follow the road with navigation. It’s cheaper than taxis and much more convenient.
Animals slavery in Algeria.
Driving in Algeria
Visitors traveling in Algeria are allowed to drive on their national driver’s license, if the maximum stay is three months. Only visitors coming for more than 3 months should obtain international driving licence.
Renting a car is possible on the big airports, but the price is much higher than taking a cab to the city and renting a car from the agencies there. Prices vary, for the cheapest possible car, which is Renault symbol – common car in Algeria – should be around 15-17€ a day. If you want to go to the desert and looking for 4×4, price can go up to 50€ or more per day.
While preparing the itinerary for Algeria and planning your trips remember that Algeria (still) has a lot of fuel resources and it’s cheap as water. Hence, it can be reasonable cost to rent a car, if you plan to go to places where you will have to get a taxi anyway. Here comes the price: for 1 € you will get 6-7 liters of fuel, 11 liters of Diesel.
Food in Algeria
Traditional food as couscous do exist but it’s not easy to find. Wherever you go in Algeria you will just see fast-foods all around. God! I have just came super-skinny after surviving Indonesian food and my stomach has another challenge! For me impossible to survive on shawarma and fries all the time. I struggled a lot in finding something other than fast-foods. Unfortunately, food wasn’t the best part of traveling in Algeria… I tried good food while staying with a host families, beautiful food! But rather than that, I had a hard time.
Food in Algeria is very cheap, though. You can eat fast-food for 1-2 € or buy ingredients on the market for cheap, if you have where to cook them. Restaurants with good food, where tourists or expats come, can cost as much as restaurants in western Europe…
Algerian family met through Couch Surfing.
Drinking alcohol in Algeria
Alcohol is not allowed in Islam, therefore it’s not so easily accessible in Algeria. There are plenty of liqueur stores, though. Their appearance is often not so obvious, they may be hidden in a small street. Apart from the liqueur stores, you can buy alcohol in the hotel, if there is a bar.
Drinking alcohol in public is forbidden as religious people would not like to see people drinking. You can bring it to your hotel or flat.
How to get to Algeria?
The most popular airports are in Algiers and Oran. If you are coming from Europe, the cheapest way is to get to Spain or South of France and fly to Algeria with Voeling. Voeling are Spanish cheap airlines and normally you can fly one way for as cheap as 30€.
If you are coming from other parts of the world, check Turkish Airlines or any airlines from UAE, which have connecting flights to Algeria.
By land you can get to Algeria from Tunisia, the border with Morocco is closed! If you want to take your car with you to Algeria it’s possible to come also by ferry from Spain, Italy and France.
Visa to Algeria
In general, the visa to Algeria is not the easiest one and is required for most of the countries in the world. Because it’s an important issue and I don’t want to make this article any longer, I decided to devote another post concerning the visa to Algeria.
I hope this article provided you with lots of tips on traveling to Algeria. Some of the information may be changing and improving quickly, as for example ATMs accepting foreign cards. Therefore, please comment below if you find out something has changed, to help the other travelers. Don’t hesitate to suggest another issue you would find useful before traveling to Algeria, which I forgot to mention.
The Bee is a nature lover and tea addict. Loves the idea of slow life and responsible traveling, constantly trying to improve to bee more eco-friendly. Appreciates old cultures and traditions, loves to immerse with locals, listen to ethnic music as well as taste regional food and drinks. Her favorite spots while traveling are family houses and street markets.
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Algeria is quite an adventure. We’ve had to use black markets to exchange money in South America and it can be scary the first time but such better rates! I don’t know why people don’t realize that this is the modern age and transportation is available. I’m so sorry that the food was disappointing! Clearly since you had great meals at home, it means that the restaurants have lost their way.
The point is that Algerians live with families, most of them, so there is always some cooking at home. If they go out to eat, they prefer to take fast-fod as it’s something different then at home
Bardzo jestem wdzięczna, za tak cenne wskazówki kochana… W sierpniu mam zamiar poleciec do Algieri do poznanego przez internet, Algierczyka, nie wiem czy to rozsądne, proszę napisać jacy są Algierczyki naprawde… Za odpowiedź serdecznie dziękuję… Pozdrawiam ♥️
Jak dla mnie byli bardzo mili, mam dobre wspomnienia. Ciekawa jestem jak potoczy się Twoja historia. Wszystkiego dobrego!
What a lot of helpful info. I love the photo of the camel — up close!
Thanks! The camel was posing for the pic 😉
Gosh, are there really people so ignorant to think Algeria doesn’t have modern transport and everything else? I can’t imagine that! I do agree that there is a reluctance to visit based on some quite long ago terrorist activities, and in this day and age, if one rules out anywhere that ever experienced terrorism at one point, then one rules out much of the world! Love all the practical tips on every aspect from currency to transport to web access to food.
Thank you Kavita :* I was just exaggerating the fact, that poeple don’t know much about Algeria, and their knowlendge is often outdated.
You shared some amazing tips for visiting Algeria! I’m planning to go there soon and I could learn a lot from your recent articles. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Perfect!
OK, I’m packing my bags and heading to Algeria! Seriously! I’ve always been curious about it – its size has always blown my mind and all the desert land – but this post gave me a very realistic view of this beautiful country and even with all the information you have provided I’m much more curious to learn about it now! Algeria has officially been added to my travel bucket list. I’ll just be sure to get all the cash I need at the airport 🙂
Glad to hear that :*
Algeria seems to have this air of enigma and mystique. But you have given a very candid account of the place and also busted a lot of myths and pre-conceived notions that people may have. It is definitely a country that seems to promise adventure. A place to explore beyond the beaten track. Your post in many ways is a helpful ready-reckoner for first timers to Algeria.
Thanks a lot Sandy
As many people have some blocked mindset for traveling in Algeria, it is good that you have shared that it is safe and worthvisiting too. Good to know that food is cheap and would love to try some local stuff. As WiFi may be an issue, I would buy data SIM in advance only. Thanks for sharing all information on Algeria.
How informative is this post? VERY! It’s incredibly useful, especially about card use and how to get data while there. Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome!
It was good to read a post about Algeria and learn the bare-minimum facts. I think this may be the only post I have ever seen on Algeria. Sounds safe enough to me.
That’s why I prepared the whole range of posts about ALgeria, as the internet says almost nothing about this country
Hey. I find your post very informative and very complete. I am an Asian girl who’s also travelling alone to Algeria tomorrow while it’s ramadan. I will be there for almost a month and reading your post will help me a lot.
I decided to travel to Algeria during Ramadan since everyone is fasting and I think I won’t experience any catcalling in the streets but let’s see. XD The struggle is that there wont be any restaurants open during the day as what my local friends have told me. As a non-muslim I dont know how will I survive hahaha.
I have friends there but I’ll be staying in an Airbnb guesthouse in Algiers for a few days first before going to Tlemcen to see my friend.
Thank you for this blog it would help me a lot getting around Algeria.
I am glad you found it useful Hazel. I don’t think ramadan will stop catcalling 😀 that’s the culture. For the restaurants, yeah it’s going to be difficult :/
Haha.. Loved it when you say.. “…traveling in Algeria does not mean you will be moving on camel or donkey all the time..” Its amazing how some imagery gets established about places, based on hearsay, without even visiting there! Look forward to seeing your next post on safety in Algeria! Loved this survival guide to Algeria and I think the tips here would be helpful when traveling to any new place for the first time such as knowing about the local language, safety, money, transportation! Loved this extensive guide for Algeria.
Thanks a lot Navita. I also hope it will be useful for visitors 🙂
Great information for anyone traveling to Algeria, or probably anywhere in Africa. Tips for transportation and places to stay are especially helpful, and it’s good to know that money goes a lot further in Algeria than in European countries.
Thank you Tami :*
Algeria looks beautiful, and your practical guide would be a great help in planning a trip to this offbeat destination. Thanks for sharing!
Glad to hear that. thanks a lot!
Thanks for sharing about Algeria. For someone like me who used to travelling with less cash carried, this might be stressful for me. I use cashless payment or via credit card.
You would have a problem in Algeria, as there is no choice rathe then have a cash
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This is a really comprehensive guide to traveling in Algeria. You’ve been honest with all the aspects and that is helpful for a lot of travelers I will definitely read your post on the visa process for Algeria.
Very comprehensive a helpful post. I am shocked that people don’t realise that Algeria doesn’t have modern transportation, but that is probably because people don’t understand a lot about Algeria. Anyway, Great post and can’t wait to read more of your posts.
Thank you so much Lisa!
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Going on a trip to Algeria. Your article is useful to me. Thanks!
You are welcome! Enjoy your time in Algeria!
As an Algerian girl, I would say that you did justice to my country ^-^.
YES Algeria is very beautiful, it is safe and we’re living peacefully since 2000, Media just shows the negative side of African countries, why? I have no idea. It is also true that on streets it is hard to find some traditional food, mainly fast-food, but the home made food is a masterpiece.
Concerning, men bothering women in the streets; honey let me tell you that even if you cover yourself from head to toe, you will be bothered!!! Some men ( not all ofc) are just too narrow minded.
Thank you for sharing your experience. xoxo
Thank you for you feedback Lycia, it’s great to hear voice of the local! How do you find the bothering by men on the streets? 😉
thank you very nice website article
Witam serdecznie Super informację, naprawdę jasne i przejrzyste mam pytanie wiem że z Polski trzeba wizę lecz jeśli będę w Barcelonie a chcę wybrać się do Oranu jakie formalności muszę dokonać, pozdrawiam serdecznie Izabela
Nie posiadam takich informacji, przepraszam 🙁
Nie wybierzesz się od tak do Oranu. Jeżeli planujesz taką podróż musisz mieć wizę, którą załatwisz w konsulacie Algierskim. Oraz testy na covid. Przed wjazdem do algerii 36 h I dodatkowo w algerii na lotnisku lub w porcie również robią.
Ja byłam przed pandemią, ale wiem od znajomych z Algierii, że przez wiele miesięcy pandemii nawet Algierczycy nie mogli wjechać do swojego kraju, a co dopiero turyści. Wiele osób nie dotarło na pogrzeb bliskich czy pomóc w chorobie. Ludzkie tragedie.
każda informacja jest na wagę złota..planuje wyjazd turystyczny uzbieram każdą informację… dziękuję Tobie za wszystko pozdrawiam serdecznie 💋
Bardzo mi miło! Trzymam kciuki by nie było problemów z wjazdem!
I am afraid you were travelling with terrorists my darling. Reading your article, i can highlight the Algerian terrorist ideology. You were surrounded by Arab Algerians, and that means potential terrorists. In that country, there are the kabyle people who speak kabyle language , the real owners of that land, the indigenous. They live in tizi-ouzou and Bejaia mainly. The are civilised. Catcalling is a taboo within the Kabyle society. Only Muslims do that including the Kabyles who became Muslim. You can wear the clothes that you want and you can have tattoos as well. Democracy and freedom is running in their blood. Their women have tattoos and its part of their culture. If you want to travel to Algeria, go there especially bejaia . Find a guide. The Kabyle are shy people but very polite. Sth special about their language is politeness. The history of North Africa you will discover it among the Kabyle, not among the arab terrorists. I am happy they did not rape you. Talking about alcohol, its part of the kabyle society for the majority drink. Religion does not have a place within the Kabyle society but recently it was appropriated as a defensive mechanism. The arabs algerians have one hobby which is killing the non-Muslim kabyle. Having said that, let me correct one of the terrorist ideology in your article, the national language is made up of two: arabic and Kabyle. Terrorists refuses the language of the kabyle and it looks like you were among them and you have been told that it’s only arabic. I was shocked reading your articles tbh. Go to kabylie next time and wear your shorts and crop tops, have your beer, take pictures and see the real people of north Africa.
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Hi Anita, thank you for a great travel blog. So much valuable information on Algeria. I am looking at going and currently planning my trip. I avoid taxis wherever possible. Due to lack of information, do you know if there are buses or other public transport from airports like Annaba and Constantine to their city centres?. Thank you once again
Hi, indeed taxis will be too expensive, there are trains and buses but I have no idea where to look for the information in advance, rather just find out the schedule when you get there.
May I correct your information? About Food, there are varieties of yummi food, I work in Algiers and I did never eat chawarma or sandwishes as you said! But sure you have to pay more for that but still cheap for foreighners since our currency is weakl in Algiers you can eat variety of mediteranian fish or traditional dishes imn what we call Khayma.
You can check more about it on youtube espeacially french youtubers who have already visited the region.
Thank you Amel, my experience wasn’t good thats my opinion, but I hope Algeria has some good food.
Another good tip, we exchanged money on our phone (algerian sim) with Western Union & then went to any bank & deposited instantly. It can be pricey if you do this every time as there are fees. As it was our first ever withdrawal with Western Union, we didn’t pay WU fees, however were taxed by Algeria.
I visited Algeria in 2019 and used an ATM in Algiers city and in one of the malls without any problem
Thanks for this comments! Things are changing in Algeria!
Hi. I would like to travel to Algeria next January: can you recommend any travel guide?
Can you tell me some important places to visit? Thanks
Hi, I don’t have any guides contacts and for places to visit in Algeria – you are in a good place – I have a few articles about cities worth visiting and I am sure you will find many useful tips.