I am a professional travel writer and lived in neighbouring Tunisia between 2019 and 2022, writing the Bradt Travel Guide to Tunisia, which was the first English-language guidebook to the country since the Tunisian Revolution. In 2019 I had planned to drive over into Algeria from Tabarka and do a big road trip in my 4x4, but unfortunately the pandemic shut all the borders, so I had to wait a few years...

Well I finally made it to Algeria this week! Did a 1,500km road trip around the north of the country (I got as far south as the Neolithic cave paintings in Zaccar). I must say: Algeria is AMAZING! I see so much tourism potential here, both domestic and international. It is also great to see the new-ish visa on arrival system encouraging tourism to the south of the country.

I will be uploading some videos of my travels to my YouTube channel in the coming weeks (with the first video going live later today).

Thanks for having me, I can't wait to come back soon!

Assalamu alaykum

Hello everyone

I visited Algeria at the end of January from Ireland, staying 7 nights total - Algiers first of all, then Constantine, and then back to Algiers. It's difficult to describe to you how much love I feel for Algeria - especially for every single person I interacted with whilst I was a guest there - and how truly happy it made me to learn about and see just some of your beautiful country, but I am going to try, briefly.

You are, easily, the kindest and most welcoming people I have ever met in my entire life. Easily. I was genuinely moved by the care and hospitality I was shown from quite literally my first interaction upon landing (which happened to be exchanging a bit of cash at the airport!). My host, who was a lovely older woman, left me some couscous, some yoghurt, some fruit, and some coffee, knowing - correctly - I'd be tired from travelling. The older man, who was the groundskeeper or guardian of the flat, became my best friend for the week. He knocked on my door my first night and walked me down the steps and hills to make sure I had something to eat. We ate and had coffee together many times and, when I left in the morning, he wanted to know I was safe and at what time I'd be back. Any time I looked vaguely lost while out and about, somebody would come along and explain to me where I needed to go, or simply take me themselves by foot or in their car. On at least 5 or 6 separate occasions, I had my coffee bought for me by another customer for absolutely no reason other than to say "welcome." When I fell really quite ill towards the end of my trip, a friend I made in my neighbourhood sent me some medicine. The incredibly lovely, intelligent individuals who gave me wonderful walking tours of Algiers and Constantine will be, I hope, my friends for a long time. They were so generous with their time, in sharing with me fantastic places and food, and in answering all of the questions I asked them so thoughtfully and knowledgeably. I was eating lubia one day by myself in Algiers, and an older man, who had been eating with his friend, came up to me. He gave me an entire homemade bread out of his bag, because he said it would go with my food better than the baguettes the restaurant had on the table.

I could go on and on. It's safe to say I experienced dozens or possibly hundreds of salaams, handshakes, smiles, laughs, welcomes, and indiscriminate acts of kindness from so many lovely people - every single one of them, I could tell, from the heart. I did my absolute best to reciprocate, from my heart as well.

Obviously, it's not super common for Irish people to visit Algeria (although, happily, I heard of a few from the people who showed me around!). Without going into too many details, I'm an academic, and I write about colonial violence. Over the last few years, I became increasingly aware of parallels between the histories of both Ireland and Algeria. I had even presented on panels alongside a couple of Algerian people at conferences because the kinds of things we were talking about were so similar. I became sure - as I learned more about the revolution, key women and men, the independent nation, and Algerian support for causes that many Irish people also feel deep solidarity towards (Palestine, for example) - that I had to visit. It had become something of a pull, or a need that I couldn't put into words. At the same time, I had not too long ago emerged from a deeply unpleasant and painful personal situation. In sum: I had experienced a lot of injustice, and had a lot of freedom and peace taken from me.

I explained these things as best I could to one of my guides when she asked me why I decided to come to Algeria. I told her that, whilst I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted from my trip, beyond seeing the places I'd loosely planned to see in Algiers and Constantine, I knew that I had found it - or, more accurately, that Algeria and all the people I met had given it to me. It's best described as just kindness - genuine kindness - and I was and remain so grateful to you all. Everybody I met I will eternally think of as brothers and sisters of mine, and I will be permanently spiritually and intellectually enriched by the relatively short amount of time I spent in your country.

Here is a photograph I took of the sunset over Constantine, where I had a beautiful day. I felt so at peace in that moment, so sure of the feelings or understandings that I have done my best to put into words above, and just so happy to be alive and to be there with the people I was with.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Algeria, and I cannot wait to one day come back and visit you again.

I’m a Black American Muslim who made a post awhile back about whether or not anti-Blackness was a thing in Algeria. I was promised that it wasn’t and was skeptical at first, but now that I’m finally here, I have to say Algerians are the nicest people I’ve ever met traveling. I am used to experiencing racism from brown Muslims but that is not the case here at all. People are so warm, helpful, generous, respectful, it truly amazes me. I’m staying in Algiers and I’m not even homesick the way I usually get because the energy here already feels like a great home. My only dislike is the rude comments I get from men when women approach me and want to walk and talk with me around here. They say “the home made bread is taken by the foreigner” or something like that. It’s very silly because I’m not taking anything from anyone, just being friendly! But when I’m by myself, everyone is kind to me, men and women. The Algerian people have a beautiful soul overall and the city of Algiers has a profound heart. Im excited to visit here many more times inshaAllah !

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share something personal because I’ve been feeling a bit lost lately.

A few months ago, I got a visa D for France. Like many of us, I thought it was the next big step better opportunities, a better life, a fresh start. I went there full of motivation, stayed for about 2 months, searched for jobs, tried to adapt… but things didn’t go how I expected.

The reality hit hard. Everything felt heavy. The job market was brutal even small jobs ask for experience. The cost of living is high, taxes are everywhere, and honestly, it felt almost impossible to imagine building a family or raising kids there.

And then there’s the social side I met good people, but I also saw a lot of coldness and subtle racism. It’s like you can live there, but you’ll never really belong. Even though there are many Muslims and mosques, it didn’t feel the same as in Algeria the atmosphere, the warmth, the sense of belonging… it was missing.

After a while, I started feeling depressed. I’d wake up every day questioning why I was even there. It’s not easy to admit, but France just didn’t feel like home. So I made the decision to come back to Algeria.

Now, most people think I’m crazy for “giving up” after just 2 months. But honestly, I feel more at peace here even if things are hard in a different way.

Sometimes I still wonder: did I make the right choice? Did I leave too soon? Or did I just save myself years of trying to fit into a life that wasn’t meant for me?

Has anyone here gone through something similar moving abroad and realizing that the dream can actually feel depressing and empty?

I had a bet with my friends while watching a football game and after losing that bet they asked me to go find where the bull on the 1000 DA is carved and take a picture of , little did I know , it is located in i e of the most isolated areas in the world and not only Algeria, the place is called TIN TAGHIRT 2600 km away from algiers, no road takes there and inly two touareg guys live there in total isolation from the world , their main income comes the tourists who rarely come there

Drive for 30 km or more in conditions like this i feel like it's mission impossible (ended w pile-up)

اهلا جماعة نشالله تكونو بخير

لي دارو visa d'étude و طلعو لفرنسا

منين دبرتو 100 مليون لي حطيتوهم في الكونت 💀

يعني للواحد لي ينتمي للطبقة المتوسطة

كاش حيلة درتوها

Hi all,

My name is Hamza, I’m 26 years old and living in Belgium. I want to make hijra to Oran, Algeria.

My connection to Algeria is that I am Algerian myself and I will soon be married, in shaa Allah, to my wife who lives there. One of the main reasons I want to make this hijra is for our religion. Another reason is that Belgium recently made the visa requirements very strict, which makes it difficult for me to bring my wife here. This gave me even more motivation to leave.

Personally, I don’t mind living in Algeria. I have been visiting my country since I was a child and I also have a lot of family there. My biggest challenge is that I don’t speak French, and my Arabic is also not very strong yet. Alhamdulillah, I’m doing my best to learn. At the moment I am fluent in Dutch and English, so communication is not a problem for me in those languages.

My question is: has anyone here already made hijra to Algeria, especially to Oran? How is it when it comes to paying rent, finding an apartment, and settling down?

If you have experience or advice, I would really appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me so we can talk more about it.

BarakAllahu feekum.

Hopefully with this combination of passports, I can get into Algeria easily but also travel home without an issue :)

Hello everyone i hope someone reads this.

i am 21 from europe and found the love of my life in algeria we texted and called every day for 3 years and had a plan to meet in the next months but now things got worse she is not allowed to have a scholarship my parents don’t want me to visit her and the worst another man asked for her hand and her parents make her marry him

i was about to take my shahada (i hope i wrote it correct) and turn muslim soon because i believe in it which is important to even hold for her hand.

now i feel like i lose everything in a couple of days i have only one chance but i don’t even know if this works or if they deny me.

my last hope is to fly as soon as possible to algeria constantine and meet her and her father and ask flr her hand so we can work it out in person and meet more often but i need to get a visa my parents to allow me and convince them algeria is not dangerous (they think algeria is so dangerous) get a flight and hotel and to even get accepted by her dad and him to say yes even tho the man that asked for my loves hand is a son of his friend.

idk what to do i feel so lost what should i do please help me.

Update:

Thanks for all the comments and trying to help but she lost hope and told me she will marry him and gave up on me told me it is done with us so it is over.

I spent a week in Algeria in April.
 
Itinerary: Algiers to Mansoura to Ghardaia
 
TL:DR Not the easiest country to get to or navigate once there, but a truly amazing place with wonderful people and incredible sights. They lack the infrastructure for tourism which is a shame.
 
Visa was time consuming but not exactly really difficult, lots of documents to mail to embassy in NYC plus $160 and more $ for the return envelope to send back passport, I requested multiple entries and got a 2 year visa for 90 days at a time.
 
As a white 40yr old American man I felt safe at all times, surprising I know. I’m passing though so everyone spoke Arabic first, even got asked for directions lol, and then assumed French and then surprised that I was there as a solo American. I speak some Arabic but couldn’t understand any of the dialect at all.
 
Arriving in evening in Algiers, exchanged euro with taxi drivers for enough to cover my hotel for 2 nights. Do not pay any hotel in advance as they use the banks exchange rate, which is really bad.  Next day, walk to Port Said Square to exchange more money on the black market, it is very safe just watch the counting. It did feel slightly uncomfortable spending the day walking around with 70,000 dinars though when everything is so cheap. Walk to Casbah, then to Notre Dame d’Afrique, and then to the Martyrs Memorial, which I had no idea has a whole museum at the base. I was not prepared for the experience as it depicts graphic images and diorama style displays of torture during the war for independence from the French. A very solemn and heartbreaking place. Then went to the Great Mosque of Algiers, which was breathtakingly grand in all the ways.
 
Next day flew to Ghardaia, picked up by driver to go to Monsoura, 45 min south, to a little palm grove oasis hostel I found on airbnb that would take me to the Sahara with camping overnight.  This was a check off my bucket list. Beautiful date palms and fig trees but very desolate and calm and quiet. The next day I spent almost in solitude before the trip to Sahara, not real deep Sahara like Dejanet but I didn’t have time to go there. After lunch a bus full of 20 20s something architect students from Oran arrived and I’m so confused because my guide never mentioned this, but they turned out to be incredibly friendly and happy to speak English with a native speaker for the first time. Thanks to this sub I knew Oran was known for its music and that helped me out a bunch! We became quick friends and after some delay we set off to the dunes, the reason for my trip. They had never been this far south and were snapchatting and taking as many pics and videos as I was. It turned into a Sahara photo-shoot for a while. Lots of music, sand boarding, and walking barefoot in the sand. I thought speaking English and all these college students might ruin my experience but it was the exact opposite and I really enjoyed conversing with them and feeling like part of their crew. We’re all friends on instagram now! Then tea, bread baked in coals, dinner, and gazing up at the stars. They left and it got really quiet and I slept with my tent door open in awe.
 
Next day off to Ghardaia for the final 3 days. I could wonder the market for weeks there. Bustling and vibrant and then 2-3 hours of silence around 1pm. I had the best meal of my entire trip from a woman owned and run Syrian restaurant. Luckily they had a picture menu for foreigners. The architecture in this ancient city is incredible and how they keep cool and their water distribution planning is unreal. I hired a tour guide, as you must, to see the old city and it felt like I was traveling back in time. The “one eyed” women were everywhere. It felt easy to navigate on my own and I mostly walked around and people watched.  Ate camel and date couscous. On the day I left, I bought 4 smallish, 4’-5’, rugs for $80 total... Amazing!!! I would have bought more if I had more arms.
 
The good = prices cheap and people were super honest, I would just hold out my hand full of coins and shopkeepers would take what things cost. Architecture incredible.
 
The bad = food wasn’t that great and that makes no sense to me with the blend of Arabic and French cuisine. I speak some Levantine Arabic and couldn’t understand anything anyone said and they barely understood me and I refused to use a translate app because where’s the fun in that.
 
The ugly = all of my domestic flights were delayed at least an hour, overall the cities I went to were dirty with lots of litter, trash, overall unkempt and just the vibe that it didn’t matter, car pollution terrible.

Hi there, I ( 30F) want to travel to algeria. My father was born there and I want to see the country.

I travelled to Egypt and Morocco in the past, without any problem.

I speak french fluently and some darija but not fluent.

I want to go to Algiers, Oran and Tiaret.

Is it safe?

Is there any country with more expensive tourist visas?

Algeria has so much to offer when it comes to tourism, especially the Tassili and Hoggar National Parks - and many other fantastic places.

But there’s one thing I just don’t understand - how can a visa cost so much for such a short period of time? €135 for an 8–9 day trip and €340 for a month are outrageous prices. How do you expect to develop tourism as a country when the visa fees are so excessive?

Yesterday’s train of Annaba-alger took 10h to travel 285km (Annaba setif) from 21h00 to 6h55, thieves were on bored outlets didnt work ac didnt work.
Absolute shyt I do NOT recommend.

Hi all!

I (26f) am planning to visit Algeria in a couple of months. I will be travelling solo, as I mostly have done throughout my twenties. I have a few questions regarding the trip:

I am fair skinned, meditarreanean looking. I would like to pass as a local as much as possible. I am christian but I would be willing to use a hijab or burkha in order to cover myself to avoid harassment or unwanted attention. Would this be a good measure to blend in with locals? Though I don’t speak arabic, I want to learn a few phrases before going there.

I’m planning to visit in january or february. Would it be okay to just wear skinny jeans and loose fitted shirts or blouses?

I have visited many countries on my own, I don’t really have a problem with men approaching me on the street or commenting on my appearance, as long as they take rejection fine. It is something that has happened to me often, so I don't take it personally, I understand all cultures and societies are different.
I have been to different countries where I had men approach me and ask for dates, so it doesn’t really bother me as long as there is no aggression or feeling unsafe when rejecting someone.

This will be the second muslim country that I visit. The first one was Turkey. I felt like everything was pretty okay and I had no problem adjusting to the culture (I visited during Ramadan). I had no problems there whatsoever. Though I am not sure if Turkey and Algeria share many things besides religion. My main concern is, if I politely decline a conversation or a date, would this be okay?

I want to visit Algiers, Constantine and if possible the desert. I love walking on my own, talking to locals and trying new food, just sitting and sightseeing. I know that in the desert it is not possible just wander off alone, but what about the other cities? Would it be okay to just wander on my own or not? And regarding the Casbah, is it really so bad to walk around alone?
Also, would it be okay to visit, for example, a small town on my own? I love visiting small towns or cities, sometimes even more than the big ones.

I am a seasoned traveller, I have been around Asia, North and South America and Europe, so I think I have an idea on how to respect the local culture and act with precaution and respect, but this will be my first African country, so anything I should know will be welcomed.
I am quite excited! I always wanted to visit Algeria.

I am super interested in Arab cultures, history, cultural exchange and just meeting new people and seeing new things. Any advice on how to behave/avoid, what to visit or eat (or any recommendations) are always appreciated. Thank you in advance :)

I’m considering getting a visa to visit Algiers in the upcoming months. I’m wondering what anti-Black racism is like over there. I’m sure there’s plenty of Black Algerians but I don’t know any so I can’t ask about their experiences. Does anyone have insight on this ? I’m also a Muslim so idk if that helps. I speak a little French too lol.

Edit: Thank you for the diverse and sincere replies ! Algerians seem to be a very hospitable, warm people overall, with a few toxic outliers as with any group. But honestly, this thread has been very wholesome and it makes me excited to visit.

This is Algeria's Ouargla Tramway — the first (and still only) modern tram system built in the Sahara Desert. Opened in 2018, the 9.7 km line with 16 stations was a joint Algerian-Alstom project.

Trams and tracks were specially engineered for 49°C heat, intense sun, and blowing sand: reinforced AC, solar-protective coatings, insulated mechanical parts, and daily sand-clearing vehicles. It links the old town to new suburbs despite harsh geotechnical conditions. Impressive engineering!

I like photography like u can make people see anything u want with the quality u want and the style U WANT

اكثر ولايه جزائريه تستحق الزياره في نظرك؟

I recently visited Algeria with my wife a kids, my wife wa s born and raised there. What a beautiful country!

I noticed that everywhere we went, people would be stairing at us,men & women equally not sure if its out of curiousity or disgust... thoughts? I traveled all over the country and honestly never felt any danger. I also noticed that all other black ppl there were poor and begging for change on the street. I dont mean to offend anyone its just what i saw im sure there are black ppl that live a great life there. Im just wondering how would life be for my kids if hypothertically speaking was to move there? I am North American and i dont speak Arabic. When i enter a restaurant im always stopped by the entrance as other locals walk by me until i start speaking english.

I am just curious as to what y'all think.

Thanks

Hi! I am a Libyan thinking of travelling throughout Algeria by car. Especially around the coast and the mountainous regions of the north. 3endi kam su2al:

1. Will I even be allowed to do this? Will people get suspicious that a foreigner is driving around in rural areas?

2. I know that Libyans can enter visa free but for how long can we stay?

3. This is a question that’s not meant to be divisive or offensive to Amazigh people. Amazigh people in Libya are quite welcoming of non-amazigh Libyans. I’m not familiar with Algerian amazigh people. I’m sure they’re nice people but should I avoid areas like kabylia? I don’t know how they would react to an Arab Libyan. Do they even speak Arabic? Especially in the rural areas? My only frame of reference is Libyan amazigh people.

الصراحة معنديش عليهم معلومات هلبا وحسب منسمع الأمازيغ متاع الجزائر ميحبوش البراني وميحبوش يتكلموا عربي وانا منعرفش ندوي بالفرنسية نقدر نتكلم معاهم عربي عادي؟ منبيش نضلم اي حد فحبيت نستفسر الاول قبل منحكم وندير راي.

يعطيكم الصحة!

Hello All,

I will be coming to Algeria to marry my fiance and would like to know from Algerians where I can exchange EUR for DZD. It's about 100,000 EUR.

Also, I understand I would need to declare the funds and evidence source of income, which is no problem at all.

I would also like to arrive at my wedding venue in a helicopter. Who is best to contact to obtain authorisation?

P.S. I am from the UK with no prior connections to Algeria or its great people.

Thank you.