How to Get Around Algeria

The north is a corridor; the south is an expedition

Algeria divides sharply for a traveller. The northern strip between the Mediterranean and the Atlas holds the cities, the Roman sites and the rail line, and moving between Algiers, Oran, Constantine and Annaba is straightforward. Everything south of the Atlas is Sahara, where distances are measured in days, the advisories are restrictive, and travel is organised rather than improvised.

Getting in

Everyone needs a visa to visit Algeria -- there is no visa-free entry and no arrival visa for most nationalities, so this is the first item on the plan rather than a formality. Houari Boumediene at Algiers is the main gateway, with international airports at Oran and Constantine. Declare cash at entry and exit if you are carrying more than 5,000 euros or the equivalent, which matters in a country where cards are of limited use and visitors carry more cash than they would elsewhere.

Trains and roads in the north

The rail network links most major northern cities and is comfortable if slower and less frequent than a European traveller expects; for the Algiers-Oran-Constantine triangle it is a reasonable way to move. Long-distance buses are the usual alternative and go more places more often. Roads in the north are good, and driving is the practical way to reach the Roman sites, which are mostly not on the railway.

The Sahara is a different decision

Saharan travel is organised through operators rather than done independently, and the advisories are the starting point rather than a footnote: the southern border is where the kidnap risk is concentrated, and the Sahara carries its own warnings. This does not put the desert out of reach -- the rock art of the Tassili n'Ajjer and the M'zab valley are the reason people come -- but it does mean the trip is booked, permitted and escorted rather than driven.

Practicalities

French is far more useful than English, including with emergency operators. Cash is the working assumption outside the main hotels. And for an ambulance the number is 16 or 1021.

The visa is the first decision, not the last

You must have a visa to visit Algeria. There is no visa-free entry, and for most nationalities no visa on arrival, so the application timeline shapes when the trip can happen. Build it into the plan before booking flights rather than after.

Cash, and the 5,000-euro line

Declare cash at your point of entry and exit if the amount exceeds 5,000 euros or its equivalent in other currencies. This is more relevant here than in most countries because card acceptance is limited outside the main hotels, so visitors carry larger sums than they are used to -- and the declaration applies on the way out as well as in.

Saharan travel is booked, not driven

The advisories concentrate their warnings on the southern border and the Sahara, and desert travel is accordingly arranged through operators with vehicles, drivers and permits. That is the mechanism rather than a suggestion: an independent drive south is not the shape this trip takes. Plan the desert as a separate, organised leg with its own budget.

Language and emergencies

French is much more useful than English throughout, and emergency operators are unlikely to speak English. For an ambulance, call 16 or 1021. Police is 17 in urban areas and the gendarmerie is 14, which covers rural areas and highways.