Algeria Trip Report

Just got back from a few weeks in Algeria and thought I’d write up a trip report about this lesser travelled North African country. Will split it into various posts about general tips and some information on cities I visited.

Top Tips
>Knowing Arabic or French is going to make your life far far easier here, basically everybody speaks French, the younger people might speak English
>Bring cash euros and exchange them on the black market, you’ll get about 50% more dinar than taking out from a machine/changing at the bank
>Use couchsurfing, it’s super easy to get hosted here and the people are very kind and willing to show you around and feed you good local food
>Don’t underestimate the size of the country, for context it’s about 2/3rds the size of India and can take a long time to get from place to place

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Money

    As I mentioned before it’s better to bring in cash before you get here. If you bring in more than 1000 euros declare it at the airport or else what you have left might be confiscated when you leave the country
    https://devisesquare.com/#EUR
    This website will tell you the current black market rate, you can ask people in whatever city you’re in where to change. Euros are by far the easiest to exchange followed British pounds or American dollars.

    It’s not an especially expensive country, the biggest costs will be a place to stay. A nice hotel will set you back 5-6000 dinar (€25-30), a private room in a “dortoir” 2500-3000 (~€15) and a shared room around 1000 dinar (€5).

    As a reference I spent €350 over the course of 19 days and I don’t feel I was being especially stingy. Worth noting that aside from a 4-5 nights I was couchsurfing and so saved a lot of money on accommodation.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >Worth noting that aside from a 4-5 nights I was couchsurfing and so saved a lot of money on accommodation

      Was your lodging choice a matter of convenience in terms of proximity to cool stuff or were you just being frugal? That being said, if you were to do it again, would you opt for hotels or couchsurf?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Well couchsurfing isn't just about a free bed it's also about the people you get to meet, I could easily have afforded to stay in hotels (I bought €1000 in cash to be on the safe side) but it was more enjoyable for me to surf
        If I were to do it again CS 100%, this trip actually reminded me what it is I love about that app cause it's been about a year since I used it

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          That being said my host in Constantine was a bit far from the city, if I'd known that before I'd probably have picked a hotel for that city

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Getting in

    One of the reasons Algeria has so little tourism compared to it’s neighbours Morocco and Tunisia is because of the visa requirement (that and the fact they make no effort to advertise tourism)
    The best way to make sure your visa is approved is to get a letter of invitation, I got mine from someone I contacted on couchsurfing. Hotel bookings are also accepted but from the people I’ve talked to it will take longer to get your visa if you use those.
    I’ve heard mixed reviews on how difficult the visa is, for me it was a very straight forward process, compiled my documents, paid and got my passport back in a week but the few other tourists I met while I was there told me theirs was lengthy and complicated.
    For British citizens the visa is £85 and I expect it to be similar for most other countries. I think some Americans I met said there’s were $140.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Thanks for the info. The visa invitation letter sounds like a bummer though, maybe I'd need to find someone on interpals.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        It's not that bad, I imagine you can probably pay a company to provide it as well if you want to avoid the hassle

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Getting Around

    Like most other MENA countries Algeria doesn’t have great public transport. There’s trains connecting a lot of coastal cities though when I tried to go from Algiers to Oran they were striking.
    The most popular way to get between cities is by shared taxi or bus, you just have to go to the “gare” and then ask around about the city you want to go to. Shared taxis are faster, generally comfier and not expensive. A 5 hour ride will cost around 1000 dinar.
    Flights within the country are also quite frequent and cheap, they’ll cost around €25-40 and even the longest flight will only take a couple of hours.

    Buses within cities are quite easy to use as they have the destinations on the front in French and Arabic. They cost 20-25 dinar depending on the city.
    Taxis will rip you off but a fair price is around 200-300 dinar for a 20 minute trip. You can use the app yessir as an equivalent to uber.

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Algiers

    The capital city, unless you’re flying from France most flights in and out of the country will either come to here or Oran. It’s quite a diverse city in the sense it has people from all over the country here. There’s a public metro which is fast, clean, reliable and cheap (50 dinar for a ticket).

    Main things to see include
    >Casbah (the old city)
    >Downtown, an area built by the French where you can enjoy the colonial architecture and get a beer if you fancy
    >El Harrach
    >The Notre Dame of Africa
    >Jardin d'essais
    >There are some beaches nearby but I never went

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      do you have more algiers pics?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous
        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous
          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Didn't take too many in Algiers really

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Is that a cable car going up a hill/mountain?

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Yeah, just outside the Jardin d'essais there's a cable car, costs like £0.10 to ride it, view is ok but nothing to shout about
            >pic unrelated but also algiers

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Oran

    The second city of Algeria, slightly more liberal than Algiers and a lot more “middle east looking”. Honestly a lot of people talked about how nice this city was but I thought it was just ok, regardless it has some interesting things to see and do.

    >Go to Santa Cruz fort
    >See the old cathedral (now converted into a library)
    >Bey’s palace
    >The historical square

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Through a friend of a friend I was able to stay a couple of nights out in this national park. A bit out of the way definitely recommended if you’re a fan of nature and walking.

    Around here you can go hiking through the mountains on either side of the valley, take a swim in one of the many ponds that have formed (water is very cold though), try the hash as it’s extremely popular in this area, visit the a local hammam and just relax away from the bigger cities.
    The people here are a lot simpler and the pace of life a lot slower, definitely one of my trip highlights.

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Ghadahia

    Ghadahia is a very interesting city, far more conservative than other parts of the country though this is common as you get further into the sahara.
    The main populaton here is made up of the Mozabite people, this place is completely different to the other cities in terms of people, architecture, culture, way of life, history and language. The only place in the MENA region I’ve been where smoking is considered antisocial (it’s actually banned in any parts of the old cities)

    The city is made up of 7 old cities, the oldest dating back 1000 years and is known as the gateway to the sahara. As you can expect this is a stop off point for people heading further into the sahara, unfortunately I didn’t have time to go further in on this trip.
    Definitely spend a few days here and get to know the city, it’s well worth it.

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Why did you decide to go there anon? Are you French, so you already knew the language?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Been to quite a few MENA countries and saw some cheap flights here so it seemed to make sense as my next destination to visit
      Was well worth it, an extremely underrated destination in my opinion

      I only speak the French I learned in school

      Awesome thread.

      How's the security situation, is there any terrorist activity to be worried about once you go further south and away from the coastline?

      Security is completely fine everywhere aside from if you're within maybe 10km of the southern borders
      There's a very popular tourist spot called Djanet right in the bottom corner of the country which is deep in the desert but still very safe, sadly I didn't have time to visit there

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Constantine

    Constantine is an extremely beautiful city, another one almost entirely built by the French and the architecture reflects that. Worth noting however that the Romans spent some time here and you can see evidence of this from some of the old bridges

    It’s really not a big city, you could see everything you need to in a day or maybe two if you want to take it a bit more slowly. Things to do include

    >Prince Abdel Kadar Mosque which is extremely impressive
    >Ahmed Bey Palace
    >Walking across the various bridges throughout the city and taking in the views
    >Sit in Bennancer Square and watch people fight, I don’t know what it is about this place but people kept fighting each other and it was entertaining to sit and watch
    >Monument aux Morts which also offers great views of the surrounding countryside

  10. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Awesome thread.

    How's the security situation, is there any terrorist activity to be worried about once you go further south and away from the coastline?

  11. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Hello
    Is this a good place for cooming

  12. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Bejaia

    Maybe my favourite city in the country. Yet another place with it’s own group of people who speak the Kabyle language.
    By far the most “liberal” place I visited, the people are open minded, if you want to grab a beer and enjoy the nightlife this is the place to do it. As well as this it’s situated on some of the best coastline has to offer, definitely take the chance to get to one of the beach coves and take a swim, when I was there last week the water was the perfect temperature.
    Bejaia is also surrounded by mountains with some stunning views over the city and coast, take the chance to get outside the city and visit Cap Carbon, walk along the cliffs and take in the views. You can also watch the monkeys that live around here, don’t try pet them though they can get a little aggressive, they’ll also probably try to steal any bottles of water you have

    This was the final city I visited before I left the country, was the perfect place to relax and unwind before going back to work. Couchsurf here if you can, will be a far better experience seeing the place with a local and being introduced to their friends.

    Pic rel is one place I went swimming

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >By far the most “liberal” place I visited, the people are open minded

      When you say liberal are the girls in bikinis or still wearing hijabs?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >are the girls in bikinis

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Most don't wear the hijab there, bikinis I don't know most of the locals considered it too cold to be swimming this time of year so the beaches were pretty empty, wouldn't surprise me though

        >one thing that really annoys me is when you're out in nature a lot of the time there will just be loads of rubbish people have just chucked there

        LMAO so no different than any other african/asian country

        Yeah it's a common problem in most 2nd/3rd world countries

  13. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    This is what happens if you leave your water bottle unguarded

  14. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    It's really nice to see a trip report on here. Keep posting pics and sharing anon. I don't recall ever seeing a thread about Algeria on here.

    Are there still entry restrictions and anything in-country?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Ok that's about all I had planned to say about Algeria, if anyone has any questions or wants more pictures of specific places just ask here and I'll try help out
      Will check the threat again later tonight

      To get into the country vaccine within 9 months or PCR test
      Once you're in the country no restrictions

  15. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Djemila

    Not too much to say about this place, if you’re into history you can come here to see some very well preserved Roman ruins, if you’re not a history buff can probably just give it a skip.
    Would be a good plan to do this as a day trip from Constantine as they’re only about 1h30 from each other (which by Algerian standards is a very short drive)

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I really want to see some Roman ruins and read that there are some well preserved ones in Algeria. This one blog said that Djemila would be the best. Was this the best Roman ruin you saw? You only posted one pic but from what I've read it sounds like it's worth the trip.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Yeah that was the best I saw, there's also a place near Algiers called Tipaza which everyone raves about for the ruins and beaches but I didn't have the time to go there

  16. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Chrea

    Realised I forgot to talk about this place. Only about 1 hour from Algiers (you can take the train to Blida and go from there) and an easy way to get out to nature. Blida itself doesn’t have much to offer but get out to the mountains of Chrea, it’s a bit of a drive but once you get on the road hitchhiking up is possible and quite easy. Unlike Beni Snuss where the mountains are dusty and rocky these are much greener and more akin to what you might see in Europe.
    If you’re a fan of cycling try find somewhere to rent a bike because the roads would be perfect for it. A great place to go for a day or two to get away from the city and enjoy the fresh air and tranquility. You’ll also see wild pigs and horses around these parts.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      this does not look like Africa at all. its the like the Bsharri District in Lebanon. Of course I know this is in Algeria but the similarity to Lebanon is uncanny.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Almost as if they're both Mediterranean

  17. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I'm surprised that Couchsurfing still exists. Haven't heard about it in quite a while.

  18. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    How much of this place is actually a dump? Like, apart from the medinas. I went to Tunisia recently and outside of a few select places everything looked pretty ghetto.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Urban areas are generally quite clean but one thing that really annoys me is when you're out in nature a lot of the time there will just be loads of rubbish people have just chucked there

      Thanks for the trip report anon. If you have more experiences to share please do. Always have been interested in the MENA region but have never visited.

      Could you draw your itinerary in a map if possible?

      It's a shockingly dawn map but here, my route was
      Algiers -> Oran -> Tlemcen -> Beni Snous -> Algiers -> Blida/Chrea -> Ghadahia -> Constantine -> Djimela -> Bejaia -> fly out from Algiers

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >one thing that really annoys me is when you're out in nature a lot of the time there will just be loads of rubbish people have just chucked there

        LMAO so no different than any other african/asian country

  19. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Thanks for the trip report anon. If you have more experiences to share please do. Always have been interested in the MENA region but have never visited.

    Could you draw your itinerary in a map if possible?

  20. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    can you frick girls

  21. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    I didn't have time, this trip I covered the north, next year I'll cover the desert

  22. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    All of these pictures look gorgeous. Glad you had such a good trip and thanks for putting these places on my radar

  23. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Another photo of Beni Snous

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >benis nous
      fuggggg x-DDDDDDD

  24. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Judging from your description I would do 1 day in Algiers at most to see what's left of the colonial architecture but spend my time in Bejaia and Constantine, and maybe 1 day in Oran.
    The nature looks pathetic tbh so wouldn't go to Cheia etc

    In any case, thanks for posting such a detailed account

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Probably more than one day to be honest, there's enough to see for at least a couple
      If you don't like big cities then yeah head out of there, Constantine is really beautiful and bejaia is great so spending more time there than Algiers is what I'd recommend
      It's what I did and I'm glad I did

  25. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    good thread

  26. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    What is the cooming situations? Are you make a sex with local lady?

  27. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    A quality thread on SighSee is the last thing I expected to find this morning. Making coffee and settling in for a comfy read; keep pics coming OP.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      This is the downtown area of Algiers, built by the French
      Building on the right is the central post office

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        What would these colonial countries be without their colonizers. Everyone loves that shit. Probably more muslims in Paris now than Algiers

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        vgh.......L'Étranger

  28. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    One of the many old towns of Ghardaia, in the background you can see a woman in the traditional dress
    Before marriage they show their faces, after marriage they cover up
    It's actually prohibited to take pictures of women in this area but because she was just in the background it was fine

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      https://i.imgur.com/ikQoHdH.jpg

      Sun setting over the old town of Ghardaia
      This city is interesting because they essentially administer everything themselves
      A council of 12 "respectable" men and women over see all the decisions, respectable means they're over 40 and lead a wholesome life, even arguments with their wife could lead to not being eligible
      They don't have a police force, just a neighbourhood watch who keep things in check
      If you've ever seen the film hotfuzz it kinda reminded me of that

      Cool thread, thanks OP. After a trip to Egypt I've really wanted to go to north africa and particularly to see the desert, though I know about 10 words of arab and french combined.

      How was the situation with stray dogs in urban and rural areas?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Didn't really see many dogs at all, domesticated or stray, there's basically none in the urban areas
        In the rural areas you sometimes get them guarding farms and whatnot but they tend to just stand their ground and bark until you move on

  29. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Sun setting over the old town of Ghardaia
    This city is interesting because they essentially administer everything themselves
    A council of 12 "respectable" men and women over see all the decisions, respectable means they're over 40 and lead a wholesome life, even arguments with their wife could lead to not being eligible
    They don't have a police force, just a neighbourhood watch who keep things in check
    If you've ever seen the film hotfuzz it kinda reminded me of that

  30. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Great thread OP, I hope to visit Algeria and Tunisia someday.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Yeah one guy I met said he hitchhiked all the way from Algiers to Tunisia, sounds like a great trip

  31. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    How are the women though? What about tinder?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Yeah, I'm interested in this too. Have their ties with France over the years sufficiently corrupted their morals? Will hotel workers look at you funny if you bring a woman up to your room?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Have their ties with France over the years sufficiently corrupted their morals?
        No not particularly, all things considered it's still a reasonably strict Islamic country

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          I've been to Morocco and Tunisia. Two countries next to Algeria and remember the girls there being surprisingly easy. Thought all Muslims would be super strict. Apparently they aren't.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Where did you meet them, on tinder or just randomly out there?

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Randomly. They would flirt with me in public. This was like 7 years ago now. I was like 18 at the time. Problem was that at the time I was fricking pathetic with women. Now I'm much better at picking up cues and picking them up but I'm late 20s. 🙁
            I work online now so I would like to return to frick some mena girls.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Yeah, I'm interested in this too. Have their ties with France over the years sufficiently corrupted their morals? Will hotel workers look at you funny if you bring a woman up to your room?

      French thing is a meme I've read. Like the french dude's would paint these half naked girls but it was all some fricked up colonial thing to degrade the northbound immigrants so they would get harassed in french communities.

      That said, idk how different Algeria is from Tunisia, but some Tuni I met in Turkey last year told me women in his country were kind of loose compared to most of MENA.

  32. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    please come to to Kabylie

  33. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Just got back from a few weeks in Algeria

    How was Paris this time of year?

  34. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Great trip OP, these kind of posts is the reason why I keep coming back here. On that note, did you come in contact with any Berber tribe such as the Tuareg? If yes what was your experience like?

  35. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    the best meme that has come out of SighSee in a long time

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      hai sir ... creampie algeria no HIV or many HIV sir?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Not a redeemable meme.

  36. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Hoping OP comes back to answer questions

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Unless I've missed one it's just the shitposts I've ignored I think

  37. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I have family in Constantine, but I've only been to Algeria as a small child. I could technically get a passport but I do not trust that I'd be fricked with national service. Good thread op, I'll have to visit soon (probably just with a visa to start).

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      me too, too afraid ill get conscripted, i might go with family visa and come with some bs that i'm trying to get my dad's 12s
      t. canada

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        I have family in Constantine, but I've only been to Algeria as a small child. I could technically get a passport but I do not trust that I'd be fricked with national service. Good thread op, I'll have to visit soon (probably just with a visa to start).

        lol you guys will be fine

        t.burger diaspora living here

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          you got the exemption?

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Nope, just went about my life like normal and no one ever came to call or anything

  38. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I'm going to Marrakech in a couple of weeks. What should I do there?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Outstanding post

      start a thread about how annoying being sold to in a marketplace is

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        I'm impervious to these kinds of leeches.

        Mostly going for Food and culture though.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          hey, i'll be there too.

  39. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    why doesn't Dubai build a huge Arabic castle city, something out of aladin, imagine the vibes. But no lets make concrete dildos.
    They are best positioned to build that architecture and make it modern

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      That's not instagrammable.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        I mean it's pretty much the definition of instagrammable

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >huge Arabic castle city, something out of aladin
      kids cant pay for tickets to dubai

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Gulf arabs are dumb and can't build shit unlike their neighbors who had a hundred years of ancient history.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        They're not building any of that shit either. They only throw oil money at westerners who do all the design and work.

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