Traveling Algeria

This past November, I finally realized my lifelong dream of traveling to Algeria. I feel very fortunate to have been able to make the trip and even more lucky to have a wonderful wife who was excited about going as well. Being a tourist in Algeria was strange and often frustrating, but ultimately it was an interesting and rewarding experience that I will remember fondly. While most people may think of Algeria as a dangerous no-go zone, the country was, in fact, very safe. The real difficulty came in the logistics of traveling in a place almost completely bereft of tourist infrastructure and laden with bureaucracy and omnipresent security.

Since Algeria is not the type of place for which you simply buy a plane ticket and go (unless you’re Algerian), I figured I would use our experience to explain some of the logistical ‘how’s of the trip and touch on the things that we found, in practice, to be difficult, easy, disappointing, or surprising.

  My wife and I are Americans and we were interested in traveling to part of the vast southern Saharan region of the country. This is important because, if we only wanted to hit maybe one or a few cities in the north, we may have been able to get the visa by simply booking all our hotel reservations in advance. However, at this time, the government required all tourists visiting the south to do so through a government-registered tour company. Even if you lied about your itinerary in order to get the visa and attempted to travel south independently once in-country, I don’t see how you would get out of the regional airports undetected or talk your way through countless gendarme checkpoints without meeting this regulation. The further south we went, the tighter security got to the point where we were never out of the sight of the gendarmes. Being American, we feel, only added to their paranoia. I do not see any way even an intrepid solo traveler would skirt the authorities.

So we swallowed our independent globetrotter pride and went through a tour company. I was unable to find an agency that operated in any language but French except one: Expert Algeria. Once I contacted them, I learned that in order to get the letter of invitation for the visa, customers had to book ALL travel and expenses (except airfare to and from the country) through the tour agency. The reason, according to them, was because while in Algeria, they would be legally responsible for our safety and thus they had to protect themselves. This seemed excessive and possibly not true, but my attempt to contact the Algerian consulate in the US and get anything resembling answers or help was fruitless (turns out, Algerian government employees aren’t big on customer service).

Thus followed a lengthy email back and forth in which I attempted to negotiate down the huge cost of the 7 nights we would be in Algeria as the tour company’s wards. In the end, I negotiated all hotels, domestic airfare to/from the Sahara, drivers and guides, meals not included, and two “free” days to ourselves for US$2,290. That was still expensive, but when I considered that domestic airfare and hotels alone would run at least $1,500, an additional $800 to have everything taken care of logistically and ensure we would be able to do what we wanted seemed excessive but possibly worth it.

So about two months before we were scheduled to leave, we agreed on the price, immediately got the letter of invitation, said a prayer and booked our airfare to/from Algeria, submitted the visa application (total cost of two visas plus mail was $362 – reciprocity, baby!), and two weeks later, with absolutely no hassle or follow-up from the Algerian consulate, received our passports back with the visas. We were good to go!

 Leading up to the trip, I was a little nervous about the tour company actually delivering on everything we had agreed to over email – our agreement was more or less a handshake. However, they did deliver the invitation letter which was good enough to get the visa, as well as send me something that looked like a domestic airfare confirmation a few weeks before we left. I also figured that since we had to wire a 10% deposit, worst-case scenario, if we showed up and it wasn’t legit, we could not pay the balance and attempt to go it alone, only having been swindled out the deposit. It seemed unlikely anyone was going through this herculean effort to scam the tiny number of tourists interested in traveling to Algeria.

My fears were allayed when we emerged from a relatively painless customs shakedown in the Algiers airport to find Ahcicene, the man I had been exchanging emails with all this time, there himself to greet us and drive us to our hotel. We had that night and two full days “free” to ourselves in Algiers before we departed for the Sahara, but to my surprise, this had gotten muddled in the email threads and Ahcicene has presumed we would be on some manner of guided tour those two days. My wife and I had planned to meet up with a local friend of friend the next day, so I explained this to Ahcicene and he was fine with the change of plans … provided he could meet this man first and make sure he was ok! It seemed they did take their responsibility for our safety seriously.

We ultimately agreed to have the next day “free” and the day after go on a side trip to the Roman ruins in Tipasa on the tour’s watch. The next morning I managed to coordinate the meet-up between Ahcicene and our local friend, garnering his blessing (phew!). The following two days in Algiers ended up being wonderful. First, our local contact and his friend were delightful, friendly, and overly generous, even insisting on paying for us. They took us all over the city and despite the language barrier, we had a great time. The excursion to Tipasa through the tour ended up being one of our favorite days on the trip where, again, we were put in touch with a wonderful man – something of an Algerian anthropology doyen – who showed us the ruins and his home town of Cherchell on the stunning Mediterranean coast. His son, our driver, was equally wonderful. He even took us on an impromptu walk in the Casbah at the end of the day.

The Saharan leg of the journey proved to be a bit more frustrating, disorganized, and strange. However, this was in large part offset by the spectacular desert landscape and thrill of truly being off the beaten tourist path. And really, this was about as far from a tourist destination as one could get.

We flew into Bechar and over the next three days, hit two oasis towns, Taghit and Beni Abbes, traveling back to Bechar on the fourth and returning to Algiers. Based on our experience, I surmised that our man Ahcicene dished off all of the Saharan responsibilities to Marwan, a local guy in Taghit. While Marwan spoke good English (and I would speak to him on the phone several times), no one else in charge of our accommodations or activities on that leg did. Both my French and Arabic are pretty bad and for that reason, we made a point of using a tour agency that specialized in English. Therefore, the lack of English on this leg was more than a bit frustrating, and I would recommend as a backup that anyone traveling to Algeria at least try and learn a little French, as everyone we encountered spoke it and English was a rare treat.

It became apparent that Marwan’s English-speaking person who would be taking us around in the oasis towns fell through and thus, the task was handed off to Guise, the hapless French-speaking local who looked after Marwan’s guesthouse. This ended up being something of a blessing, however, as he was more than happy to let us wander off on our own and we were eager to explore on our own terms. In the end, poor Guise only had to walk us up a hill and through a palm grove in Taghit and the rest of the time we had to ourselves. Those two days in Taghit ended up being another highlight: we climbed dunes and took in the amazing views of the great erg, especially at sunset. The remainder of the time we took up residence as the only tourists in strange Taghit. It was a very unique experience.

When it came time to leave Taghit for Beni Abbes, again Marwan wanted to change up the itinerary, sending us to and from the town in one day and back to Taghit for the night. We wanted a break from Guise and the communication barrier so we insisted on going to Beni Abbes and staying the night, to which Marwan acquiesced. When we got there, we asked to have a day off of sightseeing to rest and recharge, as the exhaustion from being on the tour schedule was catching up with us. This ended up being a great idea because there was absolutely nothing to do in Beni Abbes anyways. We passed a lazy day and night in the weird and lonely town, feeling a bit like legionnaires in some forgotten desert garrison. The next day was spent returning to Bechar and flying back to Algiers, wherein our driver got in a minor car accident and Ahcicene picked us up from the airport barely in time to grab some fast food before the restaurants closed in Algiers (more about this later). The following morning it was right back to the airport and goodbye to Algeria!

In short, the tour agency basically delivered on its promises with some glaring caveats. We went everywhere we wanted to go and maybe even a little more with Tipasa. With the bureaucracy and security situation and limited French and Arabic, independent travel would have been next to impossible, and in the south, absolutely impossible to arrange ourselves. I actually delivered the paperwork they had to file with the authorities to the tour company’s contact in the south, and it was pretty involved. The tour company did all of that work for us and getting around was pretty seamless, so we had to consider that that itself was worth a price. On the downside, the Sahara leg was pretty disorganized and communication proved a real stumbling block. We felt a little disappointed by that but it also allowed us some much needed free time to operate on our own. It ended up feeling like a once-in-a-lifetime thing you would probably not elect to do again. We kept reminding ourselves that this was Algeria and thus, completely off the tourist map. Even with an agency handling logistics, there were bound to be hiccups, and this had to be taken in account with all of the rewards of the trip.

This is probably the number one reason someone would or would not go to Algeria. All I can say is that, unless you insist on traveling conspicuously alone to some very specific parts of the country (namely, the mountains of the Kabyle region or the more porous border areas near Libya), there is no reason a tourist of any nationality would not be safe in Algeria. In fact, I felt much safer here than I had in other countries. The same common sense one would employ anywhere else is more than enough here and in the south, the security is so tight and tourists so nonexistent it seems almost excessively safe.

Still, the existential threat of random violence from Islamist extremist groups looms large. There were several high-profile incidents leading up to our trip that gave us pause, such as the attacks in Tunisia and Paris. But Algeria in particular has a lot of experience dealing with this type of violence from the internal conflict of the 1990s, and for better or worse, it shows. More importantly, though, there is not a menacing vibe on the street or from the general population, all of whom are unfailingly friendly, not to mention pleasantly surprised to see Americans visiting their country by choice. This is not to downplay the existence of terrorist groups in the region nor the real threat they pose, but these risks are localized and the authorities are very sensitive to ensure the safety of the few tourists they get.

Algiers and the surrounding area are heavily policed with checkpoints everywhere slowing down the already horrendous traffic. We walked around the city alone at night and were never concerned. In the south, the authorities take security to a whole new level: the area is crawling with gendarmes. When we stepped on the tarmac in Bechar the very first thing we encountered was a gendarme who asked for our passports and arranged an escort for our driver. Thereafter, the gendarmes would be our constant companion. They drove everywhere we drove and were never long out of our sight. By the time we got to Beni Abbes, it reached comical levels, with them trundling along in their car a few paces behind us. Rather than being unnerving, however, it just added a layer of strangeness to an already strange place, with them smiling and waving all the while. They never prevented us from going anywhere or doing anything – they were just … there. We were almost sad to see them go when it was time to return to Algiers. Fortunately, we got in a car accident a few miles from the Bechar airport so they got one more chance to demonstrate their importance and extreme concern for us.

To summarize, it’s okay to be concerned about safety, but this is no reason not to go and you won’t feel unsafe while you’re there. Furthermore, the intense security is all part of the experience.

Forget global terrorism; this is the real reason you may want to swear off a trip to Algeria. I’m sad to report that this was by far the worst part and the greatest source of frustration for us. I did a lot of research beforehand and I knew food was going to be a little disappointing, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the challenge it would be to both acquire and enjoy almost everything we ate.

The problem is twofold. First, Algeria has no tourism to speak of and no restaurant-going culture, so restaurant choices are limited and what is available tends to be overpriced and of poor quality. Second, North African cuisine, or at least that which any tourist will be able to reasonably find, is a bit one-note. This isn’t Thailand. Think bread and lots of it. Mounds of couscous are unavoidable. Tagines, which aren’t bad, are on most menus, but after a few times tend to get a bit monotonous. But mostly, there’s bread. Bread for breakfast. Basket upon basket of sliced baguette heaped upon you in lieu of a satisfying meal. We prayed for anything but bread and time after time, this was all we could find. Even at the stores, food seemed to be limited to bread, crackers (a bread product), and sad cans of vegetables, which probably themselves contained bread.

The other problem was that no one in North Africa seemed to eat anything between the hours of 9:30am and 8:00pm. Most restaurants didn’t open until 7:00pm or later and closed at 10pm, so it was a constant struggle to even find a restaurant, much less one with a different menu. In Algiers, this was less an issue. If you had transportation and could stomach the traffic, there was a wide variety of restaurants. Within walking distance of our centrally located hotel there was a fast food burger place, a great fast food Lebanese restaurant, an okay sit-down restaurant with alcohol, and a fast food chicken place. In the small towns in the south it was dismal. In Taghit, we kept returning to the same crappy restaurant in a high-end hotel. In Beni Abbes, the only place in town to eat hardly qualified as a restaurant (sliced baguette and paper-thin steak, anyone?) and the one in the hotel made us want to cry. If at all possible, bring snacks you like. If nothing else, they should limp you through the long hours between the 9am and 8pm bread feasts.

Now, let’s talk alcohol. Algeria is not Saudi Arabia but it’s no Mexico either. It’s a Muslim country so we knew that drinking would not be the focus of our trip. There is alcohol but it can be hard to find, and the locals will be of little help. Plenty of Algerians drink, but unless you are a solo male traveler who likes poking around dark alleys for the hidden bars, you’re not going to run into too many of them. We drank (repeatedly) in exactly two places in the country: the restaurant down the street from our hotel in Algiers and the restaurant in the bizarre high-end resort placed seemingly by mistake in Taghit. Beers were typically $4 or $5 and glasses of wine maybe $5 or $6. We had the foresight to bring a bottle of whiskey as well, so that filled in the gaps on nights where drinking wasn’t going to be an option (and was a great treat for sunset atop a dune). As disappointing as it could be to not be able to just grab a beer on a dime, not being hungover all the time made dealing with all the moving around and logistics much easier. If you can’t live without alcohol, don’t go.     

The tour company set up all of our accommodations, but I have a sense of what they cost. We stayed in Hotel ST in the heart of Algiers. It wasn’t winning any awards but it was perfectly fine for sleeping and showering and the location was ideal. I think doubles typically run about $70 per night, which is a smoking deal in expensive Algiers. Most people in the hotels are on business budgets, so this artificially jacks up the price.

In the south we stayed at a guesthouse in Taghit and what was either a government-run or formerly government-run hotel in Beni Abbes. I don’t know how much the guesthouse was but the hotel in Beni Abbes was something like $70, which was pretty steep for what you got. Again, you have to remember that Algeria has no tourist infrastructure and costs are higher than other places of similar quality. If you really want to go, just budget more for this aspect. We always look at it from the perspective that hotels are places for sleeping, getting cleaned up, and checking the internet. 

Again, this was covered completely by the tour company and we were grateful for it. In the south, distances were long so a driver was essential, but in the north you could, in theory, use buses and cabs to get around. I didn’t see a lot of cabs trolling the streets of Algiers and I read that they can be difficult to hail. The bus network in Algiers looked pretty comprehensive but I’d hate to try and figure it out with limited language skills. Also, the city is busy and crowded with the worst traffic I have ever seen. I think you would end up spending a lot of time in a commuter crush. The capital has a brand-new metro, but for the time being, it only runs one line through the city center, all of which is very walkable. Having drivers was a perk definitely worth writing the check for.

Take a French class. Arabic is the official language but the darija Algerians speak is almost a completely different language than the modern standard Arabic anyone will learn before coming. I knew a little of both, but really made a mistake boning up on the more difficult Arabic and local dialect thereof when French is definitely the path of least resistance. People were impressed an American knew some Arabic, but it didn’t change the fact that even being basically conversational in French would have made life so much easier. We ran into a few locals that spoke English, including a fluent couple drinking at the resort, but this was a rarity. Everyone we encountered spoke and understood some French and at the very least, you would always be able to find someone who could understand you. Pantomiming in broken Arabic and French achieved very limited results.

The people were fantastic. Everyone was at least friendly and most people were friendly and generous almost to a fault. The Algerians that we communicated with in depth were worldly and interesting. They were nationalistic but also openly critical about the government and bad aspects of their society. It was nice being Americans because they got to meet so few of them. The bulk of the foreigners they get are French, and most Algerians we talked to didn’t hold the French in the highest esteem from what we could tell. Again, if we had better French language skills we could have talked to lots more people. Even then, people constantly asked us where we were from and made us feel welcome. That was definitely one of the best parts about visiting.