Algeria

My Algeria travel summary:

Visited: October 2026

Duration of visit: 12 days

Capital city: Algiers

Population: 48 million (2026)

Algeria travel blog reading time: 11 minutes

• Algiers – the capital, with its old medina and charming classical architecture.
• Exploring the varied landscapes of the Sahara Desert around Djanet.
• Constantine – the city of bridges and pizza restaurants
• Visiting impressive Roman ruins in Timgad.
• Traditions, historic old town and conservative lifestyle in Ghardaia.
• Affordable prices thanks to the favorable parallel exchange rate.

My Algeria travel adventure was a family trip, organized independently in autumn 2026.

Obtaining a tourist visa can be a long and complicated process, but my application at the Algerian Embassy in Ljubljana went smoothly and was approved without any difficulties.

Although the embassy staff told me I couldn’t visit southern Algeria, I managed to travel throughout the country with the same visa.

Our late-night arrival at the international Algiers airport and passage through immigration went smoothly. I expected questions about my destinations, southern Algeria and hotel bookings, but the friendly official simply stamped my passport.

Before travelling, I had arranged with the owner of the Airbnb apartment to pick us up at the airport. I paid a little more for the ride, but avoided all the hassle of exchanging money on the black market and buying a SIM card.

After dropping us off at the hotel, we bought some drinks and a few desserts at a pastry shop.

“Do you want a really good pizza?” Abdou tempted me with an irresistible offer at 1:00am.

“It is not far!”

So, we drove several kilometers in his car, although he had said it was just around the corner. Around a dozen restaurants were still quite busy despite the late hour, with almost all customers being men, as I expected in a Muslim country.

“You are four people. Order a family pizza and choose four different flavors!” the cashier suggested. I followed his advice and ended up with an enormous pizza that could easily have fed six people – all for just 8.00€.

I started to realize how cheap Algeria is. Especially, if you exchange euros on the black market and then pay in the local currency, the dinar.

The capital of Algeria, was the first stop on my Algerian travel adventure. Founded in the 10^th century, the city is often called Alger la Blanche (Algiers the White), thanks to its white buildings overlooking the Mediterranean. Its historic old town - Casbah, with its narrow streets and traditional houses, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992.

My apartment offered excellent views of the harbor, the coastline and Casbah. I walked down the steps towards the historic Grande Poste d’Alger (Central Post Office), an iconic Neo-Moorish architectural landmark. Nearby, I bought a local SIM card and stopped for a coffee and a croissant. Many cafés offered pastries, cakes, coffee and tea, making me feel almost like I was in Paris.

The façades of buildings from the French colonial period are well maintained and beautifully restored in white.

People went about their daily business without paying much attention to me. Traffic was smooth, pavements were wide, and numerous police officers were maintaining order and security. I hardly saw any tourists. Women seemed free to dress as they wished, from fully covered to European style. Although I saw very few of them in general.

After midday, we enjoyed fresh fish and seafood at ridiculously low prices. The staff were very accommodating, and the food was tasty and quickly prepared. I wondered where else in the world you can enjoy such delicious, freshly caught seafood for so little money. The four of us had a filling meal for just 20.00€. In the following days, we paid even less for mainly vegetable and meat dishes.

I didn't find the old town of Casbah particularly special, with few interesting things to do. Its narrow streets, lined with shops, restaurants and coffee shops, form a maze-like network of alleys. Because of the steep hillside, there are plenty of steps.

Ketchaoua Mosque, with its distinctive architecture, is one of the main places to visit.

The Palais des Rais was not particularly impressive inside either. This historic Ottoman-era complex is one of the few remaining examples of old seafront architecture. We sat for a while on the beach in front of it, enjoyed some tea from a street vendor and watched brave swimmers.

The following morning, I visited the fish market. Dozens of fishing boats were moored at the pier in front of it. I visited one of the stores, where the stalls were packed with all kinds of fish and seafood despite being Friday (a day off). Numerous customers browsed the fresh produce at low prices.

The Great Mosque of Algiers is the largest mosque on the African continent. During my Algerian travel adventure, it was described as the world's third-largest mosque, after those in Mecca and Medina. Its impressive scale makes it a major landmark of the capital, visible from several kilometers away.

Construction began in 2012 and was completed in 2019.

The Great Mosque of Algiers covers around 400,000 square meters and can accommodate up to 120,000 worshippers and visitors.

I visited it on a Friday, shortly before the main prayer. The interior is modern but not particularly ornate. White dominates the design, while the exterior stonework has a slightly yellowish color. Although many worshippers gathered for prayer, the enormous prayer hall still looked almost empty due to its size.

A towering minaret dominates the courtyard. It is the tallest in the world, reaching 265 meters. Besides being a religious tower, it also houses a museum, a research center and an observation deck.

The flight from Algiers to Djanet, in the far south of the country, took just over two hours. The town lies only a hundred kilometers from Libya and slightly further from Niger.

A few Tuareg guides welcomed us at the airport. Dressed in traditional clothing and wearing turbans, they looked confident and authentic. After more than an hour of waiting for our luggage and having our passports checked, we finally left the airport building and drove into the nearby desert.

Three small tents had been set up beneath a rock shelter, which protected us from the wind. It was already 3:30am when we finally lay down to rest.

The following day, my Algerian travel adventure continued with a journey through the Sahara Desert. I had seen deserts before, but, as always, I was fascinated once again. Different rock formations, boulders, stones, sand and combinations of all these created a landscape in shades ranging from yellow to brown, light and dark. The desert was anything but boring. Recent rain helped low grass to grow, adding green color to the landscape and giving it an even more distinctive appearance.

We stopped at several places, walked to an oasis and climbed the dunes for a sunset highlight.

There may be few specific landmarks, but the Sahara offers countless incredible places to visit.

In the evenings, the cook, drivers and guide treated us with freshly cooked food, traditional Algerian tea and a few stories. Tea is an important part of hospitality in the Sahara, particularly among the Tuareg. It is usually prepared with green tea and plenty of sugar.

It is poured from a height between a pot and a glass to create a light foam. This process can take a minute to achieve the perfect froth, a sign of hospitality. Sharing tea is a social ritual, a chance to relax and enjoy each other's company. We drank tea three times a day.

Some of the places we visited along the way included L’Oasis d’Ihrir, a beautiful oasis surrounded by rocky desert scenery, Essendilène Canyon, with its narrow passages and natural rock formations; and Tilalene, where we spent the night.

On the final day, we stopped at Djanet's artisan market, where bored sellers showed little interest in selling souvenirs to the few visitors.

In the afternoon, we took an additional one-hour quad-bike trip. It turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire Algeria travel adventure. The beautiful mix of dunes and dark rocks led us to the Crying Cows, ancient cattle engravings dating back thousands of years.

For the second part of my Algerian travel adventure, we rented a car at Algiers Airport after returning from Djanet. Driving 1,800 kilometers through mostly desert landscapes, across vast open spaces and along excellent roads, gave me an insight into a different side of life.

Our first stop was Constantine, a large city in the east of the country, known as the City of Bridges.

Its history goes back more than 2,500 years, when it served as an important center of the Numidian kingdom. Today, it is one of Algeria’s largest cities and an important university and cultural center.

We stayed next to the Amir Abdel Kader Mosque, which also houses part of an Islamic university complex. Instead of using the car, I relied on the modern tram to get around the city for just a few dinars.

The city itself does not have many particularly remarkable places to visit or attractions. Its character comes mainly from the numerous bridges connecting different parts of the city across the deep Rhumel Gorge. I stopped at several viewpoints overlooking the dramatic cliffs and the river far below.

Travelling by the cable car from downtown to the Cité Emir Abdelkader station opened spectacular views of the gorge. Most people use it as an everyday means of transport, avoiding the long journeys by road across bridges and through the hilly areas.

One of the most noticeable things about Constantine was the rather monotonous food scene. Most of the restaurants I found were pizzerias, while any other type of food was difficult to find.

Timgad is an ancient Roman city and one of the best-preserved examples of Roman urban planning in North Africa.

Founded by Emperor Trajan around AD 100, it was built according to a typical Roman grid layout, with straight streets crossing at right angles.

Walking through the extensive ruins, I could recognize the main streets, the forum, public baths and the remains of houses. The impressive Arch of Trajan is the most recognizable landmark of the site, which used to be a thriving city with thousands of inhabitants.

The final stop on my Algerian travel adventure was Ghardaia, seven-hour drive from Timgad, through a largely desert landscape. The road was excellent and traffic was sparse, allowing me to drive at speeds up to 130 km/h. Much of the desert highway consists of four-lane roads. Perfect asphalt, clearly marked hazards and curves made driving comfortable and safe.

I discovered that petrol stations serve much more than their usual purpose of refueling.

Many are well equipped with coffee shops, grocery stores and restaurants. Around lunchtime, they offer a selection of freshly prepared dishes, available until they run out.

Although many of these local restaurants and cafés are neglected and full of flies, they are still the best option for a meal in such remote locations.

Ghardaia is my favorite city in Algeria. It is an extremely conservative place, home to the Mozabite people, a Berber group belonging to the wider Amazigh population. They live in five distinct old towns built on hills: Ghardaïa, Melika, Beni Isguen, Bounoura and El Atteuf. I visited only Beni Isguen, where visitors are not allowed to enter without a guide.

We explored the old town with a local guide and a group of mostly Italian tourists. We walked among beautifully restored traditional houses and learned about how the town was founded and developed while preserving its highly conservative customs.

These traditions are particularly visible in the special white covering worn by the most conservative women.

Some women are covered from head to toe, including their faces, with only one eye left uncovered to look through.

When meeting them, I had the impression that they were just as curious about us tourists as we were about their unusual appearance. Needless to say, taking their photographs was strictly forbidden.

I found the liveliest atmosphere in the city at the Ancient Ghardaia Market. In the late afternoon, its narrow streets were bustling with souvenir sellers, traditional carpet shops and visitors, almost all of them Algerians. In the background, the ancient Ibadi Grand Mosque stood on the hilltop, overlooking the beautifully restored traditional houses.

Walking among the shops, chatting with friendly locals and watching people pass by in their traditional clothing was one of the best things to do in Ghardaia. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a guide in the afternoon to take me inside the ancient Ibadi Grand Mosque. I tried to find the entrance on my own, but without success.

Despite my initial concerns and many doubts expressed by my friends, the Africa’s largest country turned out to be perfectly normal. From the capital, Algiers, to the desert landscapes of Djanet and traditional Ghardaia, my Algerian travel adventure went very smoothly.

Incredibly low prices, good food, comfortable Airbnb apartments and excellent roads contributed to a pleasant and comfortable trip. The vast expanses of the Sahara, Ghardaia’s traditions, the well-maintained capital and the friendliness of the people make Algeria an interesting destination.

These attractions do not seem to be enough to convince more foreign visitors to discover the country.

I believe this will change in the future and tourism in the conservative North African country will finally take off. If not sooner, perhaps when the authorities simplify the complicated visa system and Algeria starts promoting its remarkable landmarks, exciting things to do and incredible places to visit.