Entry requirements | Organizing your trip | Visiting | Eating | Paying | Speaking |

Entry requirements

Passport and visa service

Consult the conditions for entering Algeria on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website

Diplomatic representations

Consult the directory of embassies and consulates near you on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

For more information

Embassy of Algeria in Greece
14, Vas Konstantinou Ave
11635, Athens
Phone: +30 210 75 641 91, +30 210 75 641 92
Fax: +30 21 07 01 86 81

Organizing your trip

Means of transport recommended in town

Recommendation

The public transport system in large Algerian cities is quite modern even if it is disorganized in some cases. It is recommended that foreign visitors use taxis, especially for trips inside a Wilaya (a department).

Maps of urban networks

Means of transport recommended in the rest of the country

Recommendation

For safety reasons, using long distance public road transport is highly inadvisable. Until the east-west motorway is operational (some time in 2009), travelling by plane is recommended.
Air Algérie serves most large (and medium sized) Algerian cities and has attractive fares.
Rail transport has again become an attractive means of transport, both in terms of fares and keeping to the timetable.

Rail companies

National Rail Transport Company

Flight from Greece

No aircraft company operates direct flights from Athens to Algiers. To find out air connections from Greece to Algeria click here

Traveling by yourself

Recommendation

Traveling on your own is unsafe. Fake roadblocks set up by armed groups must still be feared on a certain number of roads, including well traveled roads, often at nightfall. Moreover, the number of road accidents appears to be particularly high, but this is less because of the state of the road network, which is good on the whole, than because motorists do not observe the highway code.

Road maps

Michelin map of Algeria
Map of Algiers

Find an itinerary

Multimap

Visiting

Different forms of tourism

Historical

Many museums and monuments reflect Algeria's historic past.
In Algiers: the National Museum of Antiquities, the History Museum, the War Museum, the Martyrs' Monument.

Cultural

28 museums including the Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions (Algiers) and the Cirta National Museum (Constantine).

Nature

The coastal band, the Atlas mountains, the Oases of the Sahara, the Hoggar mountains in the south, the mountainous massifs of Great Kabylia, Saharan Algeria with its plains and mountains, and the many UNESCO World Heritage sites (see the list).

Religious

Algeria is home to some 15 000 mosques, including a certain number of very old ones. The Great Mosque of Algiers was built in 1018, that of Tlemcen in 1102, the mosque of the Pasha, in Oran, in 1797. See also the mosque of Constantine.

Thermal

Algeria has more than 200 hot springs, some of which date from Roman times.

Beach

Algeria has 309 authorized beaches over all its coastal towns.

Winter sports

Not far from Blida there is a ski slope at Chréa (altitude 1 500 m).

Outdoor activities

Trekking, expeditions in 4x4s, rides on camels, etc. See further information on the Algeria.com. website.

Shopping

Local items that tourists can bring back from Algeria are: carpets, gypsum flowers ("Roses of the sands"), darboukas (percussion instruments), dates. Terracotta or copper items made by local craftsmen are becoming rarer and rarer.

Tourism organizations

Algerian Tourism

Eating

Food specialties

Lamb with prunes and almonds - Lahm Lhalou : this is a rich, sweet dish.
Couscous which can be prepared with selected vegetables.

You can find recipes typical of Algerian cuisine on the Algerian Cuisine website.

Drinks

Selecto : national fizzy drink
Mint tea

Dietary taboos

Islam forbids Muslims to eat pork. Alcohol must only be consumed in dedicated establishments.

Paying

Domestic currency

Algerian Dinar

ISO Code

DZD

To obtain domestic currency

You can get an advance on a credit card in big hotels and in some banks (at the Crédit Populaire d'Algérie (CPA) or in foreign banks). You are strongly advised not to change your foreign currency on the black market to avoid counterfeit banknotes and Customs controls.
Most banks now have ATMs. Check if you can withdraw cash there with your international credit card. Some banks reserve their ATMs for their own customers.

Possible means of payment

Big hotels take the main international credit cards. However, make sure you have enough cash to pay for everyday purchases.

Exchange rate on

Automatic Teller Machines (ATM)

To find out the locations of ATMs in in Algeria, click on the link to your credit card: Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Speaking

Official language

Since July 1998, the official language in Algeria has been Arabic.

Other languages spoken

Most Algerians speak dialectal Arabic. Although Arabic is the official language in Algeria. Tamazight was constituted as the second national language in April 2002.
French is still used by many Algerians, especially in the administration.

Business language

French and Arabic are generally the language of business, although some companies use English.

Getting some knowledge

Consult the tool "Foreign Language for Travelers"of the Travlang.com.website.

Free translation tools

Foreignword - Translator of words and text
Arabic Tripod - Introduction to Arabic (in English)
Al-Awal English Arabic Dictionnary - On-line translator
Lexilogos - Translation website for Arabic to French and English .
Babel Fish - Free Greek - French - Greek translator
TV5 - Free Greek-Arabic-Greek translator
Lexicool - Free Greek-Arabic-Greek dictionary

We can translate your foreign-language documents.

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