Plan Your Trip

Visa
Everyone except nationals of Morocco, Tunisia and Malaysia need a visa. Visas are not available on arrival. The exact list of papers you will be required to submit alongside the visa application depends upon your nationality and the embassy or consulate you’re applying through. An ‘invitation letter’ to visit the country from an Algerian contact is nessesary. Allow plenty of time for your application tob e issued.  Visas will be refused to citizens of Israel and anyone with stamps and proof of visiting Israel, which includes stamps of Egyptian/Jordanian neighbouring land borders with Israel

Alcohol
The legal drinking/purchasing age of alcoholicbeverages is 18. Algeria was a big producer of wine when part of French but these days most of the wine farms have been transferred into Olive oil farms instead. Algeria is a Muslim country, and you do not find alcohol sold everywhere, you have to know where to find it.

Currency
The currency in Algeria is Algerian dinar (DA).
There are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100- and 200-dinar coins. Banknotes 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 2000.

Credit card
Visa, and MasterCard are widely accepted.

Electricity
Algeria use European standard 220V power plugs.

ATM
In big cities ATM´S are widely available.

Bank Openings hours
Most bank open at 8am, and close at 3pm.
During Ramadan, the pace is slowed, and hours are modified (9am to 3pm in general).

National Holidays
There are about 11 national holidays.

Shopping hours
In Algeria, working hours are 8am to noon and 1pm to 5pm, from Saturday to Wednesday. Thursday and Friday are the rest days.

Water
It is advisable to only drink bottled water during your stay.

Language
Arabic and Tamazight (Berber) are the two official languages in Algeria. French is also very widely spoken.

Climate
Mediterranean on the coast, cooler in the northern mountains. Cooler and wet winters in the north, but hot, and dry summers all over the country.

When to go
Algeria has a typical Mediterranean climate, so summers can by very hot, particularly further south as one approach the Sahara. The best time to travel around the desert is from mid September to late November and from March to early May. Visiting the desert in July and August in not advised. Overall visits to Algeria can be best made from September till November.

Medical Attention
Medical insurance is strongly advised. Before you travel to Algeria, contact your insurance company. Hospitals are desperately overcrowded, and conditions not always up to standard. This had led to a number of private clinics, and also private surgeries.

Vaccine
Keep up to date with vaccinations before your travel to Algeria.

Emergencies
Ambulance 213, Fire 14, Police 17, and Tourist Police 1548

Time Zone
GMT + 1

Main exports
Oil and gas

Public transport
By air, rail, and bus.
Public transport is not that well organised.

Airline
Air Algeria

International Telephone code
+213