Algeria Travel Guide - Getting There

The national airline is Air Algérie (AH) (website: www.airalgerie.dz).

From London to Algiers is 2 hours 15 minutes.

Algiers (ALG) (Houari Boumediène) is 20km (12 miles) east of Algiers. To/from the airport: Buses and trains operate to the city from 0600-1900 (journey time – 30 minutes). Taxis are also available. Facilities: Bank, bureau de change, left luggage, shops, post office, tourist information, restaurants and car hire.

Oran (ORN) (Es Senia) is 10km (6 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Taxis are available to the city. Facilities: Bank, limited catering and car hire.

Annaba (AAE) (Les Salines) is 12km (7.5 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: A bus service departs to the city every 30 minutes. Coach service is available on request and taxis are also available. Facilities: Restaurant, bank and car hire.

Constantine (CZL) (Ain El Bey) is 9km (6 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: There are bus and taxi links with the city. Facilities: Limited.

None.

Main ports: Algiers, Annaba, Béjaia, Oran and Skikda.

Regular shipping lines serve Algiers from Mediterranean ports. Algérie Ferries (website: www.algerieferries.com) runs passenger services connecting Algeria to Marseille (France) and Alicante (Spain).

There is one daily train connecting Algiers with Tunis in Tunisia via Constantine and Annaba. The train has a buffet car and couchettes and a reservation is required for this route. Another daily train runs between Algiers and Marrakech in Morocco. Stops en route are Oran, Fès, Mèknes, Rabat and Casablanca. Reservations are required and a supplement is charged. Air-conditioned coaches and light refreshments/buffet car are available. At present, services are interrupted owing to the closure of the border between Algeria and Morocco and through trains are not operating.

Owing to border closures, land crossings between Morocco and Algeria are not possible at present. The main road entry points are Maghnia (Morocco), Souk-Ahras, Tebessa and El Kala (Tunisia), Fort Thiriet (Libya), In Guezzam (Niger) and Bordj Mokhtar (Mali). There is a good network of paved roads in the coastal regions and paved roads connect the major towns in the northern Sahara. Further south, the only substantial stretches of paved roads are on the two trans-Saharan ‘highways’, one of which runs to the west through Reggane and up through Morocco to the coast, while the other runs through Tamanrasset and Djanet on its way to Ghardaia and Algiers. The precise route taken by trans-Saharan travellers often depends on the season. Please note that many desert ‘roads’ are up to 10km- (6-mile-) wide ribbons of unimproved desert and are suitable only for well-maintained 4-wheel drive vehicles.

Coach: Services are run by Altour (www.altour.com) and SNTF with international routes to Tunisia and Morocco.

Documentation: International Driving Permit required.