Algeria

Arabic and Tamazight (Berber) are the official languages. People speak Algerian Arabic, called Darja, and Kabyle and other Berber languages in some regions. French is still widely used in business, shops and on signs. English is not widely spoken outside large hotels, so a few words of French or Arabic help a lot.

Road signs and many shop signs are in Arabic and French. Some official signs also use the Tifinagh (Berber) script.

• SIM cards: the three mobile networks are Mobilis, Djezzy and Ooredoo. Buy a prepaid SIM at an official shop and bring your passport.
• Coverage: 4G is good in cities and along the coast. Coverage is weak or absent in much of the Sahara, so do not rely on your phone on desert trips.

• Water: drink bottled water. It is cheap and sold everywhere.
• Medical care: private clinics in the big cities are usually better than public hospitals. Care is very limited in the Sahara, so get insurance that covers medical evacuation.
• Pharmacies: every town has pharmacies, marked with a green cross, and pharmacists often speak French. Bring enough of any prescription medicine, with a copy of the prescription.
• Heat and sun: summer in the Sahara is extremely hot. Drink often and plan desert trips between October and April.
• Vaccinations: no vaccinations are required for most travellers. You need a yellow fever certificate if you arrive from a country with a risk of yellow fever. See a travel health clinic at least 8 weeks before your trip for advice.

Most visitors, including citizens of the EU, the UK, the US and Canada, need a visa before they travel. Apply at the Algerian embassy or consulate in your country of residence.

• Standard tourist visa: you usually need a hotel reservation with a confirmation letter from a travel agency, or an invitation from a host in Algeria, certified at the local town hall.
• Visa on arrival for the Sahara: tourists visiting the tourist provinces of the Great South can get a visa on arrival. You must book the trip with an accredited Algerian travel agency. The agency sends your details to the authorities in advance and gives you an authorisation with a QR code to show on arrival.
• Passport: it must be valid for at least 6 months after your arrival date.
• Cruise passengers: visitors on an organised shore excursion from a cruise ship do not need a visa.

Visa and entry requirements change frequently. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.

Algeria is a conservative Muslim country. Good manners and modest dress go a long way.

• Dress: cover shoulders and knees in towns, markets and religious sites. Women should carry a scarf for visiting mosques. Beachwear is for the beach only.
• Ramadan: during the fasting month, do not eat, drink or smoke in public during daylight. Many cafés and restaurants close during the day and open after sunset, and working hours are shorter.
• Alcohol: drinking alcohol or being drunk in public is illegal. Alcohol is sold only in some hotels, bars, licensed restaurants and a few shops, mostly in the big cities. In the south and in the M'zab Valley it is hard to find.
• Greetings: shake hands with the right hand. Some religious men and women prefer not to shake hands with the opposite sex; wait for them to offer.
• Photography: ask before you photograph people, especially women. In the old towns of the M'zab Valley, photographing residents is strongly discouraged.
• Bargaining: bargain politely in markets and souks, but not in shops with fixed prices.

Banks, offices and many shops close on public holidays. Islamic holidays follow the lunar calendar and move about 11 days earlier each year. During Eid, transport is busy and many businesses close for several days.

The weekend is Friday and Saturday. On Friday, most shops close around midday prayers, and many stay closed until late afternoon. Offices and banks usually open Sunday to Thursday. During Ramadan, shops open later and life moves into the evening, after the fast is broken.

• By air: distances are huge. Domestic flights with Air Algérie are the practical way to reach the Sahara, for example from Algiers to Ghardaïa, Djanet, Timimoun or Tamanrasset. The US government advises against travel to Tamanrasset, Illizi and areas near the southern and eastern borders, so check the current advice before you book. Carry your passport on every flight. Air Algérie
• By train: the SNTF rail network links the northern cities, including Algiers, Oran, Constantine and Annaba. Trains are cheap and comfortable, but slower than buses on some routes. SNTF – Algerian railways
• By bus and shared taxi: long-distance buses and shared taxis connect almost every town. They are cheap but get very full around holidays.
• In Algiers: the city has a metro, a tram and cable cars up the hills.
• In the Sahara: visitors travel with an accredited agency, which provides a 4×4, a driver and a guide.

Algerian food mixes Berber, Arab, Ottoman and French influences. Breakfast is light: coffee or milk with bread, pastries or msemen flatbread. Lunch is the main meal, and dinner is often late. Couscous is the national dish and is a family meal on Fridays. Other favourites are chorba soup, chakhchoukha in the east and rechta noodles in Algiers.

For snacks, try karantika, a chickpea flan sold from street stalls, and mhadjeb, a stuffed flatbread. Sweet pastries with dates, almonds and honey go with sweet mint tea or strong coffee. The oases produce excellent dates, and Algeria also makes wine, although alcohol is not easy to find. During Ramadan, families break the fast at sunset with dates, milk and chorba, and the streets come alive at night.

Algiers and the coast

• Algiers is the capital, built on hills above a large bay. Its sights include the old Ottoman Casbah, Dar Hassan Pacha, Palais des Raïs, the hilltop basilica Notre-Dame d'Afrique, the Martyrs Memorial and the huge Great Mosque of Algiers. The French-era centre is Alger Centre.
• Tipaza, west of Algiers, has the seaside Roman Ruins of Tipaza. On the hill above stands the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania.
• Oran is the lively second city, known for raï music. Fort Santa Cruz looks down on the port.
• Tlemcen, near Morocco, has fine Islamic monuments, such as the Great Mosque of Tlemcen and El Mechouar Palace.
• Béjaïa sits between mountains and sea, next to Gouraya National Park.

The northeast

• Constantine is built on a rock cut by a deep gorge and crossed by dramatic bridges.
• Sétif is the base for Djémila, one of the best-preserved Roman towns in North Africa. The Roman town of Timgad lies further south, near Batna.
• Qal'at Bani Hammad is the ruin of an 11th-century capital in the hills.
• Annaba is a port city close to ancient Hippo, the town of Saint Augustine.
• Tizi Ouzou is the gateway to Kabylia and the mountains of Djurdjura National Park.

The Sahara

• M'zab Valley is a valley of five fortified hilltop towns, founded about a thousand years ago. Ghardaïa is the largest.
• Timimoun is a red-clay oasis town at the edge of the Grand Erg Occidental.
• Biskra and El Oued are oasis towns known for dates and domed houses.
• Tassili n'Ajjer protects sandstone plateaus with thousands of prehistoric rock paintings. Djanet is the base for tours. Parts of the region lie in Illizi province and near the Libyan border, where UK and US advice warns against travel, so check the current advice before you book.
• Hoggar Mountains are volcanic peaks around Tamanrasset, including Mount Tahat, the highest point in Algeria. The US government advises against all travel to Tamanrasset, and tours here must use an accredited agency.