Algiers Casbah to Sahara towns: Algerian dinars, French on signs, Djezzy and Mobilis, and eSIM data at Houari Boumediene.
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Algeria is the Mediterranean city of Algiers — white staircases, the Casbah, Notre-Dame d'Afrique looking over the bay — and then a completely different country once you point south toward Ghardaïa, Timimoun, or the Tassili. Timgad and Djemila are Roman sites that still feel under-visited because most itineraries stop at Marrakech instead.
The dinar (DZD) is a closed currency: spend it in Algeria, do not plan to unload a brick of notes at Charles de Gaulle. French is the language of signs, train windows, and awkward official forms; Arabic and Tamazight are what you hear in markets. Cards work in Algiers hotels; a shared taxi to Oran or a bowl of chorba in the Casbah is cash.
SNTF trains and Air Algérie hop the long distances. Houari Boumediene Airport (ALG) is where you want Djezzy, Mobilis, or Ooredoo data already live so Yassir or a booked driver is a pin, not a phrasebook fight. Couscous on Friday, mint tea always, and no photos of police stations or the airport fence — that rule is local, not generic 'be polite' advice.
Esenciales
Consejos de viajeros
Consejos reales de personas que han estado en Algeria, seleccionados por nuestro equipo con enlaces a las fuentes originales.
You cannot treat leftover DZD like leftover euros. Change what you will spend, keep ATM receipts, and do not arrive in Paris with a stack you expect a bureau de change to want.
SNTF boards and Air Algérie counters run on French. The Casbah spice stall does not. A phone translator helps; assuming English will carry you the way it does in Lisbon will not.
Airports, police, and some ministries are not Instagram backdrops here. The Casbah and the seafront are the pictures. This is a local rule, not a generic 'ask first' tip you could paste onto Amsterdam.
The ride app is a capital-and-Oran tool. Between cities you still join a taxi collectif that fills like an Albanian furgon. Installing only Uber muscle-memory is the wrong import.
Families eat couscous after prayer. Many shops run a shorter Friday. Plan the Casbah walk and the Notre-Dame taxi around that rhythm, not a Sunday-closure habit from France.
TripAdvisor Forums
The M’zab town centres are not a casual wander. Travellers who fly in are met at the airport, and the old-town alleys expect a guide at the main entrance. Side doors exist; treating the maze like a European medina does not.
Ver fuenteFodor's Travel Talk
Constantine is a charming city, but the reason many people go east is Timgad, with Djemila as the other ruin worth the road. Batna is a bus stop, not a base. Pair the two sites and leave the Casbah on a different day.
Ver fuentePreguntas frecuentes
Plan not to. DZD is a closed currency and bureaux outside Algeria often will not touch it. Withdraw what you need, pay the last taxi in dinars, and do not treat the leftover stack like euros you can dump at CDG.
An eSIM that uses Djezzy, Mobilis, or Ooredoo is enough for maps, Yassir, and SNTF lookups in the north. Buy a local SIM only if you need an Algerian number for long-stay admin. Unlocked iPhone XS / Pixel 3 / Galaxy S20 and newer can run the eSIM without a kiosk.
Towns such as Ghardaïa have service. Desert tracks between oases do not. Download maps and keep a driver's local number. No honest plan promises a live stream on the Tassili plateau.
You can, with ID, after a long flight. An eSIM installed at home means you skip that counter and go to the ATM and the Yassir pin. Both paths work; the airport desk is not mandatory.
Not unless the plan is regional and lists those countries. The Maghreb is not one roaming zone on a single-country Algeria package. Check the country list if your trip continues along the coast.
Planes eSIM
Houari Boumediene is a long hall and a dinar ATM, not a place you want to roam-hunt. Install an eSIM before you fly and Yassir, maps, and your hotel WhatsApp work in arrivals.
Djezzy, Mobilis, and Ooredoo shops in Algiers can add a local number later if you need Algerian SMS. For a first week of Casbah stairs and SNTF tickets, prepaid data that is already on the phone is the quieter start.