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Not sure how many people here have advice for Algeria but I figured it's worth a shot. A buddy and I are heading there for a week in May: 3 nights Algiers, 2 in Tlemcen, 2 in Oran. Probably flying to Tlemcen first then training our way back to Algiers via Oran. Besides our accommodation, which we are kind of locked into because of the visa, we are completely free and looking to maximize the interesting poo poo we see. Any advice about food and sights in Algiers, Tlemcen or Oran would be really appreciated. Also bar recommendations. Visiting vineyards sounds awesome, any recommendations there? Is anyone aware of any good military museums? Finally, safety advice: we are aware that some parts of the country have been a little isisy recently, but we are sticking to major towns in the north and taking trains. Any reason to modify this plan?
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Mar 21, 2016 23:47
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 02:48 |
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Most of the security concerns are in the deep Sahara, along the Tunisian border, and in the Kabylie areas. The first two you won't go to, the third maybe is a bit more of a concern. My girlfriends cousin is Kabylie and she goes back every year though so it's not like its murderville, but buses and etc do get attacked occasionally. Never visited though so can't help you on the rest. Posting from Tunis right now, and it looks like you're safer here than in Belgium anyway. Trains sound better than taking suicidal louage drivers. I hope you speak French or Arabic because otherwise getting around is going to be a pain in the rear end.
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Mar 22, 2016 09:41
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Thanks for the info. That has been our impression as well. We speak Arabic so we're not worried about transactional interactions, directions, etc. And if we can get a sim card with 3g we'll really be set. This whole process also led to finding the Google reviews for the Algerian embassy in DC, which are pretty incredible: https://www.google.com/search?q=Emb...d50fda0b460c8,1
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Mar 22, 2016 16:11
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Im planning to go as well - how did you handle the visa? Gave them all your hotel bookings, or some other arrangement?
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Apr 6, 2016 17:45
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Dropped all my stuff off at the embassy (actually the visa office is around the block). If you're in DC I think the hours are between 9 and 1 M-Th. Gave them print outs of my flight and emailed confirmations from hotels and the passport. And a money order for $160. Apparently the last person there who accepted cash "got fired"?? One of the reservations was from orbitz because, between many places not responding to/having email, not getting replies to faxes (!) and not understanding what the hell they were saying when I called, I couldn't get an email confirmation from a hotel in Oran, so we did orbitz. A week later I got a voicemail saying to email them a detailed description of our daily plans. So I spent an hour or two googling things to see and making up a detailed itinerary. It's been a week and I'm still waiting to hear back from that. May swing by on Monday to see what's up, because the Google reviews were right, nobody at the visa extension picks up the phone. On the other hand I got a free copy of this "guidebook" http://www.amazon.com/ALGERIA-GUIDE-Ambassador-Idriss-Jazairy/dp/B000TD9T3M Which is only 11 years out of date and targeted at investors. My friend walked into the Algerian embassy in a western european capital and got his visa a week later with no hassle or questions (he's also American). Maybe the people posted in DC are just told to give potential tourists more scrutiny/grief?
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Apr 7, 2016 21:41
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Valley Troll posted:Dropped all my stuff off at the embassy (actually the visa office is around the block). If you're in DC I think the hours are between 9 and 1 M-Th. Gave them print outs of my flight and emailed confirmations from hotels and the passport. And a money order for $160. Apparently the last person there who accepted cash "got fired"?? One of the reservations was from orbitz because, between many places not responding to/having email, not getting replies to faxes (!) and not understanding what the hell they were saying when I called, I couldn't get an email confirmation from a hotel in Oran, so we did orbitz. Thanks. Probably embassy specific. I'll be applying in Stockholm or London, so I'll see how that goes. Don't really want to be tied up to a plan so far ahead of time for a 2 week trip but then again, how would they enforce it once I get into the country?
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Apr 9, 2016 15:06
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Exactly. I just picked mine up. Asked for 7 days to correspond with my flights and they gave me 30. Go figure
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Apr 12, 2016 00:52
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Valley Troll posted:My friend walked into the Algerian embassy in a western european capital and got his visa a week later with no hassle or questions (he's also American). Maybe the people posted in DC are just told to give potential tourists more scrutiny/grief? Surprising to hear that given what I read is you can only apply in your home country. Does he have residence or a passport for other said country? My visa was easy. Im British and applied by post. I included a letter of invitation from an Algerian and with that there was no need for a hotel reservation. The application arrived on Friday morning and they stamped it that day. Didn't get around to posting it until Wednesday. I was there on my bicycle and so massively different experience. I had the gendarmerie escorting me for 3 weeks straight "por votre sécurité" although it felt massively excessive. I stayed in auberge de jeunesse (youth hostels) which cost about 2-3 USD per night. If you didn't know, there's a parallel economy and so take USD with you and exchange it when you get there. Technically illegal but no one cares, to te extent that the 2nd time I swapped cash my escort went and found the guy and brought him to the coffee shop for me.
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Apr 21, 2016 13:22
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 02:48 |
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Valley Troll posted:Exactly. I just picked mine up. Asked for 7 days to correspond with my flights and they gave me 30. Go figure I had no trouble getting my visa to Algeria (I asked for 30 days and they gave me 2 years), but my husband who is an actual Algerian and his Algerian friends have had nothing but trouble with the DC embassy. Apparently you need a birth certificate to renew your passport, but if your passport is expired they insist they don't have proof of your identity and won't give you a birth certificate. So apparently there are tons of Algerians in the US unable to go visit their families in Algeria because their embassy refuses to renew their passports. I actually really enjoyed my time in Algeria, though I've only been to the east, never where you're going. If you haven't left already, my only advice is to go see a travel doctor before you go and get some Cipro.
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May 14, 2016 14:03
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