Hello. I want to add information about Algeria. .
I traveled through Algeria completely alone, on a motorbike, the whole time without police escort. Maybe I was just lucky.
My route was:
Italy - Tunisia
Tunis
border crossing Hidra - Tebessa, delay 6 hours.
Biskra
Laghouat
Brezina
Ain Sefra
Timimoune
Reggan
In Salah
Tamanrasset
the way to Mount Assekrem
Idles
Djanet
In Amenas
Hassi Messaoud
El Oued
Tebessa - Hydra delay 2 hours
Tunis

If you search "Jebal fcb" on Facebook, there is a report every day.
Both police and military checks always let me go without an escort, which was often offered to me, but not after my refusal.
I am sorry for my bad English.
Your site has helped me a lot.

If you have questions, I'm happy to answer.

Wow, what an amazing trip!

Thanks for posting the pictures, the map, and sharing your experience with all of us.

I spent a lot of time in Algeria back around 1999 - 2000, mostly in Hassi Messoud, In Salah, and In Amenas. But I was always there as a "worker", not a tourist, which meant someone else organized my food & accomodation.

I'm curious to know what difficulties (if any) you had finding food and lodging during your travels. Do you speak French, or Arabic? I think one of those two languages would be almost essential for independent travel.

Michael

Unfortunately, I don't speak French, nor Arabic, only the basics of English. This combination proved to be the best in police-soldier checks. If I spoke their language well, they wouldn't let me go on, they would want a lot of information and demands, there was no possibility of mutual agreement like this, so they let me go on.
So I recommend NOT speaking any language. And thanks to that, I had no escort. I have a personal VASCO translator, I only used it to communicate with local people. I was in IN AMENAS for 3 days, due to several defects and bad work by the local mechanic. I slept several nights in a tent, in the wild - the Sahara, a wonderful experience. The Algerians said it was very dangerous, but I think it is dangerous to sleep in local hotels.:)
Hotels are in bad condition, bad food, I always searched on google maps but they all have bad rating. I'm talking about the south! The north will probably be better as far as hotels are concerned. I definitely recommend to everyone to visit the place BREZINA, it is not as famous as Tamanrasset and Djanet, but it is a unique place. It exists only in Arizona and Brezina.

I shot this video there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_CI4a5fCzg

I’ve now written up a second guide, on the best of the off-tarmac desert routes I rode in my two months in the Algerian Sahara this autumn. Hope you enjoy!

https://wherenextbarney.me/algerian-...outh-off-road/

Cheers

Ed

Tamanrasset
 

Ed,
Thanks for the report. Algeria has been on my bucket list for a long time, in particular the south. Nowadays it seems a website had (barely) opened.
I see you’ve been Tam, any restriction there ? I heard the Hoggar is closed ?
We’re you allowed to ride from Tam to Djanet independently, or with an escort ?
Around Djanet, did you take a guide, on his own vehicle ?

Thanks mate.
Laurent

Hi Laurent,

No, I had no restrictions in the south, other than just telling the gendarmes where I planned to go at the various checkpoints. You will need to think carefully about what and how much information you tell them, however - they seemed very cautious about people going off the main roads. I chose not to tell them when I was planning to do that.

I was able to ride from Djanet to Tam without an escort, however yes, in the immediate area around Djanet to the east and to the south east you still need a guide - as I understand it that has been the case even before the civil war in the 1990s.

Ed

Actually that is/was only on the rock art trekking plateau which you can't reach with a vehicle. You could drive southeast all the way to Niger (not that that always ended well once you neared or crossed the border).

Guide/Report on how to visit Algeria without a guide, with your own vehicle
 

Might then be worth testing the waters with the gendarmes in the other non-plateau areas around Djanet - I simply deferred to them on (perhaps erroneous) assumption that I couldn’t go to those areas anyway.

In the way into town they insisted on escorting me to a hotel and telling me I wasn’t allowed to leave by moto without telling them first, which reinforced that assumption.

However I had no problems just doing that the next morning - I may have then been able to take the road that Chris mentions and explore more, though that’s TBC, rather than just hot footing it westbound.

Ed


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Second video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQZh00QL2Jc

We saw that Jebal made it by road as far the the Libya-Niger roundabout (only 40km from town) but I agree the now popular Tadrart/Merzouga area (vehicle accessible rock art; huge dunes) right along the Libyan border and at least a 400km round trip from Djanet might be a step too far.
2018 we passed an army checkpoint (tent) as we entered the Tadrart canyon. They might be surprised to see a lone vehicle, not least a moto. Plus, without a guide (or waypoints) to ID locations, a trip here would be a little wasted.
Fact is, there is nowhere dull to go in this entire SE corner of Algeria, even just the road ride from Bordj to Djanet.
I now see the southbound 'Niger' road from the roundabout is sealed for 110km as far as 23.42991, 10.10172 where it joins old A15 right on the Illizi/Tam provincial boundary and just south of Adrar Marilou where patrols used to observe/stop passing traffic to/from Niger.
'A15' the Chirfa balise piste, also starts off sealed NW from that waypoint, but the res soon runs out on aerial mapping. I do wonder if the road direct from the roundabout is now the main way into Djanet, because A15 became famously sandy as you neared the old airport and Djanet from the south.
Not far from the roundabout the 'Niger' road soon passes distinctive Mont Tiska (23.9, 9.8), a pre-GPS era landmark when coming up from Niger and aiming for Djanet.
Tiska could also be a nice spot to explore or spend a night or two out of Djanet without frightening the horses.

Balise piste in 1974 by the intrepid Yves Rohmer predating the '4WD' craze ;-)

Thanks.
Do you reckon one could even go to Assekrem plateau independently ?
If I make it to Djanet, then it would make sense to bite the bullet and hire a guide with his car for a few days. Won’t be cheap (100$/day?), but it can carry water, food and fuel, and most importantly, he’d know the best places to go to.

Food for thought.

Laurent

Yep Asskerem was fine for me - managed to do all three routes up/down, first at end of September and then again middle of November.

Ed


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I think about my next year trip to Africa. My first plan was to drive from Tunis to Alger and then to Tinduf and cross the border with Mauritania. But it can be difficult and maybe they (gandarmerie) will not let me pass.

So my second plan was to drive as ussual from Tanger south and then during my way back drive to Choum and cross the border. If it will fail I can always return.
I want to do it without guide, but I think it could be possible with guide waiting for you on the border.

Any suggests???

From the south (RIM) up seems like a less risky way to do it for the reasons you mention.
I know someone who is heading that way now, but it will be at least a month or more.
Ideally you get the Alg visa without the escort/tour requirement.

Getting visa in my country is not a problem. The problem could bo driving from Alger to Mauritania border and not getting pass. Thi can crush all travel. Especially when I want to visit Liberia.
So better as you mention from south to north after all travel. It is not risky.

I wait for the info, thank you for this news.