Igor,
It's not an easy choice you're faced with and I'm happy not to be in your position.

I have travelled your route over the last 5 months, i.e. Algeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and on to Capetown where I am now. Andrasz is perhaps right that northern Niger, Chad and Sudan are not very safe places to travel but then you had already made that decision before you left. Also, I do not know of people who have gone missing on this route over the last years. I have made it safely across this route, but was held up at the Chad/Sudan border for a night because of a robbery 20 minutes earlier!

Your major concern is Algeria and sticking to the main road is I guess your most viable option. Other than getting a local guide, I would try to arrange a police escort. In my experience the police were very friendly and helpful last November and I guess they are not too keen on losing even more tourists. I do not know if the convoy on the main route is still operating but it would be another option.

The downside of approaching the police is that they may send you back altogether. In that case it's perhaps best not to push your luck any further and just get back on the ferry and go for the western route. Getting a good guide across Algeria is a tricky business and definitely going to eat a big hole in your budget. Also, how will a guide protect you from being hijacked?

Please note that I am not advising you to go into Algeria at the moment, I am merely trying to provide some ideas. I would under NO circumstance go into Algeria alone.

Best of luck to you,
Camiel

www.amsterdam2capetown.com

[This message has been edited by camiel (edited 19 April 2003).]