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Originally Posted by priffe
We drove down to Djanet in 2009 in our own vehicle.
Came in at Bou Chebka, which is just west of Kasserine and Djebel Chambi Natl Park, later a stronghold for jihadists and perhaps not the best route to take even today. But an easy crossing.
We nighted in Tebessah which was a spooky town, carried on to Oued where we needed to exchange our USD. Our presence worried the local police so much that their boss personally took us to a bank which was closed, woke up the sleeping president and let us do the exchange and then escorted us to the city limits.
We did get renseignements from the gendarmes in Ouargla and Hassi Messaoud but noone asked us for a guide until we came to Illizi, where the chief of police came out to greet us at the first rondpoint.
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This really interesting to hear, that this was possible as late as 2009. Did the police insist that you have a guide after Illiizi?
It will be interesting to see if the current relaxation of rules continues. When the gendarmes were concerned about me not having a guide, they rang their HQ and I was always allowed to proceed without one.
From speaking to at least one Algerian guide in-country, their perspective was that when the VOA was introduced last year, the government also relaxed the guide rules for travelling in your own vehicle.
That said, the majority of guides I did meet were still surprised to see me there without one. I know that when I arrived in Djanet, the guides were going as far as sharing passport details of their group members with the gendarmerie prior to their arrival.
It also sounds like the non-VOA visa application process has changed too - for example in London, there is no longer anything in the process about declaring by what form of transport you will be travelling, just a customs type section in the visa form about 'equipment'. I didn't mention my motorbike in this for obvious reasons.
Ed
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