Algeria

Algiers' Houari Boumediene Airport is the country's main international gateway, with additional international airports at Oran and Constantine.

Algeria's rail network connects most major northern cities, including Algiers, Oran, and Constantine, though service can be slower and less frequent than in neighboring countries.

Long-distance buses are the most common way to travel between cities for both locals and visitors, and are generally reliable on the well-maintained roads of the north.

Travel into the Sahara -- to places like Ghardaia, Timimoun, or Tassili n'Ajjer -- is realistically only practical with a licensed tour operator, given the distances, permit requirements near sensitive border areas, and the genuine risks of independent desert travel.

Within cities, taxis are inexpensive and widely available; Algiers also has a small metro and tram system covering its central districts.

Algeria's main tourist areas in the north are calmer than international perceptions from the 1990s civil conflict often suggest, though some real precautions apply, and several governments still advise against travel to specific border areas.

• Border regions near Libya, Mali, Niger, and Mauritania carry genuine security risk and are generally off-limits to tourism -- Saharan travel is realistically only advisable through a licensed tour operator on established routes, not independently.
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• Photography restrictions around government buildings, military sites, and airports are actively enforced -- taking a photo in the wrong place can lead to real trouble with authorities, not just a warning.
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• Independent travel is more bureaucratically complex here than in neighboring Morocco or Tunisia, and visa requirements have historically been a genuine barrier -- checking current entry requirements well before travel is essential, as they change.
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• Petty crime in Algiers, Oran, and other major cities is relatively low by regional standards, but standard city precautions -- watching bags in crowded markets, avoiding displaying valuables -- still apply.
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• Emergency numbers: 17 for police, 14 for civil protection/ambulance.