The organisation fee should be either paid in full after signing up or a deposit has to be made and the rest of the guiding fee to be paid before the expedition.

The guiding fee includes

• planning and organizing a basic itinerary for the trip
• assistance and help with preparations before the trip and during the expedition
• full knowledge and experience of your guides
• translation from French during the whole expedition

The organisation fee doesn´t include

• expenses for transport – flights range from 400,- EUR return from Vienna to 600 EUR.
• Visa costs 100 EUR plus postage at the Algerian embassy in Berlin (prices may change on short notice)
• expenses for the guided tour by our Algerian partner agency, costs are 80,- EUR/person/day including transport, food, accommodation in the desert and all equipment
• possible costs for accommodation on the first and last day of the tour (AirBnB is a good option)
• personal expenses – that depends on what souvenirs you buy etc. – 100 EUR (110USD) p.p.

These estimated costs are a rough guide and are calculated on a maximum basis. A detailed list of estimated expenses will be sent to each participant together with the itinerary, map and more info after the signup.

Some of the expenses are paid for by each participant during the expedition and this directly to the service provider/local tour agency.

You can find more information about prices and expenses in Africa below, in our „IN AFRICA“ section and also in + RECOMMENDED ACTIVITIES where you can find out what else to do during the trip and get an idea, what costs what.

Have you decided on becoming an expedition member to explore the unknown? Fill in your registration with us, that is your first step into the adventure. This is where the preparations start.

Please be aware that this expedition requires a decent amount of fitness since we will be outdoors during the whole stay, we will ride camels and rattle along the desert in 4×4 vehicles. Cooking and driving will be done by the local tour agency.

Information about the itinerary

The detailed info about each expedition containing info about the car, equipment, what to take with you, what not to bring and much more will be sent out to you in our “information for team members”.

Visa

To be able to enter Algeria you need a visa. This needs to be applied for before the trip at your relevant Algerian embassy in your country. It is best to send out all passports with all required documents and the fees in cash all together, that avoids problems with the application. We don´t charge any handling fee for that, you only pay for your visa and postage. If you would like to solve your visa by yourself, no problem, you will find details about the embassies in our information pack.

Personal meeting

After signing up of all team members we would like to have a personal meeting with the whole group, where we can get to know each other a bit and where we talk about the itinerary (you can have your say in this also!) If a personal meeting is not possible, we can organize an online meeting (skype, zoom) and we can talk about any questions you may have.

Consulting and advice

While you are preparing for your trip, we are at your disposition with hints, advice and recommendations.

You will receive an information pack after your sign up.

What and how to pack

Travel light and comfortable. Best is to have collapsible bags, not a suitcase. It should be resilient to dust and general traveling. What proved ideal is a normal backpack and a small day pack. Weight wise it should not be more than 20kg plus tent. You won´t need too many clothes, just the basics, light but also a sweater.

More info will be sent out to you after your sign up.

Passport

will have to be valid for at least 6 months after the trip and not contain an Israelian visa.

Vaccination

it is not in our competence to recommend you vaccinations or to make a plan for you, you will need to talk to professionals about it. Your GP is your first point, otherwise some health or travel medical centres will be able to help you. What we can recommend is that we think it´s a good idea to be vaccinated against some of the major diseases. It may happen that you will be asked to prove a yellow fever vaccination upon arrival. What we can also do is telling you what WE are vaccinated against and what is written in our international vaccination pass:

• Hepathitis A, B
• Meningitis
• Typhoid
• Tetanus
• Yellow fever
• Rabies

Travel insurance

travel insurance is something very important and a must-have. If you want to join one of our expeditions, you MUST have a travel insurance. This protects yourself and us.

In general – some countries, that you need visas for will ask about a travel insurance as well, for example Namibia for Czech citizens.

Please be aware that this expedition is run by a local tour agency – we cover all the organisation, communication, planning and -if needed- translation during the trip.

The level of comfort will be relatively low, since we will be camping the whole time.

This itinerary may be subject to change according to local conditions.

Day 1: Our Touareg Guides pick us up and we drive off towards TISRASS, where we see our first lunar landscape – the Tassili starts right here. Camping

Day 2: We meet our camel leaders and start our journeyinto the rock forest Adaik with the camels – here we can expect breathtaking rock formations and the game of light is unique. We continue to trek to Tihramiwin – we camp there and enjoy the sunset.

Day 3: Today we discover a grotto – IMOUROUDEN – and follow a wadi, where we come across vegetation and other camels, TELAFAZOU. We make camp there.

Day 4: Another day, we continue towards TILELLINE – the rock architecture is absolutely fascinating, we move in between fascinating sceneries out of this world. We will visit the rock paintings of TEDJLEH EKRAR and move on to the rock needles of TIKOBAOUINE. From there we get into a guelta, like a gorge in the desert – TOUIA. We camp there.

Day 5: ESSENDILENE – A canyon with palm trees, acacias and other vegetation. We visit a nomadic camp and come back to Djanet, there time for the market, shower and camping.

Day 6: We are leaving for TIN AMALI, with 4×4 cars, towards the Imaharhaten Plateau. InEL BERJ, a gorge, we come across more rock paintings – that´s where we make camp.

Day 7: ALI DEMA – Today we find our firstrock arches, more rock paintings and even a cow cemetery close to MANHOR. Camping close toEL BERKET

Day 8: The rock formations ofWAN ELKHEIR are on our itinerary today, same like the rock paintings of AMAN ESSAMEDNIN. That´s where we camp.

Day 9: TowardsEL BERJ WAN TABARAKAT and through the sand dunes. Lots of photo opportunities. We sleep in a sea of dunes.

Day 10: It is time for rock arches again at Wadi OUED IN DJAREN. We come across rock paintings again, which testify to how fertile the desert was, because we see many savanna animals on the rock. At the rock archTIN TIHAK we make camp.

Day 11: ABOU HEDIENE – More rock paintings await us, as well as „hedgehog rock“. The sand dunes of TIN MERZOUGA are waiting for us to go camp.

Day 12: More to see in ABOU HEDIENE – rok arches and another „guelta“, a gorge, which we visit. In WAN ZAOUATEN we will have a picnic, then more rock paintings before making camp at TISSETEKA.

Day 13: As a special treat we will have a look at some fossilized algaes today, clearly proving that the Sahara once was a sea. Today we are leaving the TADRART, picnic at TIN ARASSOU.

Day 14: We are now leaving the TADRART and come to TEGHERGHERT, where we have a look at the crying cow. Camping in TISKA.

Day 15: We return to DJANET, where we have a chance to visit the market before going to the airport.

 

 

That is the rough plan. It will take place in such a way that we are in the desert with the 4×4 every day, of course, to get to all these places, there will be time to stop and, above all, take photos. If we come across something special, e.g. Nomads, Bedouins or Touaregs, then we would be happy to ask if we can take pictures or whether our guides bring us into contact with them. Most of the time we stay somewhere at noon, rest and eat something, in the evening the chef cooks for us in the camp, we only have to build up our tents and then enjoy the sunset.

In any case, it will be very “desertish”, i.e. we are in the middle of dunes, rock formations every day, discover many paintings and have a lot of great photo opportunities.

Enrich your trip with a few unforgettable outdoor or cultural activities

If you have a little more time we are happy to organize an extension to our trip where we will take some inland flights to discover even more of this fascinating country:

1. Timimoun – Another jewel in the desert. Timimoun is a little oasis to the west of Algeria from where we can explore the hidden “Ksars” of the Sahara as well as typical oasis life to wind down.
2. Ghardaia – If you imagine islamic towns to be small with winding alleyways, narrow lanes and intoxicating bazaars…well, then that´s it! We can use the time to stroll around this wonderful place. 
3. Algeria´s Coastline: We can fly up to Algiers, rent a car and from there, discover the coast on our own. We don´t need a guide for that. The Romans have been here so we can still see their magnificient ruined cities along the coast. 

Prices for flights, extra guides or rental cars are on request and we will check them close to our departure date. 

The start of our expedition is in Djanet, it depends on how we all get there. Mostly, we travel with Lufthansa or Air France. The price depends on your departure airport. Flight prices are cheaper when you split the flight, so from Europe to Algiers and then onwards from Algiers to Djanet.

It is not necessary that the whole groups flies over together. If some want, they could fly over earlier or depart later, in case they want to explore a bit more of Algeria. We will meet you at the airport when your flight arrives.

Within Algiers we will either use the local public transport or we can rent a normal 2×4, which is relatively cheap and sufficient.

For the expedition we will first sit on camelback for the first 5 days, then the local agency provides us with 4×4 vehicles. That is the only option if we want to go into the desert and far away from civilization. In Algeria you can only explore the South with a tour agency.

On our desert tour we will sleep in tents. The tents, matresses and if you wish, even sleeping bags will be provided. When we fly to the coast or to Timimoun or Ghardaia we would like to use local AirBnBs or Couchsurfing. That way we get in touch with locals and immerse ourselves more in their culture. Camping is included in the price of the local agency, the rooms mostly cost between 15-30 EUR p.p. per night. It depends on which hotels/hostels we use. More details after signing up with us.

We are so lucky! Non of us need to cook. On our desert tour we will have chefs with us to cook our food. We have 3 meals a day included – a small breakfast, lunch and dinner. When we are on our own we can try local foods on markets or in little restaurants. Algerian food is delicious!

Algeria is a muslim country. The rules are not as strict as in Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia but you need to stick to the basic rules. Most of all the dress code – men should have long pants to cover their knees, t-shirts with short sleeves at least, no singlets. Women should have long sleeves, long pants or a skirt. They will not need to cover their hair or face.

Intimate behaviour in public is not possible and impolite. The left hand is the “dirty one”, not to be used with people, money or food. You can´t buy any alcohol or beer, but rather fresh juices and coffee.

As mentioned before, you shouldn´t bring alcohol, pork, weapons, drugs or porn magazines. Any disobedience could bring us into big problems.

Weather

Our expedition runs in winter time, but don´t worry, winter in Algeria is not like winter at home. Temperature will still reach 20 – 25 degrees and more during daytime, nighttime will be cooler in some places, humid in others. We can´t really tell exactly as in the last years, the weather surprised us a lot. One year in January we needed 2 sweaters, the other year in January we had 35 degrees. Take light clothes but also something warm, just in case. We don´t expect rain, only a desert storm could hit us but then we just hide away.

Internet and communication

You can choose from 3 main service providers, prices for data is cheaper than in Europe, the coverage is surprisingly good, sometimes even in the desert.

Safety

Algeria, apart from what the media wants us to believe, is mostly a safe country. The border areas with Libya or Niger are still not completely safe, but situations change quickly, as everywhere in Africa. Algerian people are very friendly and polite.