I don't know if any of you have seen this video it dates back to march 2020 so just before the coronavirus travel restrictions.

This is a frenchman who wanted to travel from Algeria to Mauritania.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zd6bI_rxYM

He claims that the customs told him that he can go to Mauritania but without external fuel tanks, which in this case is total nonsense since there isn't any gas station along the way in Mauritania for a very long distance.

They also seized his drone and then asked the french consul to give them more detailed information about this citizen.
Later on the returned the drone.
The frenchman decided to go back to oran and from there to europe.

Therefore, it seems that the border is open, but there are restrictions.

Well spotted. Interesting that he too managed to get across the north from Tunisia without escorts, like Gerbert. Sets a good precedent.

I wouldn't be surprised if the jerrican rule was an arbitrary punishment plucked out of the air on him for having been caught/got away with a drone. Clearly, the 550km (he says 400) from Tindouf to Bir Mogrein is a long way with a dodgy fuel pump...
Normally it's the places you arrive at (in my experience: Tunisia, Italy, RIM, France) with cheap fuel from the previous that get arsey about extra fuel.

Either way, they may have done him a favour. Didn't catch the exact date but, assuming he was coming back up the coast via WS, the RIM border closed on March 16th and he or the car would have been stuck in RIM (or Mk soon after), for the duration.

Now I felt an urge to go back to Algeria before I die

I hitchhiked across the Tabarka - El Kala border last year and for a month in Algeria without a problem. Friendly border officials. But maybe its different when you bring your own car

Yes, vehicles complicate things, but also depends on nationality.
Easier to get the visa for some than others – and Brits are not high on this list last time I heard/tried.
Plus once you get down to a certain latitude (In Salah, more or less?), guide-escorts become mandatory.

Right now I am told the border are closed, though that will change of course.

He does pickup a police escort – sometime south of Taghit and after his breakdown – but he doesn't indicate where it started.

I watched the recordings of this French guy on Youtube. He entered at the Taleb Larbi border, and was obliged to arrange an escort by a tourist agency. One of the customs officers helped him and called an agency, that sent a representative within a couple of hours. In the next big town the French guy was set free by his escort. He moved around freely in the north for about three weeks. Visited Cap Carbon, an amazing seaside spot near Bejaia, amongst others. When heading south to Mauritania his escort started near Taghit, like ours.

I wonder how being 'set free' by his agency escort works.
Is there no need, but one was it forced on him for a quick buck?
And if there is a need, how come he was let go?

The escort 'near Taghit' is Abadla, no?
A military one to Tindouf.
To be expected and not quite the same thing.

When you go with escort from Taleb Larbi, do you need a written contract with an agency? How formal are they at the border?
We were told we actually did need a guide only after we arrived at Illizi (2009).
Chief of police made arrangement with a touareg who somehow disappeared, and we were left to find one ourselves. No written contract.

Always planning the next trip to Algeria. Thinking the Frenchie may have paid tge guide off.
Thinking driving around leisurely can be done in the north without a problem. Perhaps also southward if patient and with time to spare (within visa limits).

I think this border simply wants you to have a guide, like often happens when you arrive in the port of Alger. I do not know the details, but it's not about money, I think. Just rules that are not always clear or applied evenly

It is a mystery isn't it, just like Algeria as a whole.
Who is really running the show? What are the rules?
No transparency. Everything opaque.

I think in many of these places officials are scared to use their initiative for fear of being sent to the salines.
And Taleb is near the Tebessa region where what's left of Algeria's jihadists hide out.
The thing is, Brits can't even get the visa without an agency invite (CdH).
On tours that works OK, but not for all independent travellers.
As we are always headed south where the escort rules are sticter, it's not a huge problem.
As I understand it, no escorts needed in the line north of Hassi M, In Salah, Adrar (which is handy for getting to the Tindouf route), but it's all about getting in, and then getting past certain checkpoints.
I have always thought there's a lot more going on in Alg that we never know about or understand. A dance of competing pouvoirs trying to maintain their hegemony. In most similar places it's the army or a dictator running the show.

I am struggling to find or get a reply from agencies in the Taghit - In Salah region (Gourara, Tidikelt). Anyone got any ideas?

This is all useful info on this thread, thanks all.

The Letter of Invitation situation sounds similar to parts of Central Asia a while back. In the case of the latter it was unavoidable for some countries, though you didn't need to be booked on a tour.

Is anyone aware of an agency who will provide LOIs/CdH's that are sufficient to get an Algerian visa on a GB passport, but don't require you to be part of a group tour for the duration?

Ed

I doubt any agency will do that because if you get caught in the wrong area or at an arsey gendarmerie checkpoint, agency gets in trouble (afaiu).
It's not like the old CA or Russian LOI 'scam', more to track you should you get kidnapped (a threat in Alg at one time, and probably still in places).

And it's not about joining a tour group, like say Iran, it's about having an escort like China. Your group can be 1.

Others have tried using hotels for the CdH (even cancelling after confirmation to get a refund). Easier if you fly in, less so at the usual Oran, Algiers or Taleb vehicle entry points.

Hotel booking may be worth a shot at the London embassy as they may have forgotten the tourist rules by now. I was going to try it as a test last year.

• Some need an agency (not hotel) CdH to get the visa.
• All need to get clear of O, A or T without being asked: where is your escort?

Finally a journalistic breakthrough in investigating the Algerian power structure.
Algeria: Meet the real strongman: And he is not president | The North Africa Journal
Paris based Algeriepart, started by Abdou Semmar in 2017. For those interested.
https://www.algeriepartplus.com/reve...aid-chengriha/