I get the feeling that self drive tourism can happen in the not very distant future
Someone should be a test pilot
I may volonteer...

I am awaiting anxiously. What about reopening the border between Morocco and Algeria too? ;-) Some families have been split for 20 years on each side of the border.... This is Sahara by godsake... ;-)

Hi folks
I just came back from the expedition to Algeria (organised by me)
27 days on the road
4 toyotas from Poland to Tadrart and back
a little trouble with ferries canceled and delayed because of the storm
3 days with escort from Taleb Larbi to Djaned, sometimes fast, sometimes very slow (especially segment around Hassi Massoud), it is immposible to do it faster. The gendarmerie wants to put you up at the hotel, of camping site be at your post and doesn't let you nowhere move. The robust conduct only allows for getting about the city and it in the company of the guide or somebody from the hotel. Irritating, but it is simply a part of the expedition and one should accept it.
Then 7 days in Tadrart with freedom only with our guide
Very good service carried out by Timtar Voyages, many matters which could go badly stayed rescued and everything ended successfully. I recommend the cooperation with Timtar. If Tammanraset will open I am moving with them on the 100%.
3 days retuned with escort from Djaned to Taleb Larbi with detour to Ghardia and Beni Izguen.

Border crossing enter for 4 cars and 11 persons 2 hours in Taleb Larbi.
Exit 0,5 hours
Insurance for car 30 EUR, for bike 15 EUR
100 EUR - 15 000 DZD in Taleb Larbi, even 19 000 DZD in Ghardia. Negotiate all the time, I like it and it is possible to take better conditions out

Diesel - 20,42 DZD, Super - 34,72 DZD

Food cheap
Accomodation cheap:
Camping Zeriba - 2000 DZD room
Hassi Messoud, hotel Petrolier - 1 500 DZD
Beni Isguen, Pension Akhar - 2 000 DZD

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Bartosz
www.wyprawy4x4.com.pl

A German trucking report here.
https://translate.google.co.uk/trans...-text=&act=url
See the onward link in the link, also

Trossman was also in the same area same time with bikes. All went well it seems (we're going with him in a year).

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

Beautiful photos.

I saw his bike trailer at Zeriba camping in Djanet and fresh bike traces in Tadrart.
Wish I could go with you for putting my word out

New galleries from Tadrart:
http://www.joniec-team.pl/galeria,238.html
http://www.joniec-team.pl/galeria,244.html
http://www.joniec-team.pl/galeria,246.html

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www.globerider.pl

Hi all

You may remember that we were frustrated not to get to the desert but now, over a year after this post http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...1-8#post528413 we are due to go back to Algeria and this time visit Djanet and the surroundings:

Idaren Canyon and Ihrir lakes too (north side of Djanet).
Detailed itinerary:
El Berdj wadi
TADRART
El Berdj Canyon, Helicopter Mountain, engravings in El Berdj, Wan Tabaraket diunes, Moul'N'aga diunes, Moul'N'aga pillar
Piramidion, Moai heads, Tamezguida - the highest arches in algerian Tadrart, Wan Izzawaten (Valley of the Trees), In Intihaq diunes
Inlagen arch, "Circle" valley, Tin Merzouga dunes
Hedgehog stone, Bouhediene, Wan Izzawaten, Injaren Canyon, Adilati diunes
Tigraghart
NORTH OF DJANET
Timghas (The dents), Tilalilen, Tikoubene
Essendilene canyon, Idaren canyon, Ihrir lakes
Dider stone

and map attached. Anyone have any comments / suggestions?

NB: it also appears we aren't going to Assekrem or Hoggar. Are we missing out by this?

Mark

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www.overlandcruiser.wordpress.com

Its great news that these trips are going ahead again.

But careful about posting such precise details online, especially for trips close to the Libya/Niger border.

Safer to tell all afterwards.

Go for it. You are not missing out on anything. AFAIK Tadrart provides an ultimate desert experience.

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www.globerider.pl

Hi,

I've found this map from British Foreign Office which shows that Algerien Sahara is now almost secure:


Just have to wait for getting visas (except for Djanet's Willaya, already open for us).

RR.

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How bizarre, given previous and currently adjacent country maps which are all orange or red (no map for Morocco).
Or maybe they too will change in the coming days.

... updated information and advice about the threat from terrorism following a review of the way the UK government describes the threat from terrorism in all foreign advice pages

Is Boris Johnson investing in Algerian resorts ahead of getting the boot?

Well spotted RoRo.

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

I'm considering a trip to Algeria. Some of the most beautiful places - Ahaggar and Tassili national parks are in southern Algeria. I know that it's not recommended to go to the borders or near the borders at the south but I'm curious if it's possible, at least, to get to Ahaggar and/or Tassili from Algiers by our own. We would rent one (or better two) 4WD's so roads without a tarmac shouldn't be a big problem if there are some (except sand dunes). I heard that there are army/police checkpoints (I suppose something similar to Western Sahara).

What do you think about this idea?
Is it possible and doable?
Do you have any advices which can help us?
Any experiences?
Any ideas about route and places to visit?

Everything is appreciated.

Thank you very much!

We drove as far south as Illizi without a guide, in our own 4x4 in 2009. The chief police came out to greet us and said we were the first to do so since the kidnappings of 2003.
But further south was impossible. "Ici le Grand Sud!"
I doubt anyone has come that far without a guide after that, since the security situation has mostly deteriorated.
Algeria is not like Western Sahara, the landscape is very different, and much more exciting. In algeria you have huge sand deserts and wild mountain ranges. And there is no territorial conflict, and no mines, just a nagging feeling of insecurity after numerous kidnappings and other incidents. The gendarmes will want to know exactly where you go and your itinerary, with an official guide, before giving you the paper.
Try it and see how far you can get on your own. Worst case you will be obliged to take a guide along all the way from the border. Renting in Algeria? not sure you will find 4x4, and they may not be happy with a regular vehicle being used offroad.

In the dunes off the tarmac you will have a guide, and it will be money well spent.

We are planning our trip to the south for next year and have just accepted that we will be taking a guide along. So that is being factored into all our planning. I am not especially bothered. First my French is pathetic and I can only manage a couple of Arabic phrases...so having someone who can speak to the Gendarmes and help us source supplies when needed will be helpful. Someone who knows the south and the best routes to the best views will obviously come in handy. Algeria is a lot different from Morocco I suspect. The Grand Erg's there are only ever a few miles across and towns/tar roads close by. The south of Algeria is pretty sparsely populated and vast regions of nothing but mountains and desert, so getting lost or breaking down might have more serious consequences. So happy to have along someone with local knowledge.

The challenge I think is to find the right guide that we get along with and understands he is not leading the trip, but providing us with advice to make smart choices and suggesting good routes. Also, and this may be a stretch, helping us not get ripped off by scams or 'tourist' pricing in towns. Finally with good English language skills so we can communicate with him and are sure we are understood. So part fixer, part guide.

So, a key part of our trip planning is looking for this guide. If we find the right person, through other's recommendations or our own investigations, we will certainly refer other business to them...so incentive for that person to provide a good service.

I have been working with humanitarian NGOs around the world for about 20 years and whenever I travel for work to remote locations, I am always travelling with local staff. I almost always enjoy the company and definitely appreciate the local knowledge.

Tembo,

The difficult part of your specifications will be the knowledge of English, there is hardly any among the guides who is able to speak anything but the absolute basic.

There is only one fellow I know in the entire South who is fluent, his name is Salah at Essendilene Voyages (essendilene.touareg (at) noos.fr). You may discuss your needs with him and perhaps persuade him to join (might be a problem as he is running the office of Essendilene and he cannot get away for extended lengths). Mentioning I reccommended him will probably help rather than just coming from the blue.

As for the rest that is not an issue, last November we went around with Salah's father (I do speak a little french & arabic), he perfectly understood his role (which was to take care of any officialdom should the need arise - it didn't) and just followed our plans as requested.

(Trip account here: Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria - November 2016)

By the way we could access the 'Graveyard piste' (A2) from the direction of Illizi without any special permits and proceed more than 100km towards the west without any checkpoints or questions asked, we were probably the first foreigners on that route since '03.

It appears that between Djanet and Illizi and within the boundaries of the Wilaya one is free to move with a local guide as one pleases. This spring we visited Tamadjert, again no restrictions or officialdom along the way. The only encounter I had with officialdom last November was at Illizi, where we checked in to a hotel for a night instead of camping out during a rather nasty sandstorm. The chef du police called in the morning inquiring about our plans, once I told him we will return to Djanet the way we came the call quickly ended with a cordial bon voyage. The only place where paperwork is taken seriously are the military checkpoints in the Tadrart, where the permits issued in Djanet are scrutinized and checked against the passports, but all in good spirits (apparently these permits can be obtained without problems by local agencies).

Andras is right about the guides - commonly they'll speak French, especially the older guys who are more reliable. But no English apart from Salah.

I would not worry about getting lost. Unless you have your own specific itinerary (unlikely as you don't know the area), your guide will follow a tried and tested route through Illizi wilaya which will be old hat to him but deliver all you want in spades between Tamajert and Tin Merzouga. We will be doing a version of this route this January.

[Interesting to hear A2 is open from Illizi; a great route. But I wonder if it's open from the BoD end where it cuts into Tam wilaya for a few miles? I was just about to ask someone that.]

Depending on the number and state of your vehicles (usually massively over-equipped by local standards), I believe a sat phone is the only reliable rescue device. Have the number of the agency, so the guide can talk to them even if you can't, and tell them what's up.

You may find it useful to get hold of an old copy of Sahara Overland which described a few routes in that area.

Maybe your experience with NGOs (and their purported budgets) is different, but being allocated an amenable guide is as much a lottery as it is with travel companions. Once you're on the piste he will effectively be leading you and probably know the best tracks, camp spots and so on, even if you disagree at the time. Some can have their own agenda (visiting family and friends out bush; taking short cuts), but with no language or local knowledge you will be pretty helpless but who knows, it may improve your experience.

In my experience there is no need for a fixer – if you have problems you get resourceful and people will be helpful if there are any around. And the scams you talk of are very rare as a tourist as Algeria is not like other Maghrebi countries – another part of its appeal. On the way down the Gendarmerie may insist you stay in a hotel (little choice on your approach route) or camp (for free) by a police station.
Once on the piste (or south of Illizi) the only towns you will visit are Illizi and Djanet, plus maybe Bordj el Haouas. But it would be good to get a French-speaker in your group. I've found this massively improves things and avoids misunderstandings.

It will be the local agency you will be dealing with. You won't know the guide until you meet him, probably a gnarly old Tuareg living on three peanuts a day and who happens to be available. His driver may be a younger flash harry who may have ideas (and driving styles) of his own.

I remember the first time we hired a guide in Algeria (before GPS and before it was mandatory), we suspected he was dicking us about. I can't recall the reasons for this resentment, but I think it was just an reaction – as you may be having – to being led after years of DIY. Plus he was not a chummy Tuareg. But we would have struggled to follow the four-day route without time.

By the way, I presume you know that your agency escort/guide in their own car with a driver will cost up to €150 a day. This includes the 3+ days it takes them to come up to meet you at the Tunisian border (or Algiers) - and the three days back after leaving you back at the border.

I've also just been told you get an additional Gendarmerie vehicle escort from the border to Illizi and back, after which you guide takes over on the pre-approved route. My group had this last time in 2011 on the west side. They found the Gendarmerie changeovers at various district boundaries irksome.

On a first visit to a county like this you have to accept that things will not go exactly as planned – most usually vehicle problems. So better, within reason, to treat it as a valuable recce just and go with the flow.
Unlike nearly all other North African countries, desert tourism and guiding is run by desert people, not northern entrepreneurs, and has been that way since it started. Despite all the aggro in getting and driving there (only China is more complicated) they know the game and know what tourists want. For most Saharans Alg a firm favourite.

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail