TT, I have an Italian passport and I've been digging into the planning for a Tunisia-Algeria trip and everything I see on-line is that Schengen Area passports require a visa to Algeria issued from your home country.

Do you (or anyone here) have any additional knowledge or experience with getting a visa on arrival at a land border for Algeria? Or maybe I misinterpreted your statement about the T-A border being straight forward with a hotel reservation?

Thanks!

Currently VoAs are only issued at airports.

For land borders you need more than a hotel reservation, you a visa in advance which is most easily obtained from the consulate in your home country with evidence of hotel res (certificate d'hebergement) or of course a booked tour with an escort meeting you at the border.

FYI I came in/out of Algiers, Oran, Mostaganem & the Taleb Larbi (DZ/TN) crossings last autumn and saw nothing to suggest that you can turn up and get a visa on the spot.

Needless to say Chris's post above is also right on the money, based on my experience.

Ed

Marcello Carucci, who without doubt is in the pantheon of motorbiking influencers with the greatest facial hair, made it to Tamanrasset this week - only worth mentioning because it sounds like he had to have an escort from In Salah, if I've understood his posts correctly (they're in Italian).

https://www.facebook.com/marcellocaruccimoto

If correct, an unfortunate sign that the waters remain muddy for unassisted travel further south still.

Ed

I got this info of the T-A border being "straight forward" from a German 4x4-Forum, where some group described it like that. Whether they had visa collected in advance wasn't clear, but getting one doesn't seem to be a problem, even without a verified hotel booking or guide for the entire stay.

Not done it for years but always was straightforward by African standards, just took a long time (going DZ>TN).


That's how it was before 2003, but you needed a visa in advance (at least since the 90s). Some countries like Germany do have fewer difficulties getting visas than others.

Are you going by bike or 4x4?

If on bike, in the DZ side I was simply waved through to the head of a very very very very long queue, as per other places. Which was nice.

In a 4x4, I'd take a good book to read....!

Ed

In the foreseeable future I'm not going anywhere but arm chair exploring the desert from my desk. When health conditions allow again, I would like to stretch the legs of my trusty Landy S2a 4x4 over African sand one day and that loop Tunis -> Tangier via Mauri seems quite tempting.

Thanks for the book tip. We would never catch up with any queue or traffic jam and can read books at cruising speed in that old leafer. I guess DZ crossing will have cleared up, until well make it there.

I gathered this info about crossing from Tunisia into Algeria far post pandemic lockdowns, so fairly recently (´22 or ´23 ish). But a German passport may be advantageous compared to others. I'm sure, the group did not book a guided tour, as their break down stories wouldn't have been so ridiculous if they had been accompanied by a local and some common sense.

The passport situation is a funny one - I'm not sure if it makes a big difference, though I understand a French one might. As a Brit, I found it did not hold me back.

From what I've seen of late, I think what's more likely to lead to restrictions on movement instead is a) whether you're driving a flash vehicle (and therefore are more likely in the eyes of the gendarmeries to get robbed) b) how well equipped you are in said vehicle and your general state of preparedness and c) ability to speak at least some French to get by. A Series 2a Landy should help you out on the first two counts for sure!

Ed