There were a few requests for information on how to visit Algeria with your own vehicle. So this is what I did:

Basically, if you can get a travel visa, you will be able to enter Algeria with your own vehicle. I do not have time to visit the South/Sahara, so I don't know if I would be allowed to enter. I have a feeling I could drive south without problems, but I can not promise this. (EDIT: You probably can not go all the way down to Tamanrasset without a guide. But you can get fairly deep ) Edit#2 (Seems like you can visit Tamanrasset , see later posts in this thread.)

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Getting the visa


I Booked a time online in advance for the Helsinki (Finland) Algerian embassy. On the embassy website they said I need the following documents:


- Passport
- two application forms printed and filled (got these from the website)
- Two passport pictures
- travel insurance
- proof of hotel (I booked one hotel for 50 days on booking.com and cancelled later, i don’t recommend doing it this way, rather just book your real accommodation and cancel if needed)
- 105 Euros in Cash

I showed up at the embassy. They questioned me why I wanted to go to Algeria: I responded:
"I want to see what it's like, also the weather is better"
It was a valid reason. The people at the embassy were friendly and professional.

They took my passport, money and the papers. I got it back two weeks later with a visa laminated inside the passport.

EDIT:
For some countries it's harder to get a visa, so you need to check with your embassy if you need an invitation letter. I have a contact in Algeria who can help you get the invitation letter for Algeria. She owns a guest house in Algiers and you have to book a stay with her (not for your entire stay in Algeria, but for a few days/weeks when you visit Algiers (the capital)). Shes also working on building a desert oasis, so you could inquire about that as well. Please be polite and respectful if you contact her. Her email is: coachimmo xxxx hotmail.fr

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I booked the ferry from Almeria (Spain) to Ghazaouet well in advance. The price was quite steep, around 250 for me and my bike and another 200 for a cabin. You could sleep on the floor (and most people do), but I wanted be well rested.

So the price was 450, quite a bit more than what I paid for the ferry from Tunisia to Italy (100euros with a cabin).

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Taking the ship:

I was in Almeria one day before my departure, so I decided to check in early. At the office I needed the following documents:

Visa inside passport
Reservation number
vehicle registration/owners document

They printed me a ticket, that I used to board the ship the next day. Boarding was super easy. Police checked my passport and ticket and I just rode onboard the ship. I was the only motorbike onboard but I saw many cars with French and Spanish plates, even saw some British plates.

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On the Algerian side

The procedures on the Algerian side took quite a bit longer (About 3 hours) than on the Spanish side. But the process itself was quite easy, many smiling police/custom officers showed me where to go. Most of them only spoke Arabic or French, but everyone was friendly and helpful.

Once you leave the ship you will be directed into one of 8 lines. In the line you will be given an arrival form (its in french) that you have to fill in. I used google translate and filled in the form. At the first stop a police officer will check your:

Form
Passport + Visa
Vehicle Documents
Phone number to the accommodation

This officer did not speak any English, but we managed with google translate. He actually called the Airbnb I had booked and checked that it was real. After about 10 minutes, he smiled at me stamped my passport and said "Welcome to Algeria". At this same checkpoint another officer asked me about vehicle insurance, I said that I need to buy it. The other officer told me to meet him after the baggage check, he helped me later on with the insurance.


After the police check 8 lines turns into 4 lines going into a building. Once you are inside the large hangar building you need to get a TIP (temporary import) from one of the counters there. The guy at the counter spoke english. He wanted to see my vehicle registration, he walked over to my bike and checked the plate, gave me a thumbs up, did some work on the computer and finally gave me the TIP for free. Valid for 3 months.

The next stop was the luggage check, I had to wait longer than others for the english speaking guy to arrive. He asked me to open the tank bag. Nothing interesting there, I had to x-ray my soft luggage, after the scan he asked me what I had at the left side of the bag, I explained that I had tools to fix the bike. That was it for the luggage check very easy.

The english officer grilled me a little bit on why I was coming to Algeria, I simply told him the truth.

“Why are you here”?:
- Tourist, I want to see Algeria

“Where will you be going”:
- North coast: Tlemchen, Oran, Algiers, Constantine, Annaba and then Tunisia.

“Occupation?”
-Computer Engineer

“What is your mission here?”
-No mission, just here for tourism

"How much money did you bring with you?"
- 700 euros (over 1000 you have to declare)

There were some other questions but I forgot. He looked me deeply in the eyes when he asked these questions and I have a feeling he would have known if I was lying.


After the grilling and the baggage check I was allowed to continue. I almost rode out of the place on accident, because there was a man (not in uniform) waving me towards the exit. I was intercepted by the police officer I met earlier and he said in an annoyed tone that I need to buy the insurance before leaving. I thanked him for reminding me and we walked into a small office where you buy the insurance.

I didn’t have any dinars, so I had to give the police officer 20 euros, he went and got me dinars in exchange. I probably got the worst exchange rate you can find in Algeria, the insurance cost me around 18 euros for 1 month.

The insurance seller, told me to not exchange any money at the bank where the exchange rate is around 145 dinars for 1 euro. He told me that I could get around 215 on the black market. I thanked him for the tip.

Once I had my insurance I was free to go! I drove towards the exit and I was allowed to leave! I was relived that the process was so easy, I played by the rules and was rewarded. I was free to explore Algeria on my own!


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A few hundred meters after the exit I stopped at a small store and asked where I can exchange money. The man left his store unguarded and took me two blocks to the black market trader where I got the rate of 215 dinars/Euro.

Bought a sim card. 60GB for 2200 dinars, tried to bargain, but they said it was a fixed price.

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Other stuff:

Military checkpoints
Plenty of military checkpoints, was stopped a few times, very friendly and I always got the "Welcome to Algeria".

Fuel
Officially the “sans plomb” is 95 RON, but in reality it’s somewhere around 91 RON. (long story short: the corruption in Algeria goes very far and wide) It worked fine for my T7, but might cause problems in higher compression engines. The fuel is very cheap, I paid 255 dinars to fill up my 5 liters camel tank. If I calculated correctly that comes out to around 0.25 Euros/ liter.
(Edit: I did get dirty fuel in Algiers (only happened once), so it might be worth using some sort of fuel filter or at the very least check the fuel before you fill up. It wasn't dirty enough to clog the engine, but it was definitely not clean)

People:
The Algerians are very friendly people. Lots of smiles and in the country side I got invited in for food a few times. Most Algerians warned me about the "bad people". You can see these criminals driving nice cars in the bigger cities.

Food
Excellent bbq you have to try it!
Never got sick, maybe because of the vaccine (Ducoral)

Roads:
Roads are clearly 3rd world roads. Not the worst I have driven on, but you need to pay attention. Traffic is more dangerous than the west. Almost got run over by a buss.

Other
Local taxi app called Yassir, works great but the driver always calls you, usually doesn’t speak English, so I just gave my phone to a bystander who explained the situation to the driver. (you need a Algerian number to use this app) NOTE: Be sure to activate the bonus coupon found inside the app to get 30% off every ride.

I guess that's it, feel free to ask questions if I forgot to mention something. And you should definitely visit Algeria! I am loving it.