🧭 Algeria: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Algeria feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 91 written places.
Warm and openly curious - visitors are rare enough that strangers will buy your coffee and ask your story.
Cost level: Budget One of the friendlier destinations for a travel budget - daily costs sit well below western Europe. Estimate a daily budget →
✓ Considered polite
- Greet with Salam or Bonjour and a handshake - French works nearly everywhere
- Accept mint tea or coffee when offered; hospitality is taken seriously
- Dress modestly - covered shoulders and knees, with a scarf handy for mosque visits
- Take time over greetings - asking after family before business is normal
✗ Better avoided
- Eat, drink or smoke openly in daytime during Ramadan
- Photograph people without asking first
- Pass food or money with your left hand
- Decline hospitality bluntly - a hand on the heart softens any refusal
💡 Worth knowing
- Cash rules - the dinar is a closed currency exchanged only in-country, and cards work in few places beyond big hotels
- The weekend is Friday-Saturday; Friday mornings stay near-silent until after midday prayers
- Alcohol exists but is discreet - a handful of licensed bars, hotels and restaurants, never on the street
- Round up or leave about 10% in nicer restaurants, always in cash
Plugs and voltage
Type C, F · 230 V travel adapter →
CurrencyAlgerian dinar (DZD)
LanguagesArabic, Berber, French
Driving sideright
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.