Complete Algeria — 10-Day Grand Tour

Overview

The full sweep of Algeria in ten days. From Algiers and the seaside Roman ruins of Tipaza, you trace the country's Roman heartland — Djémila and Timgad — cross to Constantine's gorge and bridges, and finish deep in the Sahara at Ghardaïa's M'Zab Valley. Four UNESCO sites, the capital, the highlands and the desert, paced to take it all in without rushing.

Highlights

• Roman cities: Tipaza, Djémila and Timgad
• The UNESCO Casbah of Algiers
• Constantine's suspension bridges
• The M'Zab Valley at Ghardaïa
• Traditional architecture and cuisine

Why this trip is different

• The complete AlgeriaCoast, Roman cities, the capital and the Sahara in one trip.
• Four UNESCO sitesTipaza, Djémila, Timgad and the M'Zab, plus the Casbah of Algiers.
• North to deep southThe full geographic and historical range of the country.
• Ten unhurried daysTime to absorb each region rather than rushing.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day 1 Arrival in Algiers

   Airport welcome, hotel check-in and a welcome dinner.

   Airport welcome, hotel check-in and a welcome dinner.

2. Day 2 Tipaza & Cherchell

   A coastal day at the Roman ruins of Tipaza — amphitheatre and mausoleum — with the Cherchell museum and sea views.

   • Roman Tipaza — A UNESCO-listed Roman port strung along the Mediterranean — basilicas, baths and a theatre with the waves at their feet.
   • The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania — A great stone drum on a hill above the sea — the 1st-century-BC tomb of Berber king Juba II and Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra of Egypt.
   • Cherchell (ancient Caesarea) — Juba II's old capital, whose museum holds some of Algeria's finest Roman and Greek mosaics and statuary.
3. Day 3 Algiers historical tour

   The Casbah, the Martyrs' Memorial and the National Army Museum.

   • The Casbah of Algiers — The UNESCO-listed Ottoman citadel — a steep white labyrinth of palaces, mosques and courtyard houses climbing above the bay.
   • The Martyrs' Memorial (Maqam Echahid) — Three soaring concrete palm-fronds raised in 1982 over the city, honouring the dead of the war of independence.
   • The National Army Museum — Algeria's long military story from antiquity to 1962, beside the Martyrs' Memorial.
4. Day 4 Travel to Sétif

   Transfer east and visit the UNESCO Roman ruins of Djémila.

   • Djémila (Cuicul) — A UNESCO Roman city in green mountains, superbly preserved — forum, temples and a steep theatre.
   • The Djémila mosaics — On-site mosaics among the richest in the Roman world, in the site museum.

   A transfer day east, ending at Djémila.

5. Day 5 Constantine

   City tour of Constantine — its suspension bridges, mosque and palace.

   • Constantine's bridges — The 'City of Bridges' spanning the dizzying Rhumel gorge, the Sidi M'Cid footbridge slung high above it.
   • The Emir Abdelkader Mosque — One of Africa’s largest mosques, its twin minarets a modern landmark of Constantine.
   • Ahmed Bey Palace — The early-19th-century Ottoman palace of the last bey, with painted galleries and shaded courtyards.
6. Day 6 Batna & Timgad

   Travel to Batna and explore the UNESCO Roman city of Timgad.

   • Timgad — Trajan's grid-planned colony of AD 100 — the 'Pompeii of the Aurès', laid out across the open plain.
   • Trajan's Arch — The triumphal arch framing Timgad's main street — the city's iconic silhouette.
   • The Timgad library & theatre — The ruins of a rare Roman public library and a 3,500-seat theatre still in use today.
7. Day 7 Journey to Ghardaïa

   Travel south to the M'Zab Valley and check in at a guesthouse.

   A long drive south to the M’Zab Valley and check-in at a guesthouse.

8. Day 8 Ghardaïa cultural tour

   The fortified villages, traditional mosques, souks and local cuisine of the M'Zab.

   • Beni Isguen — The sacred walled town of the M’Zab, entered by its old gate, where dress and photography follow local custom.
   • El Atteuf — The oldest of the five M’Zab towns, whose simple Sidi Brahim mosque so struck Le Corbusier that it shaped modern architecture.
   • The Ghardaïa market — The tiered arcaded square beneath a pyramid-minaret, the M'Zab's bustling heart for a thousand years.
9. Day 9 Return to Algiers

   Travel back to the capital, with the Hamma botanical garden, the Bardo Museum and Notre-Dame d'Afrique.

   • The Hamma Botanical Garden — The grand 19th-century Jardin d'Essai, one of the finest botanical gardens in Africa.
   • The Bardo Museum — Prehistory and ethnography inside a graceful Moorish villa, from Saharan rock-art casts to silver jewellery and everyday Algeria.
   • Notre-Dame d'Afrique — A 19th-century basilica — 'Our Lady of Africa' — on the cliffs above the bay, inscribed for Muslims and Christians alike.

   Travelling back to the capital.

10. Day 10 Departure

    Breakfast and transfer to the airport.

    Breakfast and the transfer to the airport.

Good to know

Best season

Spring & autumn; October–April comfortable in the south

Pace

Moderate — a touring itinerary with internal travel

Style

Private, guided, 9 nights with breakfast & a welcome dinner

Bring

Layers, sun protection, modest dress for the Casbah & M'Zab