# Algeria Beyond Expectations — 10 Days > Ten days from the Mediterranean to the M'Zab: Algiers and Tipaza, Djémila and Timgad, Constantine's bridges and the desert villages of Ghardaïa. - Price: from €1,176 per person (private trip or small group) - Duration: 10 days · 9 nights - Starts: Algiers — Airport - Best season: October–April (best for the Sahara) - Guides speak: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, German, Russian - Visa on arrival at Algiers airport possible: no — consulate visa with our invitation letter - Web page: https://algeriacompass.com/tours/algeria-beyond-expectations/ - Book (request, no payment to enquire): https://algeriacompass.com/contact/?tour=algeria-beyond-expectations ## Overview Our most adventurous grand tour. Across ten days you join Algiers and Roman Tipaza, the Roman cities of Djémila and Timgad, Sétif's highlands and Constantine's bridges, and finish in the M'Zab Valley at Ghardaïa — capped by a Saharan excursion with quad biking, camel riding and sandboarding. Four UNESCO sites and the full north-to-desert sweep, with adventure and culture in equal measure. ## Highlights - Algiers and the Roman ruins of Tipaza - Constantine, the city of bridges - Sétif, Djémila and the Roman city of Timgad - The M'Zab Valley desert culture at Ghardaïa - A Saharan excursion with quad, camel and sandboarding ## Day by day ### Day 1 — Arrival in Algiers Airport reception, hotel check-in and a welcome dinner. - **Houari Boumediene Airport**: Met in arrivals and driven into the city — the practical part of the first day handled for you. - **The Bay of Algiers**: The seafront drive in, with the white capital rising in tiers above the harbour. - **A welcome dinner**: A first Algerian table — chorba, fish from the bay or a chicken tagine — with the ten days ahead talked through. ### Day 2 — Tipaza & Cherchell The Roman ruins and amphitheatre of Tipaza, the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania, the Cherchell museum and coastal 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. ### Day 3 — Algiers historical tour The UNESCO 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. ### Day 4 — Travel to Sétif Transfer to Sétif and the Roman ruins of Djémila; overnight in Sétif. - **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. - **Sétif and the Ain El Fouara fountain**: The high-plateau city at 1,100 m and its famous marble fountain of 1898, where the night is spent. ### Day 5 — Constantine The suspension bridges of Constantine, the Emir Abdelkader Mosque and Ahmed Bey Palace; overnight in Constantine. - **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. ### Day 6 — Batna & Timgad Travel to Batna and the UNESCO Roman city of Timgad, with local heritage; overnight in Batna. - **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. ### Day 7 — Journey to Ghardaïa Travel south to the M'Zab Valley and check in at a traditional guesthouse, with a free evening. - **The road south over the Atlas**: Out of the Tell, across the high steppe and down into the pre-Sahara — the drive on which Algeria changes climate. - **Ghardaïa**: The M’Zab’s main town, a UNESCO-listed pyramid of houses climbing to the mosque and minaret at its summit. - **A traditional guesthouse in the M’Zab**: Check-in at a restored Mozabite house — thick walls, an internal courtyard and a roof terrace — with a free evening. ### Day 8 — Ghardaïa cultural tour The villages of El Atteuf, Beni Isguen and Melika, their mosques and architecture, the souks and a lunch with a local family. - **El Atteuf**: The oldest of the five M’Zab towns, whose simple Sidi Brahim mosque so struck Le Corbusier that it shaped modern architecture. - **Beni Isguen**: The sacred walled town of the M’Zab, entered by its old gate, where dress and photography follow local custom. - **Melika**: A hilltop M’Zab town of marabout tombs and long views over the valley. ### Day 9 — Return to Algiers Travel back to Algiers, 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. ### Day 10 — Departure Breakfast and transfer to the airport. - **A free morning in Algiers**: Whatever the ten days missed — the Jardin d’Essai, the Ketchaoua Mosque or simply the seafront — depending on your flight time. - **Last shopping**: Kabyle silver, Tuareg leather, Deglet Nour dates and pastries, on Rue Didouche Mourad or in the Casbah workshops. - **Houari Boumediene Airport**: The private transfer out and assistance through check-in. ## Included - Accommodation in 4-star hotels with breakfast - Air-conditioned tourist transport - Accompanying tour guide - Private local guide at major sites - All meals during the desert excursion - Desert activities: quad biking, camel riding, sandboarding ## Not included - Additional programs and activities - Tips - Lunch and dinner on other days ## Questions **What desert activities are included?** Quad biking, camel riding and sandboarding on the Saharan excursion, with all meals during it. **Which UNESCO sites are covered?** Tipaza, Djémila, Timgad and the M'Zab Valley, plus the Casbah of Algiers. **Is it suitable for active travellers?** Yes — it pairs cultural touring with a hands-on desert finale. **How does it compare to the 10-day 'Algeria Tour'?** Same broad sweep, but with an activity-focused Saharan excursion at Ghardaïa. ## Booking & policies - Request to book: dates are held free for 72 hours with no payment while availability, permits and flights are confirmed; a deposit then secures the trip and the balance is due before departure. Payment by bank transfer, card or PayPal. - 5% off when booked at least 60 days before departure. - Free cancellation up to 5 days before departure, full refund. Within 5 days, committed costs may not be recoverable; the rest is refunded. - If the visa is refused, everything paid to Algeria Compass is refunded. - Visa: Consulate route: invitation letter 25 USD for a programme of at least 3 days with airport pickup and drop-off. Visa on arrival at Algiers airport for organised programmes that include the Sahara: authorisation 45 USD, plus the arrival stamp paid at the airport (by length of stay).