# Complete Algeria — 10-Day Grand Tour > Ten days from coast to desert — the Roman sites of Tipaza, Djémila and Timgad, the Casbah of Algiers, Constantine's bridges, and the M'Zab Valley at Ghardaïa. - Price: from €1,176 per person (private trip or small group) - Duration: 10 days · 9 nights - Starts: Algiers — Airport - Best season: Spring & autumn; October–April comfortable in the south - 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-tour/ - Book (request, no payment to enquire): https://algeriacompass.com/contact/?tour=algeria-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 ## Day by day ### Day 1 — Arrival in Algiers Airport welcome, 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 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. ### 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. ### 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. - **Sétif and the Ain El Fouara fountain**: The high-plateau city at 1,100 m and its famous marble fountain of 1898, where the day ends. ### 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. ### 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. ### Day 7 — Journey to Ghardaïa Travel south to the M'Zab Valley and check in at a guesthouse. - **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 over the valley. ### 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. ### 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. ### 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 - Airport pickup and drop-off - Air-conditioned transfers - Hotel and guesthouse accommodation - Daily breakfast and welcome dinner - Local professional guide - Entrance fees to the sites listed - Ghardaïa cultural visits ## Not included - International and domestic flights - Visa fees - Most meals - Personal expenses - Tips ## Questions **How many UNESCO sites does it cover?** Five: Tipaza, Djémila, Timgad, the M'Zab Valley and the Casbah of Algiers. **Is it a lot of travelling?** Yes — ten days from coast to desert, with comfortable transfers between regions. **What accommodation is used?** Hotels and guesthouses, with daily breakfast and a welcome dinner. **Is this your most complete tour?** Yes — it's our broadest single itinerary across the country. ## 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).