Travel experts have revealed that travelling from the UK to Africa’s largest country would cost you a lot less this summer than it would have done in 2024. The average flight price to Algiers in Algeria this summer, Kayak says, is £364, 12% less than the same time last year. Travelling to other African countries would set you back even less. For flights to Marrakech in Morocco, you would have to fork out only £179 on average, Tunis in Tunisia £358. Slightly more is a trip to Cairo in Egypt, which would set you back £462.
Tripadvisor says Algiers is a city with rich history that can be seen in its architecture, including its Moorish mosques, Ottoman-style palaces and the Kasbah, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site, to its Berber fortifications, French colonial houses and modern boulevards. It adds: “The city is home to numerous attractions, including the Great Mosque, the National Library, Martyrs Square, the Bardo Museum and multiple monuments and forts.”
But some areas of Algeria have been deemed unsafe by the UK Government. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) specifies that it advises against all travel to within 30 kilometres of the country’s borders with: Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Tunisia (in the provinces of Illizi and Ouargla and in the Chaambi mountains area). Moreover, officials advise against all but essential travel to within 30 kilometres of the rest of Algeria’s border with Tunisia.
The FCDO also emphasises that there is a high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals, including from groups and individuals who view the UK and British nationals as targets.
Travellers have been urged to stay aware of their surroundings at all times.
The government adds: “Terrorist attacks have often focused on the Algerian state, but attacks could be indiscriminate and target foreigners.
“There is also a risk that lone actors target foreigners. You should remain vigilant at all times and follow specific advice and direction of the local security authorities.”
The threat from terrorism is higher in some parts of the country, the FCDO says, including:
- the southern border, where the “kidnap risk is concentrated”
- the Libyan and Tunisian borders
- rural, and in particular mountainous, areas in the north and between Tunisia and Algiers
- the Sahara
Officials say: “The Algerian authorities continue to conduct effective counter-terrorism operations to disrupt terrorist activity but there’s a continuing threat of further terrorist attacks.
“The main terrorist threat is from Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other regional Islamist groups including Al Murabitun and Daesh affiliates. There’s also a threat from individuals inspired by Daesh.
“These groups have been active across the country and pose a threat throughout Algeria, including in Algiers and other major cities.”