Self-Launched Timeless Algeria: Algiers to the M'Zab Valley in 8 Days

Land at Houari Boumediene Airport, take the airport bus or a shared taxi into the centre (~£2-5) and check into a budget hotel or hostel near the Grande Poste. In the late afternoon walk the colonial-era French Quarter around Rue Didouche Mourad, then climb to the Martyrs' Memorial (Maqam Echahid) for sunset views over the bay — it's free and easy to reach by taxi or the city's cable car/tram network. Eat cheap at a local grill: merguez, chorba and bread for around £6-8.

🚌Airport bus or shared taxi to centre (~£2-5); walking and local taxi

🛏Budget hotel/hostel near Grande Poste, Algiers (~£25)

• →Walk the colonial French Quarter
• →Martyrs' Memorial (Maqam Echahid) at sunset
• →Evening stroll along the waterfront

Spend the full day in the UNESCO-listed Casbah. Hire a licensed local guide at the entrance or through your hotel (roughly £20-30 for a half day, split between a couple of travellers) — the maze of alleys is genuinely disorienting and some areas are sensitive to photograph. See Ottoman palaces, the Ketchaoua Mosque and the Great Mosque of Algiers, then stop for mint tea in a hole-in-the-wall café (£1). In the afternoon visit the Bardo Museum (small entry fee, ~£1-2) and browse the silver jewellery and ceramics stalls. Dinner of rechta or couscous ~£7.

🚌Walking; occasional short taxi (~£1-2)

🛏Budget hotel/hostel near Grande Poste, Algiers (~£25)

• →Guided walk through the Casbah (UNESCO)
• →Ketchaoua Mosque & Great Mosque of Algiers
• →Bardo Museum
• →Mint tea in a local café
• →Silver jewellery and ceramics shopping

Take a louage (shared long-distance taxi) or local bus from Algiers to Tipasa, about 70km west (~£2-3 each way, 1.5 hrs). The archaeological park pairs a Roman theatre, basilicas, necropolis and seaside baths right on the Mediterranean — entry is a couple of pounds. Combine it with the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania (Tomb of Juba II) a few km inland; a shared taxi between the two costs a pound or two. Bring water and picnic supplies from Algiers. Return to Algiers in the late afternoon for a cheap dinner (~£7).

🚌Louage Algiers–Tipasa return (~£5); local taxi to Royal Mausoleum (~£3)

🛏Budget hotel/hostel near Grande Poste, Algiers (~£25)

• →Tipasa Roman theatre, basilicas, necropolis and seaside baths
• →Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania
• →Mediterranean coastal walk

Morning domestic flight Algiers–Constantine (Air Algérie or Tassili, ~£35-50 booked ahead; the overnight train is cheaper at ~£10-15 but eats a day). Check into a simple hotel near the centre. In the afternoon walk to the Sidi M'Cid Bridge for the famous gorge views, visit the Emir Abdelkader Mosque and the Palace of Ahmed Bey (small entry fees). Finish wandering the old medina and sampling Constantine's sweets — makroud and dziriette — with coffee for under £5.

🚌Domestic flight Algiers–Constantine (~£40); walking and local taxi

🛏Budget hotel in central Constantine (~£25)

• →Sidi M'Cid Bridge and gorge viewpoints
• →Emir Abdelkader Mosque
• →Palace of Ahmed Bey
• →Medina walk and local sweets tasting

Timgad is ~120km southeast of Constantine. Take a louage to Batna (~£3-4, 1.5 hrs) then another shared taxi to Timgad village (~£2). The UNESCO Roman colony is vast and astonishingly intact: the triumphal arch of Trajan, theatre, library, baths and the grid of streets laid out for legionary veterans — entry around £2-3. Arrange with your driver for a return time. Back in Constantine by evening; dinner ~£6. If you'd rather stay out, there are basic guesthouses in Batna for ~£15-20.

🚌Louage Constantine–Batna–Timgad return (~£12)

🛏Budget hotel in central Constantine (~£25)

• →Timgad Roman ruins (UNESCO)
• →Arch of Trajan, theatre, library and baths
• →Walk the original Roman street grid

Get to Ghardaïa — realistically a domestic flight from Constantine via Algiers (~£50-70 and the fastest option), or a long louage/bus combination of 10+ hours if you're on a strict budget. Check into a guesthouse in Ghardaïa or a small hotel in one of the valley towns (~£22-28). Late afternoon, take a shared taxi to Mélika or Beni Isguen for a first look at the Mozabite hill towns — tiered mudbrick houses spiralling around a mosque minaret. Note Beni Isguen is a closed community: you must be accompanied by a local guide (arrange through your guesthouse, ~£10-15) and photography is restricted.

🚌Domestic flight Constantine–Ghardaïa via Algiers (~£60); shared taxi to valley towns (~£3)

🛏Guesthouse/small hotel Ghardaïa or M'Zab Valley (~£25)

• →Mélika and Beni Isguen walking tour with local guide
• →Mozabite architecture and market browsing

A full day exploring the five fortified M'Zab towns. Wander the covered souks of Ghardaïa (the market day rotates between towns — ask locally), walk out into the palm groves along the Oued M'Zab irrigation channels, and see the white-domed mudbrick mosques. A local guide will explain Mozabite law, family structure and the ingenious urban design far better than any book — budget £15-20 for a half-day. Optional evening: tea ceremony with a local family, often arrangeable via your guesthouse for £5-10. Lunch of chakhchoukha or grilled lamb ~£6.

🚌Shared taxis between valley towns (~£4 total)

🛏Guesthouse/small hotel Ghardaïa or M'Zab Valley (~£25)

• →Covered souks of Ghardaïa
• →Palm grove and irrigation channel walk
• →White-domed mudbrick mosques
• →Guided talk on Mozabite culture and urban design
• →Optional local family tea ceremony

Breakfast at the guesthouse, then a final morning in the market before heading to Ghardaïa airport for your flight back to Algiers (~£50-70) and onward home — allow a buffer in Algiers if you're connecting internationally the same day. Keen to go deeper? Extensions to Timimoun (min ~3 days) or Tamanrasset (min ~4 days) both require flights via Algiers and can be booked directly with Air Algérie or a local agency.

🚌Ghardaïa–Algiers domestic flight (~£60)

🛏—

• →Morning market browse
• →Optional Sahara extension planning (Timimoun or Tamanrasset)