Money, cards and ATMs in Algeria

The declaration threshold works both ways

• More than 5,000 euros, or the equivalent, must be declared at your point of entry and again at your point of exit.
• A missing or false declaration is an offence that can lead to criminal prosecution. The exit half is the one people forget.

Do not carry dinars across the border

• Only travellers with residency status may bring Algerian banknotes in or out, and even then only up to 10,000 dinars.
• For a visitor that means: change what you need inside the country, and spend it before you leave.

Everyday

• Do not carry large amounts of money or obvious valuables. The FCDO lists pickpocketing, robbery and petty theft as risks in the larger cities.
• Avoid areas you do not know, especially after dark in the suburbs.

A sense of scale

• The airport's own tariffs are a useful yardstick: 100 DA for half an hour of parking, 2,000 DA for a full day, 1,000 DA for overstaying the free ten minutes at the drop-off.

Cards and language

• English is not widely spoken. Arabic or French will get further, and that includes conversations about payment, receipts and disputes.