3-Day Private Tour: Oran & Tlemcen, Algeria with Local Guide

Two cities, three days, one private guide who knows both

A 3-day private tour of Oran and Tlemcen in western Algeria with airport pickup, hotel drop-off, local guide, lunch and entrance tickets included. You spend day one in Oran seeing Ottoman mosques, Spanish forts and the Bey's palace; day two traveling to Tlemcen to walk through the Caves of Beni Add and the ruins of Mansourah; day three returning to Oran. The guide speaks English, French or Arabic.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Arrival and rest in Oran

• Arrive at Oran airport
• Welcome and debriefing
• Transfer to hotel
• Rest and free time

Day 2: Explore Oran city highlights

• Pick up at 9 am
• Visit Place d'Armes
• See APC d'Oran building
• Tour Oran Opera House
• Explore RosalCazar fortress
• Visit Bey Palace
• See Mohamed El Kebir Mosque
• Walk La Promenade de l'Étang garden
• Enter old city through main vault
• Visit Turkish Baths
• Tour Saint Louis Church
• Visit Mausoleum of Sidi El Houari
• Lunch at fish restaurant with city view
• Explore Fort Santa Cruz
• Visit Notre Dame du Salut chapel
• Tour Oran Arena
• See Résidence Yves Saint Laurent
• Evening walk and optional traditional dinner

Day 3: Tlemcen cultural and natural sites

• Travel from Oran to Tlemcen
• Visit Caves of Beni Add
• See El Ourit Waterfalls
• Lunch in Tlemcen city
• Visit Minaret of El Mansourah ruins
• Tour Castle of El Mechouar
• Walk in Lalla Setti park
• Return to Oran

The experience

You arrive in Oran by plane and the guide meets you at the airport, then drops you at your hotel to rest. The next morning pickup happens at 9 am, and the day moves through the old city on foot: Place d'Armes with its 1898 stele to Emir Abdelkader, the town hall and regional theatre, the Opera House built in 1908 in Italian Renaissance style, and Rosalcazar, a 16th-century Spanish fortress overlooking the port. You'll see the Bey's palace with its Moorish rooms and gardens, the mosque built by Mohamed El Kebir between 1792 and 1796, and the Turkish baths with their Ottoman architecture. Lunch comes at a fish restaurant positioned high enough to see the whole city spread below.

The afternoon takes you to Fort Santa Cruz, rebuilt in 1738 on the heights of the Aidour massif, and if energy remains, to the Oran Arena (one of Spain's oldest, built centuries ago) and the Yves Saint Laurent residence. The day ends with a walk and dinner of your choice: either traditional food or back to the hotel. On day two, you drive from Oran to Tlemcen in the morning, stopping first at the Caves of Beni Add, which stretch 700 meters underground with stalactites and stalagmites carved from limestone 57 meters deep. The Oued El-Ourit waterfall comes next, a natural site of seven cascades in a pine-covered mountainous area. After lunch, you visit the minaret and ruins of Mansourah, a 13th-century military camp that became a city with a mosque, palace and hospital, now standing as archaeological remains. The day closes at the Mechouar, a Zianid royal palace complex from the Middle Ages showing Moorish and Andalusian architecture, then a walk through Lalla Setti park to watch the sunset over the city before heading back to Oran.

Private transportation, hotel pickup and drop-off, airport transfers, lunch each day, entrance tickets to sites and a local guide in your chosen language (English, French or Arabic) are all included. The guide shapes the pace and can adjust stops based on your energy and interests, though the three-day structure itself is fixed.

What’s included

• Private transportation throughout the three days.
• airport pickup and hotel drop-off.
• a local guide speaking English, French or Arabic.
• lunch on days one and two.
• entrance tickets to all sites visited.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day

AgesAdult (6 and older) · Under 6: can't be booked

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, French and Arabic

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 8 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 11 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problems

Operated by Algeria resfeber

Is this one for you?Three days is long enough to move between two cities and linger at major sites without rushing, but short enough to fit into a longer Algeria trip. If you have only a day or two, look at the single-city Oran tour instead. If you want to add the Sahara or the coast, a longer itinerary would serve you better.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, French and Arabic.

What happens on my first day after I land in Oran?

The guide meets you at the airport and drives you to your hotel for rest and free time. The actual tour starts the next morning at 9 am with a full day in Oran's old city.

How far is Tlemcen from Oran, and do we travel there by car?

Tlemcen is reached by car from Oran in the morning of day two. The route depends on weather and timing: the guide chooses between the country roads or the highway.

What are the Caves of Beni Add like to walk through?

The Caves of Beni Add stretch 700 meters underground with a depth reaching 57 meters. They contain stalactites and stalagmites formed in limestone, and are located about 17 kilometers from Tlemcen in the heights of Ain Fezza.

What is the Mechouar and why is it important?

The Mechouar is a royal Zianid palace complex built in the Middle Ages in the heart of Tlemcen. It is an example of Moorish and Andalusian art, showing the Zianid architectural style from that period.

Does the tour include meals?

Lunch is included each day: on day one at a fish restaurant with city views, and on day two after visiting Mansourah. Dinner on day one is your choice: traditional food or return to the hotel. Drinks are not included.