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I approached Fancyellow reasonably last-minute, having already booked flights and accommodation for Algiers, as the Consulate informed me that I would need to be on an official tour. Having read the reviews online, I contacted Omar about joining a trip and he replied very quickly. Having ascertained our needs, he put together a suggested itinerary of a day's touring in Algiers, a day to see Tipaza and the Royal Mausoleum of Mauritania and a day-trip to Constantine. He also arranged transfers to and from the airport either side of this.
Communication in the lead-up to the trip was consistent and helpful and it was delightful to meet Omar at Algiers airport, as he collected the two of us in person. He drove us to our hotel, giving us details of the following days and facts about Algeria, and assisted us with changing our Euros into Dinar. He then left us to settle into our hotel for the evening.
The next morning, we were met by our first guide, Zaki, an Algiers local who wasted no time in whisking us to the Metro for the start of our tour. It was so helpful having a local person to take us around Algiers, especially in the Casbah, which is a veritable maze of streets, stairs and doors. Zaki was very jolly and knowledgeable, and let us go at our own pace, stopping to take photos and, indeed, stopping us taking photos at the appropriate times when police and army were present. The price of the tour included all refreshments, and Zaki took us to a lovely cafe for morning tea and then to a traditional restaurant for lunch, where we had chakhchoukha, a local dish with an Algerian type of pasta.
In the afternoon, we had been scheduled to visit the Jardin d'Essai, but since we had done this by ourselves the previous afternoon, Zaki amended the tour to take us to the Mus茅e de Beaux Arts. This was a fantastic addition to our tour. It houses both Algerian art works, and a collection of works left behind by the French, following independence. Through the drawings and paintings, and Zaki's interpretations, we felt that we started to understand more the context of modern Algeria and its history, especially in relation to the French occupation.
Our last activity with Zaki was a cable-car trip up to the Martyrs' Memorial Museum. At the museum, Zaki led us around the exhibitions and it was again a real privilege to have a local person鈥檚 view on the material and the history, which it portrays. After a final coffee with Zaki, it was the end of the day and we parted, with an evening restaurant recommendation in hand.
The next day was our trip to Tipaza and the Mausoleum, driven by Omar and with our guide for the day, Bilal. I can honestly say that I have rarely had so much fun with tour guides as we had on that day. Both Bilal and Omar made us feel really at ease and we had a wonderful time.
Tipaza is breathtaking. Although it may not be the largest or best-preserved Roman ruins in Algeria, the situation next to the sea is beautiful. Being one of the smaller ruins, it was not overwhelmed with crowds and we felt that we were able to explore at our leisure. Bilal guided us, giving information along the way, and an impromptu performance in the theatre. Lunch was another lovely local meal. Even as a vegetarian, I was well catered and really enjoyed my spicy chickpea soup.
The Mausoleum, which is not accessible by public transport at all, was out-of-this-world. I felt that I was given a glimpse into something non-Western. Especially in Britain, it feels like education about the ancient world stops with the Greeks and the Roman, maybe the Egyptians, and so it was fascinating to see ancient ruins from another time and another culture, along with the historical facts, narrated by Bilal. We ended the day back at the hotel, again, with another restaurant recommendation.
That evening, we went by ourselves to visit the Notre Dame d'Afrique cathedral. The cable car was broken, so we walked up and back in the evening. Several people expressed concerns for our safety before we went, but we honestly never felt unsafe walking around Algiers. In fact, if you are obviously not from there (I'm tall and blond) people will go out of their way to be helpful and offer directions when you get lost.
The next day continued our amazing trip. Omar had arranged flights to leave Algiers in the morning and come back in the evening. On landing in Constantine, we were met by our driver and then joined by our guide, Wided. Wided is currently researching her PhD in North African ancient monuments, so we could not have had a better guide. Constantine is perched on top of a valley and offers so many sites. From the bridges and the river, to the outstanding Ottoman palace. I find it incredible that the Ottoman palace is not famous worldwide. It is a big complex with excellently preserved paintwork and tiling, and gives a real flavour of Algeria under the Ottoman rule.
Despite the rain, Wided skillfully guided us to lunch, where we enjoyed more enormous helpings of Algerian cuisine. Everywhere we went in Constantine, it felt like people knew Wided and, as a result, we received excellent treatment. The museum after lunch again surpassed all expectations, with a wealth of Ottoman, Punic and Roman artifacts. Being alone in the museum with Wided and the exhibits again felt like a huge privilege and her knowledge of what we were viewing really enhanced the visit. Our final activity of the day was a trip to the Amir Abdelkader Mosque. This could not have been a better way to round off our trip to Algeria. Wided guided us thoughtfully around the men's section, and even introduced us to the Imam, who was so welcoming that he even gave us a personal tour of the women's section and opened up the courtyard for us. The construction and artistic style of the mosque is cavernous and overwhelming, but also intricate and contemplative.
After this and a coffee, Wided made sure that we arrived back at the airport safely.
The next day, with heavy hearts, we were collected at the hotel and driven to the airport.
I cannot recommend Fancyellow tours highly enough. From the skilled, knowledgeable guides, to the planning by Omar, we never felt unsure and things seemed to happen with a magical smoothness – the hallmark of a well-organised tour. I was impressed with the level of autonomy given to the guides by Omar, as it helped each of them tailor the day to our wishes. The price also seemed very reasonable. Everyone was so friendly to us, both guides and Algerians, and I am very excited to return to Algeria in the future to explore the southern regions of this huge and enticing country. And of course, I shall be using Fancyellow!
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While in Constantine we did a walking tour of the town. We spent the entire day with Wahid, our guide, walking around Constantine seeing the beautiful bridges, a museum, a palace, a mosque, stunning views and the town. Wahid was very knowledgeable and spoke perfect English. We walked through a local market and Wahid allowed lots of time for photos. Wahid also recommended a very good Algerian restaurant for lunch. It was a great tour.
Omar also arranged a driver to take us from Constantine to the Ruins of Timgad. We spent the day walking around the ruins and also visited the museum. We could have had a guide accompany us in Timgad, but chose to walk about on our own. The ruins were beautiful and well worth the visit.
Omar arranged a driver to take us from Algiers to the Monastery of Tibhirine. It was a full day trip and the driver was very helpful in getting us into the monastery and to a restaurant after our visit. Getting to the monastery is a beautiful drive through Chrea National Park.
Overall, we are completely satisfied with the tours arranged by Omar and will continue using Fancyellow Tours to see the beautiful sights of Algeria.
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Highly recommended!
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I am extremely satisfied with my experience with Omar. He planned the itinerary for the guided tour, and we visited many interesting sites in Algiers. He made me feel very safe, and he was very knowledgeable. His English is perfect, and I had no problem communicating with him.
I can wholeheartedly recommend Omar to anyone in need of a guide in Algeria. I don't think me visit in the country would have been as memorable as it was, hadn't it been for him.
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Now we have a family connection in Algiers and both of us felt so welcome with your vibrant warmth personality. Will surely return to Algeria in the near future to see much more and also the dessert trip to gaze at the stars. Wassalam and may all your dreams come through. InshaaAllah and terima kasih!
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We are two friends who visited the Casbah in Algiers in May 2018, with Zach, a tour guide from the Fancyellow agency.
We were very pleased with the service, Zack was very nice and knowledgeable.
We definitely recommend using this company!
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We were lucky to have the personal service of Omar during our full stay, and it is clear that Omar likes travel and meeting people. You feel welcome, safe and "part of the Algerian family" when you are in his company. Omar goes the extra mile to make your stay as pleasant and rewarding as possible. We fully recommend Omar and his team when travelling in Algeria. We already look to get back to Algeria. Thomas, Copenhagen
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Slightly more expensive than we were expecting to find, but it's a fair price and there's value in not having to worry about all the travel arrangements or being aware safety concerns (though as mentioned we did find Algeria very safe overall). That said, if you're on a tight budget, it wouldn't be difficult to replicate what we saw on your own. (The main issue is knowing what to see, since there is so little tourist information available, especially in English.) If you're not super-independent and/or don't have time to worry about the logistics of traveling around the city or country, Omar is absolutely a gem and offers a fantastic, personalized service.
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They were so kind and organised.
Super
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Reaching out via my high school french and google translate, I got an answer back in perfect English assuring me that the entire team at Fancyellow spoke English. That's another plus. In most places unless you speak French or Arabic it's going to be hard to organize things. Omar took that issue away from me. I was very specific on what I wanted to do in 5 days in Algeria and Omar organized everything including guides, hotels and even meals where necessary…and all for a very reasonable sum. Even his visa support was exemplary…I don't think it's every day a British national asks for a visa letter for an application to the Algerian embassy in Kuwait!
I would highly recommend this agency. Omar genuinely seems to care about his clients' experience, and if you're fortunate enough to meet him and hear how he came to be in the travel industry, it's quite a story. Omar himself is a gentleman with a huge personality, hospitable to a fault, and a joy to talk to. Highly recommend
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I travelled with my wife to Algeria, and we only had a few days to spend in Algiers and the Sahara desert. I tried in vain to contact travel services in Algeria — almost none of them would even respond to me, and the 2-3 firms that did respond replied "sorry, we can't help you".
Omar offers a full-day tour of Algiers that covers everything, that would be almost impossible to visit on your own, for a reasonable price. In addition, he arranged an English guide for the 4-5 hours we had in Oran between flights. Before Omar, I could only find one possible guide that would have charge $200 for a 4-hour tour — twice as much as the tour that Omar arranged. The Oran guide was a local with excellent command of English, and showed us the highlights of his city.
Unfortunately, I had not contacted Omar and his firm prior to booking services in the Saharan oasis town of Timimoun. What a difference! I booked through a Timimoun Hotel, only in French via emails, and when we arrived at the hotel it was evident that they weren't really prepared for us. No English spoken (only French), and they did not even explain what charges for the hotel room would be, for the meals, for the Saharan desert excursion. They had no room for us in the hotel, but transferred us to a sister hotel. The next day, we had a room in the regular complex, but without asking they upgraded us to a deluxe suite that was twice as expensive. We found out the bill for their services only as we were leaving Timimoun.
This was in sharp contrast to Omar's firm, that explained the cost of all services in advance. In addition, we booked 4 transfers with Omar, and one could literally set one's watch with his punctuality.
One really important item! Algeria has an official exchange rate, and a "parallel" exchange rate on the street that is 30-40% better for Western currencies. If one books and pays in advance for services in Algeria, one pays the official exchange rate. However, it may be possible to negotiate a dinar rate for some hotels through Omar's firm, and pay on arrival, allowing for substantial savings. So, before one books hotels online for Algeria, it behooves one to check with Omar's firm first.
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We lost on piece of luggage in Algiers and Omar helped us to recover it.
He wrote a good invitation letter that helped us to get the visas
He organised a city tour for us.
He picked us up at the airport. He waited there for us for over two hours when our flight was delayed and we had a delay getting through the passport control.
He picked our friend up at the airport too.
In summary – guaranteed value
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Omar has a warm personality who is a great ambassador for Algeria, a very welcoming country.
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The trip ran very smoothly and Omagh was excellent in providing coffee and quality meal breaks.
Costings were very reasonable and Omagh flexible as to itineraries and can adapt to meet individual needs and interests.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first trip to Algeria with Fancyellow
David
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My time in Algeria was highlighted by having Omar as guide. He is the owner of the company and knows his country well. I kept on changing the itinerary and he always accommodated my requests with a smile. When I travel I like to cram in as much as I can in to every day. This was no problem for Fancyellow and I feel I got the maximum experience out of the time I spent in this fascinating country.
If you want to visit Algeria, look no further than Omar and Fancyellow. You won鈥檛 be disappointed