UTILIS TRAVEL – DMC & Tour Opérateur Algérie — Local services in Ghardaia

I love to travel to unique destinations and Algeria has to be one of the most amazing countries in the world, it has honestly become one of my favorites. From a rich history, diverse cultures and landscape Algeria is a must visit destination for every traveler as it has everything and more. I highly recommend the use of a guide, and highly recommend booking with UTILIS travel agency, which is run by Seddik. A truly knowledgeable, trustworthy, and genuine guide whole will do his utmost to ensure you have a great time learning and discovering Algeria. Seddik was super helpful in planning and arranging the visa as well as providing assistance in navigating the money exchange and SIM card -- doing this really helped in making my trip less stressful. He was super helpful in planning and organizing my trips to other destinations like Constantine, Oran, and Tipaza. Him and his wife Iman were so kind and shared so much about Algerian culture especially the culture of the M’zaab valley, where they are originally from. I found planning with this agency super convenient as the travel itineraries could be adjusted to add other destinations that one may want to visit. The visa was also delivered in a timely manner. Further, going with UTILIS company you are able to truly enjoy the M’zaab valley and learn about this spectacularly unique part of Algeria. UTILIS Inn is also a very nice accommodation simple and has everything one would need for their stay. My favorite part about my tour to Algeria has to be the Algerian Sahara. I booked this agency to visit Djanet, everything was arranged and well organized with the partner company. The only thing I want to mention is to make sure everything is confirmed with domestic flights as I did have a bit of an issue with that, however it all worked out for the better. Also make sure travelers to Algeria have their itineraries printed out to take with them. This is something I highly recommend doing as at the entrance into Algeria's airport the Algerian police will take your passport and return it to you with a stamp and will ask you for where you will be staying. Lastly, Algeria is a very interesting country. People are very kind and curious as there are not too many foreign tourists, which I do hope changes; I really think that the visa on arrival will be changing this as it will be easier to visit. UTILIS really makes their best effort to ensure travelers have an amazing time and see the best of Algeria. Thank you Seddik and Iman for an amazing time in Algeria, I truly hope to visit again,...

I travel a lot and frequently hire guides in order to learn as much as possible about the countries I explore. Seddik at Utilis travel is without question the best guide I’ve ever had and his level of service is above and beyond anything I have experienced before. Let me give you some examples of how Seddik went above and beyond:

He offered to come greet me at the airport when I landed in Algiers. Mind you, Seddik is from the M’Zab Valley, a full eight hour drive from Algiers. I didn’t want to make him do that but what a nice gesture

Seddik prepared an official looking form to show when I entered the country and was available on call in case anyone needed to contact him to verify that he would be my guide.

Seddik brought and changed money for me at a favorable rate to ensure that I would not get fake currency from money changers on the street

When, at the last minute, we changed our itinerary to fly out on the 3rd morning in Ghardaia (instead of late afternoon), Seddik completely changed our tour to include everything he had planned in a shorter period of time. It took a lot of last minute work I am sure, but he made sure we packed as much into each day as possible. He even took us to the Air Algerie office and helped us change our flights.

Seddik bought a ticket so he could accompany us to Algiers when we left. He invited us to his home for a traditional Algerian lunch (which we ended up not having time to do):

Probably the most amazing thing. When Seddik realized that we would have a 10-hour all day layover in Algiers, he had his driver travel to Algiers through the night just so he could pick us up at the airport the next morning, and be at our disposal for the entire day. Free of charge. Then the driver returned to Ghardaia that night after dropping off at the airport.

In addition to living in a beautiful and amazing part of Algeria, Seddik goes out of his way to make sure you have an excellent stay in Ghardaia. He is an honest and hard working businessman that does right by his clients and will take very good care of you if you decide to visit this part of the world (which you should). He made sure that we saw everything the M’Zab valley had to offer. Thank...

I had an amazing travel experience in Algeria organised by Seddik at Utilis travel. I visited Algiers, Ghardaia and Timimoun. From the moment I was planning my trip to Algeria to the moment I left the country, Seddik supported me with the on arrival Visa, flight bookings/transport in Algeria, Hotels and guided tour(s). I rarely had to ask him for something and instead he seemed to know my preferences from our initial discussions and made sure that I felt comfortable. Seddik has set high standards for himself and his partners (hotels and tour guides) and I never felt disappointed at any of the services offered by him and his travel company.

In Ghardaia, Seddik was either with me or he had arranged one of his business partners to be with me. Although I lost a day due to flight cancellation from Algiers, Seddik made sure I could cover all the attractions. I visited the villages of Ghardaia, Beni Isguen, Palm groves and had nice evening meal by the sand dunes on the outskirts of the city. Seddik made all these possible by extending his work hours and I can only admire his work ethics. I learned a lot from the guided tours and it provided me a good insight to the Mozabite culture, family life and generally life in the M'Zab valley. He speaks good English and so did his partners. This was a great relief as I had very limited knowledge of the local language(s).

In Timimoun I had a tour of the town and surrounding oases organised through one of his partners, Hotel Djenane Malek. They stay at the Hotel was very pleasant and they arranged for a tour guide who picked me from the airport and accompanied me throughout the stay. The guide, Mr. Mohammed was also very knowledgeable and spoke good English.

I can really recommend Utilis travel to anyone who is planning their...