Algeria and Tunisia: Impressions of Cycling Through North Africa

Nick Coe was the Content Creator on the 2025 Road of Empires Cycling Adventure.

Standing on the deck of the ferry in the Mediterranean with the sun rising over the southern horizon, we watched as the faint outline of land come into focus—Algeria. It suddenly felt real: we were about to cycle across North Africa.

Coming from the comforts of Spain, we weren’t hesitant about Algeria and Tunisia—just curious. With so little known about cycle touring in these North African countries, it was exciting to generate our own impressions, free from outside expectations. What we discovered left a deep impression. For everyone on the Road of Empires tour, the standout themes were: the kindness of local people, stunning roads, unexpected landscapes and an overwhelming feeling of ‘authentic’ travel.

Visually, one of the first differences we noticed was the absence of women in public spaces—at least compared to Spain. One of our cyclists, Trish, brought this up with Luna, our local guide at the Tipaza Ruins, and her response offered unexpected insight, “When we (women) are socializing, we’re typically doing it inside with each other—where it’s cooler! And the men are outside drinking coffee. That’s why you see them. It’s not the way Western media portrays our lives. Most of the doctors, engineers, and people with master’s degrees are women. The men are doing the trade jobs. And it’s in our constitution that we receive equal pay.”

When we crossed into Tunisia, even though it is also a Muslim country, we felt a noticeable cultural shift. Tunisia is far more accustomed to tourism than Algeria. As another rider,Wayne, noted, “On our first day in Tunisia, people saw us as normal—part of the economy. In Algeria, they were surprised to see us.”

Another unexpected highlight? Language. While Arabic and French are the dominant languages in both Algeria and Tunisia, we were surprised by how many locals spoke English and were eager to use it. In fact, we had more English-language interaction in North Africa than in Sicily. One Tunisian hotel host made a point of chatting with every table at dinner, clearly seizing the opportunity to practice his English.

The cultural and historical richness of Algeria and Tunisia was another standout. We toured Roman ruins that felt untouched by time and almost entirely unvisited by mass tourism. True to the tour’s name—Road of Empires—we explored ancient cities like Tipaza and Djemila. Canadian rider Bruce shared his thoughts on Djemila, “It really surprised me. An incredible site all to ourselves. And it was so lovely to see local families picnicking there.” It struck us repeatedly – if these ruins were in Europe, they’d be teeming with tourists. Here, we had them nearly to ourselves.

Reflecting back on our time in North Africa, the roads themselves stand out as a major highlight. Tour Leader Andreas summed it up well, “The vast majority of the days in Algeria were beautiful—it was shocking. Every day stood out from the others.” Algeria surprised us with its variety. From dramatic cliffs to rolling green hills, the scenery was far from the arid desert some of us had imagined. I think Wayne said it best, “I thought it would be like Egypt—dry, with green only near the Nile. But Algeria was lush everywhere.” Bruce agreed, “I was definitely surprised by the quality of the roads in Algeria. That with the combination of little traffic in the country. Also the wildflowers in Tunisia.”

Algeria and Tunisia offered not only stunning landscapes and roads but also a chance to engage with local people and cultures in an incredibly genuine way. These memories have become some of the most meaningful from our Road of Empires journey.

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