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The steaming time from the UK to the Algerian coast is short. A direct sailing to Algiers runs around twelve days. Almost nobody experiences twelve days, because the sea leg is bracketed by things that take longer: waiting for a shared container to fill, a transhipment call at a Mediterranean hub, clearance at the far end, and the inland road run if your address is not near the port. Four to six weeks door to door is the honest planning figure for most households.
Understanding which of those stages applies to your shipment is what lets you compare two quotes properly. A cheap number with a long consolidation window and a transhipment is not really competing with a dearer one on a direct string, and only one of them will hold if you have a fixed date to hit.
Household volume is measured in cubic metres, and the useful capacity of a box is always less than its internal volume because of packing losses, awkward shapes and the need to brace a load for sea. The figures below are working capacities that movers plan against, not geometric maximums.
Roughly 28 to 33 cubic metres of usable space in practice. Suits a two or three bedroom home without a great deal of bulky furniture, or a smaller home plus a car in some configurations.
This is the most common full container size on the Algeria lane, and it is the point at which paying for a whole box starts to beat paying per cubic metre.
Roughly 58 to 67 cubic metres usable. A four bedroom household with garden and garage contents, or a large home plus a vehicle.
Twice the space does not cost twice as much, so if you are near the top of a 20ft it is always worth having both priced. The difference is often smaller than people assume.
Your goods travel with other households and you pay for the space you occupy. Sensible below roughly fifteen cubic metres, where a full box would be mostly air.
The trade is the fixed date. Covered properly on the part load page, including how to estimate your own volume.
Algeria has a long Mediterranean coastline and a spread of working ports. Household traffic concentrates on three, but the others come into play when a schedule is awkward or a delivery address sits closer to one of them. Codes below are UN location codes, which is what appears on your bill of lading.
People pick a port off a map, and it is the wrong instinct. Sailing frequency matters more than geography. A container leaving the UK five days earlier on a direct string into a slightly further port routinely arrives before one waiting for a transhipment into the closer one. The road leg at the far end is real money, but so is a fortnight sitting in a UK warehouse waiting for a service.
The right method is to price both routings with the inland delivery included and pick on total time and total cost. That is a per shipment answer, which is why this page does not give you a rule.
Give us the UK collection town, the Algerian delivery address and a rough volume in cubic metres. We come back with one certified company that runs this lane, and with a view on container size, port and routing. No charge, and no obligation to book.
This is where two quotes stop being comparable. A port to port rate ends when the container is discharged. Terminal handling at the Algerian end, any local taxes and the onward transport are then the consignee's problem, which means yours. A delivered service carries through to your door and prices those in.
Neither is wrong. Port to port can suit someone with family on the ground and a van, and it genuinely costs less on paper. It just is not the cheaper option unless you have actually priced the parts it leaves out, and at an Algerian terminal those are not costs you want to discover on the day.
Ask for the quote to state which it is, and what remains payable at the far end. Any firm that works this lane will answer that in a line.
Free time at the terminal is limited. Once it runs out, storage accrues daily, and on this route the usual reason a container overstays is not the shipping line, it is the paperwork or the owner.
If you are clearing under a Certificate of Change of Residence you have to attend the customs procedure in person. A box that lands while you are still in the UK waits, at cost. Plan your flight around the vessel. The full rules are on the Algeria customs page.
About twelve days at sea on a direct sailing to Algiers, and four to six weeks door to door for most households. The gap is consolidation, transhipment where the routing needs it, clearance and the inland run. Ask for the sailing schedule rather than a single average figure.
A 20ft holds roughly 28 to 33 usable cubic metres and covers most two or three bedroom homes. A 40ft holds roughly 58 to 67 and suits a four bedroom household. If you are near the top of a 20ft, have both priced, because the step up costs a good deal less than double.
Algiers for the centre, Oran for the west, Annaba for the east, with Skikda, Djen Djen, Bejaia and others as alternates. The decision turns on the sailing schedule as much as the map, so price the realistic options with the inland delivery included rather than choosing the nearest one.
On a port to port rate, terminal handling, any local taxes and all onward transport. On a delivered service, those are in the price. Get the quote to say which it is in writing, because it is the single largest difference between two numbers that look similar.
This guide is maintained by Darren Benjamin, who founded International Removals Companies in 2010 and has over 20 years in the logistics industry. Since 2013 he has also been Secretary and Manager of a UK removal company, a role verifiable on Companies House.
Port codes, sailing patterns and container capacities checked August 2026. Capacities are working planning figures used by movers, not geometric internal volumes. Next review August 2027. Schedules and terminal charges change, so confirm both with the matched mover before booking. Read our Google reviews.
Collection town, Algerian delivery address, rough volume and your dates. One vetted company checks the container size, the port, the routing and what is payable where, then comes back to you.
Send your move detailsWe match removal enquiries with one vetted, FIDI FAIM and BAR Overseas certified international moving company from the AGM Group network, at no charge. We are not a removal company.
Capacities and timings shown are planning guidance. Container size, sailings, terminal charges, customs and insurance are confirmed by the matched mover before booking.