Tunisia, a place long favoured by British tourists abroad much like Egypt. Flights here aren't that long at around 4 hours
and it has some nice beaches, good year round weather and is fairly tolerant. Unfortunately in June 2015 there was a large terrorist attack against tourists with
many British dead in the seaside town of Sousse. Since then Tunisia has been less well visited by tourists, especially British. The situation now though is
relatively safe especially considering the others in the region. During our visit to Tunisia we experienced no issues when driving, visiting religious sites or
otherwise exploring the countries many rural spots or towns and cities.
We knew apparently little about Tunisia except for it being a top place for a beach break before we started planning this trip. Even once we had put a plan in
place we did not exactly expect a lot from Tunisia and its many sights. From the moment we started exploring Tunis though we knew we were in for a treat. It
may have been unbearably hot, a bit difficult to find food at first and next too impossible to catch a taxi anywhere but Tunisia had some fantastically preserved
sights likely due to the limited rain and dry climate. But best of all for the most part the sights were very quiet and this made them even more impressive as
you could really enjoy yourself when walking around and viewing them instead of the rushed and overcrowded visits to more popular sights such as Rome and Athens.
Often we had to question if we'd come the right way when approaching the sights due to how quiet and unassuming the entrances were.
Our time in Tunis would be limited to the remainder of the first day after we had landed and transferred from Enfidha airport which was
about an hour to hour an a half drive from Tunis. With our flight landing at around 10am we knew this would give us about half a day here. During this time we hoped
to visit the ruins of Carthage including the Bath of Antoninus, Byrsa Hill and the Carthage Amphitheatre. We had hoped to get a taxi here but really struggled to
catch one as did most of the locals. We ended up walking about half way to the metro station (about 20 minutes) before we finally managed to catch one. In the end
this turned out to be a much better option as the metro trains looks very run down and bad with locals literally hanging off the sides of them and covered in
graffiti. Our luck continued this day, we had been hoping to walk along the coast line to Sidi Bou Said however the sea front boardwalk had been closed. As such
we were forced back up to the busy and hot main road and walking along this way would've been much longer but we managed to catch a local taxi again here.
We hadn't really expected much of Tunis but visiting the ruins and also the town of Sidi Bou Said had led to a good day made even better by how peaceful each place
had been. We were not pressured at any of the main historical sights and we were also lucky to find a place for a refreshing drink in the picturesque town of Sidi
Bou Said. While in Tunis we also hit up the bazaar also known as the Souks of Tunis in the early evening while looking for food. However most places either didn't
exist of were closed so instead we ended up eating at a nice place towards the theatre. Thankfully our hotel set in the old British Embassy building was conveniently
located in the centre of this all.
Today would face manage challenges. Firstly we had to pick up the car rental and having not wanted
to be driving in downtown Tunis we opted for a vehicle collection at Tunis Carthage airport. Getting here though meant
another taxi with luggage this time from our hotel. While we didn't face quite as many problems there were road closures
and all sorts which made getting a pickup a pain. After we made it to the airport we were directed to outside the airport
for what was most possibly the dodgiest rental car pickup we've ever had with the car being delivered to us and checked
outside of the airports security perimeter while partially blocking the service entrance. In fact several times the car
had to be moved due to trucks turning up. This also meant that we had no time to sort driving position, mirrors or anything
else. Instead just jumping in and driving off the lot into central Tunis. As we drove off we noticed we were also exiting the
supposed entrance way and several cars had to wait for us. We just hoped the drop off would be easier, but we knew that
technically they didn't even have an office at Enfidha. All of this chaos probably also led to the confusion that saw us
take a wrong direction into downtown traffic and have to navigate an extremely chaotic roundabout and flyover to perform a U
turn and get back onto the correct route. Aside from heavy and sometimes chaotic traffic though we faced little other problems
and were soon outside of Tunis.
Once outside Tunis the roads and driving was much more manageable. Thankfully given today would be our longest drive day (9 hours - 550km) as we
headed from North to South Tunisia towards the town of Tozeur. On route we'd have no choice but to head through some sections
of Tunisia against our UK governments foreign office advise for any travel (red). However there was not much other real choice
for a viable route and we knew it'd be max only 30 minutes that we'd be in the area and planned to have plenty of fuel and no
stops here. During the drive we saw the scenery change from more lush valleys to dry and flat desert plains. It was interesting
to see the difference between the fertile northern coastal areas and the inner drier sections. There were lots of roadside warnings
of camels and we did start to see them as we approached Tozeur.
Our main stop on this long drive day would be the roman settlement of Dougga which is a Unesco heritage site. Pulling up to it we
weren't sure we were in the right place and almost turned around. But we were in fact in the right place and for a large part of
our time here we were the only tourists to be visiting the site. This was both hard to believe for such a large and spectacular
site and allowed us to thoroughly enjoy our visit. From climbing the amphitheatre stairs and viewing the surroundings to walking
among the towering ancient pillars to entering courtyards via tunnels, doorways and avenues. We even found a local shop and sat
out with an ice lolly and cold drink under the shade of one of the few trees. I'm not sure what we had expected of Dougga, but
the best comparison is like all of Rome's main archaeological sights in one place.
Due to our time spent visiting, a late start due to the car rental car not being on site when we picked it up and the general
distance we had to travel it was around dusk by the time we arrived in Tozeur and this made finding the hotel very difficult.
Even the police and locals couldn't help us that much. In the end it turned out we did have it in the right location but the road
down to it was very narrow and the place we booked was in actual fact just a local's house without any good signage and with parking
effectively just being an on the edge of town bunch of flattened sand. Thankfully they were able to suggest a local place which was
great for food and although the hotel had some ongoing construction we were able to enjoy their swimming pool to cool off before
we hit the sack for the night.
Today would be a more chilled day for us as we had a much shorter drive. We were even able to
enjoy the included breakfast at the hotel in Tozeur before we departed. Our first stop was the Star Wars filming location
of Mos Espa. On route to this sight we left Tozeur and drove into the desert seeing many groups of free roaming camels and
sand dunes. We had brought along a Star Wars stormtrooper figurine to allow us to have some fun talking perspective shots
at the filming locations throughout Tunisia. The desert dunes here would be the first place we'd try taking these.
Mos Espa itself was a cool town but it was unprotected and this did mean that locals did harass the few tourists that
turned up a little bit hoping you'd want to buy stuff or take a guide. We did in the end make a small purchase of a fridge
magnet here, but not because of any pressure and only as we were finally left alone before we left the location. All being
said this is a cool place to come and visit.
From here we made our way to our hotel in the middle of the desert in Douz. To get here we had to drive across the Chott El
Djerid which is a huge expanse of salt flats. With little in the way of rest areas or viewpoints here we simply pulled over
and stopped wherever we could to enjoy the vast expanses of salt. This day might have been one of our favourite in Tunisia.
Our hotel was grand but clearly in a state of semi disrepair. Still there was a pool here for us to cool off and a bar
stocked with alcohol which would be our first in Tunisia. We also met a British couple here who were here for their son's
wedding to a Tunisian woman. We spent some time talking to them about the nearby sights that we had visited and their plans.
It was a nice end to a more relaxed day.
After a selection of good deserts for breakfast we set out on our next day of sightseeing. Our day today would take us to Djerba. Our planned stops were several more Star Wars filming locations surrounding Tatouine. Conveniently most of these sights were about half way on our journey which nicely broke up our journey. Specifically we stopped at Ksar Hadada, Ksar Beni Barka and Ksar Ouled Soltane. These sights ranged from well maintained tourist sights to ruins on the hill side to hotels which had taken over the sites. All of the sites though were worth a visit even if some had been a little difficult to find. This is especially true if you're into Star Wars. The drive itself was also pleasant with it being mostly rural Tunisia and the many Camels and other wildlife around.
After a few days of travelling Djerba was a welcome break from the heat, bustle and driving.
We arrived in the afternoon here and had the rest of this day and a full day the next to unwind here. We could have
spent time overnight in the dessert with Camels and Bedouins but we'd already done this in several places in the world
and it really is rarely as impressive as it sounds and quiet often is instead more of a tourist trap. By not doing this
we could spend some more time on the beaches here.
Upon arrival in Djerba the road outside the hotel was flooded. We tried to drive up into the hotel but were directed by
the surprised hotel staff that we would need to park opposite and then present ourselves. In actual fact this actually
appeared to just be the hotel security staff being shocked that we had driven ourselves to the resort. With the hotel
being mainly occupied by British, French and German tourists it seemed the de facto way to arrive was via tourist bus and
that the staff simply couldn't fathom any guest would arrive by car. Once the confusion was cleared up the security staff
were eager to ask all about where we'd been visiting and happy to see that we'd been truly exploring Tunisia instead of
just coming to the beach. Upon check-in there was also several tourists waiting in the heat of the day for a transfer to
the airport who seemed equally perplexed that we had had the luxury of driving ourselves to the hotel.
Even at this popular well known British hotel though there were actually very few British tourists and the staff often didn't
actually speak good English and some only knew French. Which goes to show the continued impact on the British tourism to Tunisia.
The beach here though was very nice and we enjoyed our time here which was also all inclusive. That being said the room we had
was a bit close to the noisy areas and while alcoholic drinks were all inclusive it really was better to stick to a rum and
coke or beer as the wine, prosecco and cocktails left a lot to be desired. One thing that was really nice about Djerba though
was that due to it being an island off the coast it had a cooling sea breeze which really made it so much more bearable
than the rest of Tunisia in terms of the heat.
El Jem. As if Tunisia could offer any more than it already had. A well maintained Roman Colosseum
in Africa. While nothing is easy in Tunisia and finding somewhere suitable to park here certainly wasn't an easy feat
this site is staggering to behold and rightly so was probably the most busiest archaeological site we visited in Tunisia.
With that being said though there was no queue, no waiting and we often had the area we were in to ourselves and there
was no need to rush our visit at all. The site itself is also surrounded by little shops and cafes, none of which were
busy at all.
From El Jem we continued our day's journey towards Sousse stopping at the nearby Monastir. Monastir is a pretty sea side
town with the Mausoleum of Habib Bourguiba and the defensive fort of Ribat. Specifically at Ribat you can climb up the
tower for views over the sea and we also people watched the locals on the beach here. Monastir as a whole had a chilled
out, safe and local vibe to it.
Sousse was the one place that just felt a lot more run down in Tunisia. Even the nice hotel we
stayed in was needing repair and had been left half unfinished with the rooms overlooking the derelict part. It was clear
here more than anywhere else that this bustling tourist location had not recovered since 2015. When walking around you could
still see bullet holes and entirely abandoned hotels with boarded up and smashed windows. The police riot vans didn't look
much better either. It was also packed with locals and migrants from neighbouring countries with fights breaking out along
the beachfront boardwalks along with semi dodgy bars. We ate our dinner at the hotel here due to the lack of many good
options outside of it. It was also clear that many guests simply spent their time at the hotels pool rather than crossing
the road to the beach. In fact the whole feel of Sousse was opposite from the hotel where fancy cars were parked in its oval
secure lot. With all this being said though we didn't have a lot of time here and our afternoon and evening was still well
spent at the Medina and Souk.
We visited Kairouan on route from Sousse to Hammamet. Kairouan is the most religious city in Tunisia. It was a pretty town
with lots of places you could easily get lost in its maze of old streets and medinas. It also had many well looked after cats
and pretty doorways though. The main reason we came here though was to see the great mosque of Kairouan. The mosque was very
impressive, but there wasn't a lot to see here at the sight itself especially without a tour guide and even finding the parking
was a bit of a challenge. Out of all the sights we visited in Tunisia Kairouan felt the least impressive compared to the likes
of El Jem, Monastir or the many other places we visited here. Walking around near midday in nearly 50°C real feel was also tough.
From Kairouan we made our last journey to the seaside town of Hammamet. We had high hopes of another Djerba to end our trip.
I'm not sure if it was just because we were checking in on a Sunday on not, but it was a nightmare to find parking at the hotel
and we simply in the end just got very lucky after a while of being stressed out by the situation and any clear direction. The
hotel was also extremely busy on the beach front and we only got a sun lounger out of a bit of luck, waiting, acting with speed
and dominance. You could have sat out in the sun here but it was around 43°C by this point and it was the mid afternoon strong
sun still. We've seen it in a couple of locations before that due to decreased demand and because of where the hotel is located
that they accept day visitors to pay a small fee and be allowed to come and use the facilities. It felt very much like this was
the case here at our hotel the Royal Azur Thalassa especially given how much more chilled it was for dinner and evening drinks.
Speaking of which dinner was included in the room cost but the staff here were very confused by our wish to have a bottle of wine
with dinner and not just one glass. In the end our waiter had to get management approval to simply just leave the bottle on our
table. This just made the whole experience a bit strange. We didn't actually mind paying for drinks or this service which is
common the world over.
All in this part of our Tunisia trip, probably at one point the most touristed part was our least favourite and while I wouldn't
have changed up our trip as it's good to see all the areas of how a country truly is, it is the one part I wouldn't come back too.
For a spontaneous trip to a single country in what was a busy and awkward year for us Tunisia proved to be a hidden gem and we couldn't have wished for a better country or better weather, albeit a bit hot. From Roman ruins, salt flats, deserts, religious sites and beaches Tunisia had a little bit of something for everyone. For us, a perfect mix of chill out and seeing sights.
