Tunisia

Holidays by Destination Africa Tunisia Places to Go and Things to Do 

Resorts

Beaches from Hammamet south to Djerba are safe because sandy and gently shelving. The resorts offer gentle activities like tourist train outings, plus cheap golf. (A round is around £20-£25 and you can hire clubs, buggy etc, though some might grumble about quality.) Sailing is another option with boats including catamarans available to rent, with and without cabins and crew. There are also other water sports, riding and tennis.

Port El Kantaoui A purpose-built resort in the architectural style of Sidi Bou Said, including replica souk, plus marina and hotels across a range of categories. Offering a choice of eating places and boutiques. Tourist diversions include for example a glass bottomed boat designed to look like a yellow submarine

Sousse A working town with a port in the centre, a medina, a ninth century Ribat fortress, a kasbah built round a ninth century watch tower, plus hotels along the beach just outside the centre. The Museum of Kalaout el Koubba covers life in the medina. A ‘noddy' train operates along the seafront in summer linking Port el Kantaoui with Sousse and there is a go-karting track called the Hergla Park.

Djerba Connected to the mainland by a cuaseway, often used for overnights en route to the desert, Houmt Souk is a pleasant centre with villagey feel. The hotels are independent of this however.

Monastir The nearest resort to the main charter airport, with a Ribat (used in films like Life of Brian) and eighth century Great Mosque plus modern marina. The main hotels are around six miles out of town in Skanes.

Hammamet The largest resort, visited since the ‘60s, built around a 15th century fortress overlooking a medina of narrow streets. There are also modern shopping streets, Fabiland offers children's rides and amusements, and north of the resort is the Flipper water park.

Yasmine Hammamet Currently considered the most upmarket resort, seven miles south of the main resort features four and five-star hotels and facilities including a marina, golf course, casino, and Blue Ice ice rink. Also part of the development are the Carthage Land theme park - the first theme park in Africa - and next to it a £120m new medina designed to show Islamic architecture from all over the world, with cobbled and narrow streets, goldsmiths, tinsmiths, restaurants and more.

Mahdia Little featured by tour operators, a peninsula south of the other resorts with weaving and fishing industries (sardines the speciality), once a fortress city, now sleepier.

Kerkennah Another little featured option, reached by ferry from Sfax, a little developed island with a few villages.

Tabarka On the northern coast, used by German and Italian holidaymakers in the summer months but much less frequented for the rest of the year

Roman Remains

Dougga the country's largest and a UNESCO World Heritage site, on a hillside above olive groves, reachable from Tunis by day trip. The Greek style theatre is the most complete in the country but there is also a Capitol, temples, a public latrine and more.
Bulla Regia was known for its opulent lifestyle, in villas partly constructed underground against the summer heat. If offers some fine mosaics.
El Jem is known for its spectacular amphitheatre, considered possibly the most impressive Roman monument remaining in Africa and second only to the Coliseum in Rome in terms of preservation.
Carthage now a plush residential area, was the birthplace of Hannibal (of the elephants) though little remains but the name. The best preserved section is the Antoine Baths and items of interest have been gathered into the National Museum of Carthage. A tour with an official guide will help get the best out the site, especially early morning or late afternoon when cooler and quieter.
Sbeitla is beyond Kairouan on the road from Sousse, relatively unexplored by tourists, just east of Kasserine.
Thuburbo Majus south west of Tunis (approx 60km), has a series of Roman bath complexes among other ruins.

There are fine items, particularly mosaics, in a number of museums, notably in Tunis, plus in Sousse and El Jem.

The Desert

Most of southern Tunisia is in the Sahara. Although all Tunisia feels markedly different from Europe, this is clearest in the oasis towns, with adobe houses, sheep herded to market, large stacks of dates, men in head scarves and warm woollen cloaks. Outings by camel are a good option, and it can be fun for children to roll down the dunes. Note however that from the main resorts most so-called desert safaris only reach the very fringes of this region.
Chott El Jerid a 150-mile long, 13-mile wide salt lake featured in Star Wars. When temperatures rise over 350ºc you see mirages. Also used for land yachting.
Douz Promotes itself as the gateway to the Sahara, best visited on Thursday when the market draws locals from miles around.
Tozeur the largest town on the Chott El Jerid. The oasis covers 2,500 acres of palm trees, irrigated by 200 natural springs. The landscape around provided several locations for the film, The English Patient.
Gabes is a seaside oasis, still with cobbled market, probably a Phoenician trading centre.
Gafsa offers twin Roman pools, still in use by bathers.
Chebika is a mountain oasis, a remote group with Tamerza and Mides.
South from Matmata is Tataouine and fortified citadels called Ksars, made up of interlocking cells known as Ghorfas, with small doors on to a main courtyard. Once used to store grain, some Ksars were six storeys high, forming a powerful defensive structure.

Green Tunisia

Surprisingly, a part of the country in the north is both green and forested. The coast is rocky, but there are suitable coves for families, and diving is particularly popular.
Tabarka is topped by a 16th century Italian castle.
Sidi Bou Said not far from Tunis is a delightfully pretty village of domes, arched doors balconies and grills in blue set against white walls. It is however full of busloads of tourists.

Other Places of Interest

Matmata offers underground houses dating from the 4th century BC, some still in use and most famously used as a location in Star Wars.
Kairouan One of Muslims' holy cities (fourth after Mecca) and charming with its white walls, blue doors and sandy lanes. It is dominated by the Great Mosque, the only building left when the rest were destroyed in 1057 though there are now reputed another 49.
Tunis Given that it's home to 20% of the one million population, it's surprisingly relaxed, though it's not recommended as a place for families to stay but better to visit. It offers at its heart a 13th century medina which is a UNESCO-listed site, centring on the Zitouna Mosque, the biggest in Tunisia, only seen from the courtyard as inside is off limits to non Muslims. The walled town around is well preserved, divided into different souks. Tourism is the main source of income with lots of souvenir shops, but you can get away from the tourist thoroughfares. Elsewhere is a mix of influences with shiny new office blocks in the business district, and the French colonial influence visible on Avenue Habib Bourguiba with pavement cafes, boutiques, church, theatre and trees.
Gammarth by the beach is home to large residential villas and embassies in a wealthy outer suburb, 20 minutes from the airport and from the town centre.
The Bardo is probably the country's most significant museum, with probably the world's most extensive collection of mosaics, from Carthaginian onwards. A zoo to the north of Tunis features animals from the desert.
Cap Bon especially good for bird watching with migrating spoonbills, wagtails, warblers, birds of prey, storks and more, according to season. The area also includes Nabeul with its camel market, vineyards and orchards, and Kerkouane, one of the best preserved Punic towns.