planning trip to Tunisia

[barbaraH]

Hi, I am now in the second year of having my own Toyota Landcruiser 80 series, having explored Morocco and Croatia, I am now planning a 2-3 week trip to Tunisia, any tips or suggestions about where to go/stay would be much appreciated, we are hoping to get a ferry from Sicily to Tunis to start with.

[MovingHouse]

We spent 3 1/2 weeks in Dec-Jan 2011.

Places we enjoyed:

Desert: for a gentle introduction to the edges of Sahara the area around Douz and Ksar Ghilane are nice. The latter has some nice low dunes heading towards a fort which is 3km away. The Douz - Ksar Ghilane via the dunes is good.

For the "Star Wars" experience: the are west of Tozeur (Chott el-jarrid is nice), Chenni, Medenine and Tatatouine/ksar Ouled Solatane

Culture: Sidibou Said near Tunis

Camping was in general as not easy to find compared to Morocco: even the good one Douz has apparently closed. Bush camping away from desert proper wasn't possible.

Some practical info is in the "For overlanders" section of our website below.

[barbaraH]

thanks for this, I'll certainly look at the website

[Haakonbj]

All the rest of North Africa is way better..

[ilesmark]

Agree with #2 and (partly) with #4, as you have already been around Morocco. I found Tunisia a lovely, gentle introduction to overlanding as it was the first country proper I'd reached at the start of my trip.

If you do go, I would add in some of the places I saw too eg Bizerte, Ichkeul nature reserve, Cap Serrat to Sidi El Mechrig (along a coastal piste) Tabarka, Le Kef (don't bother with Hamman Mellegue), Jugurtha’s Table, the Lezard Rouge and the Ksour region.

Libya has better desert scenery, but your guess is as good as mine about going there at the moment - others on the HUBB will doubtless have a clearer idea.

[ralphhardwick]

Barbara

We travelled there in October 2010, on an organised tour, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

There is a full write up here:Tunisia October 2010
and a full album of loads of pictures here: Tunisia 2010.

We didn't see too much of Tunisian culture but the desert scenery is fabulous, without too much political worry.


The Star Wars sites are only worth it if you're a fan and Ksar Ghilane is spoilt by quad bike rides and tat shops but is still a worthwhile camping stop for southern exploration. The fort mentioned by MovingHouse is a pleasant stop. I have added a video of the climb to the top of the fort hill on youtube along with a few other clips from Tunisia. I'm on a works computer that won't allow access to youtube for me to give you the link but if you do a search for Overland Rovers Tunisia on there they should come up. [edit: videos here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ralphhardwick/videos]

We found the WWII sites at Mareth very interesting but that's because my Dad fought there. If your into WWII history it's worth a visit. The journey across from Ksar Ghilane to Matmata/Mareth takes in some pleasant mountain pistes and roads with some nice scenery.

A visit to the Mosque in Kairouan is definatly worth it and a wander through the narrow streets gives some idea of Tunisian life (in a big city anyway).


Another high point for us was the collusium in El Jem. We only stopped fo an hour but I could have spent most of the day there.


I have promised to dig out my tracklog and waypoints for someone else recently so, once find them, I shall try and post them on here.

Initially Tunisia was a second best for us as our Morocco trip went horribly wrong. However we are both so glad that we went even though we are returning to Morocco in March.

Although it wouldn't be high on my list to go again (apart from en route to Libya) I think you'll love it.

Cheers
Ralph

[Mandarax]

If you're into history, you might want to consider going to Thuburbo Majus and/or Dougga.

Another site worth seeing is Jugurtha Tableland (Table de Jugurtha). There is a staircase to get up to the plateau. A man is living there and gives a nice tour of the caves and the history of the mountain and the namesake.

Considering the camping in Douz: the campsite Desert Club Douz is open (as of January 2012).

Follow the link in my signature to see pictures from several trips to Tunisia.

Regards, Hans

[barbaraH]

thanks, i'll look into your suggestions, your comments are much appreciated,

barbaraH