Don't know what a voucher is [for], but they definitely won't let you on without a return ticket. No exceptions. (Dec '22).

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

I was referring to Hotel Voucher
Here is my previous post in this thread
https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...8-4#post627723

On italian government website is not clear if it's mandatory or not.
https://www.viaggiaresicuri.it/find-country/country/TUN
In the "Altre informazioni" tab it still says:

"Si segnala che al Porto de "La Goulette" si sono verificati episodi di diniego all’ingresso in Tunisia di viaggiatori (italiani e europei) che non erano muniti di voucher alberghiero.[...] In caso di ingresso per via marittima tramite il Porto de "La Goulette", si consiglia di essere muniti di:
- passaporto in corso di validità
- biglietto a/r
- voucher alberghiero
- informazioni puntuali sull’itinerario del viaggio."

Google translate can help with translation, but even for italians the info is not clear.
"Si consiglia" can be translated in "is recommended", not in "is mandatory". That's why I asked for first hand infos

The last report I read from December said the people at Tunis port did ask for the hotel voucher (travellers were in a campervan and persuasive) and as we know, sometimes the police call the lodgings to check they are not faked and people get sent back.
So I think it is still current.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Apropos of places to "Don't Go", I would add Tunisia to the list of places to avoid at this time.

The country is in the midst of some pretty severe economic hardship and some pretty serious political problems.

If you are thinking of going to Tunisia this year, perhaps first read the post I made about my recent experience there, that post is here:

Leaving Tunisia in 2021

It is a sad story about the state the country is currently in, and a warning to others. Prior to 2000, Tunisia was a very pleasant place to visit on a moto.

Michael

Well I dont think anyone going to Tunisia now will have the problems you had during the pandemic and the irrational actions that were taken because of it.

So I see little reason to be gloomy. Africa is always in some kind of trouble.

But. Desertmasters is holding a Tunisia rally in November that sounds interesting even to me who normally stay away from those kind of events.
Since it is NON COMPETITIVE.
For fun!
Imagine that.
https://linktr.ee/desertmaster
https://www.instagram.com/desertmasterofficial/

And in March there was the more traditional Fenix rally
https://www.facebook.com/RallyFenix/

That's true. I know that from personal experience, because I spent a good part of my working life flying humanitarian flights for the Red Cross in the middle of various African wars: Angola, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Libya, and DR Congo, as well as the conflict in Western Sahara in the late 80s / early 90s.

It's precisely because of that personal & professional experience that I know how difficult things can get and how quickly circumstances can change during periods of instability or outright conflict in an African country. Tunisia is unstable right now, and past history suggests that things are going to get worse (more unstable) before they get better.

Remember that Tunisia is unique (for overlanders) because there are only two ways out: the ferry, or crossing into Algeria. The ferry will shut down in a heartbeat if conflict or widespread civil disruption occurs. A sudden need to make a forced, unplanned exit into Algeria (if that is even possible at the time) will be like getting out of the frying pan into the fire.

It's all about risk management, and risk management means taking a prudent look at what could go wrong, and what one's options would be if things do go wrong.

Tunisia is a fascinating place with friendly people - it will still be there in the future to visit once things settle down.

Michael

I'll be heading to Tunis at the beginning of August on a long stopover en route to Egypt. Other than the economic issues which many countries around the world are experiencing over the past few years I haven't heard of any reason why it would be a bad time to visit Tunisia.

On the countrary, we should make more of an effort to visit countries that are experiencing economic plight; they could really use our tourist dollars.

I am leaving for Tunisia in a week and will post my experience afterwards. Having been to Morocco three times now I wanted to see a bit more of Northern Africa.

I have a return ferry ticket with GNV and have booked the first hotel in Tunis. Vehicle insurance is already arranged (green card from my local insurance office). I am planning to get a SIM-card from an official shop in Tunis center.

Total time in Tunisia is a bit over seven days, I will look for the rest of the accommodation when I get there. I am planning something in the lines of Tunis - El Kef - Tozeur - Douz - Tataouine - Djerba - Sousse - Tunis. I will avoid Kasserine and the surrounding mountains, sticking to main roads for that bit.

I would like to enter Parc Jebil but from what I have heard, that could be difficult. I will ride to Cafe La Port Du Desert first and see from there. According to OpenStreetMaps there is a Gendarmerie post just north of the cafe. Otherwise I will ride around it. No harm in trying.

Main goal is to see a couple of cities, ancient relics, maybe some movie sets, do a bit of desert riding (sticking to existing tracks).

A summary of my trip. Entering Tunisia was easy. It started at the port of Genova where I needed to show my return ticket before leaving, plus pay 20 Dinar (possible in EUR too). That was all for the departure.

After arriving it was enough to show a Booking.com screenshot of the hotel in Tunis where I only booked the first night. One of the other passengers was staying at a hotel with family and he didn’t have a reservation, which apparently wasn’t an issue. Didn’t hear or see anything regarding hotel vouchers.

Customs is cumbersome so keep your patience and do as you are told, you need to pass by around five or six people in sequence to get through. There is somebody that will try to help you fill in the blue import form but I got fixer vibes so I did it myself.

I never had to show any form of vehicle insurance (I did have it with me, green card with TN on it). Or travel insurance, or COVID paperwork. Only my pasport and vehicle registration (carte grise).

At a couple of archeological sites my license plate was written down by the tourism police. Plus where I was coming from and where I was going to. Both times I asked the police officer to watch my bike while I roamed around the ruins and they happily helped. At most hotels I was asked to fill out a form with similar questions.

Parc Jebil was fully accessible but I did have a tour guide to ride in front. For the rest of the trip I was able to ride my planned itinerary.

Big bikes are rare here. Only saw them in the capital. Everyone rides those Asian mopeds. Expect many stares and waves as you enter cities with your European/Japanese adventure touring motorcycle, a lot more than Morocco where tourism appears to be normalised.

And a bit of a thumbs down for GNV. Ship was supposed to leave at 18:00 and arrive at 18:30 the next day. Without any communication we arrived at around 00:00 and it took about 45 minutes waiting in the parking deck before we could leave. Not fun with those fumes. Riding into Tunis at night also wasn’t the plan as the travel advice advices not to travel after sunset. Luckily the hotel had a 24-hour reception and was close to the harbor. Plus it was behind a police checkpoint that didn’t let anyone through, so I had great security for my motorcycle.

Highly recommended country to travel to. Many fun things to see and do, wonderful people and easy to navigate.

Hi, great advice, could you tell me the name of the hotel near the harbour sounds a useful place to know, thank you Russ

My own report, from my ten days transiting Tunisia at the end of November, from Algeria going to Genoa.

In short, there were no problems at all - customs guys at the border with DZ were super helpful, particularly in sorting my insurance late in the evening when the shop was shut, pretty efficient and went the extra mile to ensure I was looked after.

Embarking from Carthage on the boat was smooth and pretty easy. Once again guys were all very helpful.

No problems with the police. They didn't stop me at all or even show any interest.

No one wanted to check my hotel reservation or departure ferry ticket from Carthage.

I really don't think anyone has anything to worry about by going there. Crack on, I say.

Ed

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Where Next Barney? Buenos Aires to Lima 2015 | London to Sydney 2015/6 | Armenia, Georgia & the FYR 2022 | Algerian Sahara 2023.

Thank you very much for your report.
It would be interesting for me to know if this is the same experience all tourists coming from Genova are experiencing now.
Nothing changed on the italian goverment website since my last post, but I'm seeing more and more reports and pictures about trips to Tunisia and nobody is reporting anything about vouchers....would like to know if this is now the norm...

Thanks to everyone who will respond with first hand infos...