General: Tunisia

We booked a week in Tunisia because the hotels are luxurious for a cheap price - I won't go on about the hotel - that's a separate review - we were not impressed.
I'll advise you on the general bits we found about tunisia

Weather
We went in September and were told our weather was not at all typical, which judging by the weather here and in France I can believe. We had very bad thundery rain storms 3 days out of the 7. It was very warm (32-35 degrees C) the rest of the time, although it goes cooler in the evening, so best to take a cardi perhaps. Most hotels have air conditioning through the summer months.

Money
Tunisian Dinas (TD) can only be bought once you're in the country. We took English notes, hotels also deal in dollars, Euros, travellers cheques for a small extra charge. We got £100 changed at the airport while we were waiting for the luggage to be unloaded, and they don't charge commission. I think I'm right in saying they don't charge commission at the hotels either. We had a very good exchange rate of £1 = 2.45 TD, normally it's about £1=2TD.
Water was about £1 per 1.5 litre bottle at the bar, coke 80p. I wouldn't say it was very cheap, nor would I say it was very dear.

Tip - obviously check with your hotel first but we only changed about £150 into TD, we charged drinks etc to our room and paid with our Amex (they also accept Visa) at the end of the holiday because although you pay a small charge to your bank you get a good exchange rate.
Also, you don't want to change more money into TD than you're going to spend because you lose a third approx when you change it back. And as you can't take any out of the country with you it has to get wasted on rubbish merchandise at the airport.

Food
We had paid for half board, and didn't eat any Tunisian cusine when venturing into their towns, as we were ill pretty much all week and didn't want to risk our stomachs getting any worse. they servce 'brique' pastry filled with egg plus sometimes tuna, mash, herbs etc, crepes, couscous with stewed meat and veg.

Our buffet was international food, breads, potatoes, salad, meat, fruit etc and we found that even though we went Thomsons Platinum 4 star plus the standard of food was fairly poor. You've got to remember this is Africa and they're probably giving you the best they have, but it's not what we're used to - so I strongly advise you to take some multi vitamins with a probiotic, immodium (just in case) and rehydration sachets. You can always bring them back if you don't need them.

alcohol was widely available at the hotel, although imported drinks can be very expensive - eg £8 for a small Baileys. Check first! Wines were fine, Beers OK.

People
The people were so so kind and friendly - really went out of their way to look after the tourists. the staff in the hotel speak fluent French, which is their second language after Arabic, good English, German, Spanish and some Italian. French and English were their main.
I was very sick and had to go into a small village to leave an excursion and being a young, unmarried blonde girl I was a little scared, but they were so kind to me - a smile goes a long way.

I got a few kissy noises made after me (even though I was with my fiance) by a group of young lads, but no bottom pinching which I've heard happens to European women. I really didn't feel threatened, and even when passing a shop and they try to drag you in they accepted 'NO thanks' better than they did in Eygpt.
You will get an amount of hassle if you show the slightest bit of interest in any product, or even if you show no interest, but it's their way of life, and they always listened to a firm No thank you.
If you aren't comfortable bartering the cities have fixed price shops where you can just pay for your items like you would here - although you'll pay a bit more.

Transport
Be careful if walking anywhere, the cars don't stop and the crossings seem to be used for target practice!!
We used yellow taxis several times and they were fairly cheap. Make sure you agree a price first though as they often don't switch on the metre. They don't have seat belts and they use they horns a lot, but we did OK.
We went on a 20 minute journey from Skanes (near Monastir) to Sousse on the public train and 1st class cost us about 85p for both of us. Even first class was basic, but the carriage was empty and served its purpose. You should buy your ticket first if you can.
Our scariest journey was in a 'group taxi' which is like a minibus/van. Again, it served its purpose, and was very very cheap (about £4 for both of us to travel 80km). they don't drive by us or seem to have any safety awareness, but we made it fine.

Think I've covered most of the basics. We wouldn't go to Tunisia ever again, but it was an experience. If you go just read up on it first so you know what to expect, and take some medicines to be on the safe side - most people have an upset stomach whilst there.

Enjoy!!