... Both of us fed up decided to book a last minute week’s break in Tunisia. We booked on the Thursday flew on theSaturday. We have never visited Africa or Tunisia before but decided the weather in Feb would be warmer than here. We were looking forward to visiting somewhere different.
We booked ... Read review
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Advantages: warm weather Disadvantages: busy in high season
...have never visited Africa or Tunisia before but decided the weather in Feb would be warmer than here. We were looking forward to visiting somewhere different.
We booked At the Barceló hotel recently name change from Miramar we usually camp. Hammamet has several hotels offering BB half board or full board.
Getting there
________
We flew from Stanstead to Monastir flight about 3 hours.
Monastir ... ...be lots of people in Tunisia offering to do things for you such as carry cases and they would expect paying. This is very true. We found them quite insistent. In the towns people offering to show us places and we were going to look at an archaeological site one day and some school kids latched onto us offering to show us the best places to go. It could have got annoying.
Haggling yes unless things are a fixed price it is ok to haggle. ... more
Hammamet
My husband and I were both recovering from illnesses, well mine is surgery on my foot. Both of us fed up decided to book a last minute week’s break in Tunisia. We booked on the Thursday flew on theSaturday. We have never visited Africa or Tunisia before but decided the weather in Feb would be warmer than here. We were looking forward to visiting somewhere different. We booked At the Barceló hotel recently name change from Miramar we usually camp. Hammamet has several hotels offering BB half board or full board.
Getting there ______
We flew from Stanstead to Monastir flight about 3 hours. Monastir is about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Hammamet by the bus that picked us up. There is going to be an airport at Hammamet soon work is in progress. Tunis airport is a bit further in the opposite direction can’t be further than 2 hours away. Most other large UK airports fly there too.
If you book package you will have a coach to the resort. Taxis are available at the airport. Entering Hammamet we first drop some holiday makers at Hammamet Yassmine this on the coast on the outskirts of Hammamet about ½ hour from centre. Our hotel little bit nearer the centre.
Money ____
We took travellers cheques and a few English pounds with us as you are not allowed to bring or take out of the country more than 2 Tunisian Dinar. We found that the price of items quite good a bit cheaper than the UK. Going out one lunch time for a meal we found a tourist restaurant charging UK prices but went to a local café where we ate much cheaper.
I heard people say that there would be lots of people in Tunisia offering to do things for you such as carry cases and they would expect paying. This is very true. We found them quite insistent. In the towns people offering to show us places and we were going to look at an archaeological site one day and some school kids latched onto us offering to show us the best places to go. It could have got annoying.
Haggling yes unless things are a fixed price it is ok to haggle. Things like carpets, pottery can be bought much cheaper than the price first asked.
Beach ___
The beach was glorious a long wide stretch of golden sands, not too busy in February but I imagine very busy in peak times. There are several cafes along the beach with rush parasols for shading customers. We saw a lonely camel and his owner walking along the beach offering rides, the equivalent to our sea side donkeys. The sea a glorious blue. In season I imagine many happy hours could be spent on the beach in the sun. There is a lot of water sports available to partake in equipment can be hired locally. We were not visiting at the best time to sun worship but it was pleasant to stroll along the beach.
The beach looked clean the hotels cleaning up their beach spaces, but this was very early season so I not sure how it would be in the height of summer.
Buildings ______
Entering Hammamet we first drop some holiday makers at Hammamet Yassmine this on the coast on the outskirts of Hammamet about ½ hour from centre. Our hotel little bit nearer the centre. A lot of the hotels , ours included had beach access As we enter the town of Hammamet there are a few more hotels a few bars , some small shops . Something that was striking were the doors Tunisian doors are interesting obviously pride taken in them attractive with designs on them Hammamet’s houses and buildings usually painted white with blue windows, door surrounds and shutters. . By our standards Hammamet did not look like a wealthy town. Houses were small, hotels not high rise blocks.
Fort ____
There is an old stone built fort next to the Medina 4 solid square walls cost a couple of Dinars to go in. walking on the walls of the fort gives great views out to sea .
International Cultural Center ___________
This is a villa built in the 1920s by an Italian prince ,.In the 20’s and 30’s this was a popular place for the bohemian intellectuals and writers to visit , visited by Churchill, Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, King Edward and Mrs Simpson Hemmingway and Churchill amongst others. Music festivals and art exhibitions are now held here. It has a large garden to wander around too. I imagine at one time these gardens magnificent but althougf they still hold interesting plants really does need some maintenance. This is before the summer season though so maybe it’s just the end of the winter before the spring summer garden work is done. This was an interesting walk around and the atitheastre looks a good place to hear music in season.
We looked at the art work in the villa and had a drink sat on the porch overlooking sea. A pleasant place to stop.
Shopping.
The shops in Hammamet were all small, tiny indeed selling cheap tourist goods. Some small supermarkets (I use that word loosely) selling bread pasta soaps everyday goods. The medina is a place you will probably head for. The medina the ancient part of the town is a few narrow streets with small shops closely packed in together. Shops selling shoes selling clothes, jewellery. Leather goods, shops selling herbs Saffron is grown locally a lot cheaper than buying in England. Shops selling tourist tat. You will get shop keepers asking you in and offering you things to buy, to come and look. Definably haggle here
There are many archaeological sites surrounding Hammamet. The excavations of the Roman settlement of Pupput. On the edge of Hammamet we did not visit this one though.
Getting around in Hammamet .
_____ There are many taxis in this town all a cheap price ask price before you take one though. There is also the tourist Noddy train running from the Medina as far as Yassmine Hammamet. A train station in the centre trains going to other Tunisian towns.
Driving _____
We hired a car for the week we were there so we could explore further. However we did not go to the desert area, there are trips arranged usually stopping over for one or two nights. We did not go to Tunis to visit Carthage might have done if it had been raining local to us, Tunis was 2 hours or more away the time we decided it was not worth the time when there was enough to do and see locally that we had never seen before and might possibly not get the option to see again.
For my husband driving in Tunisia was an interesting experience. There was a dual carriage by pass around Hammamet we had to drive on this for our hotel and we saw several cars going the wrong way along the roads cyclists on the wrong carriage way, traffic was all over and everywhere . So expect the unexpected eyes needed everywhere other road users doing the most bizarre things. We saw a lot of Donkeys and carts as it was time for harvest and crop collection from the fields. Donkey carts were fully laden. From our observations I would judge that a lot of Tunisians did not own a car as we a lot of local people and children walking back and from work and school. There were police stopping and checking cars eveywhere . we were slightly nervous but we assumed as we noted hire cars were not being stopped that they were only stopping locals . Asking our holiday rep I found I was correct.
Food _______
We had half board so did not really buy much food out of our hotel.
We did buy bread and crisps. Tinned sardines, some cheese from a local shop for picnic lunches. We also ate at a café on the edge of Hammamet. Here we had a brick. ! A brick is a pastry pie ours had an egg in the centre and some meat too, it was interesting. Yes we liked our bricks. There are several different types of bricks all with egg but with other fillings with the egg cheese or tuna amongst them.
The food at the hotel was very good. It was not as spicy as I thought it might be. We had quite a lot of fish, being as we were beside the sea that might have been expected. A lot of salads were offered to some at breakfast time. Some of the meals were traditional Tunisian foods.
Tunisia is a Muslim country so although we could buy alcohol and it was available at the restaurant it was not especially cheap.
People ______ We found the Tunisians helpful and friendly. Being a Muslim country the ladies were clothed appropriately, an age difference under 30’s wearing European style trousers and tops the older ladies more traditional dress heads covered. So although at the beach its fine to expose your legs ladies it might be better not to in the towns.
Although we enjoyed our holiday it was good for us I did not need to do much walking after my opp. A good place to escape to for a rest somewhere different. I doubt we will revisit as . The coast line is getting increasingly built up. Most of the other land locally is agricultural and not really accessible for lots of walking. Also because it’s dry in the summer and because of agriculture not so many wild areas to explore. For a bird watcher the sea watching is fairly good.
Advantages: So different to anywhere I have ever been Disadvantages: Death by yellow cabs!
...of you who don't know, Tunisia is in the north of Africa, and according to the travel guide, is the most visiter-friendly of the north African countries. The southern-most third of the country is covered with the Sahara Desert.
We stayed in the area of Hammamet, which is at the top of the country, near the capital, Tunis. We drove through Tunis on one of our excursions, it was very crowded with roads and lots of half-completed houses and factories, ... ...of the countryside, I thought Tunisia was a very poor counrty. It is poor, but you also have a few quite rich areas, which I noticed on this trip as we got nearer to Sidi Bou Said. The houses were bigger and nicer, and there were boats in the harbours.
Another must is camel-riding! It's very bumpy and you will not be able to walk properly the next day! It's really good fun for whatever age you are. Again, we booked this through our rep, so we were ...
ajaybie 29.03.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tunisia - Holiday (Tunisia)
Advantages: Potential for year round good weather, pleasant resort Disadvantages: Depends where you stay
The reason I chose Tunisia for a holiday was that I was thinking about taking more adventurous holidays but wanted to test the water first and try somewhere a little bit different from my usual destinations - the Greek Islands, Canaries, Spain, etc. I wanted to see how I would fare in a country with customs quite different to those I was used to. Tunisia seemed to fit the bill - a Muslim country on a continent I had never visited before and one I ... ...Flights from the Uk to Tunisia last about 4 hours on average and we flew from Newcastle to Monastir with My Travel - the food was OK, the service fine - not much more to add (and besides I'm reviewing Tunisia here!) I do have to say, though, that there was a thrilling moment as we approched Monastir and the plane turned and swooped down for landing - the view of the beach and the sea was gorgeous - shimmering blue ocean and golden beaches - perfect!
...
fizzytom 15.01.2004 (22.08.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tunisia - Holiday (Tunisia)
Advantages: Good value, nice hotel Disadvantages: lack of facilities
...are no copyright laws in Tunisia so they are free to sell copied Lacoste t shirts for example at about £8! In the evening there is the daily entertainment. This consisted of various activities. And while bless them they do try, there is only so long you can watch someone walk over broken glass. They have their version of a disco. there are a few bars in the hotel but the seating tends to be taken over very early by the Germans. We went into one of ... ...plenty of seating. We thought wed struck gold until we realised it was because the drinks in there were not part of the all inclusive! Around the side of the hotel is a mini golf course but do not wear sandals or your feet will get bitten!. There are also some horses in a stable around the back There are also some tennis courts which you can use but these have to be booked 24hrs in advance. If you are into golf you can use the free golf shuttle which ...
millie45 18.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tunisia - Holiday (Tunisia)
Advantages: The Culture Disadvantages: Being hassled to buy and the weather
...luxurious looking hotel……in Tunisia. Now Tunisia was not somewhere id ever thought about going. I didn’t really know much about the country, and to be honest had no real wish to go there, but the hotel looked fantastic, as did the beaches, and it was a good price. We booked for a week in mid-November and couldn’t wait.
Arriving
We had a trouble free journey, with the flight departing on time and even landing a little early. We had booked into the ... ...Culture
One thing about Tunisia I was looking forward to was experiencing the culture. Having felt a bit reluctant to leave our hotel – one, because we were so far from the nearest town, and two, for fear of being harassed – we decided to try one of the trips organised by the reps. We picked ‘A Tale of Three Cities’, which takes in Kairouan, El Jem and Monastir.
A very early pick up and we were on our way. First stop Kairouan, the 4th holiest city ...
sarah20 22.02.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tunisia - Holiday (Tunisia)
Advantages: everything you could wish for in a holiday Disadvantages: nothing - the bad things are just a state of mind
...DO NOT go to Tunisia if:
You are typically English and expect everything to be done “just so”, this is not the place for you!
However, if you have an open mind, a willingness to learn about a new culture and like adventures, enjoy sightseeing as well as sunbathing, then this country will definitely appeal to you.
Having never visited the country before I did not know what to expect, and in our beginnings of a war with Iraq, being in an Islamic ... ...climate most of the year, Tunisia offers the traveler a wealth of sights to see and a way of life that is fascinating to the more adventurous open minded Brit. Some of the tourists there absolutely hated it. Me? I absolutely LOVED it !
The way the people are so friendly, they’ll offer you mint tea, and a lovely lovely smile. The way the market traders barter with you on the market (Nabeul) “cheaper than Asda, darlin!” “You cheeky bugger” will have ...
hogwash 03.04.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tunisia - Holiday (Tunisia)
Value for Money
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around
Family Friendly
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Advantages: Not that good anymore Disadvantages: terrible service
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Airtours
Advantages: Clean and laid back Disadvantages: Leery foreigners in the medina
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When we had decided on Tunisia it was a matter of selecting what we wanted from our holiday because Tunisia has alot to offer many different people.
There are the busy resorts of Hammamet and Souse or even Sfax. There are the historical sites to see such as El Jem, Dougga or Carthage and there is even the option of going for a short city break to Tunis. You can venture into southern tunisia and even the Sahara if you fancy but we decided we wanted to have a nice relaxing time in ...
Advantages: Good food and it's a bit different Disadvantages: Constant hassle from the locals
The first time I went to Tunisia was when I was sent there as a holiday rep and it took a bit of getting used to. Tunisia was one of the first package holiday places along with Spain in the early seventies but you wouldn't know it. It doesn't seem to have moved on any since then. That's kind of what I find appealing about it.
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When I started work I got lots of tips from holidaymakers about the dos and don'ts of the country and I learned to recognise a few of the scams as well. Women get a lot of hassle from the local men and it's worth remembering to cover up when going out and not to walk around unaccompanied, although I must admit this doesn't really deter them. It can be difficult not to let this level ...
