This twelve days safari in Tunisia includes highlights like Visit the largest medina in North Africa in Tunis, Discover tiny stores overflowing with goods, ancient mosques and bustling squares, Explore the incredible remains of Dougga, a Roman city with dozens of standing columns, an impressive amphitheatre and a mausoleum built 2200 years ago, Go underground into the subterranean homes of Matmata, where a central sunken courtyard leads to cave-like rooms carved from sandstone, Trek through the Sahara Desert with Berber guides, then settle in at a desert camp to watch the sunset over the sea of dunes, See salt lakes, the palm-fringed respite of desert oases, rocky coastlines lapped by azure water.
Day One: Arrival in Tunis
Upon your arrival in Tunis, the Capital in Tunisia, the guide from Afrikan Wildlife Safaris will welcome you and then transfer you to the hotel for the overnight. Depending on the time of your arrival, you may go for the city tour. The city has two main sections – the 19th-century ville nouvelle grid which was created by French colonialists and the eight-century medina where all alleyways lead to the Great Mosque. You can explore both sides given enough time.
Day Two: Tunis
Today, you will go to the seaside town of Sidi Bou Said. Walk the cobbled streets lined with cafes and local artisanal shops, and maybe try the famous local bomboloni (fried doughnut with sugar). Continue to the ninth-century World Heritage-listed Carthage to see monuments like the vast Antonine baths, the Roman amphitheatre and the Punic ports. Then visit the National Bardo Museum, second only to the Egyptian museum of Cairo in terms of the breadth and depth of its collections. Have lunch in Sidi Bou Said, then make tracks for the Tunis Medina, the largest medina in North Africa. Walk with your guide, passing shops overflowing with goods and visiting the Grand Souq des Chechias, where Tunisia’s iconic blood-red hats are made. In the evening, return to Sidi dinner and overnight at your hotel.
Day Three: Kairouan
This morning, head for Dougga, one of the best-preserved Roman cities in Africa. Stop en route in Testour, where the architecture tells the story of the Muslim and Jewish refugees who arrived in the 16th–17th centuries. Explore Dougga with your guide. Once capital of both the Phoenician and Roman states, Dougga boasts many imposing monuments, including a second-century theatre, the Capitoline Temple, and the 2200-year-old Nubian Mausoleum of Ateban. Visit both the monuments. Then later drive to Kairouan, arriving in the evening.
Day Four: Tozeur
On this day, you will drive to Kairouan, the fourth holiest site in Islam (after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem). Explore the city with a visit to the ninth-century Great Mosque of Oqba Ibn Nafi, an important example of Islamic architecture. Many of the columns throughout the complex were taken from the ruins of cities like Carthage. On a walk through the serpentine streets of the local medina, pass the souqs and get a tasty sample of makroudh (a traditional local pastry stuffed with dates) and learn about the traditional trade of local women rug making and then later proceed to Tozeur arriving in the evening.
Day Five: Tozeur
After breakfast, go and explore the oasis town of Tozeur, which is lined by extensive palm groves and was historically an important stop on the Bedouin caravan route. Check out the Eden Palm, a museum set in a beautiful building which tracks the history of dates and the uses for the palm tree. Later stroll through the 14th-century medina and admire the architecture and restored brick work. The rest of the day is at leisure. You can go for the optional visit to the Dar Charait Museum, an ethnographic museum depicting scenes of traditional Tunisian life.
Day Six: Douz Sahara
Today, go for the mountains tour surrounding the oases. Check the mountain oasis of Tamerza, along with Mides and Chebika where Star Wars Episode One was filmed. Proceed to Douz travelling across Chott El Jerid, the largest salt lake in the Sahara Desert. Arrive in Douz and meet your camel drivers. Get a brief lesson in desert etiquette then begin your trek into the Sahara. The journey to the camp is on foot, the camels will carry your luggage and assist anyone who is tired. Arrive at the camp just before sunset and enjoy your dinner under the sky.
Day Seven: Douz
After breakfast, go out and experience the dunes of the Sahara. Spend the morning in this incredible landscape before the trek back to Douz. Local Berber guides accompany you during the trek to teach you some secrets of life in the desert. Arrive in Douz at dinner and overnight.
Day Eight: Matmata
Have very early breakfast and head to Matmata, stopping en route in Toujane to visit the ruins of an old Kasbah, a centuries-old olive press and other artefacts. Arrive in Matmata and explore some of the local dwellings, underground houses. The ingenious homes are a joy to explore, though in recent years migration to cities has seen many fall into disrepair. Later proceed and hike through the rocky, mountainous desert. Your accommodation tonight is in a unique cave building.
Day Nine: Mahdia
This morning, proceed to Mahdia, stopping en route at the spectacular Roman amphitheatre of El Jem. This third-century structure resembles Rome’s Colosseum and rises above the surrounding city in impressive fashion. Arrive in seaside Mahdia, a relaxed port town. Given enough time, head out to the 16th-century Ottoman fort or the waterfront cemetery.
Day Ten: Mahdia
After breakfast, head out to explore the artisan village of Moknine. Visit the folk museum to see some of the fine ceramics and jewellery produced here. You can have lunch and then continue to Monastir. In Monastir explore the seafront ribat (fortress), which was originally a defensive fort built to withstand Christian invasions, as well as important centre of Islamic learning. Climb 90 steep steps to the ribat’s watchtower for panoramic views of the city. Return to Mahdia in the afternoon to realax on the beach. Return to Mahdia in the afternoon.
Day Eleven: Tunis
On this day, you will drive back to Tunis. On the way, make some stops for sightseeing like the city of Nabeul, famous for its ceramic workshops. Continue to the small fishing town of Kelibia, where the streets are busy with workshops and castle fort. The the World Heritage-listed Kerkouane, the ruins of a Phoenician town where artefacts have been uncovered from over 2300 years ago. The last stop is the mountain of Haouaria, which sits in a beautiful landscape overlooking Cape Bon. Arrive in Tunisia in the evening for dinner and overnight.
Day Twelve: Fly Out
After your breakfast, the guide will take you to the airport to catch your flight back home.
Trip Includes
Tunis – Medina Visit
Tunis – Carthage Visit
Sidi Bou Said
Tunis – Bardo Museum
Testour – Village & Great Mosque
Dougga – World Heritage Site Visit
Le Kef – Village Walk
Kairouan – Great Mosque Of Oqba Ibn Nafi
Kairouan – Walking Tour
Kairouan – Mosque Of The Barber
Tozeur – Medina
Tozeur – Palm Plantation Tour
Tozeur – Mountain Oasis Tour
Douz – El Jerid Salt Lake
Douz -Sahara Trekking
Matmata – Trekking
Troglodyte Visit
El Jem – Roman Theatre Visit
Mahdia -Medina
Mahdia – Great Mosque Visit
Mahdia -Monastir And Moknine Excursion
Nabeul – Studio Visit