Itinerary Tunisia 10 days self-drive covering 8 sites and 8 tentative sites
Day 0:
# route: flight Oslo-Frankfurt-Tunis (arrival after midnight) - Carthage - 5 km
* overnight hotel in Carthage
Day 1:
# route: Carthage - Kekuane - Hammamet - 246 km
- visit Carthage (whs)
- visit aqueduct hydraulic remains Zaghouan-Carthage (twhs) 1. and 2. of 4 sub-sites
- visit Kerkuane (whs) both locations
* overnight in Hammamet
Day 2:
# route: Zaghuouan - Kairoan - Sousse - 220 km
- visit hydraulic system remains Zaghouan-Carthage (twhs) 3. of 4 sub-sites
- visit medina of Kairoan (whs)
* overnight in medina of Sousse
Day 3:
# route: Sousse - El Jem - Sfax - 140 km
- visit medina of Sousse (whs)
- visit El Jem (whs)
- visit medina of Sfax (twhs)
* overnight in Sfax
Day4:
# route: Sfax - Gabes - Djerba (ferry) - 313 km
- visit archaeologiscal site Thyna
- visit Oasis de Gabes (twhs)
- visit Djerba (twhs)
- Ghazi Mustangs Tower
- traditional heritage museum
* overnight in Houmt Souk Djerba
Day 5:
# route: back'n-forth on Djerba - 95 km
- Nubian mausoleum Djerba (twhs) 1. of 5
- mosque Fadloun
- different other mosques
- even an underground mosque
- synagogue of Ghriba
- heritage museum og Guella
- Meninx archaeological site
- Houmt souk and a foundouk
- even street art in Erriadh
* overnight in Erriadh Djerba
Day 6:
# route: Erriadh - Medenine - Tataoine - road c207/c114/c211/c104 - Tamezret - 360 km (Sahel)
- visit Troglodyte habitat (7 of 22
- Ksour Médenine
- Kasr Mrabtine
- Kasr Béni Barka
- Kasr Ouled Debbab
- Ksar el-Ferch
- Ksar Jouamaa
- Tamezret
- a failed attempt to find limes
* overnight in Tamezret
Day 7:
# route: Tamezret - Matmata - Douz - P16 Chott el-Jerid - Gafsa - Subaytilah/Safetula/Sbeitla - 437 km
- visit Troglodyte habitat (8. of 22)
- Matmata el Guédima
- drive through Chott El-Jerid (twhs)
- visit the archaeological site Sbeitla (twhs)
* overnight in Subaytilah/Safetula/Sbeitla
Day 8:
# route: Sbeitla - Makthar - Elles - Douggha - Sidi Bou Said - 355 km
- visit Nubian mausoleum at Makthar (twhs) 2. of 5
- visit Nubian mausoleum Megalithic tomb at Elles (twhs) 3. of 5
- visit Douggha (whs)
- visit Nubian mausoleum at Douggha (twhs) 4. of 5
* overnight in Sidi Bou Said (Tunis north)
Day 9:
# route: Sidi Bou Said - Ichkeul - Sidi Bou Said - 191 Km
- visit national park Ichkeul (whs)
* overnight in Sidi Bou Said
Day 10:
# route: Sidi Bou Said - Tunis - Carthage - Sidi Bou Said - Tunis int. airport - 63 km
- visit Medina if Tunis (whs)
- supplements Carthage sites (whs)
* (departure after midnight) - flight Tunis-Frankfurt-Oslo
Inaccessability due to Ramadan and otherSome places were closed, but not particularly because of Ramadan.
- museum of Carthage was closed due to restoration
- museum of Sousse was closed due to Monday (bad planning)
- Bardo museum closed for some reason the rest of the year
- national park Ichkeul closed due to covid-19 which is not understandable
Lunch and coffee breaks where (practically) non-existent. Lunch was mostly yogurt, fruit and nuts
April monthThe climate is supposed to be nice - for "cold Europeans" and it was in the beginning and the end, but in between it was grey sky, heavy wind and also some rain, which is unusual in April.
The hottest was 30 degrees Celsius and the coldest was 8.
Self-drivingDriving in Africa is "something else" than Europe, but I guess there are cities in Europe with wild traffic also!
In Tunis city there are a lot of cars, but just take your time and drive safe according to yourself, and it will be fine. Other places are fine.
There are police controls going into (almost) every city/town. We got pulled over like 10 times, but just by saying the magic word they didn't care about us. The magic word was "hello" (in English). Most policemen don't speak English. Only one asked another question, he wanted to see our passports, then we were off.
There are a lot of speed bumps, both signed and unsigned - so be aware.
Some places there are a lot of pot holes too, and of course unsigned - so be aware again.
Caution driving through the Sahel area is also a must due to sand on the asphalt. As it was windy when we where there the new black asphalt was invisible for us because of moving sand. At some places the dunes was into the road and made an obstacle which could be dangerous hitting.
Spesial hotelsWe mainly stayed at good hotels, but there are three special ones:
- in Sousse: Dar Antonia life style hotel -
www.darantonia.com- in Djerba: Dar Bibine -
www.darbibine.com- in Tamerzt: Auberge Tamerzet -
www.tamezret.comAll three very special and interesting hotels with just 3-5 rooms - and (of course) personal service