A real visit, not a bus drive-by

We do not run panoramic bus tours. From the cruise port you get out at Carthage and Sidi Bou Saïd, you walk them, and a guide you hire is your guide — yours alone.

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Where this comes from

This page comes from an analysis of the feedback, enquiries and reviews of more than 1,000 visitors, many of them cruise passengers. Three complaints about coach shore excursions came up again and again. We name no one; we report what travellers told us.

What travellers told us they were disappointed by

A “panoramic visit”

The coach slows down, the guide says “on your left, Carthage”, and you photograph it through the glass. You went past the site; you did not visit it.

A guide you cannot hear

One guide and one microphone for a whole coach. From the back rows the commentary is just noise, so nothing about the place stays with you.

A shopping stop that is not for you

Time set aside for a carpet showroom or a souvenir shop that pays the operator a commission. You become the customer being delivered, and the minutes come out of the sights.

What we do instead

You really visit. The car stops and you get out. At Carthage you walk the Antonine Baths, the Punic ports and Byrsa Hill; at Sidi Bou Saïd you take the upper lanes on foot. Time at each place is set by what it deserves, not by a coach timetable.
A guide who is really yours. Hire a licensed guide and he or she is your guide, for your group only: answering your questions, standing where you can hear, going at your pace. No microphone, no fifty strangers.
No shopping stop unless you ask. The itinerary on the tour page is the itinerary, and there is no shop on it. Our drivers are paid by us, not by any shop; if you want to buy something, say so and your driver takes you — the choice is yours.
Back on board, guaranteed in writing. The day is planned backwards from your all-aboard time, and we return you to the quay at least 60 minutes before it. Read the guarantee →
One price per car. The price is per car, not per person, so four people pay what two pay. No deposit: you pay the driver at the end.

Side by side

	Typical coach excursion	With us
The sites	Driven past, seen through the window	You get out and walk them
The guide	One for the whole coach, often hard to hear	Yours alone, beside you
Shopping	Stops that pay the operator a commission	None unless you ask
The group	30 to 50 strangers	Only the people you booked with
The pace	A coach timetable	Built backwards from your all-aboard time
The price	Per person	Per car

When the ship’s excursion is still the right call

For one or two people it is usually cheaper, and the ship looks after its own coaches if they run late. If that is what you want, book it — just know what the day is. From about four people a private car costs less, and it is a different kind of day.

The excursion

La Goulette Shore Excursion: Carthage, Sidi Bou Saïd & Medina

6 hours · La Goulette (port)

A private shore day built around your ship’s clock: your driver meets you at La Goulette, takes you to Carthage, Sidi Bou Saïd and the Tunis medina, and has you back on the quay with margin

from €112

Questions

What is a “panoramic” shore excursion?

A coach that drives past the main sights, with short photo stops or none, so you see them from the window rather than visit them. It is a different product from a visit on foot, and this page is about that difference.

Will we really get out and walk around Carthage?

Yes. Carthage is the first stop, while it is still quiet: the Antonine Baths, the Punic ports and Byrsa Hill, on foot. Entrance fees are not included, so you see the price of each site before you go in.

If I hire a guide, is it really my guide?

Yes: a licensed guide for your group only, who meets you at the terminal exit and stays with you all day. Port rules allow only licensed guides inside the terminal area, so the guide is an option; with a driver only, you are met just outside the port gate.

Do you take us to shops?

Not unless you ask. There is no carpet showroom or souvenir stop on the itinerary, and our drivers are paid by us, so no shop pays anyone to bring you in.

Tell us your ship, your date and your all-aboard time on WhatsApp. We answer within the hour.

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