10-Day Tunisia: Coast, Roman Interior, Sahara & Ksour

The circuit, day by day

Day 1Tunis → Carthage → Sidi Bou Saïd

• Pick-up — From your hotel or the airport, at a time that suits you
• Carthage — The Punic capital Rome destroyed and rebuilt — baths, ports and villas above the sea
• Sidi Bou Saïd — A clifftop village of blue doors and whitewashed walls above the Gulf of Tunis

Day 2Sidi Bou Saïd → Tunis Medina → Bizerte Old Harbour

• Tunis Medina — A UNESCO-listed maze of souks, mosques and palaces, still trading as it has for centuries
• Bizerte Old Harbour — The oldest port in Tunisia, its fishing boats still moored under the kasbah walls

Day 3Bizerte Old Harbour → Tabarka → Bulla Regia

• Tabarka — A Genoese castle on a rock, cork forests behind and coral diving offshore
• Bulla Regia — A Roman town that built its villas underground, mosaics still on the floors

Day 4Bulla Regia → Dougga → Testour

• Dougga — The best-preserved Roman town in North Africa, standing almost alone in the hills
• Testour — Founded by Andalusian exiles, its minaret carrying a clock that runs backwards

Day 5Testour → Kairouan → Sbeitla

• Kairouan — Islam’s fourth holy city, built around the Great Mosque and its vast cisterns
• Sbeitla — A Roman forum with three golden Capitoline temples standing side by side

Day 6Sbeitla → El Jem → Medina of Sousse

• El Jem Amphitheatre — One of the largest Roman amphitheatres ever built, and among the best preserved anywhere
• Medina of Sousse — A walled Aghlabid port town whose ribat and great mosque still face the sea

Day 7Medina of Sousse → Tozeur → Nefta

• Tozeur — A desert oasis of patterned brickwork, its palm grove fed by hundreds of springs
• Nefta — A Sufi oasis town above the Corbeille, a bowl of palms below the houses

Day 8Nefta → Chott el-Jerid → Douz

• Chott el-Jerid — A salt lake so flat and bright it produces mirages across the whole crossing
• Douz & the Dunes — The gateway to the Sahara, where the tarmac stops and the erg begins

Day 9Douz → Ksar Ghilane → Tataouine

• Ksar Ghilane — A hot-spring oasis at the edge of the great dunes, reached where the tarmac gives out
• Tataouine — The town of fortified granaries that lent its name to the Star Wars desert planet

Day 10Tataouine → Chenini → Matmata → Tunis

• Chenini — A Berber village stacked on a ridge, cave houses around a white hilltop mosque
• Matmata — Berber pit dwellings carved into the earth, familiar from the Star Wars films
• Return — Drop-off at your hotel

Every stop on this tour, explained one by one →

What you see

• Carthage — the Punic capital Rome destroyed and rebuilt — baths, ports and villas above the sea
• Sidi Bou Saïd — a clifftop village of blue doors and whitewashed walls above the Gulf of Tunis
• Tunis Medina — a UNESCO-listed maze of souks, mosques and palaces, still trading as it has for centuries
• Bizerte Old Harbour — the oldest port in Tunisia, its fishing boats still moored under the kasbah walls
• Tabarka — a Genoese castle on a rock, cork forests behind and coral diving offshore
• Bulla Regia — a Roman town that built its villas underground, mosaics still on the floors
• Dougga — the best-preserved Roman town in North Africa, standing almost alone in the hills
• Testour — founded by Andalusian exiles, its minaret carrying a clock that runs backwards
• Kairouan — Islam’s fourth holy city, built around the Great Mosque and its vast cisterns
• Sbeitla — a Roman forum with three golden Capitoline temples standing side by side
• El Jem Amphitheatre — one of the largest Roman amphitheatres ever built, and among the best preserved anywhere
• Medina of Sousse — a walled Aghlabid port town whose ribat and great mosque still face the sea
• Tozeur — a desert oasis of patterned brickwork, its palm grove fed by hundreds of springs
• Nefta — a Sufi oasis town above the Corbeille, a bowl of palms below the houses
• Chott el-Jerid — a salt lake so flat and bright it produces mirages across the whole crossing
• Douz & the Dunes — the gateway to the Sahara, where the tarmac stops and the erg begins
• Ksar Ghilane — a hot-spring oasis at the edge of the great dunes, reached where the tarmac gives out
• Tataouine — the town of fortified granaries that lent its name to the Star Wars desert planet
• Chenini — a Berber village stacked on a ridge, cave houses around a white hilltop mosque
• Matmata — Berber pit dwellings carved into the earth, familiar from the Star Wars films

Optional extras

• Private licensed guide 75 EUR / per group / per day
• Traditional lunch 15 EUR / per person
• 4x4 with driver, full day (Chebika, Tamerza & Mides) 200 EUR / per group
• 4x4 with driver, half day (Chebika, Tamerza & Mides) 110 EUR / per group
• Traditional camp night in Tozeur (dinner + breakfast) 75 EUR / per person
• Entry tickets for the sites of the circuit 40 EUR / per person

Common questions