The carved brickwork of the Tozeur medina in southern Tunisia
Circuit 6 × UNESCO 4.8★ on Google

6-Day Grand Tour of Tunisia: North to Sahara

Six days from the Mediterranean to the dunes, taking in five UNESCO sites on the way down: Carthage and Sidi Bou Saïd, the Tunis medina, Dougga, Kairouan and El Jem, then Tozeur, the Chott el Jerid crossing, Douz and Matmata.

Duration
6 days / 5 nights
Departure
Tunis
Group
up to 4 people
Transport
Private air-conditioned vehicle with driver
Private
Yes — your group only, never shared
Sites
23
Accommodation
Quoted with your dates
Guide
Optional — licensed guide €75 per group
Best months
October to April
Driver speaks
French, English, Italian, German, Arabic
Larger groups
Minibus (9–20) or coach (21–50+), quoted on request
Main destinations
Carthage · Sidi Bou Saïd · Tunis Medina · Dougga · Testour · Bulla Regia · Kairouan · Tozeur

What is this tour?

6-Day Grand Tour of Tunisia: North to Sahara: 6 days / 5 nights from Tunis taking in 23 places, with a car and driver for your group only — from €942 per vehicle for up to 4 travellers.

The circuit, day by day

1–345678910–12131415–1617–212223TunisDouggaTestourBulla RegiaKairouanTozeurMos EspaChebika · TamerzaMidesChott el-JeridDouzMatmata · ToujaneTataouine · GhomrassenKsar Hdada · CheniniDouiretKsar Ouled SoltaneEl Jem100 kmN
  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3
  • Day 4
  • Day 5
  • Day 6
  • Night
  • Start and return · Tunis
Approximate route: straight lines between the stops, not the roads.

Day 1Tunis → Carthage → Sidi Bou Saïd → Tunis Medina

  • 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
  • Tunis Medina — A UNESCO-listed maze of souks, mosques and palaces, still trading as it has for centuries
CarthageSidi Bou SaïdTunis Medina

Day 2Tunis Medina → Dougga → Testour → Bulla Regia

  • Dougga — The best-preserved Roman town in North Africa, standing almost alone in the hills
  • Testour — An Andalusian village of tiled minarets, built by Muslims expelled from Spain
  • Bulla Regia — Roman villas built underground against the heat, their mosaic floors still in place
DouggaTestourBulla Regia

Day 3Bulla Regia → Kairouan → Tozeur → Mos Espa

  • Kairouan — Islam's fourth holy city, built around the Great Mosque and its vast cisterns
  • Lunch — Free — you choose where and what, and the driver waits
  • Tozeur — The medina and the palm oasis, fed by hundreds of springs. A calèche ride through the grove is optional
  • Ong Jemal & Mos Espa — The Star Wars set still standing in open dunes, beside the camel-neck rock. Back to Tozeur for the night
KairouanTozeurMos Espa & Ong Jemal

Day 4Tozeur → Chebika → Tamerza → Mides → Chott el-Jerid → Douz

  • Chebika, Tamerza & Mides — Three mountain oases and their gorges, by 4x4 — optional, as a half day or a full day
  • Lunch in Tozeur — Back in town between the gorges and the salt lake
  • Chott el-Jerid — A salt lake so flat and bright it produces mirages across the whole crossing
  • Douz & the Dunes — The medina, then the gateway to the Sahara where the tarmac stops. The night is at Camp Dunes Insolite
ChebikaTamerza CanyonMides Canyon

Day 5Douz → Matmata → Toujane → Tataouine → Ghomrassen → Ksar Hdada → Chenini → Douiret → Ksar Ouled Soltane

  • Matmata — The Sidi Driss set from Star Wars, and a Berber troglodyte house dug into the earth
  • Toujane — A stone village spilling down the mountainside on the road off the Matmata plateau
  • Tataouine — The town of fortified granaries that lent its name to the Star Wars desert planet
  • Ghomrassen & Ksar Hdada — Cave dwellings under the cliffs, then the vaulted granary used as the slave quarters in The Phantom Menace
  • Chenini — A Berber village stacked up a ridge around its white mosque
  • Douiret — A half-abandoned village on the next ridge. The night is in Douiret or at the Hôtel Dakyanus
  • Ksar Ouled Soltane — The best-preserved ksar in the south, its ghorfas stacked four storeys around two courtyards
MatmataToujaneTataouine

Day 6Douiret → El Jem → Tunis

  • El Jem — The Roman amphitheatre often called the Colosseum of Africa, on the road home
  • Return — Drop-off at your hotel
El Jem Amphitheatre

Every stop on this tour, explained one by one →

What guests said

“Gran experiencia! Valió muchísimo la pena y Ahmed el guía fue buenísimo!”

★★★★★ Gustavo G. · 6-day Grand Tour of TunisiaGoogle review · Oct 2026 (in Spanish)

“They helped us plan out a trip from Tunis down to Tozeur with multiple stops”

★★★★★ Faris G. · 4-day private trip, Tunis to TozeurGoogle review · Oct 2026

This is the country in one journey rather than a series of day trips out of one hotel. You start on the coast at Carthage and Sidi Bou Saïd, cut inland through Dougga's hillside forum, sleep at Kairouan, stand in the El Jem arena, then keep going south until the farmland stops and the Chott el Jerid begins.

Six days is the shortest circuit that reaches the Sahara without the whole trip becoming driving. The car is yours throughout, so mornings start when you decide and a place that holds you gets the extra hour. Hotels along the route are confirmed with your dates when you book.

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
  • Dougga — the best-preserved Roman town in North Africa, standing almost alone in the hills
  • Kairouan — Islam’s fourth holy city, built around the Great Mosque and its vast cisterns
  • El Jem Amphitheatre — one of the largest Roman amphitheatres ever built, and among the best preserved anywhere
  • Tozeur — a desert oasis of patterned brickwork, its palm grove fed by hundreds of springs
  • 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
  • Matmata — Berber pit dwellings carved into the earth, familiar from the Star Wars films

Included

  • Private air-conditioned vehicle, your group only
  • Driver speaking French, English, Italian, German and Arabic
  • Fuel, tolls and parking
  • Hotel pick-up and drop-off
  • Fixed price agreed up front, no deposit

Not included

  • Accommodation — quoted with your dates, not in the price above
  • Site entrance fees
  • Lunch and drinks
  • Licensed guide (optional)
  • Personal spending and tips
  • Calèche ride through the Tozeur oasis (optional)
  • 4x4 for Chebika, Tamerza and Mides — half day or full day (optional)

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

Who this tour suits

A good fit for

  • Travellers who would rather not share a coach with thirty strangers
  • Travellers with several days who want distance covered without driving
  • First trips to the Sahara: the drive south is long, and a driver makes it restful
  • Families and small groups up to 4 in one vehicle, at your own pace
  • Anyone who does not want to rent a car or drive in Tunisian traffic

Probably not for you if

  • You cannot manage uneven ground — ruins and medinas mean stone, steps and slopes
  • A desert camp is not a hotel: shared washrooms, no lift, no room service
  • Long drives tire you — some days cover 300 km or more between sites
  • You are looking for the cheapest seat on a shared bus rather than a private car

Best time to visit

Best months
October to April — warm days, cold clear nights, comfortable walking
Also good
May and September — hot but manageable with early starts
Hardest months
July and August — the deep south passes 40°C by midday

Desert nights are cold from November to February: bring a fleece even when the day was 25°C. Sandstorms are possible in spring and can close a piste for a day.

Common questions

Is this tour private?

Yes. The vehicle is yours alone — no other travellers are added, and there is no pick-up round of other hotels before the day starts. The price is for the vehicle, not per seat.

How much does it cost per person?

The price is €942 for the whole vehicle, which carries up to 4 people. For a full group that works out at about €236 each; for two people it is half the total between you.

Where does it start?

Pick-up is from your hotel in Tunis, at the time you choose. Tell us where you are staying when you book and the driver comes to the door.

When is the best time of year for this trip?

October to April. This itinerary goes into the deep south, which regularly passes 45°C between May and September — the sites are still open, but the middle of the day becomes hard work.

Is accommodation included in the price?

No. The price covers the vehicle and the driver. Accommodation along the route is arranged for you and quoted with your dates — tell us how many of you there are and we come back with the whole figure before you commit.

Can you take a group of 10, 20 or 50?

Yes. Up to eight travel in one minivan; nine or ten in two vehicles with the same driver team; from eleven we put you in a minibus (up to 20) or a coach (up to 50, more on request), with a driver-guide who knows the sites. The price stays per vehicle and is quoted personally — send us the number and the date and you have the figure within the hour.

from · per vehicle €942
Book this tour

Who runs this tour

Operator
Private Tunisia
Based in
Hammamet, Tunisia — pick-up across the Tunis, Hammamet and Sousse areas
What we operate
Private tours, airport transfers and tailor-made circuits with our own drivers
Driver languages
French, English, Italian, German, Arabic
Payment
No deposit and no card online — you pay the driver on the day, cash or card (card +4.7%)
Cancellation
Free up to 24 hours before departure, from your own booking page
Contact
+216 27 555 330 · contact@privatetunisia.com

Two things worth reading before you book: Operator price · no commission — why direct costs less → No shopping stops, no surprise payments, you are the only pick-up — our nine promises →

Places on this trip

Carthage
Carthage UNESCO

The Punic capital Rome destroyed and rebuilt — baths, ports and villas above the sea

Grand Tunis
Sidi Bou Saïd
Sidi Bou Saïd UNESCO

A clifftop village of blue doors and whitewashed walls above the Gulf of Tunis

Grand Tunis
Tunis Medina
Tunis Medina UNESCO

A UNESCO-listed maze of souks, mosques and palaces, still trading as it has for centuries

Grand Tunis
Dougga
Dougga UNESCO

The best-preserved Roman town in North Africa, standing almost alone in the hills

Béja
Testour
Testour

Founded by Andalusian exiles, its minaret carrying a clock that runs backwards

Béja
Bulla Regia
Bulla Regia

A Roman town that built its villas underground, mosaics still on the floors

Jendouba
Kairouan
Kairouan UNESCO

Islam’s fourth holy city, built around the Great Mosque and its vast cisterns

Kairouan
Tozeur
Tozeur

A desert oasis of patterned brickwork, its palm grove fed by hundreds of springs

Tozeur
Mos Espa & Ong Jemal
Mos Espa & Ong Jemal

The Star Wars set still standing in open dunes, beside the camel-neck rock of Ong Jemal

Tozeur
Chebika
Chebika

A mountain oasis where a spring runs through a gorge above the salt flats

Tozeur
Tamerza Canyon
Tamerza Canyon

A deserted mountain village beside a canyon and a year-round waterfall

Tozeur
Mides Canyon
Mides Canyon

A sheer-walled gorge on the Algerian border, used more than once as a natural film set

Tozeur
Chott el-Jerid
Chott el-Jerid

A vast salt lake crossed on a causeway, its salt flats bright enough to throw mirages the whole way over

Tozeur
Douz & the Dunes
Douz & the Dunes

The gateway to the Sahara and its camel treks, where the tarmac stops and the erg begins

Kébili
Matmata
Matmata

Troglodyte Berber houses carved down into the earth, familiar from the Star Wars films

Gabès
Toujane
Toujane

A stone village spilling down the mountainside above the Matmata plateau

Gabès
Tataouine
Tataouine

The town of fortified granaries that lent its name to the Star Wars desert planet

Tataouine
Ghomrassen
Ghomrassen

A town under cliffs honeycombed with cave dwellings, and the home of the ftair pastry

Tataouine
Ksar Hdada
Ksar Hdada

A fortified granary of vaulted cells, used as the slave quarters in The Phantom Menace

Tataouine
Chenini
Chenini

A Berber village stacked on a ridge, cave houses around a white hilltop mosque

Tataouine
Douiret
Douiret

A half-abandoned Berber village on a ridge, its white mosque above rows of cliff dwellings

Tataouine
Ksar Ouled Soltane
Ksar Ouled Soltane

Four storeys of vaulted grain cells around two courtyards, the best-kept ksar of all

Tataouine
El Jem Amphitheatre
El Jem Amphitheatre UNESCO

The Roman amphitheatre often called the Colosseum of Africa, among the best preserved anywhere

Mahdia

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