Hammamet itself is a morning: a walled medina, a kasbah, a beach and the marina at Yasmine. What makes a stay here worthwhile is what is within a day — Nabeul and its potters, the Roman water temple at Zaghouan, Carthage and Sidi Bou Saïd, and Kairouan and El Jem. The desert is not one of them: Douz is about 388 km away in a straight line, an overnight trip and not a day out.
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The medina and kasbah. A small walled medina on the sand, with a kasbah at the corner of the ramparts. The walk along the top of the walls gives you the beach on one side and the roofs on the other, and the old town is compact enough to see properly in an hour or two.
The beach. Long, sandy and in season busy; the coast either side of town is quieter.
Yasmine Hammamet. The purpose-built resort zone south of the old town, with the marina, the hotels and the Medina Mediterranea complex. It is a different Hammamet from the old town: newer, easier and built for holidays.
The Sahara starts with the two-day circuit at €324 per vehicle (2 days from Hammamet), and longer circuits take in the whole country. The full set of what leaves from your hotel is on day trips from Hammamet, and what you can reach from Hammamet sorts the realistic from the optimistic.
Yes, as a base. The old medina and the beach are a pleasant morning, and the position is excellent for Tunis, Carthage, Cap Bon, Zaghouan, Kairouan and El Jem, all within a day.
Two or three days for Hammamet itself and one or two day trips; a week if you want the beach and a proper look at the north and the Sahel. It is a poor base for the desert.
For first-time visitors, Tunis with Carthage and Sidi Bou Said, or Kairouan with El Jem. Nabeul and Zaghouan are the easy half-days.
No. Douz is a long drive each way, and a single day would be mostly in the car. Two days is the minimum, and three is more comfortable.
Distances are straight-line, measured between the coordinates on our map of the sites; road distances are longer. Prices are per vehicle and come from the same database the 34 tours and 1,392 transfer fares.
