9 Days / 8 Nights

• 1st Day:
  • Arrive at Tunis airport.
  • Assistant will meet and greet guests once immigration and customs formalities are cleared.
  • Guests will be transferred to hotel
  • Dinner and accommodation at hotel
• 2nd Day:

  • The Tunis Medina

    08:30 - 10:00: Visit to the medina. Tunis is characterized by the contrast between the medieval Arab medina and the French-built modern city. The visit starts from Avenue Habib Bourguiba (the French era downtown) and walks through the Echaouachia Souk (Traditional hat “chachia” makers market) and the El Attarine Souk (perfume market) to the Zitouna mosque.
  • 10:00: Transfer to Bardo museum. Located in the former bey of Tunis' (Provincial governor in the Ottoman Empire; rulers of the Tunisia from the 17th century until independence in 1957) beautifully restored palace, the Bardo Museum houses the largest collection of Roman and Vizantine mosaics in the world. Also, widely considered one of the most impressive museums in all of Africa. For groups interested in history and culture, this is certainly a sight NOT to be missed! Just when you think that you’ve seen the best, the next room reveals something even more wondrous!

  • The Bardo Museum

    Clients will end at La Goulette (tiny suburban city of Tunis, located at about 9km from the port of Tunis, this place is famous for a its many good seafood restaurants) for lunch. Here, you will find a massive fortress (Kasbah) built in 1535 by Charles V, in response to requests from the Hafsids who had been ousted from the capital due to attack by corsair Barbarossa and Ottomans.
  • Lunch at restaurant.
  • 14:00: Transfer to Carthage. Start a rally by Bicycle till Carthage. Clients will tour around the different S/S spots of this monumental area by Bicycle. Few places in Tunisia have such fascinating history as Carthage. Stand high above modern Tunis on Byrsa Hill, close your eyes and let your imagination transport you to ancient life in the Punic city, once the capital of Roman North Africa. Sift through the layers of history built one atop the other - Carthaginian, Roman, Christian… From the Carthage National Museum at the top of the hill to Tophet's sacrificial sanctuary, passing by the Antonine Baths and Punic Ports; Carthage's history reveals itself with each step.

  • Antonine Baths in Carthage

    Continue the rally to Sidi Bou Said village.
  • Sidi Bou Said is an Andalousian village with white walls and blue doors in contrast. At the famous café of Sidi Bou Said overlooking the Tunis Bay and yacht harbor, clients will enjoy a relaxing time for a tea break and some souvenir shopping.
  • Return to hotel.
  • Dinner and overnight at hotel.
• 3rd Day:
  • 07:30 Breakfast at hotel.
  • Departure to Tunis train station.

  • Sidi Bou Said

    Embark on a 1h20mn train trip to Nabeul, which is called Tunisia's capital of pottery. The visit to a pottery factory to attend a demonstration of pottery making could also be a good chance for clients to try their hand at this ancient art themselves.
  • Continuation to Hammamet, 15 km from Nabeul. Hammamet was originally known for its large number of hammams (traditional Moorish public bathhouses). Hammamet has grown into one of Tunisia’s most popular tourism centers. It has nevertheless retained its charming, fine sand beaches and narrow streets lined with whitewashed houses. Its attractions include a small but well-preserved medina, wide sandy beaches, and lots of colorful tourist shops. Hammamet has attracted many artists; many of them have built their homes and studios on its warm shores.
  • Lunch at a restaurant in Hammamet.

  • The Sousse Medina

    Transfer to Sousse (80km/1h from Hammamet).
  • Check in at hotel.
  • Visit to Sousse Medina and Ribat. Sousse is the third largest city in Tunisia and the largest resort town. The 9th century Ribat is one of the chain of fortified monastries built to defend North Africa from Christian attacks. Its watchtower gives a splendid view over the medina.
  • Return to hotel.
  • Dinner and overnight at hotel.
• 4th Day :
  • 07:30: Buffet breakfast at hotel.
  • Transfer to El Jem (60km from Sousse/1h). El Jem’s second amphitheatre is the main attraction and is one of Tunisia’s most visited sites. This monumental amphitheatre, built in the mid 3rd Century AD (230- 240 AD), is the largest Roman monument left in Africa and ranks third in the Empire after those of Rome and Verona. Being one of the last large amphitheatres built during the Roman era, its architectural design is an improvement over that of the Colisseum of Rome, though it is not a great deal smaller.

  • El Jem

    Transfer to Sfax (64km/1h from El Jem). The Second Largest city after Tunis, as well as the biggest industrial city in the country. In fact, Sfaxiens are famous for their business acumen. An attraction is the unspoiled medina, used as a location in the film,  The English Patient. You will find that the general atmosphere makes it a pleasant place to roam around.
  • Continue to Matmata. Approaching Matmata, it is easy to overlook the buzzing life just underneath the surface of the earth. A few aboveground homes (including a school) indicate this nearly surreal town. This is where the troglodyte dwellings are located – either sunk into the soft rock of the hillside or in pit-style construction into the ground. Take a tour of these fabulously interesting, yet aesthetically simple homes.
  • Continuation to Douz.
  • Transfer to Douz (94km/1.5h).

  • Troglodyte dwelling at Matmata

    The small town of Douz lies at the north-eastern edge of the Great Eastern Erg and touts itself as the gateway to the Sahara!
  • Dinner and overnight at hotel.
• 5th Day:
  • Sunrise camel ride at the desert sand dunes.
  • Transfer to Tozeur (128km, 2.5h) by coach via Chott El Jerid - a thousand-square kilometre salty lake that looks, on a sunny day, like an infinite polished marble floor. Midway across Chott El Jerid, clients make a stop to take photos of mirages. Tozeur is one of the most popular travelers’ places in the southern region. It is an interesting old town with a great setting overlooking an enormous palmerie. First of all we visit old town “ouled el-Hadef,”  the town’s delightful old quarter built in the 14th century AD to house the El-Hadef clan. The area is a maze of narrow, covered alleys and small squares. It is famous for its amazing traditional brick-work, which uses protruding bricks to create intricate relief pattern. The style is found only here and in nearby Nefta. Dar Chrait Museum

  • Dar Cherait Museum

    Then we continue to Dar Cherait museum. The fascinating Dar Cherait museum, housed in a restored mansion, has an extensive collection of pottery, antiques and rooms set up as replicas of scenes from traditional Tunisian life - past and present. Clients can wander through these beautiful scenes, richly decorated to show the bedroom of the last bey, a palace scene, a typical kitchen and a Bedouin tent. Guests get a very deep idea about Tunisia’s past and present.
  • Dinner and overnight at hotel.
• 6th Day:
  • Buffet breakfast at hotel.
  • Transfer to Metlaoui by 4WD and embark on an excursion to the Canyon of Selja by the Lezard Rouge. The train was originally used by the bey of Tunis, built in 1910 (journeys between Tunis and summer palace of Bey in Hammam Lif). Train enthusiasts will love the Lezard Rouge.

  • Lezard Rouge Train

    Continue to mountainous Oases. The beautiful old Berber villages of Tamerza, Mides and Chebika lie close to the Algerian border in the rugged Jebel en-Negeb ranges. The three have existed since Numidian times and were part of the Limes Tripolitanus defensive line developed by the Romans to keep out marauding Saharan Tribes. All the villages were abandoned after the region was hit by torrential rain in 1969. The villagers moved to new settlements that were hastily constructed nearby. The original ones are now ‘Ghost Villages’ and they are fascinating places to visit!
  • Return to Tozuer.
  • Dinner and overnight at Hotel.
• 7th Day:
  • Buffet breakfast at hotel.
  • Transfer to Sbeitla. Roman ruins, famous for its remarkably well preserved Roman-Byzantine city. It was established at the beginning of the 1st Century AD on the site of an early Numidian settlement. The surrounding countryside proved ideal for olive growing, and Sbeitla (ancient name was Sufetula) quickly developed into a wealthy town. The excellent Temple was built when Sufetula was at the height of its prosperity in the 2nd century.
  • Lunch at the Restaurant.
  • Transfer to Kairouan (107km/1h50mn).
  • Dinner and overnight at Hotel.
• 8th Day:
  • 07:30: Buffet breakfast at hotel.

  • Great Mosque of Sidi Okba

    Sightseeing at several important historical sites in Kairouan. Kairouan was founded by Okba Ibn Nafaa thirteen centuries ago as the first Islamic city in the Maghreb. Today, while it has retained the peace of a provincial town, it does however boast one of the Moslem world’s most prestigious monuments - the Great Mosque of Sidi Okba. Built only of plain bricks, marble and cedar wood, it features beautiful gilded ceramic work; an art practiced by 9th century Kairouan craftsmen. There are also the two remaining 9th century Aghlabites Basins, which were one of the greatest waterworks of the middle Age. The basins are seen from the top of the Tourist Information building with an introduction to the foundation of Kairouan and its glorious age. While there are quite a number of Zaouia in existence, the most well-known must be Zaouia of Sidi Sahab as the barbar’s mosque. After the Prophet’s death in 685, Abi Zomaa is said to have carried three hairs from his head. The building, which is a popular pilgrimage destination, dates from the 14th Century, although it was largely rebuilt in the 17th Century. Its tile decoration is just marvellous!
  • Transfer to Tunis.
  • Free at leisure.
  • Dinner and overnight at Hotel.
• 9thDay:
  • Transfer to airport & Departure.

To book, or for more information about these packages, please contact us on +27 11 678 4777 or +27 11 478 2884 or email us on: info@egyptandbeyond.co.za.

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