About Tunisia

Regions & cities: where to base yourself

Tunisia is small — you can drive its length in about eight hours — but each region has its own climate, landscape and pace. Here's how to think about the country, north to south, and where to put your hotel.

Governorates

163,610 km²

Total area

International airports

8 h

North to deep south by car

Tunis & Carthage — the capital coast

Tunis is a working Mediterranean capital with a UNESCO-listed medina at its heart and the ruins of ancient Carthage in its northern suburbs. Base here for 2–3 days at the start of any trip: you'll see the Bardo Museum (the world's best Roman mosaic collection), eat in Sidi Bou Said with its blue-and-white houses tumbling toward the sea, and use the city as a launchpad north to Bizerte or south to Hammamet. Where to stay: La Marsa, Gammarth or the Sidi Bou Said clifftop for beaches and quiet; the medina or downtown for atmosphere.

Tunis clock tower on Avenue Habib Bourguiba — the heart of the capital

Traditional red-and-white fishing boat on a Cap Bon beach near Hammamet

Cap Bon & Hammamet — the resort coast

An hour south of the capital, the Cap Bon peninsula curves into the Mediterranean and shelters Tunisia's most developed beach strip: Hammamet, Yasmine Hammamet and Nabeul. This is where most package and family travellers stay — long pale-sand beaches, all-inclusive resorts, golf, marinas and one of the prettiest medinas in the country. Ideal for: 5-night beach holidays with day trips to Tunis, Carthage or Zaghouan.

Sousse, Monastir & Mahdia — the Sahel

The central east coast — known as the Sahel — combines wide swimming beaches with serious history. Sousse has a UNESCO medina and a 9th-century ribat fortress you can climb for sweeping coastal views; Monastir has another ribat used as a Star Wars filming location; Mahdia has one of Tunisia's prettiest old towns and quieter beaches than Hammamet. The international airport here (Monastir-Habib Bourguiba) makes it an easy entry point.

Sousse, Port El Kantaoui and Monastir — the Sahel coast

The island of Djerba — shallow turquoise water and pale sand

Djerba — the island in the south

A flat, low-lying island off the southeast coast, Djerba has its own distinct identity — Berber, Jewish and Ibadi Muslim communities have lived side by side here for over 2,000 years. The island has direct flights from across Europe, dependable summer sun well into October, calm shallow water that's perfect for families, and a UNESCO-listed white-and-ochre architecture you won't see elsewhere in Tunisia. Use Djerba as a beach base or as the gateway to the deep south.

Tozeur, Douz & the Sahara

Inland and south, the landscape becomes lunar. Tozeur is the date-palm capital, with a remarkable mud-brick old town; nearby are the mountain oases of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides, where waterfalls fall into red-rock canyons. From Douz, the 'gateway to the Sahara', you ride camels or 4×4s into the Grand Erg Oriental — the soft orange dune sea that runs all the way to Algeria. Many Star Wars locations are here, and a night in a desert camp is the single most-loved experience in the country.

Camel caravan crossing dunes in the Tunisian Sahara

Kairouan & the centre

Kairouan is the fourth holiest city in Islam and one of the most atmospheric stops in the country. Its 9th-century Great Mosque is among the oldest in the Muslim world. The surrounding centre — Sbeitla, Maktar, Dougga — holds Roman ruins almost as impressive as El Jem but with a fraction of the visitors.

The north — Bizerte, Tabarka, Aïn Draham

Often skipped and unfairly so. The far north has cork forests, mountain villages, the wild Mediterranean coast around Cap Serrat, and Tabarka with its Genoese fort and offshore reefs popular with divers. Bizerte has the prettiest old port in the country. Cooler in summer than the south — perfect for July and August.

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