Tunisia

[LazyHippy]

Going there next month, any tips on places to see, stay, etc?

(Prefer smaller independent hotels & guesthouses to big shiny ones packed full of tourists and suits.)

 

[emp]

Do NOT go to Djerba at any cost.

Overpriced tourist hell.

We were in ..let me see..

Sousse, which IS touristy, but we were a bit on the outside.

DO

• DO Talk to the natives.
  • English is OK, if you speak french (even a little), try that as well. The natives are very, very friendly people. We also got invited to dinner, and got a local specialty dish "Mlochia" and a nice evening with the family.
• DO Drink the local version of seven up (Boga) or tea.
  • The boga is OK, the tea is incredible.
• DO Smoke water pipe.
  • Try not to get fleeced for it too much, if you know a native, have him get it. Otherwise, enjoy it anyways. A lot of flavoured tobaccos are available (and tasty), if you get real hooka tobacco (strong tobacco in glycerine oil), be prepared for a little high.
• DO Ask the driver to turn ON the taxameter.
  • No matter what he tells you, the official price is much cheaper than any "deal" he offers you.
• DO Locate and eat local food.
  • Great stuff! There are also local snacks you can get at small shops or street vendors. Very tasty.
• DO Visit Tunis.
  • Stay 1-2 days. We went by train, which was also a great experience.
• DO Haggle
  • Learn to enjoy it. Haggle for small tourist items first, then (maybe in Tunis) haggle for something expensive. Be prepared to spend an amusing hour or two doing it. Also be prepared to spend three times as much as a native.

DON'T

• Do NOT drink coca cola.
  • You will be offered Coke everywhere, but refusing it will endear you to the natives at once. See "boga" and "tea" above.
• Do NOT drink the water. Only botteled or boiled.
  • If you catch a stomach bug (the only time I did it was from the HOTEL food), there is a tea pronounced "besbes". You can get it in a good café and it clears it right up.
• Do NOT eat tourist food.
  • Pizza and Hamburgers are very, very expensive and a fucking waste when you can get good local food at a much lower price.
• Do NOT spend your day at the beach.
  • What a waste. We had breakfast, spend about 3 hours at the beach (the water is great), have a nap and then go explore the city. Best experience ever.
• Do NOT worry about your money too much.
  • You will get fleeced, but only as in items costing you a few dollars more than the native. Still ridicilously cheap. So have some humor. But also:
• Do NOT flaunt your money.
  • Valuables belong in the hotel safe, all money but a little change in a money belt like this one: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Money-Passport-Security-Waist/dp/B001MTUJRM]Amazon.com: Travel Money Belt ID Passport Body Security Waist Pouch: Clothing[/ame]
• Do NOT under ANY circumstances haggle over food prices
  • This is considered very, very bad manners and will get you nowhere. Food is the only item you do NOT haggle over.
• Do NOT smoke weed
  • Unless you want to spend time in an arab prison, I would not recommend this.

So jealous right now.
Tunisia was one of my greatest travel experiences. If you let it happen, it will transport you into a fairytale experience.

If ya got any more questions, feel free to ask here, by PM or skype.

::emp::

 

[thebigspender]

Visit Douz (Desert's Gate): you can take a trip into the desert with camels, or if you like a little bit more adrenaline take a jeep with a guide, it's an experience you'll never forget.

 

[bobsoap]

...

^ Great advice for sure. I've been in Tunisia years ago and loved it as well.

Some places you might want to see (in addition to what emp said):

- The Roman amphitheatre in El Djem (El Djem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). If you arrive by car and a ragged looking, young boy asks you to guard your car while you leave it, say yes, but say you'll pay him when you come back. Lol.

- The Bazaar in Tunis. Great experience.

- If you get offered a safari tour or something in jeeps, you could either do that, or what we did instead: rent a car and drive southwards on your own. It's fun and you may be passing through tiny, non-touristy towns with people who will look at you like you're from Mars.

We stopped in one of these towns one time (no idea what it's called), and we were starving to death. No restaurant or anything of the kind around. We just walked up to a guy who was sitting on his porch watching us, and we asked him where we could get something to eat. He was a farmer and offered us to roast one of his chickens. It honestly wasn't the best meal in my life, but it was one of the best experiences. People are extremely open and friendly once you talk to them a bit.

- Somewhere in the southern desert, you can find the old set where they filmed one of the Star Wars movies years ago. We didn't do this, so I'm not sure what you may find there.

- If you do the car trip on your own, be sure to have a working spare tire. Not saying you'll need it (we didn't), but you don't want to get stuck in the middle of a desert either.

I hope this helps. I'm sure you will have lots of fun, it's a great country. If you're going to be taking pics, I'd love to see them...

Enjoy your trip!

 

[ImagesAndWords]

I was gonna post too, but emp pretty much filled in what I was gonna say.

Tunisia is one of the greatest places I have visited and would definitely go there again some day.

 

[LazyHippy]

Nice one, great advice guys!

Je parlez petit francais, will pick up the basics of Tunisian Arabic.

Looking forward to haggling (miss it! not enough of it over here!), love hookas and north african food... can't wait, been too long since I last travelled anywhere.

Might be wrong time of year to head into the desert but def want to ride a camel somewhere! Also hoping to do a bit of diving, seems like there's some around Monastir (flying into there) & prob elsewhere too.

 

[thebigspender]

always negotiate with the merchants. you should pay for an item half of what he is asking first. (in the markets watch out for pickpockets and try to maintain your calm because everybody will try to sell you something - everywhere you turn you'll hear "Come, I make good price for you")

also if you go to Douz and take the Jeep Safari, ask the driver to take you to the village where Star Wars was filmed.

other nice places are the oasis Chebika and Tamerza and the mosque in Kairouan.