Complete guide to Tunisia

Tunisia contains within 163,000 km² a diversity that few Mediterranean countries offer. Within three hours' drive from Tunis, our team takes you from the blue-washed alleyways of Sidi Bou Saïd to the Roman ruins of El Jem, whose amphitheater rivals the Colosseum. Further south, the landscape changes: the olive groves of the Sfax region, the oases of Tozeur and Nefta, then entry into the Sahara from Douz, where camel caravans still depart at dawn.

Four major regions structure a coherent itinerary. The north, around Tunis, Carthage and Bizerte, concentrates Punic and Roman heritage. Cap Bon and the Sahel, from Hammamet to Mahdia, line fine sandy beaches and fishing ports. The center-west, with Kairouan, Sbeïtla and Dougga, preserves successive layers of history, from imperial Rome to Arab dynasties. Finally the Saharan south, from the ksour of Tataouine to the dried-out chotts, offers a different pace, slower and more mineral.

The climate remains mild from October to May on the coast, scorching in July-August in the desert. For a first trip, allow ten to twelve days to combine medinas, ancient sites and a Saharan venture at a comfortable pace.