A Taste of Tunisia (Tunisia)

Member Name: Muffikins

Product:	Tunisia
Date:	27/06/01 (344 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice hotels

Disadvantages: Many

To me Tunisia lacks the charm and personality, which I look for in a holiday destination.

Admittedly we did travel there in February and didn’t quite get the weather we expected, which always does detract somewhat from a holiday. It managed to snow there for the first time in 50 years and in fact our son was enjoying higher temperatures whilst skiing in Italy at the same time!

Somehow I felt that everything was too purpose built and much more suited to a European med resort than a North African one. That is fine if that is the type of holiday you like, but I think if you venture to North Africa that you expect something a little different.

We stayed in the Mouradi Palace hotel in Port el Kantoui, near Sousse. This is an excellent hotel with friendly staff and wonderful food. One plus point for Tunisia is its’ good hotels.

Travelling around by train was a good way to see the countryside at a very cheap price. If you try the trains, a treat that must be tasted on them is a tuna baguette. Be prepared for them to burn your mouth as they are spread with hot chilli sauce rather than butter, but they taste divine. On one occasion we travelled around 100 miles to Sfax and it cost about £3 each return, and that was first class. Another time we travelled as far as El Jem by train and thoroughly enjoyed that. El Jem is a very good example of a Roman coliseum.

Haggling at the camel market and in the bazaars is normal practise, and bargains can be had, but it is a good idea to look in the fixed price shops first to get an idea of the maximum price that you should be paying for anything. Once or twice we haggled to what we thought were very low prices, only to find we could have paid much less in the fixed price shops.

Crossing the road is taking your life in your hands. It has to be said that they are probably some of the worst drivers that I have ever seen. The state of the taxis and drivers is diabolic
al too.

People in general don’t seem as friendly in Tunisia as a lot of other places but having said that they aren’t obnoxious either. When you are spending money with them they are happy enough!

All in all I am glad I went because it is always interesting to see other countries and cultures, but I wouldn’t put it high on the list of good places that I’ve seen.

Summary: