Are you planning a visit to El Jem in Tunisia? This ancient Roman amphitheatre is magnificent!
El Jem is one of the best-preserved Roman stone ruins in the world, and for its age (built around 238 AD), it’s very impressive!
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This is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979 and must be on your bucket list when visiting Tunisia.
Everything you need to know to plan your visit to El Jem:
How to get to El Jem in Tunisia
We took a day trip to El Jem from Monastir’s coastal city. We based ourselves here for a few days at Cap Marina Aparthotel.
Our breezy two-storey apartment costs 68 TND per night ($24).
It’s located right on the picturesque marina, and we have a range of restaurants and cafes around us, and it’s an easy 10-15 min into the city and Old Town.
Check prices at Cap Marina Aparthotel, Monastir
A day trip to El Jem in Tunisia is also easy if you base yourself in Sousse. This is a popular option with travellers as Sousse is a good hub to explore this region of Tunisia.
My recommendation for good budget accommodation in Sousse is Hotel Paris. The hotel is located in Medina; it’s clean and comfortable and the prices are unbeatable.
If you need more comfort and have a bigger budget, then the Sousse Pearl Marriott Resort is your best option.
Take a louage from the station to get to El Jem in Tunisia
To get around in Tunisia, louage public transportation is very convenient, reliable and affordable.
For any trip to a new destination, you first need to get to the ‘louage station’. Once you arrive here, line up at the ticket booth and purchase a ticket for your destination.
You will receive a ticket/receipt with two pieces. Your ticket shows the price paid and also the number plate of the vehicle taking you there.
It’s easy to find the minivan for your destination as city signs are posted. The driver will take the small piece of the receipt, and you can get into the vehicle.
You need to wait until it fills up with more passengers, but it never takes too long. Many Tunisians move around the country by louage.
The journey to El Jem
To get to El Jem from Monastir, we first had to take a louage to Sousse. We learned that Sousse is the hub to visit many other cities, hence why we had to go here first and change rides to continue to El Jem.
The louage ticket from Monastir to Sousse was 2250 TND per person ($0.80 cents ). This is a 20-minute drive.
We purchased another ticket in Sousse station for El Jem 5900 TND each ($2.05 ) and caught a different vehicle. The journey time is 1 hour.
The town of El Jem is relatively small. The amphitheatre is close to the louage station. Louage is the public transportation (minivans) to get around in Tunisia.
This was our preferred means of transport used to get around the country. The train station is also nearby.
You can easily walk to the amphitheatre and the museum, and around town.
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Price of a ticket to visit El Jem in Tunisia
You can purchase a ticket to the amphitheatre at the small booth just in front. The price is 12000 TND (USD 4.00).
NOTE: Keep your entrance ticket as it will give you entry to the Archeological Museum afterwards (highly recommended).
More about the amphitheatre of El Jem
El Jem, in Tunisia, has to be one of the greatest examples of Roman architecture in Africa. The ancient cities of Sabratha and Leptis Magna we visited during our trip to Libya are on par.
It was built solely for bloody contests and sporting events and worked as a cistern to accumulate rainwater. The Romans were incredibly innovative in building architecture and structures with multiple uses.
It provided seating to accommodate more than 30,000 spectators. The amphitheatre was once the stage for gory battles between gladiators & criminals and wild animals.
The animals ( usually lions, tigers and wild boars) would be starved and beaten for several days before a show. The incredibly stressed and hungry wild animals would provide better entertainment for the spectators.
Underneath the amphitheatre, there are two intersecting underground passages. This is where the gladiators and wild animals entered the arena for battle.
It’s easy to imagine the passages being once lined with cells and enclosures where the animals and fighters would be held before the bloody games started.
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El Jem in Tunisia is INCREDIBLE
Similar to the colosseum in Rome, there are three different levels. You can climb to the second and third levels and take some spectacular photos of the arena.
Each of the three levels had 30 arches originally. Surprisingly, there are still more than 60 that remain.
And unlike visiting the colosseum in Rome, you won’t need to shuffle elbow to elbow with a thousand other visitors. El Jem in Tunisia doesn’t receive a staggering number of tourists at all.
In fact, during our visit in early December 2021, we saw just six other people here.
For us as visitors, what a dream it is to have such an incredible place literally to ourselves, but more people need to experience this site. I’d love to see more travellers visiting El Jem in Tunisia and continue exploring the rest of the country.
The medina in Tunis, another UNESCO World Heritage site was another amazing experience, our top 5 things to do in the Medina in Tunis will keep you busy.
Don’t miss the Archeological Museum El Jem in Tunisia
When planning your visit to El Jem, ensure you allow enough time to go and visit the Archeological museum afterwards. It is AMAZING! It’s only a 10-minute walk from the amphitheatre.
The museum entrance is included in your ticket from the amphitheatre, so be sure to keep it to show upon entry.
The museum has an extraordinary selection of well-preserved Roman-era mosaics adorning the walls and floors in many sizes.
There are countless Roman artefacts here, too. Seriously, this is an incredible museum. The mosaics and artefacts were found in El Jem and the surrounding area and brought to the museum for preservation.
TOP TIP: Make sure you venture through to the rear of the museum to visit the House of Africa.
This Roman villa from AD 170 was also excavated from the centre of El Jem in Tunisia transferred to the museum, and reconstructed for display.
There are some stunning mosaics on the ground that I absolutely love! The only countries where I’ve seen mosaics this impressive were when I visited Libya and Algeria.
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Where to Stay in El Jem
There are two good options for comfortable and affordable accommodation in El Jem.
Hotel Julius is your best option. It is located only 1km from the amphitheatre and has rooms with amazing views of the structure.
Dar Ammar is another recommended option, yet this hotel is approximately 3km from the Colosseum. Dar Amman is situated nearer to the beach.
It’s good that taxis are very affordable in Tunisia, so it will cost you no more than $1.50 to get to the amphitheatre if you don’t wish to walk.
Now that you know how to visit El Jem in Tunisia, we hope you love this site as much as we did! Check out some of our posts for Tunisia below.
Travel Tips for Tunisia
We wrote helpful travel guides and tips for Tunisiaāthis country is so diverse!
When planning your trip, we recommend you read our 10 best tips for independent travellers to Tunisia. This post includes essential things to know that will make your travels here much smoother.
Our perfect 14-day itinerary for Tunisia is a detailed guide to visiting the best parts of the country.
We wrote this comprehensive post about how to visit El Jem Amphitheatre, what an incredible site!
Our post explaining 8 of the best street eats in Tunisia cannot be missed, and we recommend these top 5 things to do in Tunis Medina.
Tunisia features on our list of the 10 best food countries in Africa, offering some of the most popular African breakfast foods.
Our Food Map of Africa is interesting because it explains what they eat in all 54 nations.
Youāll need to stay connected while travelling in Tunisia. We recommend eSIM. Itās easy, reliable and affordable. View eSIM options in Tunisia.
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Want to travel in Tunisia with like-minded travellers? View the best deals on group adventures in Tunisia.
Check out our best-ever travel tips compiled from more than twenty years of experience.
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1 Comment. Leave new
El Jem is spectacular…. and so good you had it almost to yourselves.
Thanks for sharing some great pictures. There were rather more people there for my visit in March 1990. At the time my eyes were opened to the significance of that part of the world to the ancient Romans.
Seeing it so quiet makes me think the immediate post COVID time may be a good time to travel….. never thought of Libya before…