Tunisia is a fantastic destination and if you’re looking for an itinerary to follow, you came to the right place!
While many visit Morocco and Egypt, somehow Tunisia remains less explored.
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We’ve spent three weeks in Tunisia travelling independently and decided to write this perfect 14-day itinerary for Tunisia. But don’t worry, we have some suggestions if you wish to stay longer or shorter.
The country has so much to offer: gorgeous beaches, Mediterranean towns, exceptional Roman Ruins, islands, Star Wars Movie sets, the Sahara desert, great food, honest and friendly people, and great infrastructure, so getting from A to B is easy.
We travelled to Tunisia in late November and early December 2021. The prices quoted in this itinerary for Tunisia are in local currency, Tunisian Dinar (TND).
At the time 1 USD = 2.9 TND
Let’s go! The Perfect 14 Days Itinerary for Tunisia
Table of Contents
DAY 1: TUNIS
The capital city of Tunisia is a bustling city that combines modern and traditional. The best place to stay on your first visit is the medina so you can explore it. You can choose to stay in the new city at the end of your trip.
The Tunis Medina dates from the 7th century when it was built around the Zitouna Mosque.
Don’t miss the souks, especially on Friday/Saturday mornings. And, if you’re after some great views, then head up to the Cafe Panorama and enjoy a coffee or tea while you’re there.
And for a delicious lunch in the medina, stop by Restaurant The Ben Arous. You could spend a lot of time strolling through the maze of the medina with incredible doors and shops.
Read our post on the top 5 experiences of Tunis Medina.
Another highlight is the Bardo Museum, Africa’s second-biggest museum.
The museum also boasts one of the world’s most exquisite Roman mosaic collections. Definitely add this to your itinerary for Tunisia if you are an art lover. It’s closed on Monday.
Where to stay in Tunis
Budget: Dar Ya – A great budget option in the heart of Medina. Rooms are clean and comfortable, yet only shared bathroom facilities are available. Breakfast is included in the price. The staff is very welcoming and helpful in providing local knowledge to explore Tunis and the surrounding area.
Midrange: Dar Ben Gacem – A beautifully restored old Tunisian home, now a boutique hotel. Rooms are beautiful, and an amazing breakfast is included in the rate (the best omelette and coffee in Tunisia).
The young staff is always around to help with anything you need, even if it’s just to prepare you a hot pot of tea or coffee after a long day of exploring.
Luxury: Treat yourself: Hôtel Belvédère Fourati – If you’ve got the budget that allows a swish stay in this hotel in Tunis, I recommend it.
DAY 2: TUNIS – CARTHAGE – SIDI BOU SAID
Spend the morning walking across the medina and catch the metro to Carthage (ticket is approx 0.700TND ($0.25).
This is the ancient city that once ruled a huge empire across the Mediterranean The entry ticket of 12 TND ($4.20) will get you into multiple sites.
I recommend starting at Antonine Baths and walking from there to the Roman Villas (amazing mosaics), checking out the Theatre next door, and walking up to Byrsa hill with some epic views and museums.
There are other archeological sites in Tunisia, but this one should be on anyone’s itinerary for Tunisia as it is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
From Carthage grab a BOLT (ride-sharing app) to get to Sidi Bou Said. This picturesque seaside town is famous for its white and blue architecture (very Greece-like), make sure you explore the small side streets where you lose the crowds.
There is a famous place on the main street, Rue Hédi Zarrouk to get a hot bambalouni (Tunisian hot doughnut).
It’s a blue, hole-in-the-wall stand and you can smell sugar as you approach it. You can’t miss it.
It’s the perfect place for an afternoon stroll or stays for sunset @Cafe Des Delices.
DAY 3: TUNIS TO SOUSSE
Distance: 147 km (1 hour 50 mins journey time in car)
This morning head to the Louage Station Moncef Bey to catch a louage to Sousse (11.9 TND or $4.20). This 14-day itinerary for Tunisia is based on using public transport – for us, louage was the fastest option.
LOUAGE is essentially a shared taxi, a van that fits 8 passengers, and once full it departs from the station for the destination. More about that further below.
(You could also head to Monastir directly and spend the night there at Marina Cap Appart Hotel, explore the town, and then return to Sousse the next day).
It’s only a 15 min louage ride away, a ticket is 2.25 TND and they depart regularly.
Sousse can feel pretty touristy at times but the medina is nice although it mostly feels like a market. The Ribat (fortress) is worth visiting and you can stroll down to the beach. You might choose to stay in the medina.
We stayed at Hotel Paris, a comfortable budget option located in the medina.
For breakfast get some coffee from Beanery Cafe and pastries from the amazing french bakery just around the corner (across the entrance to the Institute of Arts) and have lunch at Restaurant du Peuple – an amazing set lunch menu not to be missed.
You can also choose to stay at one of the nice resorts along the beach in Sousse. I recommend either the Sousse Pearl Marriott Resort or Mövenpick Resort & Marine Spa.
DAY 4: DAY TRIP TO MONASTIR AND EL JEM
Distance: Sousse to Monastir 22 km (25-30 mins journey time in car)
Distance: Monastir to El Jem 73km (1 hour journey time in car)
Only 30 minutes away Monastir is an easy day trip from Sousse (ticket for louage is 2.25 TND). We actually spent a few nights here as we got a great deal at the marina, staying at Marina Cap Appart Hotel. It was a nice place to chill for a few days.
You can walk from the station to the Ribat which is well restored. Across from the ribat is the Mausoleum of Habib Bourguiba containing the remains of former president Habib Bourguiba, the father of Tunisian independence and the former president.
Don’t miss the picturesque marina only a short walk from the Ribat.
Afternoon in El Jem
Catch a louage back to Sousse and head down to El Jem. The louage ticket is 5.9 TND from Sousse to El Jem, allowing one hour journey time.
This was one of our absolute highlights of Tunisia – an ancient amphitheatre built by the Romans in 238AD. This is the largest and best-preserved Roman amphitheatre in Africa and it was designed to seat 35,000 people. This must be on anyone’s itinerary for Tunisia.
Entry is 12 TND each and be ready to be blown away!
For more detailed information and tips, read our post about how to get to El Jem in Tunisia using local transport.
DAY 5: SOUSSE TO TATAOUINE
Distance: 405 km (5 hours 30 mins journey time in car)
A travel day to the south. Take a louage from Sousse to Medenine first. The price is 23.5 TND ($8.20), journey time is about 5.5 hours, including two brief bathroom stops and a 25 min stop for lunch.
Change to a different louage at Medenine station heading to Tataouine. The ticket is 3.65 TND ($1.30), journey time is 45 minutes.
Don’t miss the patisseries in Tataouine that have the special: Cornes de Gazzelle (crescent-shaped cookies filled with almond filling then fried in oil and soaked in honey)
Overnight at Auberge Alferdaous, a good budget option located in the centre of Tataouine.
The owner is a great guy, has fantastic English, and can give you some good tips for exploring the area.
DAY 6: VISIT KSAR OULED AND MOVE TO CHENINI
Distance: Tataouine to Chenini 18 km (25 mins journey time in car)
Grab a cheap and easy breakfast in a bakery and head out (best to grab a taxi for 20 TND) to Ksar Ouled.
Alternatively, you can take louage for around 2.5 TND each, but it does take time to fill up with passengers here. However, if you have the time, it’s a cheap option.
This 15th-century granary is not to be missed. Not only because it was a set from Star Wars movies, but because it’s truly stunning.
You probably won’t need more than an hour here so it’s worth asking the taxi to wait or you can catch a louage back to Tataouine.
Grab lunch in Tataouine (I recommend Restaurant Sindbad for a good lunch menu) and then head out to Chenini.
It’s only about 20 minutes ride and the scenery is spectacular. We have stayed at Residence Kenza for another unique stay – in a cave. It was really cosy and had incredible views.
Chenini is a small village, part of it is an abandoned Berber stone village that you can stroll through on top of the hill.
There is a mosque on top of the hill and don’t miss the sunset or sunrise over the valley.
DAY 7: CHENINI TO DJERBA
Distance: 143 km (2 hours journey time in car)
Breakfast in Chenini, and then walk down the hill to catch a louage to Tataouine again. From here there are direct vans to Djerba.
The journey to Djerba was actually really quick and we had time to grab lunch once we arrived in Djerba near the louage station – Restaurant Central Djerba.
We took a taxi after a wonderful lunch of chicken and couscous (highly recommended) to our accommodation and checked in to enjoy the afternoon at leisure.
We treated ourselves in Djerba and found fantastic online rates (during late November) with Booking.com at Ulysse Palace Djerba Resort.
The resort is located approximately 9km from the centre of Djerba, however, private taxis are very affordable. We paid just a few dollars from Djerba directly to our resort (all taxis are metered).
If you’re looking for a good budget option in the heart of Djerba, I recommend Hôtel Olympic Djerba.
DAY 8: DJERBA ISLAND
Djerba is a really popular summer destination if you arrive during the summer or shoulder season.
As we visited in the cooler months, the old medina in Houmt Souk was so nice to walk around. Check out the souks, street art, maybe have a coffee in the trendy El Fondouk.
Don’t miss out on Djerbhood (street art event) and El Ghriba Synagogue.
If you have a few more days to play with, you can extend your time here.
Recommended posts about Tunisia
DAY 9: DJERBA TO MATMATA (STAY IN STAR WARS HOTEL)
Distance: 130 km (2 hours 45 mins journey time in car – allow time to change transport at stations)
From Djerba, you can head back north or if you only had 9-10 days you could simply fly out of Djerba as there are direct flights to France and Germany.
So you could alter your itinerary for Tunisia and fly from here. We always find the most competitive prices for flights using Skyscanner.
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Getting north is easy. Once again catch the louage to Gabes and from there we took two vans to the small town of Matmata.
This place is known for troglodytes – houses that were built completely underground to keep cool during hot summers and warm in winter.
One of them, Hotel Sidriss has been turned into a hotel after it was used as the film set for Star Wars Episode 4 movie.
The hotel is very basic with shared bathrooms, but if you are a Star Wars fan it’s really cool to stay here. You can also just come in for a visit.
They charge 3 TND (1 euro) per person to come inside and explore.
DAY 10: MATMATA TO TOZEUR
Distance: 215 km (3 hours 30 mins journey time in car – allow for time changing transport at station)
Another big day on the road, but plenty of scenery. You will need to change transport (Matmata Nouvelle a v Gabes).
Tozeur is a town surrounded by the Tunisian desert and it has a really unique feel. There are dates palms everywhere and the best dates come from here so make sure you buy some.
They’re incredibly affordable, only a couple of euros for 1kg.
The town architecture is another reason why Tozeur is so special, most buildings are decorated with small bricks, and especially the medina is a beautiful place to stroll through.
Today you should book your day trip for the next day – we booked it at the agency Au Coeur Du Desert across from our hotel, Residence El Arich.
The price quoted for a private 4WD with an English-speaking driver/guide for the day was 250 TND ($87).
The car can fit a maximum of 7 passengers, so if you have a group of people/friends to share the cost, it would considerably reduce the price per person.
We were happy to take the day trip with just the two of us and our driver/guide.
DAY 11: TOZEUR Day trip to Chebika – Tamerza – Mides – Ong Jmel
You can choose a half-day or full-day tour from Tozeur. We chose the full day one.
It included a stop at Chebika Oasis, where you visit an old village and walk down through the wadi and see the waterfall that brings life to this part of the desert.
Next is Tarmeza, another oasis village, and the gorgeous canyon at Mides. You stop for lunch and continue across the desert for some dune bashing in your 4WD to reach Mos Espa (Ong Jemel).
Travel to the Mos Espa film site, beautifully located amongst the Sahara dunes. Here, find the Pod-racing arena, the Mos Espa streets, Watto’s shop, the market, and Sebulba’s Café. Return to Tozeur at the end.
DAY 12: TOZEUR TO KAIROUAN
Distance: 295 km (4 hours 30 mins journey time in car)
Take a louage to Kairouan this morning, one of the holiest places of Islam in Tunisia and it was the first capital of the Maghreb.
A UNESCO World Heritage site, it conceals several marvels, but the medina and the Great Mosque are not to be missed.
Overnight: The budget option is to stay at Chema chaabani.
I’d recommend a very comfortable stay at Hotel Continental if you can afford to spend a little more.
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DAY 13: KAIROUAN TO TUNIS
Distance: 165 km (2 hours 20 mins journey time in car)
Spend the morning exploring Kairouan and depart to Tunis later on. Once you arrive in the capital, you can visit the medina or head to the Bardo museum – whatever you didn’t get to do in Tunis last time.
A suggestion for a comfortable, newly renovated business hotel in central Tunis is Golf Royal Hotel.
We stayed here for our final few nights in Tunis and highly recommend it. Good prices, comfortable beds, fantastic breakfast, and great service.
- 🔥 Hot Tip: Book accommodation in advance on Booking.com
- 🎟 Book your attractions and tickets online: We recommend Viator and GetYourGuide
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DAY 14: TUNIS DEPARTURE DAY
Your itinerary for Tunisia ends in the capital. There is always plenty to do, see or eat in Tunis, depending on when your flight is.
Grab BOLT to the airport instead of a taxi, it will probably cost around 10-12 TND.
Travel Insurance for Tunisia
Things to know before you travel to Tunisia
- Language: The official language is Arabic and French and English is not as common. Many people in the tourism industry speak Spanish and German as well.
- Cafes are often highly men-dominated. You can look for Salon du The for cafes that are more mixed and usually nicer.
- Food in Tunisia is amazing. Don’t miss our post about the 8 most popular Tunisian street foods to try while you’re here.
- Download the BOLT App before you arrive (or when you’re here). It will save you time and money. If your French or Arabic language skills are non-existent, this app will help you to get from A to B without any hassle.
- Always keep loose change and coins handy for paying for taxis, bottled water, or street food snacks.
- Internet connection isn’t great in Tunisia. I’d recommend picking up a SIM Card for your phone with one of the phone providers at the airport. There are several to choose from. I got an Orange SIM Card for free, then topped it up with 10GB for 20 TND (USD $7). You can get 2GB for 10 TND also, but if you’re travelling on my suggested itinerary for Tunisia, I’d recommend buying the larger package. Alternatively, the most convenient and affordable way to get connected in Tunisia is to buy this Tunisia eSIM Data Pack online.
- Keep any foreign currency receipts or ATM currency withdrawal receipts on you. At the end of your trip to Tunisia, ensure you convert all of your Tunisian Dinar to Euros/USD before you depart. Tunisian Dinars are impossible to exchange once you’ve departed the country. If you exchange currency at the airport before your departure, you may be asked for the receipt proving where you got the cash initially.
- Download Maps.me App on your phone, it’s a very useful offline map for Tunisia. I’d also recommend downloading an offline map of Tunisia on Google Maps as a backup to access maps if you cannot get online.
- Download Arabic and French in your Google Translate App. You never know when you may need to use it.
- To book any day trips or short multi-trips in Tunisia, we recommend Viator.
Travel Tips for Tunisia
We recommend you read our 10 best tips for independent travellers to Tunisia in the planning stages of your trip. These are essential things to know that will make your travels here much smoother.
Our post explaining 8 of the best street eats in Tunisia cannot be missed!
Also, it’s worth checking out our ESSENTIAL Packing List for Africa. We used this exact packing list to travel to all 54 African nations.
If you’re interested to read about some of our crazy adventures, our 2019 recap of our travels in West Africa will give you an idea of how it was. And, if you’re considering travelling to West Africa yourself, read these 17 Important Things to Know Before Travelling to West Africa.
For more travel advice, tips and useful websites we use to travel the world, head to our Travel Resources Page.
Travel Planning Resources
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🏨 Accommodation: Booking.com is our preferred platform for booking hotels and accommodation.
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14 Comments. Leave new
thank you for sharing your trip to Tunisia it was definitely helpful.
Thank you, we’re really happy you found value in our post. Happy Travels!
Hi both
I stumbled across this page while searching for info and tips on our upcoming trip to Tunisia in 2 months time
This itinerary looks spot on, and touches all the things I wanted to see.
We just decided to go louage rather than car rental, despite travelling with childre.
One thing that I think would bring this page onto a completely new level of usefulness would be having rough estimates of times and costs involved in all the city to city trips: it’s great knowing that you can do Tozeur to Matmata (or the other way round) by louage, but it would even better to know roughly if it’s 2hr, 4hr, 6 hr, etc.. just to plan the itinerary!
Anyway, thanks for all the tips and info, really great job!!
Giovanni
Thanks for your feedback Giovanni, well noted. We hope you have a fantastic time in Tunisia 😉
Following up on my previous comment, can you remember how long it took you from Kairouan to Tunis (assuming by louage)? we plan to do it the other way round, but distances and times should be the same!
thanks
Giovanni
Yes, we took a louage taxi and the journey took about 2 hours. It was direct and they drive pretty fast on those roads.
Thanks for this info!! It was really helpful X About how much would you recommend to budget for a 9day trip (very roughly lol) ? Thanks Riya
Hi Riya,
Based on our trip, we roughly spent around 30 USD per night on accommodation (clean, comfortable rooms in good locations). Food is very affordable, so you can eat street food and great French pastries with coffee for only a dollar or two.
It’s easy to find some great sit-down lunches and dinners for around $3.50 – 4.00 pp for a huge couscous with chicken/veg. Transport and getting around is affordable too, if you use Bolt app for short rides and louage (shared taxi) between cities and longer drives.
Roughly, we spent between USD $40-70 per day in total, and we’re two people. So yes, Tunisia can be a very affordable place to travel if you need to stick to a budget. Hope that helps 🙂
These two blogs I wrote below may be quite useful if you’re planning to travel to Tunisa.
– https://www.veryhungrynomads.com/10-best-tips-for-travel-in-tunisia/
– https://www.veryhungrynomads.com/street-food-tunisia-8-most-popular-eats/
Hello, thanks for your blog. I wanted yo ask you if the visits around Tozeur (oasis, canyon, mos espa) can be fone by our own means. With a normal car?
A second question is if djerba in winter for 2 days and 1 night is a place that we shall not miss. I am asking as it is relatively far.
Thanks
Hi Carlos, I think you could do some self-driving in Tozeur with a normal car, but there are parts you need 4WD (I remember driving on sand when visiting oasis, the Star Wars city etc). As for Djerba, it will probably be quiet and cooler in winter, so might be worth to skip it. Hope that helps. 🙂
Hello, thanks for sharing the tips in your blog! I am travelling to Tunisia soon, and would like to ask if it’s possible to travel to Tatatouine straight after visiting El Jem? Would there be louages from Sousse to Tatatouine say 12pm onwards? By any chance do you know the opening hrs for louages?
Hi Joyce,
We can’t answer for sure whether there would be louage from El Jem or Sousse to Tatouine around that time, but we imagine so. Sousse is a very busy hub or louage station for shared taxis going in all directions..and remember that the cars depart once they fill all seats. This is the primary way that all people move around in Tunisia. And, if you don’t have a car going all the way, perhaps there might be a car going to the city of Gabes, and then you could continue the next morning. Happy travels 🙂
Hello, I went through your blog and it was pretty detailed. I absolutely loved it. Just wanted to ask you if it’s possible to cover Djerba-Matmata-Tozuer in one day? Like starting from Djerba quite early, going to Matmata just to see the troglodytes up close and then head over to Tozeur for the night stay? I know it sounds very hectic, but we are very short of time. I was hoping it can be possible. We’ll not have any car with us, we are solely depending on public transport systems, preferably the louages.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Shalini,
Yes, this journey would be possible – as you mentioned, you must get an early start to this day from Djerba. And, if you’re hoping to do a tour around Tozeur the following day (if you’re short on time), it may be an idea to book it online and get a confirmed trip (some suggestions in our blog to do this), or possibly call ahead and see if your hotel can arrange a guide/driver for you.
Happy Travels! This is such a fascinating area of Tunisia to explore 😉