Anyone been to Tunisia?

I went to Tunisia over February 2007. I spent most of my time on excursions and it was brilliant, camel riding in north Sahara desert, seeing the amphitheatre where Gladiator was film, the village where star wars was filmed (so weird they all wear hooded coats like the film) loads of markets and coast line. Its got amazing culture when you get in there. We went quad biking over the atlas mountains too. I wouldn't go with children, because like you say you'd stay in a hotel the whole time. If you want that and water parks go somewhere like spain...
 
I've been to Tunisia with the missus twice, she has been three times (once with her parents) and we really like it over there. Each time we have gone we stayed at the Sahara Beach Hotel in Skanes/Monastir, it's only 3* but the facilities in the hotel grounds are great and they put on a show every night, if that's your type of thing. The main thing about this hotel is the food and drink, it's all inclusive but not the usual crap they serve up at other buffet-style hotels I've been to. They have a different menu every lunch and evening which runs for two weeks and then starts over again, the breakfast is always the same but there is a huge selection.

The hotel also do coach trips around Tunisia, some of them are utter rubbish but two of them (Sahara Explorer & Fruiga Park) were really, really good although the Sahara Explorer is three days long so it's quite tiring.

If you did venture out of the hotel (other than organised trips) then I'd recommend taking a wander around Monastir and Port el Kantaoui, as others have said you do get people wanting you to go in to their shops which is a bit of a hassle but you learn how to handle them, never once were they aggressive and they backed off when you told them you were just looking. It's no worse than Egypt and maybe Turkey.

Also to the person that said it's full of French people, it used to be occupied by the French until Tunisia got independence in 1956 so it's not surprising! Most of the locals speak French so it's fairly easy to communicate although I found the vast majority spoke English anyway.

Just my 2p, enjoy your trip wherever you decide to go :)
 
Worked there a few months and stayed in Djerba a bit. The self contained hotel resort places are quite splendid 4 or 5 stars, most with their private beaches.

Tunis is hustle and bustle i didnt like it too much.
 
I quite liked Tunis, although I spent more of the time in the business district than Tunis centre itself. The City centre is quite nice and has some nice bits although you're right, if is very busy.
 
Go on a Cruise, they come with Creches - dump the kids there and you and your missus get to enjoy yourselves. Floating 5 star hotel with full board where you get a stunning new view outside your window every morning....
 
if you're going to Tunisia go to Port El Kantaoui because you don't get hassle there (only a mild bit in the port).
I've been once, my youngest daughter has been 5 times and my eldest has been 8 times so it's girl safe also.
We all went to Sousse for about 2 hours and that was the unsafest I've ever felt.
 
This is where I stayed once, youngest daughter 5 times, eldest daughter 8 times - http://goo.gl/maps/Ec08

However, (and this is for all the hotels in these type of countries) be prepared for exactly the same entertainment every day if you are staying in the hotel.
Around 10am parties will start around the pool and you will hear the song Bomba at least 20 times a day.
Early evening all the women get hot because the young Tunisian men dance with them in the lounge (they should do this late at night so they warm them up for you).
You then go over to the main entertainment building where you are treated to Bingo and some really poor entertainment.
It gets painful after two evenings but me and the wife would walk down to the port every night with no hassle.
Depending what time of the year you go to Tunisia you are gambling with the weather.
I went in April and it was poor to OK and during 3 days everybody was locked in the lounge because the weather was so bad.
If you want guaranteed weather virtually all year round with a kiddies type holiday, get yourself to Sharm El Sheik or Hurghada in Egypt.
 
I can see a lot of people not getting on with Tunisia, but I quite liked it. I have no idea how well it caters for kids though. I went with a girlfriend a couple of years ago to Yasmine Hammamet, which is bascially a purpose build town for tourists. This means you don't get the same level of hassle, in fact none at all. We stayed in the medina, an accident, but it turned out to be nice as you were surrounded by a good selection of restaurants. The downside is that you are quite isolated from the local culture, but our intention was to go on some of the trips provided through the hotel. Also it seemed like the people working the markets in the medina there were under strict instruction not to bother people too much.

Tunisia has some great things to go and see, and you probably need two weeks to get it done properly. We only went to Sousse, but I would have liked to have gone to old Carthage and to the Sahara. The medina in Sousse is awesome though, definately worth a visit. Be prepared for the full extent of intense market culture though, those guys are really after your money and you can feel it. I loved the atmosphere despite getting ripped of a little bit (you'll know the actual mosque when you see it, totally our fault :D ), but some people had clearly had enough. A nice little tip for anyone that goes is to find your way to the "top" (fairly easy, just walk up anything with an incline until you're there) and go to one of the little cafes/tea places with a roof garden - spectacular view.
 
I went to Tunis last year with 8 of my family for 14 days, a run down:

1. 4 of us got a really bad stomach bug, despite us being fully inclusive (eating different things) and being in a fairly high rate complex. I was ill for 6-7 days, on and off the toilet about 30 times a day. When I got back I had lost 9lbs.

2. Went on the "pirate boat ride" which basically felt like we were getting abused, they sprayed everyone down on the deck with sea water despite people holding cameras... They served food, but the chef was also the toilet attendant and I saw him in there tidying up (a lot of sea sick people) and collecting bags of sick. To top it off there was a bird of pray in the kitchen. We didn't eat. Ship was meant to get back at 1pm, we didn't get back till 3.30pm. Oh and we didn't see any dolphins despite being promised they are always around.

3. The market is full of crap, it's not even an experience in my opinion. Walking through a dirty market with dirty people wanting to touch you shouting "CHEAPER THAN ASDA" is funny for about 1 second then it's just tiresome.

4. Tipping, if you don't tip you don't get good service. Simple as that. Even though we were all inclusive you were expected to tip, I think this is wrong or should at least be a decision. If you didn't tip for your previous meal, you got a slow and shoddy service for your next. This is obviously specific to the hotel we stayed in, but I'd put money on it being the same everywhere.

5. Out and about. If you like half made houses, dust, sand, dodgy looking shops, lots of men looking at your fiancée you're in luck!

6. The main airport, be prepared to queue for 30-40 minutes if you want to use the toilet, be prepared to tip for this privilege.

7. Camel ride on the beach, don't bother. They tell you one price before getting on, then demand another price when getting off. I saw countless arguments.

Did I enjoy it? Not really. Would I go again? No.
 
Looks like everyone is trying to get out of Tunisa at the moment!

We went to Port El Kantauoi as well and stayed at the El Mouradi Palace as recommended by some friends. I had a great time. My review is here: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUs...64566-El_Mouradi_Palace-Port_El_Kantaoui.html

Recent reviews have been mixed. It had a great kids club and I thought it was a good family resort.

Other than that, we went to Olu Deniz in Tunisia last year which was a lovely family resort.

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