Sahara Tour in Tunisia – Travel Itinerary

Day 1: Sousse, El Jem, Matmata, Douz

Sousse – Beach Resort

We set off on a three-day trip from the city of Sousse, called the Pearl of the Sahel. Phoenicians founded Sousse, which was an important port then called Hadrumetum. However, on a long sandy beach is a hotel by hotel and makes a modern vibe to Sousse. It is one of the most popular tourist resorts.

Monastir – Ruspina

The road took us further past the Monastir. We landed at the nearby airport in this city. Monastir is also the hometown of Habib Bourguiba. He was the first president of Tunisia, after gaining independence from the French.

The ancient name of this city was Ruspina, and today there is very high-quality olive oil with this name.

The place was ribat, a fortification built to scan the sea and ulames place of contemplation. Ulames are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam.

The Ribat of Monastir was founded in 796 by Governor Harthama Baghdad caliphate.

El Jem – Roman Ellipse Amphitheater

The first stop was in El Jem (El Djem), and we visited the remains of the Roman amphitheater. The last one was built in the Roman Empire, elliptical in shape, 149 meters (489 ft.) long, 124 meters (406,8 ft.) wide, and 36 meters (118 ft.) high. It could accommodate 30,000 spectators.

El Jem amphitheater consists of tribunes that housed spectators. The arena games lasted all day long, and for that reason, each side of the tribunes had a lodge, so the ruler was always in the shade.

The most important part of the El Jem amphitheater was the arena itself, where the battle between gladiators and challengers or animals happened.

Last but not least, catacombs (rooms below the battleground). The fighters (who were the slaves too) lived there and waited for the games to begin.

Fighters would be lifted by special elevators in the middle of the arena and practically thrown into a battle immediately. That had a strong psychological effect because they arrived from the dark catacombs directly into the sunlight. Their appearance would cause an enormous noise from the mob waiting for the fight.

Gladiators have always covered their faces, while the locals, captured fighters, or the rich who have not settled their debts were the challengers.

Apart from entertainment, the games also had the goal of buying social peace since the ruler had the right to decide the fate of the surrendering fighter. The ruler almost always decided only, based on how the mass of spectators expressed their courage pointing the finger up meant they were satisfied, and in this way, the ruler would save the fighter’s life by lifting his thumb up.

Sahel – Land of Olives

We continued our journey through a region called the Sahel (border). Olive trees are landmarks in this landscape.

Sfax – Industrial Center

We passed by Sfax, where the wealthy Tunisians live. According to our tourist guide, the city and people are not particularly popular with other Tunisians. The city is the financial and industrial center of Tunisia.

Sfax is specific in that it is the only place in Tunisia where Tunisians celebrate the New Year. However, not for reasons known to us Europeans, but for marking the great revolt against the Normans. The rebellion was carried out during the New Year when the Normans celebrated. Fireworks and beans are the way to mark this custom.

In other places in Tunisia, the New Year is celebrated only because of the numerous foreign tourists who come to celebrate this holiday in Tunisia.

Mahres

We took a short break in Mahres (Mahares or El Mahres). In the inn by the road, we tasted kapusin, a kind of cappuccino.

Gabes – Spice Market

The next stop was in Gabes at the spice market. The piles of different colorful spices catch the tourists’ attention and wait for potential buyers. The city is known for its oasis, where olives, figs, pomegranates, vines, and others grow under the canopy of very tall palm trees, all in the shadow of each other.

Matmata – Underground Troglodyte Houses

We continued our trip further southeast to the lunar mountains region, where our destination was Matmata. Matmata is a small Berber-speaking town in the desert surroundings.

In Matmata, we had lunch in a typical underground restaurant. We ate an old Berber dish called couscous, brik (similar to Börek), and makrud cakes.

This area is specific in that the native Berbers live in underground troglodyte houses. The whole settlement consists of a yard and radially arranged underground rooms around the yard.

Tamezret – Moon Landscapes

Neary Matmata is another small place in a similar rocky desert landscape by the name of Tamezret.

After lunch, we had the opportunity to visit the authentic troglodyte house in Tamezret, where the “aunt” of our guide Tom lives. Here we were honored with mint tea.

The family has a small rabbit farm in the holes. I had a huge rabbit farm as a kid but in the cages.

This area has gained world fame because the famous American director George Lucas used these landscapes to shoot the Star Wars series.

Douz – Sahara Gate

At the day’s end, we arrived at an oasis in the city of Douz called the Sahara Gate. We stayed in a fantastic hotel with a beautiful pool in the middle that was the refreshment we needed after a long trip.

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Mrezegi Bedouine tribe members inhabited Douz. Romans founded the city, and it was the Legionaries’ post in Roman times.

Sahara Desert – Sahra

Since we arrived at the edge of the Sahara desert, we could also say a few words about the Sahara itself.

It covers an area of 9,200,000 km2 (3,600,000 sq mi) in eleven countries. The Sahara Desert is 0.96 times as big as the United States.

The Sahara is constantly expanding thanks to the Siroko winds. Expansion occurs in the center of the desert due to the pressure difference and blows to the north.

There is a constant struggle between man and nature over the spread of the Sahara sand, so it is often possible to see on the edges of oases and other places fences of palm branches that man is trying to prevent the spread of the desert. As you can see in the photo below.

Day 2: Zaafrane, Chott el Djerid, Tozeur, Naftah

Zaafrane – Camel Ride

Early in the morning, we left our lovely hotel in Douz and headed out for Zaafrane, where parked camels with their owners were waiting for us.

Camels (We called them Jemels) are highly intelligent, vital, and friendly animals. Personally, Camel’s eyelashes are adorable to me. I love them.

The strongest, smartest, and fastest camels are the white Mehari camels. The Tunisian army uses them to guard the borders with Algeria and Libya.

It is important to note that only male camels are for riding. Riding a camel seemed like a dangerous and complicated adventure to many, but they quickly became convinced that it was an exciting and beautiful experience. For me, one of the most beautiful experiences on the whole tour.

The Jemel I was riding behaved a little strangely. I thought my weight was a problem. Later, I found out that the strange sounds he had made very often and the crawling of his tongue had been ritual calls for mating.

We stopped by the Sahara dunes for a brief photo session.

Chott el Djerid – Saline Lake

On our journey to Kebili, we crossed the shallow saline lake Chott el Djerid on an asphalt road.

After passing Kebili, we came across a specific phenomenon called the dune cemetery. Weather conditions petrified the dunes that once were alive.

We had the opportunity to take pictures with the scorpion shown to us by the locals. So appropriate to be close to the scorpion’s venomous sting and to look death in the eye at the dune’s cemetery.

In the middle of the lake, we stop by the store to buy dates. According to our tourist guide, we had to look for dried dates on the stalk in boxes with cellophane. Other packages and wrappings signal previous years’ harvesting. The local salesman advertised it as “Urrrrma – viagrrrra” because of the belief that it was an aphrodisiac.

Besides fantastic landscapes for photos, we could also see Fata Morgana, a mirage phenomenon. The salt crystals at the bottom of a dry lake reflect the sun’s rays and cause the effect of seeing water in the distance while, in reality, there is none. It is an optical illusion and nature’s magic.

Another souvenir worth mentioning and probably buying is a Desert stone rose.

Tozeur – Bricks Architecture

After crossing the salt lake, we stopped at Tozeur. At the local market, we could see camel meat sold. Tozeur is better known by the name “land of palm trees” due to the high-quality palm tree species by the name (Deglet Noor).

Tozeur is also very famous for its specific architecture, and by many, one of the best and most beautiful in Tunisia. Just pay attention to carefully designed shapes on the brick walls of the Tozeur’s buildings.

This area is popular among German tourists who come exclusively to take shorter or longer camel trips to oases and the Sahara desert.

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Welcome to the region known as the Djerid area, which means the oasis region.

Naftah – Corbeille de Nefta

At the end of the second day of our Sahara Tour, we arrived at Naftah, the final destination for the day. First, we stopped to visit the famous Neftah basket (Corbeille de Nefta), which offers a fantastic view of the palm trees.

Notice fences made of dried palm leaves around the oasis. The spread of sand on fertile land is a significant issue for oasis existence. It is an attempt to protect the oasis’s further existence.

In the 12th century, Sidi Ali inhabited this region and came from Morocco. He brought the excellent seeds of date palms that he planted here.

After staying at the hotel and a short refreshment in the beautiful hotel pool, we went by carriage to the oasis. There we could see how they worked in the oasis. We tasted dates, drank palm juice, and smoked a pipe of tobacco.

I was, definitely, a blood type for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes were in large numbers and in swarms, and they relentlessly bit me.

We finished the day with a sunset over the desert. However, I hope you will be better luck and have better sunset than we had.

Sahara Oasis Explained

When we talk about oases, we need to mention oases types. These are two or three strata oasis types.

The first and top stratum is solely for sowing date palm trees. It makes the shade and freshness for lower layers.

The intermediate stratum is for sowing bananas, figs, lemons, oranges, plums, apricot, peaches, pomegranate, etc.

The third stratum is for sowing tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, etc.

Planting an oasis in layers is the best management of soil and water irrigation.

For the obtained fruit to reach marketable quality, the bunches of dates must be thinned, bagged, or covered before ripening. The remaining fruits grow faster and bigger, and the cover protects them from weather and animals, such as birds, that also like to eat them.

Bags or nets covering the dates protect the fruit from the sand, as well. The fruit can crack if there is too much water, and the sand would bring harmful substances into the fruit.

How is the work on the oasis organized?

The palm plantation owner usually delegates a plantation manager (kames), who organizes the whole work at the oasis.

A manager earns a fifth of the yield on the plantation. The manager’s job is to determine the number of workers to harvest the dates and do all the work.

The manager determines the number of workers by measuring the highest palm tree in the oasis.

Why is this important?

Workers climb to the top of the palm tree to pick up the bunches of dates but never drop them to the ground since this would damage the dates and lower the quality of the product. Instead, enough climbers climb from the bottom to the top of the palm tree on each others’ shoulders. The top climber picks the bunches of dates and sends them hand in hand from one climber to another until they reach the bottom one and eventually the ground.

The relationship between the plantation owner and the manager is usually such that the manager is constantly in debt to the owner. The manager is in a dependent relationship.

Day 3: Atlas, Chebika, Tamaghza, Kairouan

The third and final day was the most attractive, so we are eager to share it with you.

In the early morning, the team that decided to continue the Jeep offroad tour set off for the highlight and the best time of the entire Sahara trip.

Our driver’s name is Fakur, and he drove us in a Toyota Jeep by the Nomadi agency.

The driving experience itself is fantastic and exciting. The drivers drove us up to the dune’s edge. Suddenly, they would drop us over the dune’s edge into the abyss and lift our stomachs to our necks. On the flat sandy sections, they would turn and spin as wildly. They rose our adrenalin levels to the limits.

Camel Neck (Ong Jemel)

Fast and Furious drive demands a short break. Is there any better place for a breathtaking pause than a landing site at the beginning of the famous English Patient movie?

We did not land with the yellow airplane, Ralph Fiennes’ mistress did it in the movie. Instead, our drivers parked the white dragon’s Toyota jeeps at the foot of the camel neck (Ong Jemel).

We reminded ourselves of the melodic tones of the Szerlem song, which was the most famous song on English Patient’s soundtrack. We enjoyed the view of the desert’s flat surface, from the hill, as you can see in the photo below.

From the top, we could see brown and white sand, with signatures of the jeep’s tires on the sand from the many touring companies driving over.

Our next stop was another movie set scenery, An Iconic movie…

Star Wars Village

On one plateau at the foot of the dunes, we have seen Luke Skywalker’s village made for filming Star Wars. Wow, Luke Skywalker grew up and lived as a child here. We went down, took photos, and got Jedi’s power (not really).

Although the scenery has seen better days, the feeling of being here is marvelous.

We have wandered throughout the village like C-3PO and R2-D2 to find Luke Skywalker, but no luck this time. He was probably on another lesson at Yoda’s Tataouine planet.

Jeep Tour – The Dunes

We stopped at a place full of mica used in the electrical industry as an insulating material and for cooling transistors. Further, into our journey, we passed through a part of the dunes and part of the road on which the Paris-Dakar rally took place when it went through Tunisia.

Chebika Oasis

We took the asphalt road and continued to the Red Mountains. We stopped to visit the beautiful Chebika oasis where water still springs from the ground.

There are many breathtaking places to photograph the mountain range of red mountains, palm trees, waterfalls, and other natural beauty.

A big problem in this region is the high fluctuation of temperatures between day and night, winter and summer.

Many people from this region left their homes and worked in phosphate mines or other cities. We toured the entire landscape along the trail, and after a short break, we continued our way to the next stop Tamaghza.

Tamaghza (Tamerza) Oasis

We went down to see the beautiful waterfall of the river Mides. Tamerza is the largest mountain oasis in Tunisia. It has a canyon with light brown-red rocks and a waterfall. We passed by an old abandoned Tamerza town that suffered from excessive rains and floods.

Our guide gathered the courage to take a picture with a cobra, as well as a few brave companions.

It is unbelievable that Tunisians have covered every inch of their country with shops selling their goods if tourists come to those places.

Shahid (Shaheed)

Shahid or freely translating from Arabic means a patriot.

We passed the so-called Romel’s path through the Atlas Mountains and passed by the Shahid location. At that place, a great battle took place between the French army on the one hand and the Tunisian-Algerian rebels on the other, and on that occasion, 2,000 people on the rebel side lost their lives.

We stayed on the slopes of the Atlas Mountains to see the beautiful desert landscapes on one of the lookouts.

Al-Rudayyif – Roof Houses

We approached the Algerian border for half a kilometer on our Sahara trip. Further down the road, we passed through a place called Al-Rudayyif.

We could see many houses with roofs, a rarity in Tunisia. Almost all buildings in Tunisia are without sloped roofs and instead are just flat surfaces. However, these were the houses of French people who lived here when Tunisia was a French protectorate.

Metlaoui (Al-Mitlawi)

We ended our Jeep Safari & Sahara tour in Metlaoui town. There we had lunch at a local restaurant.

We continued our journey by bus, together with the rest of the group that did not take the Dunes Jeeps tour. On the bus, we shared our experiences from the morning with them. Along the way, we took a break at Jilma (Jilmah).

Kairouan – Muslim Pilgrimage & Carpets

Our next stop was Kairouan, which means caravan camp. The foundation of Kairouan dates to about the year 670. It is known as the fourth holy place for Muslims since it houses the famous Mosque of Uqba.

Kairouan is well-known for carpets advertised as Made In Kairouan.

The origin of this city in this place is more military-strategic than purely geographical or economic reasons.

Carthage, at that time, was under great attack by the Byzantines as they had a flotilla to attack it. Arabs did not have too much desire to advance towards Carthage, so the foundation of Kerouane 50 km inland of the country was only an advantage. Sousse port is close to the city as well. Kairouan is in the country’s geographical center, so the army movement was possible in all directions in the fight against the Berber tribes.

We finished our journey after more than 1200 km in three days. Sahara’s journey is complete by returning to Sousse.

What fascinated me on this trip was that the Tunisians built and renovated their roads for the needs of tourism, which, in addition to the complex environmental conditions, have large amounts of salt, wind, sun, sand, etc.

Places Nearby

Although the Sahara tour was fully packed with many attractions, Tunisia has a lot more to offer. We were lucky enough to see more beautiful destinations that would like to share with you.

Port El Kantaoui

We took a funny-colored pinky-violetish tuk-tuk from Sousse to Port el Kantaoui. It is a short ride just 10 km (6,2 mi) north of Sousse.

It is a fashionable spot. We would describe it as Tunisian Saint Tropez.

The tourist complex area consists of white buildings surrounded by interestingly trimmed trees in different shapes, palm trees, and lots of colorful and beautiful flowers. Lots of red Tunisian flags give an additional contrast to the dominant green and white colors.

Paved pathways with red-white or black-white curbs guided our way to a big fountain and tall stone tower with an arch entrance to the port.

The port is packed with boats and yachts of different shapes, sizes, and colors. All the vessels were sunbathing and waiting for the owners to start a new journey and epic adventure. For us, the yachts were just fantastic decorations to take memorable marina photographs.

Tunis

Tunis City is the capital of Tunis. It is a nice blend of oriental architecture with some European influences, especially French. It has a lot to offer historically, architecturally, culturally, and more.

Just to name a few. Historical quarter Medina of Tunis with a maze of narrow streets and endless shopping offers. Sidi Bou Said is the charming landmark of the city, with its white houses, blue windows, and doors. Carthage ruins remind us of the worldwide known history of this region. Bardo National Museum has a collection of ancient Roman exhibits. The museum is the second most important, after the Egyptian national treasure.

Hammamet

It is also known as Yasmine Hammamet due to the jasmine flowers. We stopped by Vincci Lella Baya Hotel to pick up one of our tour guides for the Tunis City Tour.

We did not have time to explore more. Although from what we saw, it looked to us like a higher-level tourist destination. Definitely worth considering as a base for some of our future visits to Tunisia.

Getting Around in Tunisia

Tunisia is connected by a network of roads, railways, ports, and international airports.

By Airplane: Tunisia has 9 airports and we have passed by several of them on our Sahara Desert Tour. We came to Tunisia at Monastir Habib Bourguiba international airport and were transported by bus to Sousse.

During this trip, we passed by several Tunisian airports such as Sfax, Gabes, Tozeur Nefta, and Gafsa.

Tunis City has the biggest international airport by the name of Carthage, and it is almost in the heart of the city. We passed by the airport when we were on our way to Sidi Bou Said. It looks big, and modern and with two terminals.

Buses and Taxis are options to transport from the airport to the city center. Car Rentals are more appropriate for Tunisia’s mainland further exploration.

By Bus: We had a bus arranged by our travel agency for transport around the whole tour. SNTRI is a national bus company. It runs a fleet of modern, air-conditioned coaches between towns and cities throughout Tunisia.

By Train: Trains in Tunisia are cheap but can be overcrowded. The main north-south train line is Tunis-Gabes (via Sousse, and Sfax).

Where to stay on Sahara Desert Tour?

We had a different hotel each night during our trip. So we will give you a short review of some places where we stayed, and recommend good ones.

El Mouradi In Douz

On our first night, we slept in this beautiful hotel. It was so nice after a whole day of traveling to refresh in the swimming pool and wash all the dust and dirt collected during the day. We would really love to come back to El Mouradi Hotel in Douz if we come again to Tunisia.

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Thermal Oasis Hotel & Spa in Nefta

We spent our second night of the trip in this hotel. However, this is a budget-level hotel and I am sure there are better ones in Nefta for our next trip. The only things we remembered were the swimming pool and carriage ride from the hotel to the nearby oasis.

El Hana Beach in Sousse

We had booked our hotel in Sousse via a travel agency, and the booking was a great option. We were at the budget-level hotel El Hana Beach. However, when we checked recently, the hotel is out of business.

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Vincci Lella Baya in Yasmine Hammamet

Vincci Lella Baya was not on our Sahara tour but we have to mention it. We stopped by this hotel on our Tunis City tour. It is really a luxury hotel with a fantastic exterior and interior. We would really consider this hotel for our next visit to Tunisia.

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Sahara Desert Tours’ Restaurants and Cafes you have to see!

Hotel Sidi Driss Restaurant in Matmata

Our first stop on the 3-day Sahara tour was in Matmata at Hotel Sidi Driss Restaurant. The restaurant looks like an underground troglodyte house which is typical for Matmata’s region.

Guests’ dining rooms have an arch shape and they are dug into the ground. Inside the restaurant is a curved ceiling that reminded me of Hungarian csárda in the basement.

The food was typical for this part of the world. We had couscous, brik (similar to Börek), and makrud cakes. The food was ok but not something that we have been used to it. The biggest impression was the architecture of the restaurant.

El Mouradi In Douz

We had excellent meals during dinner and breakfast at the end of the first day and the beginning of the second day. We highly recommend this beautiful hotel.

Ksar El Jerid in Tozeur

In Ksar El Jerid Hotel in Tozeur we had a nice lunch. However, we cannot remember what was on the menu since we did not write it down in our diary and it was really long time ago.

Best time to visit Tunisia

When we mention Tunisia, we usually think about the Mediterranean Sea, sand beaches, sun, the Sahara desert, and everything linked to warmth.

No wonder our suggestion to visit Tunisia & Sahara Desert is in the summer months between June and even the beginning of October.

We have to mention that we heard that New Years’ Eve celebrations are popular among some tourists. Tourists coming from countries with long winters are especially interested in this offer.

Costs of traveling in Tunisia

We have set a budget estimate that might be helpful while planning your own trip to Tunisia and the Sahara Desert.

USD ($) – Budget

EUR (€) – Budget

GBP (£) – Budget

We wish you an epic trip!