Impressions from a visit to Tunisia

I was surprised to learn that Tunisia, according to some reports, is one of the three most visited countries for holidays among Russians, although little is said about this country objectively. Partly because a couple of years ago there were terrorist attacks against tourists. And this is how I saw this paradise abandoned by tourists.

I must say about security. The police are on duty at the entrance and exit in many cities, sometimes there is an army (in the south), armed patrols can be seen in popular places, but there is no danger at all besides this. There is no trace of aggression. The people for the most part are very friendly and even pleasant. Very many even know a little Russian and will welcome you with pleasure. In general, the attitude is very friendly. If the police stop (a regular check at the entrance to the city), they usually say something good about Russia.

Market in Sousse.

Market in Sfax.

The resort and the part visited by tourists is mainly the north-east of the country, the coast. It is convenient to travel here, and there are no problems with hotels, and there are relatively many tourists. I mentioned hotels for a reason, the fact is that the hotel chain outside this part of Tunisia is extremely poorly developed. There is practically no choice, and the available options are usually expensive and of very poor quality. True, there are more hotels there than are presented on different services, they are often even put on Google maps, but because of the poor service it is better not to stop there. Often met a review of such hotels on the Tripadvisor, a 4 star hotel, even a chain one, and it says that this is "the worst hotel of my life", do not stay there!

Abandoned hotel in Tabarca.

An empty cafe in an oasis in the desert.

Unfinished cafe in the oasis.

Local money.

Partly this situation happened because tourists stopped traveling to Tunisia, you can see with the naked eye how the tourism industry is withering: the beaches are empty, many hotels are closed, restaurants do not work, paint is showered and there are really few tourists. But this is not customary for locals to talk about at all. Partially inbound tourism offset the domestic and neighbors from Algeria. An excellent sea, beautiful nature, rich history and wonderful climate in Tunisia have not been canceled.

The view from the hotel in Tabarca.

Salad bar at the hotel in Hammamet.

Tabarka Beach.

Water charges at the restaurant.

In Tunisia, in addition to the beaches, unlike neighboring Morocco, there is something to see, dozens of ancient cities and different fortresses have been preserved here - the Numidians, Romans, Carthaginians and other Punians, Berbers and Arabs settled here. Such wealth will be envied by Italy, Greece and Turkey.

Amphitheater of Oudna.

Fortress wall in Sousse.

Mosaic villas in El Jem.

But in order to examine all this, transport is needed. There are two ways out - a taxi, it is inexpensive, although a trip of 100-150 km in one direction only cannot be completely cheap. Therefore, it makes sense to take a car. I took a car. But the problem is that I did not find a single report on a trip by car in Tunisia. Everyone just writes that they drive there so badly that even forget about independent driving. Nonsense! It is very comfortable, convenient and safe to drive a car. Driving the rest within normal limits, even in the center of major cities. Almost the entire interesting part of the country is covered by 3G network - no communication problems.

Highway along the coast.

Road through the desert.

At prices, everything is fairly inexpensive, more budgetary than Turkey, provided that you have arrived cheaply, it is more difficult to get to Tunisia by plane. Food is inexpensive. Hotels for relaxing on the sea are cheap (when the Russians have an off season), and not for relaxing, such as the capital are very expensive. Associated costs are average.

Berber guesthouse in the desert.

In general, if there hadn’t been terrorism and if the local authorities had more money, it would have been soooooo good here, now it’s also not bad, but much more modest. And yes, Tunisia is completely different from Africa, in some places it is Italy, in some places it is Switzerland, except for the very southern regions where the Sahara rules.

Central Tunisia.