Holiday Truths Forum

when is Ramadam this year?

Ramadan is around the 13th September this year

Starts 13th September and ends about 11th October.

Hi im booked to go to pek in september 26th for a week ,being ramadan is there many changes to life or any thing i should be aware of so not to offend anyone..
I go to malta alot and i know its resept to cover up but being a another religion i dont want to upset anyone,any advise would be very welcome, thank you , cheryl

Life in the hotels goes on much as usual. Many cafes etc. will not serve food outside during daylight hours, though you will still be able to eat inside. Alcohol will only be available in hotels and not in supermarkets etc. Taxis become scarce from about 4.30 for a couple of hours whilst the drivers go home to break the fast and some train and bus timetables may possibly be affected. Apart from this you, as a tourist, won't notice much difference.

Does that mean the Golf Brau in P.E.K. will be closed for a month ?

During the day YES !

Sorry to labour the point but in a nutshell, all the restaurants and bars around the resort and marina will be open after say 7.30 in the evening.
Also during the day some will be serving if you sit inside ?

Actually Tony, from my experience most of the restaurants etc. in PEK and Sousse were open during the day as long as you sat inside. I don't know specifically about the Golf Brau as it is some years since I've actually stayed in PEK. When I visit now I usually eat round the Marina. You will not, however, be able to buy alcohol from supermarkets during Ramadan. In the past some of them have sold alcohol to visitors, but last year there seemed to be a blanket ban, though this did not apply to hotels.

Thanks very useful information.

I suppose the GolfBrau could be open then as there is inside seating.

Thanks again.

is this the micro brewery next to the gold residence? am trying to find a good deal to this hotel after missing a great one for 5/9,due to hubby dithering,and reading great reviews for this hotel.the best deal so far is for 16/9 and so into ramadam which is making o/h dither even more!

That's the one bushbaby. Go for it if you can get a good deal. The Golf Residence is well situated near to the Marina, the waterpark is very close and you can get taxis, tuktuks and the Noddy train to take you further afield.

We spent several wonderful lunchtimes at the GolfBrau on our last trip.

The Golf Brau microbrewery ...... does anyone know if this will be open in the daytime during ramadan ? Or will it be shut until after sun down.

No guarantee Tony, but I would guess they will be open as usual as long as you eat/drink inside during the day.

Thanks for the help.

Its not far from the harbour so will have to call by and see when we get there.

And being a good HT'er, Tony, I'm sure you will be kind enough to let the rest of us know how it goes for future reference. I'm going out on 10th Oct. so will miss most of Ramadan but be there in time to enjoy Eid.

We arrive towards the end of Ramadan on 7th October, when is Eid ... the day after Ramadan finishes ? What happens to make it special ?

Yes, Eid is right after the end of Ramadan. For us, not a lot happens, but for Moslems it is a bit like Christmas over here. All the children get presents and new clothes and there is a general air of festivity after the month of fasting. If you have Tunisian friends you may be invited to join them which is lovely. For Europeans it simply means that everything gets back to what is accepted as 'normality' in the country and we can, once again, sit outside in the sun having a meal or drink (at least you know the Golf Brau will be fully functional then )

One important point - make sure you don't run out of cash as it is a holiday season and the ATMs may run dry and not be topped up as frequently as usual.

If you put Eid into Google you will get a lot of information on the festival around the world.

Hi all
Although there is only just over a week left of Ramadan this year I hope this info will come in useful for anyone going out to Tunisia.

I have just returned from a lovely week in PEK and thought I would let you all know that during Ramadan all the cafes around the marina and fountain area were open during the day and there were plenty of people including myself sitting outside enjoying something to eat and drink in the sun every day. The only resturaunt I know for sure was closed for the whole of Ramadan was the Italian Novo Marina as they have the decorators in. Sorry I can't comment on the Golf Brau as I didn't go there but I would assume it was open like everywhere else.

Also I was able to buy wine for a friend from the off licence in the supermarket, they will sell alcohol to tourists but not to Tunisians during Ramadan.

Finally i was talking to some English people who on arriving were told by their rep not to go down to the marina at night as because it was Ramadan they would have trouble getting a taxi back. This is not the case! We were down many nights and there was was always plenty of taxis waiting the only time there wasn't so many taxis around was from 7-7.30pm as most of the people were getting a quick bite to eat, but even then there was still a couple of drivers waiting for passengers.
I think it is a shame that the people I had been talking to missed out on going to the marina in the evening as it tends to be more lively in the evening and is an enjoyable place to sit an enjoy a drink or two watching the world go by!

Hope this helps, if not this year then next!

Leanna

Thanks Leanna. I know in the past I've been able to get alcohol in supermarkets during Ramadan but last year in Sousse the Magasin General were not selling it, neither were most of the restaurants in Sousse letting customers sit outside during the day - things seem to change there from year to year but it's never a major problem.

Regarding advice being given by reps, I usually take it with a pinch of salt. My first time, years ago with Cosmos, before they pulled out of Tunisia, we had a lovely rep, Brian, who was actually past retirement but gave excellent and useful advice, but since then I've never found one who could really be relied on. That said, I'm sure there are still those who know the place and are interested in giving their guests a good experience, rather than just selling trips, but sadly there are many who don't seem to have that interest.