Hi,

It depends a little bit what else you plan on doing eg excursions, eating out etc. The holidays I've had out there when it's just been me and a friend I've generally taken about £300. And always come back with plenty left over. This is after spending on drinks, cigarettes, taxis, presents for myself and family and a couple of friends, booking a couple of excursions, tips etc. (But not my duty free!). The pounds seem to go a long way out there. When I went to visit my now ex I usually spent a bit more, as I paid for petrol as I don't drive, and we'd eat out more.

If you're mainly planning on shopping in the bazaars, remember to haggle! This may save a couple of £s as well!!

Hope this is useful. Enjoy your hols and the shopping!

A.

Thankyou sunstruck that is a great help to me-I will report back on here when I return!!

Hi Haddojetty, how was your first time in Tunisia as I am thinking about going next year.
Thanks in advance
Spottiswoode

Hi there,
It was a nice break but I felt as though Tunisia was a little too 'package' for me and hubby. We stayed in Sousse, and I guess it was very busy as we went peak season. The hotels/resorts are all away from the 'real' Tunisia so that's my main gripe about it really. There are a few day trips that are available, El Djem being a good one, but we were only allowed an hour there so if you wanted to go, it would be a good idea to go under your own steam on a train.

I guess expectations of a country are always different from one person to the next, and as much as the weather was great, I wouldn't go back to Tunisia as it just didn't have the 'wow' factor.

I don't want to put you off going, as like I said, we all have different expectations. If you want any more info, pm me and I will be happy to go into more detail!

Cheers! Haddojetty

Tunisia is really easy and relatively cheap to get around under your own steam either by public transport or hiring a taxi or car plus driver for the day. Using the louages would be even cheaper and be a really good way to get the feel for the 'real' Tunisia. As Haddyjetty says, all the tourist hotels and purpose-built resorts like PEK and Jasmine Hammamet are in the 'Zones Touristiques' away from the the town centres but this is actually one of the things that has always appealed to me about Tunisia, in that it means that cities like Sousse, Monistir and Hammamet have very much retained their own identity and 'feel' yet are within easy reach. On the other hand, what has always been a real turn-off for me with much of the northern Med is the fact that any local character some of the resorts might once have had, has long been swamped with tourist developments. For me, Tunisia gives me the best of both worlds - good hotels with excellent facilities but an entirely different and still largely unspoilt cultural and historical experience wthin easy reach.

As for the 'wow' factor well it will always depend on what 'floats your boat'. I've been to Dougga twice now - accessible for the day by taxi from either Sousse or Hammamet at a price which undercuts the TO excursions if there are 2 or more of you - and it left me breathless both times. As did the Julian Baths at Carthage and the Great Mosque in Kairrouan. But then I am a bit of a history geek. And a Monty Python one too which is why I got a real kick out of being able to wander around the Rabat in Sousse, which was the stand-in for Jerusalem in 'The Life of Brian', picking out the location of various scenes. 'What have the Romans ever done for us?' indeed :-)