Anyone been to Tunisia?

i went to Tunisia about 2 years ago and stayed about 15 mins taxi away from sousse. Everything is quite cheap but you do have to haggle quite hard to get really low prices and be prepared to walk away.

If you need to get a taxi find out how much it should be from the hotel and then agree a price before you get in and do not pay until you reach the destination (we got dumped in the middle of nowhere because i paid when i first got in the taxi, stupid i know) You can always pick up a taxi but try and go for a newer one as some of them really should not be on the road.

there is a great walled medina (a maze of little stalls and shops like a market) right in the middle of sousse and you could spend the best part of the day finding your way round and it is full of suprises. The local sellers all have really good english and are freindly but they can get a bit much after a while as you are constantly being stopped and ushered into their shops. You have to be really firm and say no and avoid eye contact with them but its all a bit of fun really. If you see something you like offer at least half of what they ask and dont go higher, if they wont sell for that price the man in the next stall with the same goods will.

Eating out was quite cheap but you will find spirits quite expensive. When i was there someone brought a bottle of whisky on the plane and then swapped it for a leather coat in town.

We went half board for 2 weeks and i must admit that we only brought lunch out once as we packed rolls and other breakfast things in my handbag at breakfast and had them for lunch and then back to the hotel for dinner so we did not spend much at all. Bottled water is really cheap just make sure they dont see you take it back to the hotel.

Just a few tips below

if you are female make sure you cover up as you will attract unwanted attention.

Do take anything from the locals as you will pay one way or another, one person tried to charge my OH for stroking a cat in the street that is how bad they are.

If someone offers to take you to see their family or anything then you will be expected to buy or pay and they get really funny.

Most of the stuff they sell is fake so dont be drawn in to their sales spin.

You are expected to tip but we got so fed up in the end of people asking for tips that we stopped altogether.

If you can afford it i would recomed going on some day trips as the sights there are fantastic especially if you like ruins as we do. They are not to expensive in comparison to other places we have been to and well worth it.

The dina is a closed currency and you can only get the money once you get into the country and you are not allowed to take the currency home (you wont be able to exchange it anyway) the hotels normally have a exchange counter but you could take a few dollers with you to use in the mean time as they are acceped over there.

Sorry if i have waffled, if you have any questions i am quite happy to try and help. Tunisia was one of our best holidays and i would recommend going, its just helpful and more enjoyable if you have an idea of what to expect.

Suzanna

I have to agree there TM.When we were last in Tunisia quite a few families and alot of older couples actually did this.They filled their bags up at brekkie with basically everything they could get in it for lunchtime(including loads of fruit and yoghurts).
I wouldnt dream of doing this,as TM says its cheap enough to eat out in Tunisia without having to resort to stealing(which is what you did) food for lunchtime.
Why didnt you go All Inclusive instead of Half Board or would this of meant spending extra money when you can obviously steal your lunch at no cost to yourselves.

sloppychops wrote:

I have to agree there TM.When we were last in Tunisia quite a few families and alot of older couples actually did this.They filled their bags up at brekkie with basically everything they could get in it for lunchtime(including loads of fruit and yoghurts).
I wouldnt dream of doing this,as TM says its cheap enough to eat out in Tunisia without having to resort to stealing(which is what you did) food for lunchtime.
Why didnt you go All Inclusive instead of Half Board or would this of meant spending extra money when you can obviously steal your lunch at no cost to yourselves.

And compared to us, these people live in the equivalent of poverty. Tourism is an essential feature of the economy and by "playing fair" as a tourist, one is helping to raise the standard of living for many Tunisians.

I think it's pretty close to stealing and not something that we would want the Tunisians to think is the norm, for us Brits.

But the cost of the lunch you didn't buy in Tunisia, deprived a Tunisian of some income. You probably spend as much on a coffee as they earn in a month!

And when you're next in Tunisia or any other similar country, ask yourself how many of them could afford a 2 week holiday in the UK.

Thank you very much for REALLY PISXXXING ME OFF TODAY!

Eleanor Roosevelt might help here "No-one can make you feel inferior, without your permission"

Suzanna,

I've not come across any Hotel that says it's ok to steal food from their restaurant! ALL Tunisian (& Mediterranean) Hotels have a ruleing that you CAN'T take food out of the restaurant. Obviously there are health/safety issues-if the food 'went-off' before you ate it in the warm weather.

I'm sorry......it's not proper 'moneysaving' at all & it's an embarresment to see people do this. You pay for the food you eat IN the restaurant & that is included in your Hotel cost.

I'm sorry if you find me offensive but what I find more offensive is the sight of fellow brits furtively putting bread rolls & food in their handbags!

If it's included as you say then you should have no problem in openly taking a carrier bag to the relavent food counter & taking what you want in full view of the Hotel staff. Not comfortable doing that?? Wonder why.....(!)

End of rant & NO personal slight on you Suzanna just the legions of people that do this giving us such a bad name.