Holiday to Tunisia Advice

PompeyPete

Good post Zebbscat.
A bit of pre-holiday homework goes a long way.
Borrow a copy of Lonely Planet or Rough Guide from your local library, you've paid the Council Tax, so make it work in your favour.
Can honestly say that the only thing I didn't like was the amount of litter. Litter/rubbish isn't easy on the eye, especially on what are otherwise lovely areas of natural beauty.
A damn shame really.

ScottySmog

bcl999 wrote: »

Just as a matter of interest, what is the Arabic for "Yes"?

Testing the old grey matter here as I learnt what little Arabic I know in the Gulf (so North African Arabic may be pronounced slightly differently) around 20 years ago but the word is pronounced as "Na-am"

Well, nobody looked confused or punched me when I said it so I assume it's vaguely correct and not offensive

ScottyUK

bcl999 wrote: »

What was the weather like?

Weather was good, between 11 and 4 it was 20-30 but at night it did get cooler so usually put jeans and a hoodie on.

Euros are fine to take, hotels will exchange cash so its up to yourself what to do.

We were really wanting to go to El jem but couldn't see any way of getting there? The only way seemed to be a train to mehdia then get our own way from there.
If i go again i will deffinately get there though!!

PompeyPete

ScottyUK wrote: »

We were really wanting to go to El jem but couldn't see any way of getting there? The only way seemed to be a train to mehdia then get our own way from there.
If i go again i will deffinately get there though!!

Take the train to Mahdia. Get off at the penultimate stop. Walk 300 yards in the direction the train was going (ie. towards Mahdia). You'll come to the louage (van) depot. All the louages have a destination card on them. Choose the El Jem louage. Hang around 5 minutes or so until there are 8 passengers. Drive takes approx 45 minutes and costs TD2.400 (£1.10) each way. You'll get dropped off at the train station, about 250 yards from the ampitheatre. Entry fee is TD8, which includes the museum (about a mile away, but worth the effort).
Alternatively, I'm sure you can get a louage from Monastir, but I don't know where the louage station is.

vegasvisitor

I'm a bit puzzled by these directions to El Jem. We took the train and got off near El Jem. We walked to the museum first, bought a ticket for museum and El Jem there. After the museum we walked over to El Jem (you can see it from the museum), and then afterwards back to the station via some shops to pass some time.

It was a good day out.

We did Tunis on a previous trip on the train (also from PEK, taxi to sousse for the train). We were away most of the day though for Tunis - did Carthage, Sidi Bou Said on the TGM train. It was fairly easy if you had a map and some instructions (I got instructions on TripAdvisor).

PompeyPete

lesley74 wrote: »

I'm a bit puzzled by these directions to El Jem. We took the train and got off near El Jem. We walked to the museum first, bought a ticket for museum and El Jem there. After the museum we walked over to El Jem (you can see it from the museum), and then afterwards back to the station via some shops to pass some time.

Fair point! But you can't get to El Jem by train from Monastir, which is what ScottyUK was on about.
You went by main line train from Sousse. Only problem with that is there is quite a big gap between trains, and you might end up hanging around for your return to Sousse. Main line trains are notorious for being late too.

lesley74 wrote: »

It was a good day out.

Yep, and good fun doing it independantly. A lot cheaper than being herded round in a tour group too!

lesley74 wrote: »

We did Tunis on a previous trip on the train (also from PEK, taxi to sousse for the train). We were away most of the day though for Tunis - did Carthage, Sidi Bou Said on the TGM train. It was fairly easy if you had a map and some instructions (I got instructions on TripAdvisor).

Another good day out, and so easy to do. When you get off the train at Tunis, it's a bit in your face. Fortunately for us, we'd already stayed there for a few days and knew what to expect. The TGM can get very crowded too, but if you get a seat it's alright. Sid Bou Said is a lovely place, shame about all the tour groups though. The best days to go there are when there are no cruise ships in La Goulette.

vegasvisitor

Yes, Tunis is quite in your face, and from just watching the news I wouldn't be going there any time soon. Doesn't look very safe. We found the timeframe fine for El Jem, but only by going early morning. We were back in time for the end of lunch.

We had a bit of an experience on the TGM train - there was a bunch of teenage boys holding the doors open and having out the train while it was moving. The inspector eventually came along and dragged the guys off into the first class bit, meanwhile slapping them all quite hard across the back of the head. The boys accepted this. I mean imagine that here, the inspector would have been set upon by a bunch of young lads. Must be a cultural difference I suppose. We were a bit worried for them, but they probably just got put off the train at the next stop.

PompeyPete

Despite all the very sad unrest at the moment the main tourist areas appear to be sound, but I don't think I'd like to hang around too long in Tunis.
Hope it sorts itself out, but I fear it's all part of the global financial crisis, and the poorest countries will suffer most.