Has anyone been to Tunisia on holiday?

gadgeteer_2

We're planning a family holiday to Tunisia next year, to a place called Sousse.

Has anyone been and what's it like there? I've been to Turkey and it was amazing.

The thing I'm worried about is with 3 kids they'll get bored after a couple of days having done the beach & pool. At least in Turkey there was lots of other stuff to do but so far in Sousse, it seems very quiet. Fine for me & DP but we don't want a whole week of "We're bored!"

luciesmummy82

Ive been to Hamammet. Where we were was pretty quiet, we stayed in our AI hotel most of the time or our private beach.. its a nice family one and I dont think I would have wanted to venture out too much without a tour guide due to just being harrassed by sellers wherever you go- although they were all very charming and friendly. It was a lovely place and I hear Sousse is great. We was in a hotel which had a main entertainment roomand kids club so between that, the pool ,excursions(recommend camels)and meeting new friends in the reception area/drinks area of hotel she was well entertained. Im sure you will have a great time and kids wont be bored, Id love to go back..

I_luv_cats

gadgeteer wrote: »

We're planning a family holiday to Tunisia next year, to a place called Sousse.

Has anyone been and what's it like there? I've been to Turkey and it was amazing.

The thing I'm worried about is with 3 kids they'll get bored after a couple of days having done the beach & pool. At least in Turkey there was lots of other stuff to do but so far in Sousse, it seems very quiet. Fine for me & DP but we don't want a whole week of "We're bored!"

I stayed in Sousse a few years ago, Spent my time:

Walking along the beach to the Medina. (market etc.) Be prepared as there is a lot of hassle from traders and shopping touts. It is a place for haggling if you have the nerve!!

Long walk or via tuk tuk / taxi to Port el kantoui. (posh area with marina) boat trips, shops,

Cabaret entertainment night @ the Casino and watched people on the tables afterwards. Also a night out at a local Bedouin feast (entertainment and food)

You can have trips to other tourist places, suba diving, camel rides, jet skiing, landrover trips to the desert to see the Berber people and where starwars was filmed etc. (if you can afford it)

I don't know if there is enough to keep children happy alone without paying for the outings. I wasn't fully amused myself as I am not a beach person but it was very very cheap £190 for a week.

I went in December so I liked being away from the UK Christmas hype and had some warmer weather than the uk, in the 70's. I am glad I went as it was an experience.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I love Tunisia but I'm in my 50s and I don't think I'd have been taking my children there as I realy don't think there is a lot to do for kids.
On one occasion we did a fantastic tour of the whole country staying in different hotels everyday and saw pretty much everything worth seeing but I'm not sure children would have appreciated much of it.
Nice beaches in Hammamet,Sousse is ok too but I can't remember seeing much for children to do.
My only bad memory of Tunisia is the hassle.
I came home with never wanting to hear the words "one dinar" again.
It was all we heard from the children begging every time we left the hotel.

interstellaflyer

Tunisia is our main holiday destination, we usually stay in Sousse or Skanes, there is plenty to do for the whole family, Excursions are very good value, 2 Day desert Safari is superb but an awfull lot lot of traveling and very early starts, well worth it though, the trip that takes in Douga and Thuburbo Majus is to be recomended if you like your Roman stuff as is the Bardo museum in Tunis.

A note on excursions, tour operators such as Thomas Cook, First Choice etc sell excustions at resort, yes you can buy the same trips cheaper however, if you buy through your tour operator you will be in an exclusively british group, if you book the same trip through a local agent you will pay less but you will be in a mixed nationality group, not a big problem if you are doing the Pirate Ship, Camel Convoy or Quad Bikes however, it can be a real pain on the desert safari or any trips where a guide is involved as you will get all comentry in 4 different languages, this gets a bit teadious after a while.

Yes you will get pestered by street traders and Jasmin sellers but a firm no usually does the trick, we seldom get pestered I think they know the rookies from the seasoned visitors.

gadgeteer_2

Thanks for the replies. I think if there are excursions like Pirate Ship & Quad bikes then we might be ok. Interstella...what age would you be able to do quad biking from? My son is 10 but height-wise is more like an 8 year old so wondering if he'd be able to do it.

My biggest fear is the only thing to do is going to museum's and looking at local architectures. Me & DP would be ok with it but kids would be bored.

PompeyPete

gadgeteer wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I think if there are excursions like Pirate Ship & Quad bikes then we might be ok. Interstella...what age would you be able to do quad biking from? My son is 10 but height-wise is more like an 8 year old so wondering if he'd be able to do it.

Make sure your Travel Insurance covers you for quad bikes and the like, and make sure that the quad bike company have got insurance to cover you on the spot.
If I was staying in Sousse with children then I'd use Port el Kantanoui (PEK) as the base. PEK is only about 10km along the coast (north), and is easily reached by Noddy train or public bus.
There's a couple of train stations in Sousse for a day out. One station (metro) just past the medina along from the pirate boats runs regularly to Monastir (50 mins), and then on to Mahdia (90 mins).
The other train station is the main line one which runs north to Tunis, and down to the 'must see' amphitheatre at El Djem.
The medina is a very interesting place in the centre of Sousse. You will get hassled in there, but some tips are; if you don't intend to buy then don't touch; if you want to buy then your opening offer should be no more than a third of the asking price, and pay no more than half; there are a couple of fixed price shops in Sousse to compare costs; the phrase for 'No thank you' is 'La Shukran' - you'll use it often! But don't be scared, and if you don't want to make eye contact then wear sun glasses.

miamoo

I didnt like Tunisia, we went when my kids were 7 and 10 (7yrs ago)and stayed at the sahara beach hotel(Skanes). The hotel (even though it got terrible reviews, and still does now) was actually ok, it was a family hotel and had lots of entertainment for them, a small arcade a kids club and a couple of big pools (very clean). Food was very poor, but we survived. The beach was dirty covered in litter an camel poo, which was a shame as it would of been beautiful otherwise.
We didnt like the hassle it was constant and I found it quite aggressive at times, I much prefer Turkey or Egypt.

PompeyPete

miamoo wrote: »

The beach was dirty covered in litter an camel poo, which was a shame as it would of been beautiful otherwise.

Yep, and inshore seaweed which seems to line the seashore everywhere. The larger hotels though will have a 'private' stretch of beach, and if it's a good hotel they it'll be kept clean.
Worth mentioning that the Mediterranean is barely tidal, and you'll see, particularly where big hotels are at their densest, a fair sprinkling of outlet pipes leading to the sea. What comes out of those pipes and where does it go?