Any Tips On Tunisia Or Money Saving Tips For Tunisia?

tammy_3

HI ALL

im going to Tunisia and staying in Sousse in a 4* hotel (got the holiday for "£219 half board 2 weeks!)....any tips on money saving there or any specific tourist attractions or just general tips for that part of the world? When i went to turkey i did bargain and bring prices down etc....turkey did do alot of fake designer goods and i hear tunisia do the same so im wondering if they are any good???????

thanks

rchddap1

I went to sousse last year and I really enjoyed it. I didn't look at the fake designer goods and I have been told that they aren't actually that good. Quite a few people said this. Again you have to be really careful if / when you buy gold. Bargaining is pretty much expected over there, especially in the Medina (market). There is a government shop where all the prices are fixed though and you do not get hassled if you are a bit unsure of the market.

Taxis are a very cheap way of getting around. But the usual rule applies. Always barter with the driver before you get in. Usually we paid 2 or 3 dinars to get a ride into sousse, or back to our hotel, which was just outside of the town.

However, there are some important tips to be wary of. People have been locked in carpet shops until they bought something for example. If someone approaches you and tries to give you something...do not take it. They will charge you for it later. When we were there there was a little boy outside the soula centre (government shop) giving out flowers. He gives you a flower, you give him a few dinars...and he won't go away until you do. Some other people will offer to take you somewhere and give you a tour of the town / medina....they will take you to their local family's carpet shop and won't let you leave. A good rule is if someone comes up to you offering something say no.

The Medina is just behind the soula centre, and at first can be intimidating. However, don't be put off. We delved very deep into it and found some really interesting stuff. By the end of it we were almost laughing our heads off by some of the things that people were saying to get us into their shops. We found a fish market and the fruit market. Essentially we got to the bit where the Tunisian's do their shopping. The first part of the medina is full of shops for tourists with guys outside who will ask you to come into their shop to buy something. One guy actually touched my arm. But I ignored him and walked on. Again be careful if you look carefully at something or pick something up...you will be pounced on by someone trying to sell it to you. Also once you start the bargaining process you are expected to buy it.

I know it sounds scary, but if you always stick to your guns and be firm with them then there is nothing to worry about. A good phrase is "La shukran"...no thank you. You don't really need any other phrase in the Medina. Generally when we said this the 'sellers' left us alone to walk on down the street. Some actually stood in front of us, but as long as you don't let them stop you, and contine to be firm you'll be fine.

As for interesting places to go. Within Sousse we went to the Rabat...fort. Yes you have to pay to go in, but if you go up the tower you can see all of sousse...its a fantastic view. We went with thomson and decided to go on the Sahara Explorer trip. It is a very expensive trip, but we felt that it was well worth the money. We saw some of the Star Wars sets, a traditional house that was built into the rock...actually had lunch there. The main attraction though was riding on a camel through the sahara itself...amazing, brilliant, superb (can you tell I liked it). We were put up in a hotel over night, and in the morning we went to see the atlas mountains. We went to 2 locations where there were some nice waterfalls and scenery. Oh we also went to see a date farm at some point and went for a ride round part of the farm on a horse and buggy thing. Another highlight was El Djem. it is a colloseum south of Sousse. It is one of the most complete examples, and where they filmed part of the film Gladiator. You can get to El Djem yourself by bartering with a taxi driver. The trip is well expensive, but well worth it. We were there only 1 week and both my partner and I felt that we wouldn't have seen as much of the country if we hadn't gone on this trip.

Near Sousse is Port El Kantoui. There is a nice marina there. You can easily get to it either by taxi or noddy train (you'll know what I mean when you see it). We found it to be a very relaxing place. North of Port El Kantoui (if I remember correctly) is a zoo / safari park called Friguia park. I didn't go there myself, but I've heard that its pretty good.

Near Sousse is the airport town Monastir. We were going to go there and take a look at their Rabat, as this is where they filmed on of the 'Dr Jones' films (raiders of the lost ark, or something like that). The Rabat in Monastir is a lot bigger and nicer aparently.

One more tip. If you do go out and about into the Tunisian areas there are some religious considerations. For ladies covering shoulders is a must and gentlemans knees are also not supposed to be on view. Within the tourist locations (sousse for example) things are more relaxed though.

suki1964

Went to Sousse two years ago for a week and were completely shell shocked. If you think the hassle is bad is Turkey, you have not seen anything, it can be very intimidating.

The fake designer clothes are not as good as in Turkey but the leather is very good, and they dont do a bad line of trainers. And tiles are a bargain.

Best thing we did was to go on a shopping trip with a couple who return year in year out to Sousse, they certainly knew the ropes and helped us with the bargaining proccess and they certainly knew how to deal with unwanted attention Oh and dont be too squimish when you get into the heart of the medina. The butchers advertise whats for sale by putting the head of the animal out on a hook

Tipping is basically compulsory, from the guy who grabs your bag at the airport, to the pool guy - and everyone inbetween On our last day the maids were sitting waiting outside our room for us to ensure they didnt miss out

Entertainment is hotel based and can vary in quality. You can always wander into other hotels and see whats going on there if nothing takes your fancy in your hotel. You will be hard pushed finding anywhere other then a hotel that will sell alcohol, so if you do like a tipple I suggest you take advantage of your duty free allowance and book a fridge for the room. I dont drink but everyone I spoke to said the drinks were well watered down and I dont think I saw a single person over the limit the week I was there

The food in the hotel we stayed was excellent. Mainly buffet style, the main course was served by the waiters.One night a week was ethnic night when the waiters dressed up and the food was Tunisian. Do give it a try as although it may not be what you are used to its very tasty. Although there was always plenty of everything and continuosly replenished, it did become rather hetic with mainly the Russians filling up carrier bags of food for later (although how they could fit any more in I dont know) The Russians were the new Germans in our hotel - bagging sunbeds not just at the pool but the beach -and then spending the day out on a trip

Do take in some of the trips - esp the Sahara one. We didnt as we were there just a week but would love to if we return

As previous poster has said, dress code is much stricter then in Turkey and for your own comfort its best to adhere to it (men are also expected to wear long trousers to dinner)

Dont forget its a closed country which means you cant take Tunisian money in or out. You can change money at the airport on arrival and departure. Dont change more then you need for a day or two as you dont want to have a load left at the end of your holiday (duty free at Sousse doesnt take dinars).The exchange at the hotel was open every day so there was no problem and the cash point wasnt far.

rchddap1

I forgot about the guys at the airport. The time to be careful is when you leave Tunisia and go to the airport. We went on a bus arranged through the Tour Operator and when we got to Monastir airport men decended on the bus and grabbed every suitcase they could lay their hands on. My partner quickly went to find our suitcases as soon as we could get off the bus. Unfortunately a couple of guys had grabbed them, but he simply grabbed them back and off we went.

Some other people weren't so lucky. THe problem on the way out of the country is that the Tunisians know that the tourists won't have any dinars left, so they expect £5 or £10 notes, when usually you'd tip only 50p or so. One couple that we knew ended up having to give them £10 to get their suitcases back.

To be honest you don't really need a trolley unless you have huge pile of bags, as the check in desk is litterally only a few hundred yards away.

Also, when you arrive in Tunisia, remember to have a pen on you. It is required that you fill out a form when you get to the airport before you go through customs etc... Its only basic information, eg, where you are from, where you are going, how long you will be there etc... But if you haven't got a pen you'll be there for ages begging off other tourists.

All this does sound a bit scary, but if you know the rules before you go you will have a wonderful time. The people are very friendly, but you just have to remember that they have a lot less than we do. The actions that they take are their way of earning a living for their family. It really is a wonderful country and we are seriously considering going on holiday there again. One old lady that we met had been going for 30 years!

Allexie

Don't be tempted by the vendors selling 'street food' or you might end up seeing rather too much of Tunisian bathrooms than you would wish....guess how I know.... !

littlereddevil

Not nearly as good as Turkey
Too much hassle

rchddap1

It depends how you react to the hassle really. My partner & I went at the end of February, so it was just out of the normal tourist season. As a result I expect that we didn't get as much hassle as we would have done in May or June. Any hassle that we did get we simply said 'La Shukran' and the individuals accepted it and left us alone. We never really got any really bad hassle.

But then we didn't really go shopping etc.... When we did walk around all we wanted was to take in the town.

On other forums the general consensus is either you will love Tunisia or hate it. As I have said before the thing to always remember is that these people don't have anywhere near as much as we do. To them we are rich. Generally the people that give tourists hassle don't have a huge pile of cash and a huge house.

Tunisia isnt' like Malaga, or Tenerife. Unlike a lot of the tourist destinations, you can still find the real Tunisia if you look hard enough and deep enough. My partner and I were lucky to find it and we thought it was great.

suki1964

rchddap1 wrote:

It depends how you react to the hassle really.

Thats the key, its all down to how you react as to how bad you find it.
I personally find it very difficult to cope with and when I think Im saying no thankyou firmly, Im not:( Firm really does mean firm and not an apologectic no Even in Turkey (where I go a lot) I have been cornered and had the hard sell applied and ended up in tears whereas everyone else I was with managed to say no and get away scott free Now DH can say no and means it quite politely yet to me it sounds so rude I cringe

As rchddap 1 says, they do think we are rich, to them we are. Indeed away from the obvious tourist areas you will see extreme (to us) poverty, Sousse itself resembles a shanty town in places. You need to get past that, accept it isnt mainland europe and enjoy it

Luis

I think rchddap1 has given you excellent and comprehensive advice.

I agree that the Sahara trip is an unmissable experience - very long, very tiring but memories in the making.

This website Holiday truths Tunisia Forum is excellent - jam packed full of advice and tips, I use them all the time (when I am not on here lol).

Bear in mind that Monastir airport is a rip-off - take your own food and drink, don't buy there. In 2001, for 2 bags of crisps and 2 cans of Fanta, they tried to charge us 16 dinars (£8!).

You can't change money before you go, (as the currency is restricted or something), you can only buy it there. Also, the government set the exchange rate, so it does not matter where you change your money, you will always get the same - so we used the hotel we were staying at, as it meant the passports and TCs were always at hand in the safety deposit box.

Designer goods are no good there, don't bother. But Leather is amazing quality and dirt cheap.

Trips pretty much have to be booked through the TO as there aren't a great deal of options otherwise. Having said that though, they were still very cheap and good value. The only trip we booked that was non TO was a fishing trip for the OH.

A little french is useful for communication I found. Haggling is easier in french than english.

Re the firmness - make sure you are all doing the same - I am usually miss inscrutable, but the OH is like taking a 4yr old out, thinks haggling is great fun, and doesn't realise they mean it!

One safety tip I would give you is this - be aware, they are not as used to western women's independence. I got a lot of strange looks (very pale, tattoos, bright red hair) which wasn't a problem - but at one point, we were on a trip, and some street sellers were really hassling this guy who was on the same trip as us, who was old, using a wheelchair and couldn't get away. I stepped in, and politlely told them to leave him alone - and got sworn at in french, arabic and english, and spat at as well! Luckily the (big) OH was there to step in, but it did rattle me - so go careful.

Other than that, it is a real experience to visit Tunisia. Try and see Carthage if you can - breath taking. And the Coliseum at El Jem is unforgettable.

tammy_3

you lot are really reallygreat! thank you so much for the replies and tips......i have had the flue for the past few days (hence i put on my question at 3am the other day as i couldnt sleep and hence been catching up on rest during the day)........anyway i will bear all this in mind and let the other half know! i will certianly keep a close guard on my cases! i was hoping to sort a trolley out for this trip but we havent so far btu i think it would be easier than luggins a suitcase around-

i was also wondering if water was readily availabel in local shops and how much it cost? i drink alot an d i know hotels charge steeply for a 330ml and since i drink 2 litres a day i dont want to end up paying £50 just for water....when i went to turkey i managed to get 2 litres for about 70p which iwas fine, so wondering if tunisia has the same otherwise i could taken them from tescos! (20p a litre!).

is there anything else worth buying that is substantially cheaper than the uk eg fake designer bags etc? waht about the locals sweets and snacks are they worth bringing back for rellies and friends? i bought turkish delight from turkey (not fresh but packaged already) and no one liked it!

Thanks guys :beer:

tammy_3

oooo i almost forgot to ask....to women go topless on the beaches or around the pools and what is the common dress code for women when going into the towns? and finally.........in turkey we found the beaches were full of sunbeds and if you wanted to sit on one u had to buy a drink/food from the sellers behind u (not very private i thought), is it the same in tunisia or can u actually sit on the sandy beach without getting hassles?

thanks