🇹🇳 Tunisia: A Week Journey Through History, Hospitality & Hidden Gems
🛬 5 – 13 Feb 2025 🛫
I’ve visited Tunisia twice now—once in late 2022, and again during the summer. But this time, in February 2025, after long months traveling across Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Kazakhstan, and Armenia, I was craving a return to the Mediterranean climate—a place that felt both refreshing and familiar. So I booked a A week escape to Tunisia, and here’s how it all unfolded.
🏙️ Tunis
I arrived two days before Claudia, landing in the capital city, Tunis. I grabbed a taxi and made my way into the city to settle in. A couple of days later, I returned to the airport to reunite with Claudia, and from there, we began our road trip adventure. Our first destination: Hammamet, about an hour from the airport by car. We rented a car at the airport—something I highly recommend for travelers who want freedom to explore.
🌊 Hammamet
We stayed in the Old Town, inside the fort walls, which gave our experience a really unique charm. The vibe was peaceful, with narrow streets, colorful doors, and stunning sea views. We did some souvenir shopping and enjoyed some local Tunisian cuisine.
🏨 Accommodation: Dar Ali 🍽️ Restaurants: Restaurant Lella Fatma
🏖️ Monastir & Sousse
From Hammamet, we drove along the highway for about 2 hours (120 km) to reach Monastir, where our hotel was located right inside the port—a beautiful, laid-back location surrounded by cafes and sea views.
The next day, we took a short drive to Sousse, wandered through the old medina, and had lunch in a traditional restaurant. Later that night, we tried a restaurant that offered chicha (hookah), but as non-smokers, it wasn’t really our thing.
🏨 Accommodation: Marina Cap Monastir – Appart Hôtel 🍽️ Monastir: Latte Studio, Tamaris Coffee Shop, Oriento 🍽️ Sousse: Dar Amna Café Restaurant, Café et Restaurant Kasbah
🏜️ Matmata
We woke up early in Monastir, had an incredible sweet breakfast, and hit the road to Matmata, a unique desert town famous for its troglodyte (cave) houses. Along the way, we stopped to visit the Roman ruins in El Jem, had lunch there, and continued through rugged mountain roads that seemed to hold the desert back from the north—part of the Atlas Mountain range.
A funny moment: when we arrived in Matmata and checked the booking, I realized I had mistakenly reserved for January instead of February! Thankfully, the place had availability. 🙏
🏨 Accommodation: Hotel Les Berbères 🍽️ Dinner included by the hosts 🌅 Highlight: Waking up early to watch the sunrise over the desert caves
🐫 Douz
From Matmata, we continued our drive south into the real desert region, heading to Douz. The road scenery was surreal—sand stretching as far as the eye could see. We stopped at Restaurant Les Palmiers, a local spot where many bikers and overlanders come to eat Berber-style couscous.
🏨 Accommodation: Dar Alibaba (Dar means “house” in Arabic*) The host was incredible—offered us tea, breakfast, and even recommended a camel ride and quad tour. At night, he shared local legends and stories about the Douz desert under the stars.
🐪 Chebba
After a night in Douz, we woke up early and started our journey north toward Chebba. Along the way, we had a surreal encounter with wild camels—I stopped to take a photo, and suddenly we were surrounded by them. A magical moment.
Once in Chebba, we checked into our Airbnb and headed straight to the beach. Although it wasn’t swimmable at that time of year, we enjoyed the calm. It was here we tried Dubai chocolate 🍫 for the first time—and yes, it was good!
Back at the Airbnb, we cooked pasta with ingredients bought from local markets—a simple but cozy end to the day.
🚗 Back to Tunis
Finally, we drove back to Tunis, returned the car at the airport, and checked into a hotel for our last night. Our Airbnb host in Tunis was super helpful and made sure everything went smoothly.
💭 Final Thoughts on Tunisia
Most people visit Tunisia for the beaches and all-inclusive hotels—and there’s nothing wrong with that. But for us, travel means exploring deeper, getting a little lost, meeting locals, and leaving tired—but happy.
From fort towns to desert caves, ancient ruins to city medinas, Tunisia gave us a full spectrum of experiences in just ten days.
Claudia flew back home, and I boarded a flight to Dubai, where I’m currently living. We both left with hearts full, cameras full, and energy for the next journey.
