About The Tunisia Guide
Tunisia packs an unusual amount of variety into a small country. The Roman amphitheatre at El Jem, the medinas of Tunis and Kairouan, the Sahara circuits from Tozeur and Douz, and the white-and-blue lanes of Sidi Bou Said are all within a day's travel of each other. Most English-language travel information about Tunisia is either sparse, outdated, or written from a single brief visit. The Tunisia Guide exists to fill that gap — with coverage based on extended time in the country, verified against current sources, and updated when conditions change.
Who writes this site
The Tunisia Guide is produced by a small editorial team with direct, repeated experience of Tunisia across multiple visits:
- Lead editor (Tunisia). Has spent over six months living and travelling in Tunisia across 2025 and 2026. Covered the louage network between cities, stayed in riads and mid-range hotels across Tunis, Sfax, Sousse, Tozeur, and Djerba, and has made the Sahara circuits from Douz and Ksar Ghilane in different seasons. Writes the practical transport, visa, and logistics pages.
- Archaeology and heritage writer. Specialist in North African Roman sites. Has personally visited and documented El Jem, Dougga, Bulla Regia, Sbeitla, Carthage, and the Bardo National Museum collection. Cross-references descriptions against Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) documentation and UNESCO records before publishing.
- Food and medina contributor. Focuses on Tunisian food culture, market life, and the urban experience in Tunis, Sfax, and the Sahel coast cities. Covers the difference between tourist-facing restaurants and neighbourhood eateries, the Friday couscous tradition, brik and lablabi preparation, and the coffee culture tied to specific districts like Sidi Bou Said and the Tunis medina souks.
Roman Tunisia: El Jem, Dougga, Bulla Regia
Tunisia's Roman heritage is genuinely undervisited relative to its quality. The El Jem amphitheatre seats 35,000 and is one of the best-preserved in the world — we have visited it outside the peak summer months and can confirm the crowds are manageable. Dougga, perched on a hillside in the northwest, has a complete Capitol temple, a theatre, and forum remains that rival Pompeii in terms of architectural completeness. Bulla Regia is unusual for a different reason: its underground villas, built to escape summer heat, preserve mosaic floors in near-original condition. We cover all three in detail, including getting there by public transport from Tunis and Beja.
Saharan travel and the louage system
The southern circuits — Tozeur, Nefta, Douz, Matmata, and the erg camps beyond Ksar Ghilane — are the destinations most visitors plan last and regret not spending more time on. We have done these routes both independently (using shared louages and local buses) and on organised expeditions. The louage network is genuinely efficient for long intercity hops; we explain how the system works, where the stations are in each city, and what to expect in terms of timing and cost. Djerba gets separate coverage: it operates at a slower pace and has its own particular character that rewards staying at least two nights rather than treating it as a day trip from the mainland.
Our editorial standards
Every page on The Tunisia Guide follows a three-stage process:
- Visit in person before writing. We do not publish destination or restaurant guides from secondary sources alone. If we haven't been there, we say so or we hold the piece until we can verify it directly.
- Verify against official sources. Entry requirements and tourism information are checked against the Tunisian National Tourism Office (ONTT). Climate and seasonal data are verified with the Institut National de la Météorologie. We do not rely on travel forums for information that can be confirmed from official sources.
- Update when conditions change. Opening hours, transport connections, and visa rules shift. We mark updates with a revised date and revisit high-traffic pages before each peak season.
How we fund this site
The Tunisia Guide includes affiliate links to tour operators, booking platforms, and travel services. When you book through one of these links, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only link to services we would use ourselves. Full details are in our affiliate disclosure.
Get in touch
If something on this site is out of date, factually wrong, or if you have a question we haven't covered, we want to hear it. Reach out here and we'll respond.