Quick answer: For a December week, Tunisia is the cheapest of the four on the ground and competitive on flights, but not warmer. In our checks on 11 November 2026, short-haul fares to Tunisia started around GBP 100-150 return from London and about EUR 190-240 from Berlin, while Thailand started around GBP 740 and Dubai hotels hit their annual peak. Every figure below is approximate and dated.
This index compares what a week in Tunisia costs in December with three other popular winter-sun choices: the Canary Islands (Tenerife), Dubai and Thailand. It is a living reference. We re-check the numbers each season, and we say plainly where a figure could not be confirmed. If you want the weather and activity side of the decision first, read our Tunisia vs Canary Islands winter sun comparison and the Tunisia winter sun guide, then come back here for the money.
Methodology and date stamp
Date checked: 11 November 2026. Everything was gathered from public pages that day, mainly airline and fare-comparison pages, hotel aggregators and crowd-sourced cost-of-living data. We did not log in to any booking engine and we did not book anything.
How to read the numbers:
- Flights are the cheapest return fares we could see for a December 2026 departure. Many comparison pages show a fare snapshot from weeks earlier, so we name the dates where a page gave them. Mid-December to early January is dearer than early December on almost every route.
- Hotels are aggregator ranges, not quotes. They mix star ratings, areas and booking dates, so treat them as a rough band, never a price you can count on.
- Meals and coffee use crowd-sourced Numbeo-style data. A “basic restaurant meal” means a local inexpensive restaurant, not a hotel dining room.
- Currency. We keep each source’s own currency instead of converting, except where a source gave its own conversion (13.50 TND was quoted as about US$4.62, so we use about US$0.34 per TND for rough comparison).
- n/v means not verified. If we could not trace a December 2026 figure to a dated source, we left it blank. A gap is more honest than an invented number.
The comparison table
| Item (December 2026) | Tunisia | Tenerife (Canaries) | Dubai | Thailand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return flight from London | from about GBP 103 (Tunis, 3-7 Dec) to GBP 149 (Gatwick-Monastir, 4-11 Dec) | from about GBP 125 (Gatwick, December; fare type not confirmed) | from about EUR 303 return (Skyscanner snapshot); December is a peak month on several sources | from about GBP 742 (late Nov to mid-Dec); from about GBP 1,712 (mid-Dec to early Jan) |
| Return flight from Berlin | from about EUR 186-236 (Tunis) | from about EUR 237 (December 2026) | n/v | n/v |
| Return flight from Paris | n/v | n/v | n/v | n/v |
| 3-4 star hotel, nightly | about US$80-180 for a 4-star beach resort in Hammamet; older aggregator averages near GBP 50 | wide range, about US$150-400 for 4-star in Costa Adeje over December | about EUR 230-420 averaged across all star ratings in December | about US$68 (3-star) to US$132 (4-star) year-round country average; December is dearer |
| Basic restaurant meal | about 10.60 TND nationally, 12 TND in Tunis (about US$3.60-4.10) | about EUR 14 (Spain average) | about EUR 11 (range EUR 6-24) | n/v |
| Cappuccino | about 2.84 TND nationally, 3.06 TND in Tunis | n/v | about EUR 5.40 | about US$5 |
| Airport transfer | about 8-12 TND metered taxi plus 4.5 TND supplement (Tunis) | n/v | n/v | n/v |
| Headline guided tour | half-day Carthage and Sidi Bou Said, about US$42-174 across resellers | n/v | n/v | n/v |
Several cells show n/v on purpose. Brief reality check on the biggest gaps: we found no December 2026 fare from Paris on any route, and no transfer or tour price for the other three destinations that we could tie to a date.
Flights: where the real gap is
Flights are the biggest single item for most travellers, and here the four destinations separate cleanly.
Tunisia. From London, a fare-comparison page showed Tunis return flights from about GBP 103 for 3-7 December 2026, and another listed a Gatwick-Monastir return from about GBP 149 for 4-11 December (price found 21 October 2026). Neither is a mid-December week, so expect a higher fare when you search for 14-21 December. From Germany, Lufthansa lists Berlin-Tunis from about EUR 236, and a fare aggregator reported a recent return low of about EUR 186. One site says December is the cheapest month to fly Berlin to Monastir, another says London to Tunis peaks in December, so the sources disagree. Our read: book early, fly Monday to Thursday, and avoid 19-27 December. Our flights to Tunisia guide covers airports and airlines in detail.
Tenerife. Eurowings listed Gatwick-Tenerife South from about GBP 124.99 in December 2026, though it did not say whether that was one way or return, so we do not treat it as a confirmed return fare. From Berlin, Lufthansa showed a December 2026 return from about EUR 237. Another comparison site showed an early-December Berlin fare far lower, but it was unclear whether that was one way, so we left it out.
Dubai. One Skyscanner page showed returns from London from about EUR 303, with 5 December as the cheapest departure day. Other sources list December among the most expensive months, with averages above EUR 450. The honest summary is a wide range with a high peak.
Thailand. This is the outlier. Vietnam Airlines listed economy returns from about GBP 742 for 28 November to 15 December 2026, and about GBP 1,712 for a mid-December to early January trip. A Thai Airways direct return was shown from about GBP 745. A GBP 357 deal appeared in a Secret Flying post, but it is likely expired, so we exclude it.
Hotels: ranges, not promises
Hotel data is the weakest part of any price index, because every aggregator averages different hotels. Use these as direction only.
- Tunisia. A travel magazine put four-star beach resorts in Hammamet at about US$80-180 per night, and an aggregator’s older 3-star and 4-star averages sat near GBP 50 (data last updated April 2025). Rates are usually lowest in January and February and rise in the Christmas to New Year week. For live prices, search Tunisian hotels on Booking.com.
- Tenerife. One aggregator named December the most expensive month for 4-star hotels in Adeje, at an average near US$414, while a single sample listing showed a 4-star at about US$148 for 21-22 December. That spread tells you how much dates matter.
- Dubai. December is peak season. Averages of about EUR 232 and EUR 417 per night appeared on different aggregators for all star ratings.
- Thailand. Country-wide averages of about US$68 for 3-star and US$132 for 4-star circulate, with December the most expensive month on one aggregator. Bangkok is cheaper than the beach islands.
We deliberately do not name individual hotels with prices. A per-hotel rate goes stale within days.
Food, coffee and getting around
Daily spending is where Tunisia pulls ahead. Numbeo-based data from June 2026 puts an inexpensive restaurant meal at about 10.60 TND across the country and about 12 TND in Tunis, with a mid-range three-course meal for two near 60 TND. A cappuccino is about 2.84 TND nationally and about 3.06 TND in Tunis. A September 2026 article quoted a higher Tunis meal average of 13.50 TND, so allow some margin. See the Numbeo cost-of-living data for Tunisia for the live crowd-sourced figures.
A simple working number: two inexpensive meals a day for a week is about 168 TND at 12 TND each, or roughly US$57. Hotel meal plans change this, since many Tunisian resorts sell half board or all-inclusive packages.
For comparison, Spain’s inexpensive meal averages about EUR 14, Dubai about EUR 11 (with a EUR 6-24 spread), and Dubai and Bangkok cappuccinos sit near EUR 5 or US$5. Those are national or city averages from secondary sources, so tourist-zone prices can run higher.
Airport transfer. A 2026 airport guide gives a metered white taxi from Tunis-Carthage to the city centre at about 8-12 TND, plus a 4.5 TND airport-rank supplement. Private transfers are dearer: one aggregator table listed Monastir to Hammamet at about US$109-131, and a provider listed Enfidha private transfers from about EUR 33 for two passengers. Pre-booking avoids negotiating on arrival, and you can book a Tunis airport transfer in advance. Read our airports in Tunisia guide to match airport to resort.
One headline tour
Our benchmark is the half-day Carthage and Sidi Bou Said tour from Tunis, the single most-booked excursion in the country. Reseller listings for similar four-hour tours ranged from about US$42 (with lunch) through US$64-76 for mid-range operators to US$102-174 for premium or private versions. We could not confirm a current GetYourGuide price, so check the live Carthage and Sidi Bou Said tour prices for your date. For options beyond this one, see our best tours in Tunis page.
What this means for your budget
If you want maximum sun per pound and warm water, the Canaries remain the safer bet: warmer sea and more frequent flights. If you want the lowest on-the-ground spend and a trip with culture, Tunisia wins once you land. Dubai is the highest hotel risk in December, and Thailand is the high-fare option unless you can fly outside peak dates.
A quick way to compare: add return flights for everyone, seven hotel nights, about US$57 a week per person for local meals in Tunisia (our rough working number), and the transfers. Then run the same sum for the other destination with live prices. Weather is the trade-off, so confirm it before you commit. We cover this in the Tunisia winter sun guide.
Airlines also change winter schedules, so confirm direct routes from your airport before relying on any fare quoted here. For the German route, see the Lufthansa Berlin-Tunis fare page.
Sources and update policy
Date checked: 11 November 2026. Sources included Lastminute, FlightsFinder, Eurowings, Lufthansa, Kayak, Skyscanner, Vietnam Airlines, Thai Airways via Cheapflights, Numbeo and its secondary summaries, Carthage Magazine, HotelsCombined, airport-transfer aggregators and activity resellers. We will refresh this page before the 2027-28 season. Prices move daily, so treat the figures here as direction, not quotes.