Day 1 Arrive Tunis
Arrival to Tunis airport, welcome and assistance. Transfer to the hotel.
Overnight in Tunis,

Day 2 Tunis – Carthage – Tunis (By Road) (17 kms / 21 mins appx-One Way)
Visit of the world-famous Bardo Museum in Tunis, which has the finest collections of Roman mosaics in the world. There are also some interesting Early Christian mosaics which introduce the manner in which Christian art developed.

Next, we go for a short orientation tour by foot of the old Medina. Tunis is made up of two enclaves, the old town or Medina and the new town, built by the French as their administrative headquarters, a role it continues to fulfill today for modern Tunisia.

The Medina was founded by the first Arab conquerors and it is full of monuments from both the Arab and Turkish periods, not least the Great Mosque built by the Aghlabid dynasty in the eighth century AD.

Free time for lunch and continuation to the site of ancient Carthage. Founded by Phoenician traders from the Levant as a trading depot en route to south-west Europe, it eventually became an independent and powerful entity in its own right.

This aroused Rome’s long-term enmity and there followed the famous Punic Wars which eventually saw Carthage’s total destruction. Subsequently re-founded by the Romans we will look over what remains of both cities.

This will include the Byrsa Hill where Carthage was founded, c. 814 BC according to Roman sources; a site featuring the characteristic Tophet Graves of the Carthaginians; and the Archaeological Park centered on the Antonine Baths. We’ll visit as well the Second World War American cemetery in Carthage.

Nearby is the very handsome coastal townof Sidi Bou Said, much loved by painters, where we will have a short walking tour.
Overnight in Tunis,

Day 3 Tunis – Testour – Thugga – Kairouan (249 km / 4 hrs 10 min appx)
We leave our Tunis hotel and on this, our third day, we drive into the very fertile north western part of Tunisia. This was the centre of a huge area of agricultural activity centred on the grain trade. Consequently, the towns and cities of the interior grew very rich indeed and invested heavily in public facilities and private housing.

We stop first at the Andalusian village of Testour. We then continue to Dougga which is undoubtedly the best preserved and most impressive of all the Roman cities in Tunisia. As early as 1765 the English traveler, James Bruce, noted “these magnificent remains of taste and greatness, so easily reached in perfect safety by a ride along the Medjerda”. Splendid public buildings are laid out around a Capitol and a Forum, in imitation of Rome itself.

We drive through some remarkable scenery en route south to the atmospheric city of Kairouan. Known as “Al Kairawan”, where the first Arab ruled from the first capital of Islam in North Africa.
Overnight in Kairouan.

Day 4 Kairouan – Gafsa – Tozeur (By Road) ( 295 km / 4 hrs 20 min appx)
We leave after breakfast the hotel to see one of the most imposing mosques in the Islamic World and the earliest mosque in North Africa and the barber Mausoleum. We’ll enjoy a walking cultural tour in its Medina and the handicraft workshops.

We continue then further south to Tozeur with a stop in the town of Gafsa for lunch.
On our arrival in Tozeur, it soon becomes quite clear that the main attraction of this desert city is its vast oasis. This oasis covers about ten square kilometers which has been planted with some 400,000 palms and is fed by 100 springs. We check in at the hotel in Tozeur.

We’ll have some time to relax then do some exploration of this very interesting and unique town. We will learn about the date harvest and have the opportunity to sample some local dates or date wine “Legmi”, the medieval town with its distinctive desert architecture & decorative brickwork.

Late afternoon we’ll take 4×4 cars for an adventure tour to visit the “Ong Jemal” among the sand dunes, and the desert site of one of the Star Wars films (episode 1 and 2 and Lars farm episode 2, 3 and 4.) Back to the hotel in Tozeur.
Overnight in Tozeur.

Day 5 Tozeur – Douz – Matmata (By Road) (217 km / 3 hrs 5 mins appx)
This morning, we will drive across the Chott el Jerid, the Great Salt Lake, the barrier between the Sahara and fertile North. If we are lucky, we may see some mirages on the horizon. Arrival to the town of Douz called also the “Gateway of the Sahara”. Visit and possibility to have a camel ride passing through deserted landscape and picturesque sand dunes, Ultra- light airplane or motor glider, Car cross or buggy trip in the Sahara (optional).

Free time and departure to Matmata of Star Wars notoriety, but more importantly, center of the most extensive number of traditional troglodyte pit homes in the region. The Berber people built these simple underground dwellings to escape the extremes of weather and any unwelcome invaders, to get a feel for troglodyte living. We will visit one of these dwelling caves, then visit the hotel Sidi Driss, where scenes from the Lars homestead in Star Wars were filmed.
Overnight in Matmata

Day 6 Matmata – Chenini – Douiret – Tataouine ( 190 kms / 4 hrs appx)
Departure to Matmata of Star Wars notoriety, but more importantly, center of the most extensive number of traditional troglodyte pit homes in the region. The Berber people built these simple underground dwellings to escape the extremes of weather and any unwelcome invaders, to get a feel for troglodyte living.

We will visit one of these dwelling caves, then visit the hotel Sidi Driss, where scenes from the Lars homestead in Star Wars were filmed.
Another interesting area with a special landscape and architecture is not far: Medenine and Tataouine known for the Berber tribes and the Ksour, the old granaries used by the nomadic Berber tribes to store their goods from food to olive oil, wheat and barley.

The city of the dinosaurs, that’s how Tataouine is called sometimes but certainly it’s the place where the most beautiful and authentic Berber villages are still standing on the top of the hills and mountain summits.

Free time for lunch in Tataouine and continue to visit the village of Chenini and the village of Douiret both situated on the top of the local mountains.
Overnight in Tataouine,

Day 7 Tataouine – Djerba Island (By Road) ( 160 kms / 3 hrs appx.)
Departure toward the largest island of North Africa: Djerba.To get to the island there are two ways: the ferry or the Roman cause way built during the third century to link it to the continent.

Drive on the 7 kilometer cause way to reach the island.Djerba had always been different from the rest of Tunisia thanks to its architecture and colors.
After check in at the resort hotel, we’ll explore the island for the rest of the day.
Overnight in Djerba Island

Day 8 Djerba Island – Gabes – El Jem – Sousse (312 km 4 hrs 30 min appx)
Departure to the maritime oasis of Gabes, the spices capital in Tunisia. Visit of the spices market and continues toward El Djem to visit the largest and most spectacular Roman amphitheatre in North Africa, the remains of the Roman villas in the town and the archaeological museum.

Free time for lunch and continue to the coastal town Sousse. Where we’ll visit it’s old Medina and the Marina of Port El Kantaoui.
Overnight in Sousse

Day 9 Sousse – Tunis (By Road) ( 150 kms 2 hrs appx.) / Depart Tunis
Departure transfer to onwards destination.

*************TOUR ENDS************