Cap Bon and the East Coast — 3 days
Three days of cliffs, hot springs and pottery, barely an hour out of Tunis.
Private excursion
Cap Bon: Korbous, Kerkouane and Kelibia
One day on the headland: hot water straight out of the rock, a Punic town Rome never rebuilt, a fort above pale sand.
On request
At a glance
Duration
A full day at the pace you set; the departure time is agreed with you in the quote.
Who it suits
Anyone drawn to ruins and coastline: families, couples, and beach-holiday guests after a day beyond the hotel.
Price
On request
Cap Bon fits into a single day if you set off early and never double back on the same road. The cliff route drops down to Korbous and its hot springs, the harbour at El Haouaria serves the morning's catch, Kerkouane lays out its Punic house plans above open water, and the fort at Kelibia stands over a beach of very pale sand.
Pick-up
Door-to-door pick-up at your hotel or address in Tunis, La Marsa, Gammarth, Carthage or the northern suburbs. We can just as easily start from Hammamet, Nabeul or Yasmine Hammamet, taking the stops the other way round; the timing is settled with you in the quote.
How the day unfolds
The order of the stops shifts with your start time, the traffic and how long you want to spend at each place.
Korbous and the cliff road
Out of Tunis through Soliman and Sidi Rais, then the road takes to the cliff above the gulf and every bend reopens the sea without warning. In Korbous the hot water comes straight out of the rock in the middle of the village, and a little further on the spring at Ain Atrous pours scalding into the waves. Photographs, a warm paddle, and then the road climbs over the ridge towards the tip of the peninsula.
El Haouaria, lunch facing the sea
The tip of Cap Bon faces Sicily, and on a clear day you can just pick it out. El Haouaria's small harbour has a handful of tables where the fish comes in that morning, which makes it the easiest and the most honest stop of the day. If you want to stretch your legs first, the Roman quarry caves of Ghar el Kef are cut into the cliff a few minutes away.
Kerkouane
Kerkouane is the one Punic town the Romans never built over: house plans readable at ground level, doorsteps, terracotta bathtubs still in place, streets running down towards open water. The small museum at the entrance sets it all in context before you walk it. Take it slowly rather than briskly — nothing here stands above knee height, and the whole point is in the detail and in the way the town faces the sea.
Kelibia
Kelibia's fort — Byzantine first, then Arab — sits on a headland that commands the whole east coast; the climb is short and the view runs back along the shore to the cape. Below it, a beach of very pale sand makes the obvious last swim of the day. The way home cuts inland through citrus orchards and vineyards, with one more stop if the light holds.
What travelling privately changes
- The vehicle stays with your group alone: you pull over at the cliff viewpoint because the light is right, not because a schedule says so.
- No hotel pick-up round: you leave from your own address and come back to it.
- The pace is yours — longer at Kerkouane, an extra swim at Kelibia, or the reverse if the heat decides for you.
- The boot follows you all day for wet towels, hats and whatever pottery you pick up, and the air conditioning is waiting between two shadeless sites.
- Naceur Neffeti has known these roads a long time: in transport and travel since 1987, a tourist driver since 2007, speaking Arabic, French, English, German, Italian and Spanish.
What is included, what is not
Included
- An air-conditioned private vehicle kept for your group for the whole day.
- Professional driver, fuel, tolls and parking.
- A route agreed with you beforehand and adjustable on the day for weather and swimming plans.
- Pick-up and drop-off at the address of your choice.
- Someone reachable by phone in French, English or Arabic while you are out.
Not included
- Lunch, drinks and personal shopping.
- Entry to Kerkouane and its museum, and to the Kelibia fort.
- A licensed guide: a separate, optional service arranged on request, and well worth it at Kerkouane.
- Thermal baths and treatments at Korbous.
- Travel insurance and personal spending.
Practical advice
- Kerkouane closes one day a week and its hours shift between summer and winter, so we check before the date is fixed.
- The site sits at ankle height, shadeless and full in the wind: hat, water and sunglasses, and best visited early in high summer.
- The corniche between Sidi Rais and Korbous is narrow and full of bends; if anyone is prone to travel sickness, sort it out before the climb rather than after.
- The water at Ain Atrous comes out of the cliff scalding: test it with a hand rather than a foot, and keep children close.
- Closed shoes that stay on your feet for the ruins and the ramparts, and swimwear and a towel in a separate bag if Kelibia tempts you in.
Your questions
Will there be time for a swim?
Yes, from spring through to autumn. Kelibia is the natural place for it, at the end of the visits, though nothing stops an earlier dip if the chance appears. Keep swimwear and a towel in an easy bag: the vehicle stays with you, so there is no changing room to hunt down.
Is the day too much for young children?
It is a long day, but it breaks up well: three proper stops, plenty of coast road in between and lunch by the water. Travelling privately, we can trim a stop to get you back earlier, or stretch the swim at Kelibia instead. Tell us the children's ages and we shape the day around them.
Do we need a guide at Kerkouane?
The site makes far more sense with someone to explain it, since very little stands above knee height. Your driver drops you at the entrance and waits in the car park, and if you want proper archaeological commentary a licensed guide can be booked separately for that visit, on request.
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