Sahel, Medinas and Historic Cities — 4 days
Four days of ribats, medinas and olive country, worked from a single base with a vehicle kept for your group.
Private excursion
Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia
Three fortified towns on one stretch of coast, taken in whatever order and at whatever pace suits you.
On request
At a glance
Duration
A full day, the three towns following one another along the same coast road; the start time is agreed with you in the quote.
Who it suits
Travellers based on the coast, families, couples, and anyone wanting to see the Sahel without changing hotel
Price
On request
A hundred kilometres of coastline and three towns that each grew around a ribat. Sousse packs its medina behind ramparts and a watchtower. Monastir lines up a very white ribat, a gilt-domed mausoleum and a seafront open to the horizon. Mahdia runs out along a narrow peninsula, between its fishing harbour and a cemetery at the water's edge.
Pick-up
Pick-up in Sousse, Port El Kantaoui, Monastir, Mahdia or Hammamet: hotel, guesthouse or a private address. The run works in either direction depending on where you start, and can finish in Mahdia if that is where you are staying.
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.
Sousse
The day opens in the medina, still ringed by its walls. The ribat is square and austere, half monastery and half lookout; from its tower you take in the Great Mosque, the white roofs and the harbour. The Khalef tower stands over the lot. Depending on what appeals, we add the archaeological museum in the kasbah, exceptionally strong on mosaics, or the Christian catacombs further out.
Monastir
Twenty minutes further south, Monastir plays a different tune. The ribat, very white and thoroughly photogenic, opens onto a clear esplanade; the mausoleum beside it lines up gilded domes and twin minarets. The corniche runs past the marina and the seaside cemeteries. The town is airier than Sousse and easier on the feet, with open water on every side.
Mahdia
Mahdia sits on a narrow tongue of land pushing into the sea. You pass through the Skifa el-Kahla, a massive gate pierced by a long dark corridor, and the old town tightens around you: low houses, washing at the windows, weaving workshops. At the far end are Cap Afrique, the lighthouse and the seaside cemetery, its white markers stepping down to the rocks. The fishing harbour, busy all day, serves the best fish you will eat.
What travelling privately changes
- The vehicle is your group's alone: you can linger in Mahdia and cut Monastir short, or do exactly the opposite.
- No pick-up round: you leave from your own address and come back to it, hotel, guesthouse or rental.
- Your driver sets you down at the medina gates, where the coaches cannot go, and collects you at whichever exit you choose.
- A swim or a fish lunch on the harbour at Mahdia slots in without renegotiating the programme.
- Naceur Neffeti has been in transport and travel since 1987 and a tourist driver since 2007; he speaks Arabic, French, English, German, Italian and Spanish.
What is included, what is not
Included
- An air-conditioned private vehicle kept for your group all day.
- Professional driver, fuel, tolls and parking.
- A route agreed with you beforehand and reshuffled on the day as you please.
- Pick-up and drop-off at the address of your choice, in any of the three towns.
- Someone reachable by phone in French, English or Arabic while you are out.
Not included
- Meals, drinks and personal purchases.
- Entry to the Sousse ribat, archaeological museum and catacombs, the Monastir ribat and the Mahdia museum.
- A licensed guide: a separate, optional service, arranged on request.
- Beach activities, boat trips and hammam.
- Travel insurance and personal spending.
Practical advice
- The medinas are walked: worn cobbles, steps, sloping lanes. Comfortable closed shoes change the whole day.
- The Sousse ribat and the Khalef tower are climbed by narrow spiral stairs: the view over the white rooftops repays the effort, but the climb does not suit everyone.
- In summer the coast bites in the middle of the day, so bring a hat and water and take a shaded break between towns.
- Museums and monuments close one day a week and change hours with the season, so we check before fixing the date.
- The seaside cemetery at Mahdia is still a place of mourning: walk through quietly, and do not photograph the families there.
Your questions
Is there time for a swim?
Yes, if you want one. The beaches at Monastir and Mahdia suit a midday pause between June and October. Keep swimwear and a towel in an easy bag: the vehicle stays with you, so there is no changing room to hunt down. Mention it when booking and we build the time into the day.
Three towns in one day, is that not too much?
They sit close together and the total driving stays modest across the day. The real trade-off is visiting time: many people give the morning to Sousse, a shorter stop to Monastir and a long late afternoon to Mahdia. Travelling privately, that balance can be shifted as you go.
Do we need a guide for the medinas and ribats?
They are easy enough to visit unaccompanied, with maps and panels to help, and your driver will point out the best way in. If you want the Aghlabid and Fatimid history, or the detail behind the mosaics in the Sousse museum, a licensed guide is a separate, optional service we arrange on request.
You might also like
Kairouan and El Jem
Islam's fourth holy city in the morning, the largest Roman amphitheatre in Africa after lunch.
Hammamet, Nabeul and Takrouna
A walled town with its feet in the water, potteries still turning, and a Berber village looking out over the whole plain.
Request a quote
Give us the date, how many of you are travelling and your pick-up address: we reply with a quote drawn up for this day out.
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