Chebika, Tamerza and Mides
Three mountain oases in one day: the spring at Chebika running down its gorge, the mud-brick ruins of old Tamerza, and the rim of the Mides canyon, right up against the Algerian border.
Private excursion
Tozeur, Chott el Jerid and Ong Jemel
The Jerid in a single day, arranged around the light: Tozeur's palm grove and ochre brickwork while the air is still cool, the Chott el Jerid when the mirages are working, and Ong Jemel for the last of the sun on the sand.
On request
At a glance
Duration
A full day, morning through to late afternoon; the pick-up time is agreed with you in the quote.
Who it suits
Travellers staying in Tozeur, Nefta or nearby who want the oasis, the salt lake and the dunes without waiting on a group departure.
Price
On request
A full day in the Jerid, taken at your own pace. The palm grove at Tozeur and the ochre brick lanes of Ouled el Hadef while it is still cool, then the crossing of the Chott el Jerid, a salt lake so wide the horizon dissolves by midday. Late afternoon at Ong Jemel, among the dunes, beside the film sets left standing in the sand.
Pick-up
Collection from your hotel, guesthouse or rental, in Tozeur or in Nefta. You can also start from Gafsa, Metlaoui, Kebili or Douz: the driving is longer, so the order of the stops is reworked 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.
Tozeur — the palm grove
We start in the oasis, while the air is still breathable. Tozeur's palm grove has been watered for centuries by a network of channels that shares the flow plot by plot, under three tiers of cultivation: date palms above, fruit trees in the middle, vegetables at ground level. You crawl along the earth tracks, get out and walk in the shade, stop beside a running channel. It is also the only part of the day when being outside is genuinely pleasant.
Ouled el Hadef — the old brick quarter
Tozeur's old quarter is built from pale clay bricks laid proud and recessed, so the walls throw diamonds, chevrons and chequerboards that shift as the sun moves round. The lanes are narrow, often roofed over, and stay cool when everything else is baking. You wander for the better part of an hour with no set route, out to the studded doors and vaulted passageways. People live here, so it is walked quietly and with some tact.
Chott el Jerid — the great salt lake
The road leaves the oasis and runs out onto the causeway that crosses the Chott el Jerid, a vast salt depression that dries out almost completely in summer. Depending on the season you skirt a cracked white crust, pools tinted pink or ochre by algae and minerals, and sometimes a sheet of still water. In real heat the horizon dissolves and mirages lift the pylons clear off the ground. We pull in where it is safe to stop, long enough to take in the sheer scale of it.
Ong Jemel — the dunes and the film sets
North-west of Nefta, the camel's-neck ridge that gives the place its name sits among pale dunes, gypsum plateaux and red sand. Several productions have left desert-village sets out here, abandoned to the wind and slowly reclaimed by the dunes. You come at the end of the day, when the heat drops and low light starts carving the crests. Worth knowing: the last stretch is a sand track whose condition varies, and how you cover it — off-road vehicle or a local transfer — is written into your quote before the day itself.
What travelling privately changes
- The vehicle is yours alone: no other passengers, and no hotel-to-hotel collection round before you set off.
- You set the order and the length of the stops — another hour under the palms, or straight on to the salt flats because the light has arrived.
- Doors picked up and dropped at your actual address, including the hotels out on the edge of the tourist zone.
- A driver who knows the Jerid roads, how the track out to Ong Jemel is running and where the little shade there is can be found.
- Naceur Neffeti has worked in transport and travel since 1987 and has driven travellers since 2007; he speaks Arabic, French, English, German, Italian and Spanish.
What is included, what is not
Included
- Private air-conditioned vehicle and fuel for the whole day.
- A private driver with your group from door to door.
- Tolls, parking and the vehicle's road costs.
- Chilled water on board between stops.
- Waiting time at each stop, with no group timetable to keep to.
Not included
- Lunch, drinks and personal spending.
- Entrance fees for the museums and paying sites in Tozeur and Nefta.
- A licensed guide: a separate, optional service arranged on request and billed separately.
- The off-road transfer along the sand track to Ong Jemel where a local operator handles it.
- Optional activities: camel rides, quad bikes, buggies or a horse-drawn cart in the palm grove.
Practical advice
- From June to September the midday heat in the Jerid is punishing: we take the town early, cross the salt flats from inside the vehicle and keep the dunes for late afternoon.
- Closed shoes for Ong Jemel — sand gets everywhere in sandals, and the surface is scorching by late morning.
- Hat, sunglasses and sun cream. Out on the chott, the glare off the salt is as fierce as snow.
- Ouled el Hadef is a lived-in quarter, not an open-air museum: cover up, keep your voice down in the alleyways, and ask before photographing people.
- Carry more water than you think you need, and something to protect your camera: the fine sand at Ong Jemel works its way into lenses and zips.
Your questions
Can an ordinary car reach Ong Jemel?
The road is sealed as far as the edge of Nefta, after which the track turns to sand. Depending on the season and how much sand has blown across it, the final stretch calls for an off-road vehicle or a transfer arranged locally. Whichever applies is set out in your quote beforehand, not sprung on you on the day.
When is the best time of year to do this?
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable. Winter days are short but the light is superb and the evenings genuinely cold. Even at the height of summer the day works if the sightseeing is pushed to early morning and late afternoon, with long shaded pauses in between.
Does the driver explain the sites?
The driver drives, gets you to the right place at the right hour and is happy to answer questions about the region, but he does not deliver a guide's commentary. If you would like a licensed guide, that is a separate, optional service we arrange on request and bill separately.
You might also like
Douz and Chott el Jerid
Where the tarmac gives out: Douz market and its arcaded square, the first line of dunes on the Grand Erg Oriental, and the causeway that runs dead straight across the salt of the Chott el Jerid.
Oases and Sahara — 4 days
Four days that string together Tozeur's palm groves, the mountain oases of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides, the salt crossing of Chott el Jerid and the dune edge at Douz — nobody in the vehicle but your own group.
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.
- Your journey
- Travellers
- Your details
Fields not marked optional are needed to prepare a quote.
Every journey is quoted individually: no price is shown before your own quote.