Private tour

Grand Tunisia Tour: North to Sahara — 10 days

Our most complete route, driven end to end: Mediterranean to dunes, in a vehicle nobody else shares.

On request

Illustration of southern Tunisia: a pale salt flat, low dunes and a straight road running to the horizon.

At a glance

Duration
10 days, 9 nights
Who it suits
Travellers who want the whole country in one trip and don't mind long drives, provided the days can be adjusted as they go.
Price
On request

Ten days from the Mediterranean to the edge of the Sahara, in a vehicle kept for your group alone: Tunis and Carthage, the Roman cities of the north-west, Kairouan, El Jem's amphitheatre, the Sahel coast, the cave houses of Matmata, Douz and the Chott el Jerid, Tozeur and the mountain oases, then the road north.

Departures

Pick-up in Tunis, at La Goulette, at your hotel or at Tunis-Carthage airport. Departures also possible from Hammamet, Sousse or Monastir; each day's timing is agreed with you in the quote.

The route, day by day

A working plan rather than a fixed track: the order of the days is reworked with you before departure, and on the road wherever that is practical.

Day 1 — Tunis and the medina
We collect you at your address or at Tunis-Carthage airport and get you settled. Depending on the arrival time agreed in your quote, a first walk through the medina: the covered souks, the Zitouna mosque glimpsed from the lanes, a rooftop café above the terraces. A deliberately gentle first day.
Day 2 — Carthage, Sidi Bou Said and the Bardo
Carthage spread across its hills: the Byrsa summit, the Antonine baths facing the sea, the Punic ports. Then Sidi Bou Said late in the day, once the coach parties have gone and the blue doorways are quiet again. The Bardo and its mosaics slot in either side, depending on its closing day.
Day 3 — Roman north-west: Dougga or Bulla Regia
Out through Testour, with its mosque clock that runs backwards, along the Medjerda valley. Then a choice: Dougga, an entire Roman town on a ridge above the olive groves, or Bulla Regia, where the villas were built underground and stay cool in high summer. With an early start, both fit into one day.
Day 4 — Kairouan
South to Kairouan across the grain plains. The Great Mosque with its blinding limestone courtyard, the Aghlabid pools, the medina, the carpet workshops and makroudh still warm from the oven. Modest dress is essential, and visitor access to the mosque pauses during Friday prayers.
Day 5 — El Jem and the Sahel
El Jem's amphitheatre appears above the olive trees long before the town does. You climb the tiers, walk the underground passages, and the scale finally lands. The afternoon belongs to the Sahel: the ribat at Monastir above the harbour, the medina and kasbah of Sousse, then a night on the coast.
Day 6 — Heading south: Sfax, Gabes, Matmata
A long southbound leg, sea on one side and the endless olive plains of Sfax on the other, then the seaside oasis of Gabes where the palms run down to the beach. By late afternoon the road climbs into the hills of Matmata, the ground hollows out and the houses disappear underground.
Day 7 — Matmata, Douz and the desert gate
A troglodyte house first, its rooms cut around a sunken courtyard, then the road to Douz through Kebili and the palm groves of the Nefzaoua. The day ends in the dunes at the edge of the Grand Erg Oriental, where the sand genuinely begins. A camel ride can be arranged locally if you fancy it.
Day 8 — The Chott el Jerid and Tozeur
The crossing of the Chott el Jerid, a vast white salt flat cut by a single straight causeway, with mirages shimmering in the middle of the day. Then Tozeur: the palm grove, the patterned brickwork of the Ouled el Hadef quarter, and Nefta with its Corbeille if time allows.
Day 9 — The mountain oases
A day in the Tunisian Atlas: Chebika clinging to its cliff, Tamerza and its waterfall, Mides perched above a red canyon. The walks are short but the ground is uneven, so wear closed shoes. Back to Tozeur for the low evening light across the palm grove.
Day 10 — The road back north
North again through Gafsa and the steppe, with a final stop possible at Sbeitla or Kairouan if the agreed plan allows. Drop-off at your hotel, your address or the airport, at a time set with you around your flight.

What travelling privately changes

The vehicle is yours alone: no other passengers, no morning round of hotel pick-ups.
You set the departure time, the breaks and the photo stops; one leg can be shortened and another stretched while you are on the road.
Naceur Neffeti has worked in transport and travel since 1987 and has driven visitors since 2007. He speaks Arabic, French, English, German, Italian and Spanish.
You are collected and dropped where you actually are: hotel, guesthouse, cruise berth or airport.
Over ten days your luggage stays in the vehicle and the whole south is crossed without changing operator.

What is included, what is not

Included

Private air-conditioned vehicle, reserved for your group for the full ten days
Professional driver, fuel, tolls and parking
A detailed route agreed before departure, then adjusted en route for weather and mood
Pick-up and drop-off at the addresses agreed, in the north as in the south

Not included

Accommodation and meals, unless your quote says otherwise
Entrance tickets for archaeological sites and museums
The services of a licensed guide, offered as an option and booked on request, site by site
Local activities: camel rides, off-road outings in the dunes, hammam visits
Tips and personal spending

Practical advice

From June to September the south is genuinely hot: water, a hat, light clothing, and sightseeing kept to early morning or late afternoon.
At Kairouan and at any place of worship, cover shoulders and knees; a light scarf is useful.
Closed shoes with grip for El Jem, Dougga and the paths in the mountain oases — the ground is stony and often slippery.
Museums and archaeological sites close one day a week and shift their hours with the season; we check the running order before you travel.
Desert nights are cool even in summer, so keep a light jacket in your day bag.

Your questions

Can the route be run in reverse, or started in the south?

Yes. The running order follows your arrival point and your dates. If you land at Tozeur, Djerba or Monastir, the itinerary is rebuilt around the first and last days you give us.

Do we need a guide for this trip?

The driver drives, talks you through the route and helps you find your bearings on site. For proper historical commentary at Carthage, Dougga, Kairouan or El Jem, a licensed guide can be booked as an option, for a single site or a full day, at your request.

How heavy are the driving days?

Some legs cross the country and take a good morning behind the wheel, particularly the run down to Matmata and the return to Tunis. Because the vehicle is yours alone, stops happen when you want them and a day can be trimmed if the group would rather slow down.