This 15-day loop suits travelers who want the whole country in one go: Roman ruins in the wheat hills, the holy city of Kairouan, the Saharan fringe and the Berber villages of the far south, finishing on an island. The pace is steady but never frantic, with two-night stays at most bases and short hops in the south. You’ll ride the TGM light rail and metro around Tunis, louages (shared minibuses) for nearly every intercity leg, the Sahel metro along the coast, and one hired car with driver for the ksour around Tataouine. You fly out of Djerba.
Days 1-3: Tunis, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said
Three nights in
Tunis give you room to see the capital properly before heading inland. Spend your first full day in the
Medina of Tunis, walking the covered souks around the Zitouna and stepping into
Dar Lasram, an early 19th-century mansion whose tiled courtyard is rarely busy. The second day belongs to the
Bardo National Museum, where the Roman mosaic collection is the best preparation for the ruins ahead. …
read more 👉This 15-day loop suits travelers who want the whole country in one go: Roman ruins in the wheat hills, the holy city of Kairouan, the Saharan fringe and the Berber villages of the far south, finishing on an island. The pace is steady but never frantic, with two-night stays at most bases and short hops in the south. You’ll ride the TGM light rail and metro around Tunis, louages (shared minibuses) for nearly every intercity leg, the Sahel metro along the coast, and one hired car with driver for the ksour around Tataouine. You fly out of Djerba.
Days 1-3: Tunis, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said
Three nights in Tunis give you room to see the capital properly before heading inland. Spend your first full day in the Medina of Tunis, walking the covered souks around the Zitouna and stepping into Dar Lasram, an early 19th-century mansion whose tiled courtyard is rarely busy. The second day belongs to the Bardo National Museum, where the Roman mosaic collection is the best preparation for the ruins ahead. On day three, take the TGM out to the Carthage Archaeological Site (the Antonine Baths, Byrsa Hill and the Punic ports are all walkable from the stations) and finish in Sidi Bou Said with mint tea above the gulf.
Days 4-5: Dougga and El Kef
Leave early on a louage toward Teboursouk, then take a taxi up to Dougga (ancient Thugga), the most complete Roman town in North Africa, with its Capitol, theater and a rare Libyco-Punic mausoleum spread across an olive-covered hillside. A second louage carries you on to El Kef, a hill town with a kasbah and cool evenings. Day five is for the Jugurtha Tableland: a louage to Kalaat Senan, a short taxi ride, then a steep climb up rock-cut steps to a flat-topped mesa about 1,270 meters high, with Algeria visible on clear days.
Days 6-7: Kairouan, Monastir and El Jem
The road east drops out of the hills to Kairouan, roughly three hours by louage. Visit the Kairouan Great Mosque and Medina Monuments in the morning, when the courtyard is open to non-Muslims, then continue about 90 minutes to Monastir for two nights. Start day seven by climbing the watchtower of the Ribat of Monastir, then make the hour-plus trip to the Amphitheatre of El Jem, which held around 35,000 spectators and still dwarfs the small town around it. Monastir is calmer than Sousse, which makes it a better place to rest before the longest transfer of the trip.
Days 8-10: Tozeur, Chebika, Nefta and Douz
Day eight is a full travel day, six to seven hours by louage via Gafsa, to Tozeur. Day nine makes up for it: a 4x4 run to the mountain oasis of Chebika Oasis, with its spring-fed pools under a cliff, and an afternoon in Nefta looking down into its palm-filled ravine. On day ten, cross the Chott el Jerid by louage on the causeway, flat salt crust on both sides, to Douz, where the dunes start at the edge of town and a sunset camel ride costs very little.
Days 11-13: Matmata, Tataouine and the Ksour
From Douz, go via Gabès to Matmata and sleep in or near one of the troglodyte pit houses that made the town famous. The next morning, continue through Medenine to Tataouine, arriving by midday. Hire a driver for the afternoon to reach Ksar Ouled Soltane, where vaulted granaries rise four stories around two courtyards and glow orange late in the day. On day thirteen, visit the hilltop Berber village of Chenini and the half-abandoned ridge of Douiret in the morning, then ride about two hours to the coast.
Days 13-15: Djerba
Two nights on Djerba bring the pace down after the south. Visit the El Ghriba Synagogue in Erriadh, with its blue tiles and centuries of pilgrimage, and the Guellala Museum of traditional pottery and Berber culture, which sits in the island’s potters’ village. Then spend your last afternoon on Djerba Beach before flying out of Djerba-Zarzis airport.
If you can spare a few hours near Tataouine, Ksar Hadada outside Ghomrassen is a ksar of vaulted granary rooms stacked around a courtyard, and few visitors make the detour.v2.webp){kind=logo}
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