THE BEST OF TUNISIA
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24 March – 4 April 2009
In association with Aspects of Tunisia (Wigmore Holidays)
Please see the "Booking" section to the right for instructions on how to book for this tour. |
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PROVISIONAL COST: including scheduled flights, all transport, accommodation in comfortable, sometimes deluxe, and interesting hotels (in twin/double rooms 6 nights B & B/ 5 nights ½ board) - all rooms have private facilities), entrance fees, guided visits: £1445
EXTRAS: Insurance; other meals and incidentals; single room supplement £398. As we use several smaller hotels, single rooms are in very short supply. |
Tunisia has an ancient history, dating back to the Berber tribes who first inhabited the region. Its strategic position on the Mediterranean and the fertility of the land attracted invaders – the Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs and finally the French – and the resulting culture is a fusion of all these elements. Beyond the sun-soaked beaches, Tunisia offers many delightful surprises of great appeal to those of us wishing to explore a fascinating culture with art, history & beautiful landscapes. Mountains & desert oases, valleys with fruit and olives are liberally dotted with the most magnificent Roman and Punic ruined cities: the many temples, baths, theatres, forums dominate the landscape. The Bardo Museum in Tunis has a wonderful collection of mosaics and sculpture from the ancient world. Walled cities have old medinas, ancient mosques & synagogues, and in the south are the amazing fortified villages, granaries and troglodyte dwellings of the semi-nomadic tribes. Our tour explores all these elements in the company of an expert in the history and culture of Tunisia, staying in comfortable and charming hotels.
Day 1 Tues 24 March: Tunis Air from Heathrow at 16.20 Arrive Tunis 20.10
Transfer to Hotel. B & B accommodation at Dar el Medina – a boutique hotel in the heart of the medina.
Day 2 Depart hotel by 28-seater minibus with Hédi to the Bardo Museum.
Visit the museum then on to the remains of ancient Carthage. Visit the site then return to hotel.
Carthage was founded by the Phoenicians from the Eastern Mediterranean in 814 BC and finally destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC. It was refounded by Julius Caesar and became the largest Roman city after Rome.
Bed and breakfast accommodation at Dar el Medina.
Day 3 Depart hotel for Dougga. The most spectacular Roman site in Tunisia, & the famous Triumphal Arch of Septimus Severus (205 AD) is considered the most beautiful Roman monument in North Africa.
We visit the site then proceed to the archaeological remains of Bulla Regia, another Roman site with its extraordinary underground villas. Return to Tunis. Bed and breakfast accommodation at Dar el Medina.
Day 4 Guided tour of the Medina of Tunis. This is a wonderful and atmospheric visit, through the labyrinth of narrow streets, with its souks for different crafts and trades, mosques, gates, fountains, tombs, barracks, medersas, hammams. Bed and breakfast accommodation at Dar el Medina.
Day 5 Depart Tunis for Kairouan via Makthar.
Makhtar was a Roman city founded in 2nd C BC. Perched on a hillside at an altitude of 1000m it dominates the countryside, with a well preserved paved road running through the site. A wonderful site with small museum.
Kairouan is Islam’s fourth most holy city, founded in 670 AD by an advancing Arab conqueror. The magnificent mosque, with its great colonnaded prayer hall and courtyard dominates the city, but there are other mosques, tombs and gates, and, of course the medina to explore.
Bed and breakfast accommodation at Hotel La Kasbah in Kairouan (set in the walls of the Kasbah).
Day 6 Visit Kairouan in the morning then proceed to Sbeitla. This is the last of the Roman cities we visit on this tour, and one of the finest. Visit the archaeological site then return to Kairouan.
Half-board accommodation at Hotel La Kasbah.
Day 7 Depart for Tataouine our base for visiting the sights of this area – especially the amphitheatre of El Jem, a most impressive & atmospheric Roman ampitheatre and museum the Ksar Hadada, which was a fortified granary used by the nomadic tribespeople.
Half-board accommodation at Sangho Privilège in Tataouine (a small hotel in the countryside).
Day 8 Visit the troglodyte village of Chenini and Ksar Ouled Soltane fortified granary. On to Jerba via the Roman causeway. Jerba is a very interesting island, famed for its beaches perhaps, but with an interior of olive and date farms, fortified mosques and a very curious, still-functioning synagogue.
Half-board accommodation at Mövenpick Ulysse Palace in Jerba (low-rise, on the beach).
Day 9 Guided tour of the island. Half-board accommodation at Mövenpick Ulysse Palace.
Day 10 Transfer to Jerba Airport for flight to Tunis. Flight departs Jerba at 0945, arrives Tunis at 1045.
Arrival at Tunis Airport, transfer to hotel. Bed & breakfast accommodation at Hotel Dar Saïd in Sidi Bou Saïd. (A lovely former palace with pool overlooking Carthage & the Gulf of Tunis)
Sidi Bou Saïd is a simply lovely small blue and white village to the north of Tunis, perched high above the Mediterranean. Parts ARE a little trippery, especially with the arrival of tour groups from the beaches, but there are quiet walks, and some of the palaces are open – especially the magnificent Dar Ennejma Ezzahra, home of Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger, and now the Centre of Arab and Mediterranean Music.
Day 11 At leisure in Sidi Bou Saïd. Bed and breakfast accommodation at Hotel Dar Saïd.
Day 12 At leisure in Sidi Bou Saïd until transfer to Tunis Airport.
Tunis Air Depart Tunis 14.20, arrive Heathrow 16.15
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