CMENAS

TOUR COSTS

Land Cost (start /end Tunis): US$1595* per person

Single supplement: US$375
If you are traveling alone and you are willing to share, we will try to match you up with an appropriate roommate. If we can’t, the single supplement will apply

*based on a minimum of 12 participants.

Please contact Worldwide Quest for flight arrangements from your home city.

TOUR COST INCLUDES:

* Accommodations in hotels listed, or similar, based on twin occupancy
* Meals as listed in the itinerary
* Three airport transfers on arrival and departure provided to the group
* All ground transportation by private air-conditioned coach
* Excursions as listed with experienced English-speaking local guides
* All entrance fees to mentioned monuments

TOUR COST DOES NOT INCLUDE:

· International airfare
· Meals not listed in the itinerary
· Airport and departure taxes
· Gratuities
· Items of a personal nature, such as laundry, drinks, phone calls, etc.
· Travel insurance
· Visa
· Fuel Surcharges
· Airport arrival and departure transfers if not traveling using pre-set group transfers
· Additional arrangements due to any emergency situation

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrive Tunis

On arrival in Tunis you will be met by our representative and transferred to hotel Yadis Ibn Khaldoun or similar in Tunis.

Overnight: Tunis

Meals: Dinner

Day 2: Kairouan to Sbeitla

Our Tunisian adventure continues this morning as we start our drive south. Our first stop is at the Great Mosque in Kairouan. This is the oldest mosque in North Africa with one of the world’s oldest minarets. We will also visit the Mosque of the Barber, the burial place of the one of the Prophet Mohammed’s companions. Here we can also explore the old Medina, surrounded by walls. Continue to Sbeitla to visit the Ancient Roman ruins of Sufeitula, containing the best-preserved Forum temples in Tunisia. The ancient town, then held by the Byzantine Prefect Gregory was captured by the Arabs in 647AD and briefly served as capital of the country.

Check in at hotel Sufeitula in Sbeitla..

Overnight: Sbeitla

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3 Sbeitla Tozeur

Departure to the oasis town of Tozeur known for its hundred thousand palm trees. The dates exported from Tozeur are very well known. In the Medina (old city) of Tozeur, we will admire traditional architecture, fashion and workmanship

Overnight: Tozeur Hotel Ras El Ain or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4: Oasis Towns

Today we venture by jeep into the incredible scenery of the mountain oasis towns near Tozeur. Chebika is an ancient town first established by the Romans to link Leveste (Tebessa) in Algeria to Tacapa (Gabes) on the Oriental coast of Tunisia. To communicate with nearby regions, the legionaries used a reflecting mirror. Tamerza is thought to be the Ancient Roman site of Ad Turres, a defensive Roman station that became an Episcopal place in the Byzantine era. Hidden by a chain of mountainsdominating a large plain, the village has a privileged location. Coming down from the village, we reach “Oued El Khanga” to admire a beautiful waterfall. We continue to Nefta, the ancient Aggasel Nepte of the Romans. Destroyed in the 11th century by the rulers of Tunis for refusing to pay taxes, the city of Nefta was renewed. It became a strong centre of Sufism, a mystic Islamic movement, and reached the peak of prosperity in the 16th century. Overnight: Tozeur Hotel Ras El Ain or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 5: Chott el Jerid to Matmata

Today’s drive across the salt lake of Chott el Jerid will be a real highlight with many opportunities for fabulous photo stops. Douz, the gateway to the desert, is our destination at the far end of the salt lake. After a stop in Douz to explore the town, we continue on to Matmata. This is a spectacular site situated in a basin scattered with countless tiny hills, a lunar landscape surrounded by bald mountains. From afar, the ground appears to be riddled with an endless number of craters. These are the Troglodytes houses. This location served as the setting for many recent movies including the Star Wars series. Here we’ll visit the home of Berber tribes people.

Overnight: Matmata Hotel Diar El Barbar or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 6: Matmata ; Medenine, Chenini Douiret Djerba

We leave the desert today and begin our drive north. Our route takes us first to the mountain villages of Chenini and Douiret. These villages are made up of cave houses built on the slopes of a mountain with a white mosque in the midst. Explore the Ksour district centred on the rugged hills of the Jebel Dahar Range. We’ll stop to visit 17th century Ksar Medenine with ghorfas (stone or mud pigeonholes once used as storehouses) .We arrive in Djerba in the afternoon. The Island of Djerba, resembles Polynesia in its soft, serene tropical landscape. Djerba was know already since Antiquity as Homer’s Ulysses stopped here during his trip.

Overnight: Hotel Miramar Petit Palais or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 7: Djerba

Free day in Djerba.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 8: Djerba Sfax.

Our journey north continues today, travelling through the Ancient Roman city of Gabes and onward to Sfax, once known as the base of the Barbary piracy, prompting an unsuccessful invasion by Venice in 1785. Visit the Medina of Sfax

Overnight: Hotel Sfax Centre or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 9: Sfax El Jem, Monastir Sousse

Departure to visit the magnificent Ancient Roman amphitheatre at El Jem. This is the third largest amphitheatre in the ancient world with a capacity of 27,000 spectators.Departure to visit the Ribat of Monastir. Founded in the 9th century B.C, Sousse is the third largest city in Tunisia with an over three thousand year history preserved within the fortified ramparts of the medina.

Visit the Ribat .

Overnight: Hotel Vincci El Kantaoui Centre 4 stars in Sousse or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 10: Sousse

Free Day.

Free time enjoying the sea and the souks.

Overnight: Hotel Vincci El Kantaoui Centre 4 stars in Sousse or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 11 Dougga, Tuburbo Majus Tunis

Today is devoted to an exploration of the major Ancient Roman sites of northern Tunisia.

The site at Tuburgo Majus is extensive and covers about 40 hectares. It has been partially excavated and is dotted with many buildings, mostly monumental, such as the capitol, with its six façade columns, the temple of Peace and that of Mercury, the summer baths and the winter baths, as well as the market and the residential quarter.

Dougga is the best-preserved site in Tunisia, a settlement of Numidian origin in the 2nd century BC, later promoted to the status of municipium by the Romans. Here we can walk along its ancient stone-paved streets and admire its capitol, theatre and other splendid public buildings.

Overnight: Yadis Ibn Khaldoun or similar in Tunis.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 12: Tunis, Carthage, Sidi Bou Said

Constructed by the Arabs in 698, Tunis flourished inside its fortified ramparts. Walking in the Medina (the walled historic centre), we’ll be charmed by the exotic scents of perfumes and spices. We’ll visit the Bardo Museum, the ancient residence of the beys (dynasty ruling Tunisia from1705 to 1957), which now houses a splendid archaeological museum. This afternoon, we’ll visit the archaeological site of Carthage, with magnificent features of the ancient baths and two sea ports.

Overnight: Tunis Yadis Ibn Khaldoun or similar .

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 13: Depart Tunis

We transfer to the airport for our homeward flights or onward arrangements.