Our Saharan journey where you will immerse into the Nomad lifestyle.

This trip will immerse you into Berber and nomad culture. It is less polished then our typical trips in the sense that you will experience the true face of the less developed Tunisian south. You will :

• Non polished, rustic, off the beaten path travel experience
• Genuine immersion into the Berber festivals of the Sahara
• Experience the silence and peacefulness of the Sahara desert, the arts and traditions of the nomads

TOUR ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrival (D)

Personalized welcome by PromoTunisia staff at Tunis Carthage Airport. Transfer and check in your hotel in the seaside suburbs of Tunis. The remainder of the afternoon is free for rest and relaxation from your flight. Meet your Tour Director tonight. Dinner and overnight

Day 2:  Carthage/ Sidi Bou Said/ Djerba (B, D)

Visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site City of Carthage, the oldest Phoenician settlement on the coast of North Africa, and its glorious monuments: the Anthonin thermes, the Tophet at Salambo, the Amphiteatre, the Punic ports and the Acropolium. Continue to the WWII American cemetery of Carthage (General Patton’s Kasserine Pass battle).

Continue to Sidi Bou Said, a 17th century village with immaculate white and blue houses that has managed to preserve its charm and peacefulness. Stroll through Sidi Bou’s narrow streets bordered by whitewashed houses with blue shutters and doors. Check out the various art galleries, try a bambalouni, light and crispy Tunisian style doughnut with some mint tea in one of the cafes of Sidi Bou Said and enjoy the superb view of the gulf of Tunis from one of Sidi Bou’s traditional café. Some of the town’s traditional cafes provide a marvelous view of the Gulf of Tunis, a perfect spot for painters and poets (it is called the Montmartre of Tunis).

Departure to the airport for a short flight to the Island of Djerba, land of the Lotus-eaters in Homer’s Odyssey. Check in and dinner at the hotel

Day 3:  Matmata/Ksours (B, D)

Visit Matmata, and its famous troglodytes, homes built into the mountain. This fabulous Berber village with its pitted lunar landscapes was used by both Lucas and Spielberg in the production of Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Arc.

Visit the ksours at the Berber villages with their unique houses carved in the steep sides of the surrounding mountains. Visit the Ghorfas buildings in the Ksours originally used by the Berbers as warehouses, then as lodgings. Visit the area around Chenini and Douiret that is filled with Berber ksars, or fortified villages, and is one of the most exciting places to explore in Tunisia.

Return to Djerba for dinner and overnight

Day 4: Ksar Ghilane (B, D)

Departure for Ksar Ghilane, an exotic oasis famous for its dunes and hot water spring. Check in 4* tent camp developed in harmony with its surrounding environment and local traditions. Silence and vastness around the camp makes for a magical and unforgettable night.

Enjoy the immensity of the Sahara desert at Ksar Ghilane. The Grand Erg Oriental near Ksar Ghilane truly offers vast spaces for exploring and the emotion of tasting the nomad life. Free time to marvel at the dunes.

Dinner and overnight at 4* camp, under tents.

Day 5: Douz/Tozeur (B, L, D)

Departure to Douz, an oasis town rising from the sands of the Saharan desert. Cross the Salty chott el Djerid Lake where fantastic forests and cities seem to appear on the horizon, only to be discovered as mirages. Lunch in route.

Enjoy an amazing camel ride-this is optional, we will have the Toyota 4X4 vehicles available for those who do not wish to try camel riding in the desert— in the golden triangle made of three oases, Nouaiel, Zaafrane and Sabria.

Afternoon arrival at the oasis of Tozeur. Check in a hotel. After dinner, visit the museum in Dar Cheraiet: The museum, partially outdoor, is laid out like an amusement park and features luxurious decorations and gardens with the most representative scenes of North African life. It is an architectural jewel born of 1001 nights dreams.  The beautifully-tiled Moorish bath will take you back a few centuries.

Day 6: Metaloui/Mountain Oases (B, L, D)

After breakfast, 4X4 departure to Metlaoui.

Visit the Selja gorges with the Red Lizard Train: the Red Lizard, the train belonging to the Bey of Tunisia himself is part of the colonial spirit. With six wagons, including one used by the Bey, the train takes you to discover the famous and otherwise inaccessible Selja gorges.

Continue by 4X4 to Tamerza. Lunch at the Tamerza palace overlooking the village of Tamerza. Walk down to the abandoned village of Tamerza.

Visit of the mountain oases, Mides canyon (The village of Mides appears as if suspended above a deep gorge, with walls surrounding it on three sides, the fourth used to be a high barrier, which sheltered the village from raiders), Tamerza ‘s natural water cascades that irrigate the date palmiers (Tamerza is a verdant mountain oasis overlooking a drop of hundreds of meters to the Oued El Khanga ravine and a superb waterfall), Chebika, one of the most beautiful oasis in Tunisia where palm trees grow from the springs and waterfalls (there may be some hiking required in Chebika, feel free to skip). On our way back to Tozeur, we will stop by Ong Jmel where “Star Wars” and “the English patient” were filmed.

Dinner and overnight in Tozeur

Day 7: Sbeitla/Kairouan/Tunis (B, L, D)

After breakfast, depart to Kairouan through the amazing archaeological site of Sbeitla, ancient Sufutela, the second largest Roman site in Tunisia, where human settlements there date back to antiquity, and where the Flavian dynasty built one of the most well preserved roman sites in the world.

Arrive at the Medina of Kairouan. lunch at the Kasbah hotel 5* that lies at the heart of the holy city of Kairouan. This hotel, with a luxurious inside and a sober outlook, merges harmoniously into the Arab-Islamic architecture of the city of Kairouan. Walk through Kairouan’s souks, taste the traditional local pastry stuffed with dates called makroudh, and learn about the traditional savoir-faire of women making rugs.

Arrive late afternoon in Tunis. Check in your hotel. Dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Departure (B)

After breakfast, depart to Tunis Carthage airport.