When Dad and I were planning our big trip at the end of last year we knew that we were gonna start in Madagascar and end up in Norway, but we ended up with a week free in between those destinations and we had to figure out where to go and what we wanted to do with that week.
We thought about a Scottish road trip, pondered hiking in Madeira and even considered roughing it in Djibouti, but in the end we settled on a week in Tunisia.
So why Tunisia?
It was about halfway between South Africa and Norway so was convenient from a location point of view. It is also quite a small country, which meant that we’d be able to see quite a lot with just a single week. We also were able to get a visa on arrival for free! But really, the main appeal was that Papa and I are big Star Wars fans and Tunisia is an absolute mecca for Star Wars nerds.
It would’ve made more sense to fly directly into Djerba rather than the capital of Tunis, but with the way our schedule worked out this wouldn’t maximise our time as effectively as I would’ve liked and thus we opted to start our journey by flying into Tunis.
We arrived late at night, crashed at our hotel and were up bright and early to meet our guide Jamel for the first time. From the moment we met him it was abundantly clear that he was punctual, polite, intelligent, funny and kind – I knew I had done a solid job by booking him.
This first day would involve a long journey from Tunis to Djerba with a stop at the ruins of El Jem to break up the journey.
El Jem is a small yet charming town that is noteworthy due to the unbelievably well preserved roman amphitheatre that resides there. El Jem amphitheatre is the largest colosseum in North Africa and can seat an impressive 35,000 people. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979, this amphitheatre dates back to around 238 AD, making it less than a few decades shy of being 1,800 years old.
El Jem has survived in remarkably good condition and is considered to be one of the two best colosseums in the world (second only to the colosseum in Rome) and I must admit, after now having visited both of these, I absolutely preferred my visit to El Jem.
So why did I prefer El Jem to the famousness that is the Roman Colosseum?
Firstly, unlike the Colosseum where you are shoved in like sardines with hordes of other tourists, we only had to share El Jem with a maximum of 20 other people! In such an enormous place it meant that we truly felt like we had it to ourselves which is always such a magical feeling.
The second reason why I preferred El Jem was the unbelievable access you have to explore these ruins. We were free to climb the stairs, sit on the steps and traverse the amazing rocky ruins. Furthermore, you can do something at El Jem that you cannot do at any other colosseums anywhere in the world…
You can go right underneath the arena to see the rooms in which gladiators and the animals they were pitted against were kept!
I have been so fortunate to visit many incredible roman ruins over the years and El Jem is definitely up there with my all time favourites (shoutouts to Bosra and Baalbek who take out the other top spots), it was absolutely glorious.
After we had finished our El Jem explorations we headed down the road to try a local Tunisian fast food – chapati with tuna, onions, egg and harissa – absolutely freaking delicious and something I have made a poor imitation of numerous times since being home.
The drive onwards to Djerba Island was a long one and Dad and I both took the opportunity to nap along the way. There are two different ways to reach Djerba depending on which direction you are coming from. There is the ‘Roman Road’ which is an old paved bridge that connects the island to the mainland.
Alternatively, you can catch the local ferry! Depending on how many people are coming and going you may be waiting 30-90 minutes to actually board the ferry. There is no pre booking for these local ferries (and no way to find out how many of them are actually running), you simply drive into the line and wait your turn.
Once on, you can wait in your vehicle or get out and enjoy the views. I highly recommend the latter, especially if your ferry trip coincides with the sunset as ours did.
That evening we settled into our hotel and got a good nights sleep – after all, we had another big day of exploring ahead of us!
Stay tuned for the amazing street art and numerous Star Wars sets of Djerba Island!
El Jem Amphitheatre: This unmissable amphitheatre is located about halfway between Tunis and Djerba Island. It is easily accessible by car and easily explored independently, although getting the history from a guide is fantastic. Entrance will cost you 12 Tunisian Dinars (approx $6 AUD)
Hotel Belvedere Fourati: We stayed at this hotel in the capital of Tunis and though it appeared unassuming, the staff were lovely, beds were comfy and we were even gifted us a cute ceramic trinket upon departure, I would happily stay there again
Tours by Jamel: We absolutely loved our trip with Jamel and truly couldn’t have asked for a better guide. We booked our trip with Jamel directly via whatsapp messages, you can contact him through whatsapp on +216 98 202 283 or check out his website by clicking here
Remember: Tunisia is very progressive compared to many of its surrounding countries and women are free to wear whatever they want… but I still would recommend covering your knees and shoulders to avoid attracting unwanted attention
