I Went to Tunisia for the Beaches, But Found 7 Even Better Reasons to Make It Your Next Mediterranean Getaway 53%
By Paul Rogers0%
6/30/2026, 11:05:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 32 faulty reasoning types, including Attempt to Sell a Product or Service, Anecdotal, and Hasty Generalization, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 35.3% saturation with 378 hits. Analysis detected 2,635 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,072 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 51.6% and a BS Rank of 53% (10,139 of 21,180 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 52.10% of the article peer group.
I went to Tunisia to attend a cultural festival with a group of fellow writers.
My sister had enjoyed a beach holiday there a few years prior, so I’d hoped to make time for a day on the Mediterranean, too.
But I was simply unprepared for the sheer diversity, depth, and popularity of Tunisia’s tourist attractions.
The small North African nation has just 12 million inhabitants yet attracted over 11 million international visitors last year, shattering all records and confirming a remarkable rebound from its tumultuous 2010s and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Long popular with Europeans and visitors from neighboring Algeria and Libya, Tunisia is now the number one destination for Chinese outbound travelers and booming in multiple other markets.
Driving these impressive statistics is the country’s breadth of attractions, from all-inclusive seaside resorts to Sahara Desert adventures; bustling historic markets to windswept Roman ruins; lush oases to the rugged Atlas Mountains.
Here are seven reasons why holidaymakers are increasingly choosing Tunisia for their Mediterranean getaway.
In North Africa, a medina is the historic, walled part of a city characterized by narrow, pre-automobile streets; traditional markets; and old mosques.
These are the places where I felt most “abroad” in Tunisia, bombarded by sounds, sights, and smells unfamiliar and exotic.
Medinas developed organically as fortified urban centers, so their maze-like warrens of streets and short sightlines can feel disconcerting to visitors like me who’re accustomed to more open, grid-pattern cities.
I found it best to just let myself get lost for a while!
Sooner or later, I’d recognize a landmark or get directions from a local – but not before stocking up on souvenirs and trinkets at a trapped-in-time souk bazaar.
Even if you opt for a sun ‘n sand Tunisia vacation, there are plenty of fascinating ancient ruins within day-trip distance.
The Archaeological Site of Carthage is conveniently located in a suburb of the coastal capital, Tunis, and we drove back from the Roman Amphitheatre of El Jem to our Tunis hotel in around two hours (El Jem is also less than an hour from the resort city of Sousse).
For the more adventurous, Tataouine — a 5-hour drive from Hammamet or 3.5 hours from Sousse — is a city steeped in Berber culture, surrounded by several other Berber settlements carved from the very mountains.
If Tataouine sounds familiar, it’s because the area provided both filming locations and a name for a fictional planet in Star Wars (see below).
The centerpiece of my Tunisia trip was the annual International Festival of the Sahara: a four-day whirlwind of Bedouin horsemanship, mesmerizing folk music, and animated poetry held in the dusty oasis of Douz since 1910.
Three-hundred miles south of Tunis, this “gateway to the Sahara” transforms during the festival, its streets choked with camel handlers in mysterious garbs urging their beasts between fizzing mopeds, chunky SUVs, and dust-caked European motorcyclists.
A rare combo of authenticity and accessibility, Douz delivers a true desert experience from the comfort of mid-range hotels in its Zone Touristique (we stayed at the excellent El Mouradi Douz).
The festival’s opening ceremony is a multinational exotica overload of camel and horse riders thundering past bleachers and impossibly swift saluki hunting dogs unleashed against a hazy backdrop of flags from myriad participating Arab nations.
Tunisia has so many Star Wars filming locations that there are entire, multi-day tours built around sites used to portray the fictional planet of Tatooine (a name inspired by the Tunisian city of Tataouine).
Clustered mainly around desert Tozeur and on Djerba island, these include ancient dwellings, a purpose-built spaceport, and dramatic rock formations.
Most are remote, so join a guided tour or rent an off-road capable SUV.
My 4x4 ride through Tozeur’s famed date groves and into the Sahara to the remarkably well-preserved Mos Espa set was an adventure in itself.
With its domed adobe buildings, antenna-like “moisture vaporizers,” and sweeping dunes, this instantly recognizable site felt otherworldly even in real life.
Most half- and full-day tours to Mos Espa also include the Ong Jemel rock formation featured in The Phantom Menace; the shimmering Chott el Gharsa salt flats; and optional camel rides.
While in Tozeur, make time for the historic Lezard Rouge tourist train into the scenic Selja Gorges — they even let me ride in the engine with the driver!
While “lush” may not be the first word associated with North Africa, Tunisia’s Ichkeul National park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (one of nine in Tunisia), is famed for wetlands visited by countless migratory birds.
By contrast, Bou-Hedma National Park in central Tunisia is mostly semi-arid savanna that’s home to endangered species like the scimitar oryx and dama gazelle, as well as multiple important Roman ruins.
Much more conveniently located, just nine miles from Tunis, the 4,800-acre Boukornine National Park is a mountainous haven for diverse wildlife and flower species.
Tunisia boasts a further 14 national parks, including the small and much less visited Parc National Djebel Serj, where lucky and/or patient vacationers may spot striped hyena, serval, or even mongoose.
The traditional souk bazaars of the Arab world are vivid sensory feasts where tourists gather shoulder-to-shoulder with locals going about their everyday business.
I left Tunisia’s souks with more photos and memories than souvenirs (though the latter are plentiful!)
While most Tunisian cities host markets — there’s a colorful bazaar in coastal Sidi Bou Said and a spice market in desert Tozeur — you needn’t leave Tunis to soak up some souks.
Around twenty are located within the city’s medina.
The oldest, the circa 1240 souk El Attarine, specializes in perfumes and beauty products.
Souk El Berka has a dark past as a slave market but is now thronged with jewelers specializing in silverware, while souk El Grana is the place for fabrics, garments, and handicrafts.
Most international flights land at Tunis-Carthage International Airport just minutes from Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, a coastal city of jumbled historic neighborhoods, flat-roofed white villas, and gray industrial districts.
There are no direct flights from the US, so you’ll layover in a European or Middle Eastern hub.
We flew via Frankfurt on Lufthansa, which also routes through Munich.
Other common layovers include Paris (Air France), Istanbul (Turkish Airlines), and Rome (ITA).
American passport holders do not need a visa to visit Tunisia for stays of up to 90 days.
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