To book cheap holiday to Tunisia

[Superfragile]

Planning on taking kids away over Easter (without dh) was about to book Tunisia but my friend said I was crazy. Aibr thinking bad shit happens everywhere and aibu to trust the foreign office?

[KathyS901]

I definitely, definitely wouldn't go to Tunisia after the two terrorist attacks deliberately targeting tourists and tourist areas, and the fact that Tunisia has (apparently) a huge number of IS sympathisers and a really big problem with extremism. If you look on the official British government website about travel to Tunisia, they advise that:

"Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Tunisia and there have been a number of attacks in recent years. A state of emergency – in effect since a suicide attack on a police bus on 24 November 2015 – has been extended several times, most recently on 7 March 2019 by one month."

My personal belief is that, as a parent, this is not a risk you should be taking for the sake of a cheap holiday. It's just not worth it. Go to Spain or something!

[Witchofzog]

Bad shit does happen everywhere. We are on a high alert for terrorism here in the UK too.

However I wouldn't go because most people I know who have been have become unwell from the food and also if you leave your hotel, particularly on your own with children, you will be harassed to death. I had this myself in Egypt and for this reason alone ds and I would never go back. For me a holiday involves exploring the local tea and I would not enjoy being trapped in the hotel for the duration

[Witchofzog]

Local area not tea

[KathyS901]

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tunisia/terrorism

[TheQueef]

Why risk it?
It's a big ol world.

[anniehm]

Tunisia like many countries is not the best place to travel without a male escort. Is this right? No! But alas it's true that you will be hassled, most guides recommend only leaving the hotel as part of a tour. With 2 little ones I highly recommend Sicily which is actually not that far from Tunisia so has similar weather but as part of Italy you won't have the same dangers, good health care if the need arose and they adore children. There's resorts near the base of etna along the coast from Taormina (which is great but the hotels in the town aren't really resorts).

[nrpmum]

Interesting. I'm going to Tunisia in June with my husband for our honeymoon. No kids (they have flown the nest).

I am not overly cautious about terrorism though, given that it could literally happen anywhere.

[Bagitup]

Went in 2013 and was on the same beach that all those poor folk were murdered on.

I hated the place. Hassled at the port (was Port El Kantaoui) and just hated it all.

[Superfragile]

@KathyS901 I appreciate your input but Spain says this:
Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Spain. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners. The Spanish authorities take measures to protect visitors, but you should be vigilant and follow the instructions of the local authorities.

On 17/18 August 2017, there were 2 terrorist-related incidents where vehicles were driven directly at pedestrians, resulting in injuries and loss of life. These were in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona and Cambrils, near Salou (100km southwest of Barcelona).

[Superfragile]

Interesting about the hassling tho.

[Exhisatwunt]

I went to Tunisia in 2011. We stayed in a nice 4* Hotel in Hammamet. It was a complete dive. Horrid, awful.
Honestly, there is nothing about that holiday that I enjoyed. Outside of the hotel was like a war zone. As a woman you will get hassled non-stop.

[Selmababies]

I went to Tunisia many times as a single parent with my daughter before the terrorist attack in Sousse.
I always had great times there and the food in the rhotel and tourist restaurants was always very good. Neither of us ever suffered any stomach upsets or other illness.
It simply isn't true about the level of harrassment that people are describing here. It's certainly possible to move around outside the hotel. There was a fair amount of touting for your business when walking past shops etc but in that irritating way that you find in many tourist destinations, not in a nasty worrying way.
It is a very poor country and I always got the impression that the hotel workers were very grateful for their jobs. They certainly worked hard and were always very pleasant. I really feel for all those pople that would have lost their jobs due to no tourism after the terrorist attacks.
Having said all that, I wouldn't travel there now against government advice and in the current political climate.

[wineismyfav]

Tunisia is really a 0/5 stars, there's loads of other cheap holidays that r beautiful, but if U want all of the above like people have told you then go for it, but you'd be wasting your money and can't see it being enjoyable for any of you.. Go with the advice of people who have been or know about it, go somewhere else .. You wonder why it's cheap to go there , not the best

[AndNoneForGretchenWieners]

I went with DH and DS in 2005. We really enjoyed it and didn't really get hassled much. It sounds as though it has changed a lot since then.

[Amrapaali]

We went last year. It was not as nice as say Morocco but not horrifically bad. Nice beaches, people were friendly and welcoming and resort security was very visible.

As vegetarians we struggled a bit for food ( and this was all-inclusive!!) But generally okay for a week in the sun and sand.

[Turquoisetamborine]

We went in 2012. We stayed in a lovely 4 star hotel in Hammemet which was French run so the standards of food/drink etc were high (much higher than we had in Spain). The resort was big and you hardly needed to leave the hotel. The private beach was clean and you weren’t hassled.

We did walk about outside the hotel but I was with my husband who is dark skinned and was mistaken more than once for a Tunisian so don’t know if that’s why we weren’t hassled. I dressed modestly and there really were some lovely historic things to see.
We enjoyed our holiday and wouldn’t call it a toilet as has been said above (I’ve been to Mumbai!!) but of course the standards aren’t the same as here.
I did watch a documentary about the beach killings and thought some of the police acted in a very cowardly fashion especially the chief of police and would not go again for that reason alone.

[Frokoko]

I'm here now, it's nice but I wouldn't go without a Man, unless I was staying in the hotel.

[FineFanks]

We went in 2012 and enjoyed it. We barely left the resort and when we did it was part of a big group excursion.

I definitely would not travel there now though. It’s a high risk place to visit and as many pp’s have stated, there are many beautiful and cheap places to holiday - Spain, canaries etc.

[AllMYSmellySocks]

Of course terrorism could happen anywhere but it's much more likely in some locations than others (anyone could get lung cancer but if you smoke you make it much more likely) so that argument really isn't rational. I guess you just need to try to gather what the risk is and whether than risk is acceptable to you. Personally I wouldn't but I wouldn't necessarily think that someone was negligently reckless if they did.

[blue25]

It's cheap for a reason. I certainly wouldn't take children there just for some cheap sun. I've travelled a lot and Tunisia was my worst trip ever. It actually smells awful and it's dirty.

[KathyS901]

Totally agree with PP - I think you're trying to convince yourself that "Terrorism can happen anywhere" when in actual fact, as a tourist, you're MUCH more at risk in Tunisia where 1) there's a huge amount of extremism and 2) tourists have been deliberately targeted, not only at a tourist attraction but also a beach and hotels. Sure, terrorism CAN happen anywhere including Spain or the UK, but that's much less likely to be specifically targeting tourists (more likely to go for locals in busy city centres, for example, then deliberately heading to hotels popular by European tourists). Go if you want, but I personally wouldn't be taking my children to stay in a hotel or visit tourist attractions in a country where very recently terrorists have specifically targeted hotels and tourist attractions. Is it really worth it? There's a reason Tunisia is so cheap - tourism has been destroyed by the dangers.

[Dinosauraddict]

I’ve been to Tunisia and loved it. Travelled with DH (no children) and we tend to explore a country a lot while we’re there. There is a threat of terrorism in most places we go (went to Egypt twice last year alone, and will be in Turkey a month from now), but I also think there’s just as much of a threat in London (where I work) so never let that bother me. I may think differently if I had a DC. If you go, El Djem is well worth a visit, as is the capital of Tunis.

[bilbodog]

Why not try morrocco?

[ladylunchalot]

Op I would try and book somewhere else - it's cheap for a reason.

I absolutely hated it and will never return. The hotel was nice enough but I struggled food wise being a veggie. Hassled non stop when we walked around the marina and felt v uncomfortable. I couldn't wait to come back home and I love traveling.