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Original poster

To holiday in Tunisia

113 replies

PinkyU · 09/05/2019 13:24

Finances have been very tight this year for unavoidable reasons which lead us to thinking that we wouldn’t be able to afford a family holiday this year. However thanks to some jiggery pokery with our outgoings we have around £2000 for a holiday abroad for 2 adults and 2 children.

Whilst this saving was quite a feat for us, it’s pretty flimsy in terms of a holiday budget that meets our small yet non negotiable criteria:

  • within 3 hour flight from UK
  • within 30 minute airport transfer to hotel
  • all inclusive/full board (3 meals, not fussed with drinks)

After weeks of searching it seems a strong contender that meets the above criteria is Tunisia. But on reading, the country is under significant terror alert. This in itself, while a concern, isn’t necessarily putting me off, as I don’t see it as being vastly different to living in any large uk city.

Am I being deluded? Would you consider holidaying there? If not, any recommendations greatly appreciated Grin.

OP posts:
ohyesohyessyyesyes · 09/05/2019 18:59

My ex takes our kids there every year. They all love it.
They stay in a 5 star hotel (Robinson Club) on the island of Djerba. It’s spotless and the food is great.
Safety has never been an issue.
The only negative thing they said was that the beach was dirty when they went for a walk along it. The hotel however has a private beach which is immaculate.
I am saddened by a poster saying they would never go to Africa and another person saying they would not visit an Muslim country. This is nothing but ignorance.
The country we live in did not ban holidays to Tunisia. As a result, you would certainly not get such hysteria as I’ve seen in this thread. Many of our friends have been too over the past few years and loved it.
Go with a reputable company if you decide to go. Statistically, the most risky part will be the chance of having an accident on your drive to the airport in the uk.

ButDoYouAvocado · 09/05/2019 19:13

There's also the very real risk of having a shit holiday.

ohyesohyessyyesyes · 09/05/2019 19:16

Well you’d never find me on a package tour. But if you’re not going to leave the hotel, I can see the logic of paying £2k for a 5 star hotel in Tunisia rather than £6k for exactly the same thing in a more popular warm place.

FedUpMum40 · 09/05/2019 19:21

I was taken there when I was 12 had a very nasty experience in hotel with some men who had followed us back to hotel from the market, what followed was awful, thankfully some waiter was quick thinking and police were called, not in my life time will I take my daughter there, I still have visions of how different that could have turned out, being pulled and grabbed in the market, we stayed in zeus where the attacks took place, makes me shiver now, as soon as we come out of the hotel, it was just dessert, it could be a free holiday and I still wouldn't go back

BarbarianMum · 09/05/2019 19:23

I met some very lovely Tunisians when I holidayed there (both male and female). But unless I with my father and brother the sexual harassment was unrelenting.

SimplySteveRedux · 09/05/2019 20:32

Have taken DD from 10 through 16 and never had any problems.

DarklyDreamingDexter · 09/05/2019 22:25

Two female friends of mine spent almost their entire holiday inside the hotel because every time the stepped outside the hotel grounds they were subjected to unrelenting sexual harassment of the crudest type.

Ivegotthree · 09/05/2019 22:46

I definitely wouldn't.

TheFastandCurious · 09/05/2019 22:58

Two female friends of mine spent almost their entire holiday inside the hotel because every time the stepped outside the hotel grounds they were subjected to unrelenting sexual harassment of the crudest type

Yes same. And also in Turkey. Some countries have extremely poor attitudes to women, Western women in particular. The harassment totally ruins the holiday, irrespective of any terror threat or not.

Check out Malta instead.

MarthasGinYard · 09/05/2019 23:01

I personally wouldn't

But that was the same pre terror arrack

It's grim

DramaAlpaca · 09/05/2019 23:04

The harrassment in Tunisia was enough to put me off ever going there again. I'm reasonably well travelled but the hassle I got there was worse than anywhere else I've been. Never again.

MonsterKidz · 09/05/2019 23:07

We went on holiday there the month after 9/11.

It was my parents, two sisters and I. We were all young teens at the time.

The hotel complex was ok. It had looked a lot better on the brochure pictures! We thought we were going somewhere really high end, the reality was far from that.

Around the hotel and pool was ok. It was a short walk to the beach and it felt quite sketchy around there.

We ventured out to the nearby town and it was absolute nightmare. So many Leary men offering to buy us girls from my Dad, bartering, trying to get us into taxis etc. we got really bored in the hotel but scared to go out.

I really wouldn’t go there ever again. Even without leaving the hotel it would be a no. What is available in the hotel wouldn’t be enough to keep us entertained for that amount of time.

I’d look at other options, holiday parks, lodges etc and if nothing was affordable I’d save the money to put towards next year.

flashbac · 09/05/2019 23:17

Wow. I've been to Tunisia three times and do not recognise what's being said about it! Sousse is naff though. I found Hammamet much more relaxed and friendlier.
And so what if shop keepers make an effort to peddle their wares? A customer in their shop might be the difference between them eating supper that night or not. The economy is crap in Tunisia. If you were in that position and trying to make ends meet you too would do anything to try to get customers in!
A gentle 'no thank you' is usually all you need.

TheFastandCurious · 09/05/2019 23:21

A gentle 'no thank you' is usually all you need

Hahaha nope! (Although glad that worked for you :))

Osirus · 09/05/2019 23:42

I just would not.

Also, why on earth would you pay all that money, fly all that way, and not leave the hotel? You could be anywhere on the planet in that scenario; you may as well be in Cornwall. Less likely to get shot.

fizzandchips · 09/05/2019 23:46

We’re just back (Hammamet) . Lovely staff in hotel, delicious food. However we were harassed when we outside the hotel and on the beach so we chose to stay in the hotel which isn’t really why I chose to travel. If you are thinking of a cheap week away beside a pool then I would recommend.

FloweryButton · 10/05/2019 00:06

Mixed views, having been there twice.

The second time was just myself and son (aged about 9 at the time).

I remember going into town and being harrassed and sworn and shouted at in a really, really scary way by two Tunisian men. I think it was their idea of fun. I was incredibly shaken up, and had done literally nothing to attract any attention. I was also scared for my son. It was horrible, never had an experience like it.

I remember our hotel waiter asking me outright for my son's crayons for his son, and if they hadn't been a special present for my son I would have given it to him, but still ...

In the souk I had to learn how to say "I have a Tunisian boyfriend" in Tunisian. Once I learnt that, I had no trouble.

I remember going on a tour and the tour guide telling us proudly that Tunisia had some kind of basic healthcare and old age pensioners were looked after. However, there is no unemployment benefits for anyone else, and so there were lots of unemployed men hanging about and some of them would ask you for money directly, perhaps not surprisingly.

Yet I still had a soft spot for the country, I did have some good memories of the place, met a couple of nice Tunisians and maybe even entertained the vague going back (one day). I think this thread has put me off though.

RamblinRosie · 10/05/2019 01:38

I had a holiday there about 10 years ago and found it really uncomfortable.

If you want a cheap holiday, have you considered Northern Cyprus? Kyrenia is lovely.

Decormad38 · 10/05/2019 01:45

We spent new year in Morocco. That was great. The hotel was amazing.

managedmis · 10/05/2019 02:29

I guess it's a no then, op?

nwatty · 10/05/2019 06:34

We're here just now and having a wonderful time. Figured there have been more attacks in London since the last one in a tourist area here yet still happy to go to London. Plenty of security which there wasn't before the attacks.

andadietcoke · 10/05/2019 06:50

We went in March. AI and didn't leave the hotel so no harassment issues - we went as a complete break so I was fine with that. Security high on the streets around the hotels as well as the hotels themselves, with police blockades etc. Hotel was an Iberostar and food was lovely and we were treated very well by everyone. The airport was a million miles away from how it was a few years ago - a lot of the shops were closed etc, especially before you get airside. It's clear the tourist industry is still very much in recovery mode, but we had a great time.

LAlady · 10/05/2019 06:58

It would be the last place on my agenda for a holiday. For all the reasons people have listed.

Schnitzelvonkrumb · 10/05/2019 08:01

We went with kids in 2012 (they were 3 and 6) The hotel was nice and the beach was lovely but it was my most unenjoyable holiday (and we've regularly camped in the rain!😂) The kids were really ill (d and v) and we were hassled about buying things (including live turtles!) any time we weren't in the hotel

Hoppinggreen · 10/05/2019 08:20

With regards to the “gentle no thank you “ being enough
I have travelled widely and often enjoyed a bit of a haggle, I am also not at all fazed by being sold to
However, in Tunisia my “gentle no thank you” was met with “ fuck you bitch” on more than one occasion.
I bloody hated it

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