Tunisa?

[Roastonsun8]

Had anyone been to Tunisa with their DC alone? I noticed it's really cheap. Is it similar to Turkey?

How old are you?

There are some you tube vloggers (Travel Trolls) that have recently been to Sahara Beach Hotel, they said they enjoyed it but it looked dire to me especially when they agreed on a horse and carriage ride into the nearby town, they got taken to a shop and felt obliged to buy something to get back out again pretty scary, the camel ride didn't look very appealing either! Turkey is much nicer.

Why is it not a realistic view of the country? My experiences were like many others on here. And it’s perfectly possible to understand you’re in a beautiful country with lots of history and culture, and also that it’s somewhere where lots of tourists get hassled pretty much endlessly as soon as they set foot outside the hotel (which we did). Of course you can be savvy and not get ripped off but when we went it was never-ending attempts and it got very tiring.

@Quveas I am one of the posters who did not enjoy Tunisia, albeit we made the best of the holiday and managed to have a reasonably good time.

I am glad you had a good time there these past few weeks, as I felt so much of our visit was very depressing, as echoed by others on this thread. And I would like very much if things over there were to improve.

So I am heartened to hear that you enjoyed it, but I don't think the experiences of the many others who felt uncomfortable there can just be dismissed.

The poverty and the dirtiness of the place needs to improve - for the Tunisians, foremost, and then tourists. And I very much hope it does.

The young men pretending to be waiters in the hotel, that was rife in Sousse in 2013. I'd be surprised if it just doesn't happen now.

When we went on a daytime to El Jem we went with one other couple in the hotel. They were the only other couple who wanted to leave the hotel. We shared a taxi there and then met up in the evening to share a taxi back to the hotel. They were older than us, in their 50s at the time, and well travelled, and they said they were shocked at some things. The sale of livestock / wet markets were pretty horrible and just the general dirt and poverty of the place and the sight of so many desperately doing anything they could for money.

I think posters may be right about unrealistic expectations about Tunisa. You can see its not on par with Turkey (before you book your holiday).

I know they have put a new waterpark in at Sahara beach... it does not look dire. However it does not look like a hotel you would in Lara beach in Turkey.....

So I am heartened to hear that you enjoyed it, but I don't think the experiences of the many others who felt uncomfortable there can just be dismissed.

The poverty and the dirtiness of the place needs to improve - for the Tunisians, foremost, and then tourists. And I very much hope it does.

I think I was very clear that I wasn't dismissing anything - but people have different perspectives and different opinions, and a few random posts on MN is hardly representative of the many thousands who go to Tunisia and enjoy it, so I made it clear that I was presenting a different view based on my experience. And my third time in Tunisia, although my friends first time.

I cannot disagree about the poverty etc. I have similar hopes for the UK. And many other places. You cannot expect everywhere in the world to reflect standards in the UK, and comparisons are meaningless - although in my many discussions with Tunisians from many walks of life, they were shocked to hear about food banks, because for the poverty that does exist, they found it hard to comprehend that people would actually be without food, or that any society would permit that to be the case. Perspectives, you see....

Tunisia is not safe for women. A man tried to pull me into his shop to buy something. Literally got hold of my arm and dragged me.

Another man on the beach asked if my husband was the father of my 2 children. Creepy and weird.

The hotels are obviously sanitised to appeal to western clientele, personally I don't like all inclusive hotels and the effect they have on the local economy...however I could totally see the point of them in Tunisia

I’ve been going to Tunisia since I was 12 years old, and still go as an adult. Never had a problem, even as a tall slim blonde haired, blue eyed teenager dressed in shorts or summer dresses.

I went last year to Tui blue oceana suites and highly recommend.

I've been to Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco many times and have never felt threatened or unsafe in any of them. We've never avoided leaving our hotels and have travelled around in all three counties extensively by public transport as well as hiring cars. Tunisia is a lovely country, especially outside the main resort areas, and the people are generally really friendly and welcoming. Like many countries, a proportion of people will try to rip off tourists, much in the same way as they do in London and other cities, and can pester women in particular. But I've never been in a situation that turned unpleasant or where I felt remotely unsafe. In Egypt, I've wandered round the backstreets on my own at night - in contrast, where I live in London, I wouldn't walk to the local shops 200m down helge road on my own after dark.

It's a poor country so of course Tunisians are going to assume westerners are loaded and will try to make money out of you. It's important not to dress provocatively, but whenever my daughter or I have been approached by a shopkeeper or someone trying to sell trips etc, a firm, polite, and friendly response always gets rid of people eventually. You can't predict when a terrorist attack might happen - we've had enough of them in the uk over the years, but other than that, Tunisia is a lovely country to visit and is very very safe.

Oh piss off with the don't dress provocatively ,I was not yet in puberty 12 years old and wearing a gypsy skirt to my ankle with a t-shirt still got sexually assaulted by a waiter when I went to the toilet and leered at by others. You know an old woman judged me for reporting him and said he was a nice man. You remind me of her.

@Fifi0102 I don’t think she was linking the dressing provocatively to your sexual assault. It wouldn’t have mattered what you were wearing he would have done it anyway, and it wasn’t your fault.

I think she means that dressing more conservatively does help reduce the amount of general attention you get.
This is true in pretty much any country and culture, but particularly northern African countries.

If anywhere is cheap, it’s cheap for a reason OP.

I'm really glad this thread's been resurrected!

Tunisia's on my lifetime bucket list but, because I travel alone, I've avoided overtly Muslim countries. I've experienced everything mentioned here in other places ... but some are more intense than others. Getting sexually harassed and worse every week or so is one thing, ten times a day is another. I love Turkey wholeheartedly, but had to fight off a lot of molesters the last time I was there, in 1999. And I was in my forties!

Which brings me to my question: Now I'm old (I'll be 70 by the time I could go), will I attract less attention? I'm kind of thinking not - it's about general contempt for women and 'loose morals' rather than attraction - but also hoping that might be offset by respect for elders?

I'd appreciate feedback from women familiar with the country.

Maybe if you're looking for adventure and can stomach local culture Tunisia is fine and even exciting for some. Same as if you're happy to stay within the confines of an all inclusive buffet and swimming pool and want to tick off Tunisia as a place visited. Opposite ends of the scale! As a woman there are much more relaxing places to go on holiday, but you will probably pay more for that reason. My advice is don't go all inclusive in Greece..its perfectly safe and you'll be missing out (same as the local businesses) All inclusive seems like a status thing these days...and it really isn't, it originated in places that it was risky to leave the compound for fear of violence (Jamaica back in the day) its now become a lazy or poor persons holiday IMHO nothing to crow about

Thank you runningfromimsanity. Of course I wasn't referring to the comment Fifi0102 made - I hadn't even read that far in the thread before I posted. There was no need for such an unpleasant and rude response.

I hated tunisia, stayed in a lovely hotel, tunisia food was horrible, i got hassled by waiters and a man who pestered me the whole time. I had to stay on my balcony to sunbathe in peace and quiet. I had 2 children, my then husband got ill and had to stay in bed for the week, whilst i took the kids on coach trips that were pre booked. Horrible, poor, dirty place.

I agree that food in many Tunisian hotels is pretty dire, but I think proper Tunisian food is really underrated and we've found some wonderful restaurants whenever we've been there. I'd say the same about Egyptian and Moroccan food too.

I hated it, when I went many years ago. DD was hit on by the hotel photographer, who wanted to take her to a disco. When told she was only 9, the creep shrugged and said that she “looked 12”!
I was hit on by a waiter, despite me being a mid forties widow at the time.
The two male cleaners in the foyer rushed into the women’s toilets the minute a female guest entered them, and lurked, sniggering and pretending to clean, until the woman exited.
The food was much poorer than expected for a 4 star hotel catering to western tourists.
Visiting the local bazaars and souks, the hard sell was relentless, with dealers trying to physically drag you into their shops.
The whole place seemed dirty with litter everywhere.
On the plus side, the Bardo museum in Tunis has some stunning Roman mosaics, the ruins of Carthage are worth a visit, Sidi Bou Said is v pretty, and I enjoyed a camel trek with the kids. But I would never go back, particularly after the shooting of tourists at the Bardo.
I much preferred Morocco - never felt unsafe, Marrakech was stunning, much cleaner with better food, and the Atlas mountains have breathtaking views.

Lol what’s wrong with a lazy holiday?
I go on holiday to be lazy. Going from my room to breakfast, to the pool, to lunch, to dinner all in one place. Drinks brought to me. Food 24/7. Entertainment in the evening. Not having to research restaurants. Not having to pay for anything extra.

My ideal.
Not poor or lazy. Just want my holidays to be relaxing.

Your choice your budget, holidays should be relaxing, but ideally it should be the destination that relaxes you, while you contribute to the local economy. Paying international conglomerates to provide you with a homogenous experience while the local economy dies is very sad..and you miss out as much as they do

Tunisia was our worst ever holiday I would never return nor suggest a friend visits if they were to ask my opinion

I’ve travelled extensively across Northern Africa and the Middle East, Tunisia was the only place I felt unsafe and was hassled. I couldn’t go anywhere solo, it was openly lecherous and really uncomfortable. The hotel which was supposedly 5 star was filthy with ants in the bedroom, the food was pretty dire.

We considered leaving early

It really depends some destinations aren't safe enough to roam especially as a woman. I've done both it depends on my mood whether work has been very difficult and I want to do nothing or I feel more adventurous. It's not really a case of being poor or a class indicator for most people.

I've backpacked around China and Asia it was fine, my next trip is Borneo I go SC in Greece and roam. SC in the USA , I go AI in the carribbean. There's places I wouldn't venture out alone because I don't have a death wish.
I've always wanted to go to India but I would need dh or even a guide to chaperone then there's DD to think about So Goa AI will be the best bet.

I'm old enough to remember that Butlins was my first all inclusive holiday as a child...having free reign and not having to pay for any ride was exciting, how could my parents refuse anything..? I enjoyed it I'm sure but I much preferred holidays to Spain in the 1970s snorkelling in the Mediterranean and (that they also paid for) I'm sure they said no when I asked for stuff and I may have sulked for 5 minutes but overall it was a better experience

Exactly! All inclusive has its place but its not a badge of honour, at its cheapest you're definitely not getting a luxury experience, recycled food and watered down drinks and a good chance of picking up food poisoning or a virus because everyone is digging in at the buffet and sticking together generally because it's all paid for...all inclusive resorts are often set up in remote areas by international holiday companies, they have your money and a captive market to sell you excursions to enable you to experience what you are missing