Arrival

This morning, meet with your driver/guide at your hotel lobby in Hammamet. Depart for El Jem, an important seat of government during the Roman period. Visit the third century Amphitheatre, only slightly smaller than the one in Rome. Also visit the museum, a smaller amphitheatre and excavations of Roman villas with fine mosaics.  Continue to Gabes, the greenest oasis of Tunisia with a flourishing date industry (there are over 30,000 date palm trees in the area). Continue to the Berber village of Matmata where you will have lunch at hotel Marhala Matmata, then visit a Berber family dwelling where you are invited for a glass of mint tea. Their troglodyte dwellings are hollowed out of the walls of wide pits dug into the sun-parched valley giving the landscape a most striking view.  Due to its extraordinary lunar like landscape, Matmata was the chosen location for the Star Wars film. Continue to Douz for dinner and overnight stay.

After breakfast and checkout, depart for Zaafrane, a simple little oasis with square houses and few cafes. A look beyond the southern side of the settlement will give you the real feeling of what the mighty Sahara desert would be like. Everything in this oasis seems to be extremely well kept and during the time when the dates are ready for harvest, it is picturesque to see how they are all covered in yellow plastic to protect them from a rainfall that seldom arrives. An optional camel-ride on the dunes is an unforgettable experience.  Later, travel across the Chott el Jerid, the largest salt-pan of the Sahara where you can witness an amazing sight as the shimmering surface of the lake produces incredible mirages during sunshine hours. During the late afternoon arrive at the oasis of Tozeur for check-in at your hotel.  Lunch and a visit of this oasis settlement.  Dinner and overnight at the hotel.  Optional: A good way to end this evening would be to visit the nearby Dar Chrait Museum to learn of the past history of Tunisia. 

Early morning breakfast and departure for the mountain oasis of Chebika, often referred to as the ‘castle in the sun’. Set deep into the mountain and exposed year-round t o the sun, this patch of greenery amidst the arid mountainous landscape offers a great scenic experience.  Continue on to Tamerza for a brief stop before arriving in Gafsa for lunch at Jugurtha Palace Hotel.  Visit the ancient Roman pools and the souk. Depart for Kairouan, the holy city where you visit the famous mosque and the carpet cooperative. Later, make the final drive back to Hammamet where you are dropped-off at your hotel