Easter in Tunisia 2019
Sami from Tunisia Tourism kindly helped and assisted with our trip to Tunisia for Easter time. We were so happy to be going back again, especially to the same hotel, Les Orangers Garden Hotel, on an all-inclusive basis. We had an amazing time when we were there last time, so we were really looking forward to it.
We booked 18th April for 7 nights flying with Tunis Air in economy class. The flight was fully booked both journeys, obviously very popular! We had the same driver pick us up from the airport and take us to the hotel which was nice. He remembered us! When we checked in, it felt like being back at home with the warm welcome by the staff.
We had another lovely room with sea view and balcony, similar to the one we had last time. The hotel was busier this time, we guess because it was Easter and school holidays. We found mainly French and German families at the hotel, and their very well-behaved children especially at mealtimes and around the pool areas.
One of the things we wanted to do on this trip was to book a 2-day Sahara Explore which includes staying in the desert area for 1 night. We booked this tour with the hotel with pick up and drop off at the hotel. We had a small group for this tour, mainly Italians which meant the guide spoken Italian lots of the time. We had packed an overnight bag for the stay at a hotel.
There were many highlights which included a visit to El Jem, the third largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire (UNESCO listed). We then visited the village of Matmata where we saw Troglodyte houses and apparently, they filmed Star Wars here! Troglodyte houses are underground where some local Berber residents live.
Whilst driving the scenery changed from greenery to complete desert, where the roads were uneven in some places. We were thinking this was not the place to break down or run out of petrol as there is nothing for miles! During the tour there were optional trips including riding a camel at sunset and 4x4 discovery adventures. Maybe next time?
Our overnight stop was in a town called Douz in southern Tunisia at a 4* hotel. Dinner and lunch were provided during the tour. On the last day of the tour we drove to Shott el Jerid which is the biggest Salt Lake in Northern Africa, and into Algeria before going to our next stop Chebika which is believed to be the most beautiful of all Tunisian mountain oases. On the way we had a short walk (about 40 minutes) through the Atlas Mountains and to Thamerza which is another mountain oasis famous for its spectacular canyon and waterfall.
Our final stop was at the Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Mosque of Uqba) which is situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan, Tunisia and is the fourth most holy city of the Muslim faith and as such a major destination for pilgrimage. The Great Mosque of Kairouan is one of the most impressive and largest Islamic monuments in North Africa; its perimeter is almost 405 metres (1,328 feet). This space contains a prayer hall, a marble-paved courtyard and a square minaret. In addition to its spiritual prestige, the Mosque of Uqba is one of the masterpieces of Islamic architecture, notable among other things for the first Islamic use of the horseshoe arch. We were unable to enter the mosque as it was Easter Sunday. We wandered around Kairouan, a busy place for shopping and souvenirs. We arrived back in the evening in time for dinner at the hotel. Maybe if we were doing the tour again, we would do it with a tour operator like Thomas Cook as we think they would cater towards the British holidaymakers more?
We were happy to be back at the hotel after tour as it had felt like two long days travelling. We didn’t realise how big Tunisia is as a country. Great to see local, fresh produce along the roadsides like oranges, fresh bread and meat.
For the rest of our stay in Tunisia we relaxed at the hotel and enjoyed the hotel facilities, although we did get a taxi into Hammamet to do some shopping, where we bought a tagine at a bargain price after bartering. Hammamet is a lovely town with marina and beach plus Medina and water park with amusements. This is a great place for families for a day out. Depending on traffic, it’s a 10-minute drive from our hotel to Hammamet costing around 8.00 dinar each way. There are plenty of taxis around this resort, and we would suggest you negotiating your fare before entering the taxi.
Our week seemed to go very quickly. We had a lovely time and would go back again to this hotel as the standard of accommodation and food is very good. We would like to thank Sami from Tunisia for arranging this trip for us, as it gave a great experience of the hotel. The staff at the hotel are so friendly and helpful especially Mohamed at concierge department, nothing was too much trouble.
Tunisia is a great place to travel with less than 3 hours to fly, where you can experience lovely sunshine with some great standard of hotels and beaches plus history.