Tunisia has been making wine since roman times. My favourite is red Vieux Magon, athough it also comes in white. there is also I believe a sweet desert wine called Muscat De Tunisie. Local alcoholic drink is Boukha (a spirit) and Thibarine (liqeur), both made from figs. For my taste they are too sweet. The local beer is Celtia, a lager style beer available in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions. Opinions differ on this. I've known many Brits see it as an acceptable lager but Willieg would disagree.

When eating out be aware that some, though not many, restaurants do not serve alcohol as their owners are good muslims. Check before ordering. Brand names spirits are more expensive than locally produced versions. Again they are not to everyone's taste. If you are a fan of Gordons then fetch some dutyfree with you.

I think you will find Tunisia has changed lots since you were last there. On my first visit it was impossible to get anything other than shay (arabic style tea) or qahwa(coffee) in cafes. Now they all have cappucino machines and some don't even want to serve qahwa as it takes longer to prepare. Even in the hotels you dont get shay or qahwa on a regular basis. and you will find women workings in shops, cafes and hotels. that certainly wasn't the case way back when my Tunisian adventure first began. In restaurants beer and wine used to be served in mugs so as not offend others and not to attract the attention of the police. Oh, and you will struggle to find an arabic toilet too (now that's a change for the better) unless you really go upcountry.

However much remains the same; sunshine, haggling in the medinas, the friendly, funny Tunisian people.... Have a great time Inchallah.

Dorra's right about me and Celtia. The only thing i would say is that the bottled Celtia is slightly better than the tins. Although I have declared my dislike for the local beer, that hasn't stopped me waking up with a hangover for the last 4 days.

The local wine is perfectly palatable and I would recommend it to anyone who is not a wine snob. As far as I'm concerned, if it's chilled and doesn't burn your throat, then it's the business.

Spirits are expensive (esp whisky) and I would suggest that you stock up at the duty free before you fly out.

Have a lovely time when you get here.......

WG

Thank you Dorra and Willie.
I'm not too much of a wine buff so I think I'll be OK based on what you've said and I'll buy some gin to drink in the room (purely a pre dinner cocktail you understand.... )

Not sounding desperate or anything..lol... but if we choose to buy alcohol, bottle of wine/ bottled beer.... outside our hotal can we find anywhere that sells it? I lke a glass of wine in my room before going out & hubby enjoys a beer when he's indoors.. we are AI but don't want to drink outside all the time... like to relax at end of night once kids are in bed with a beer too.. we are staying in Skanes...any suggestions??

You can usually buy bottles of wine and beer from your hotel bar . weve done it in the past and taken it to our room .

there are usually shops in the larger hotels which stock nearly everything!

There are shops and supermarkets which sell alcohol. In nearby Monastir you can get alcoholic drinks at Monoprix or in the Supermarche General in the Medina.
Just be aware that some do not sell it on Fridays. Also your hotel would much prefer it if you bought the wine etc. from them. They have to make some profit somewhere.

Thank you all... I am not sure my hotel even has a shop as I can't find any information about the hotel anywhere! The net even draws a blank!
But we will be visiting Monastir & Sousse..so hopefully we will find something

Didn't bother with the gin in my room after all!!
We had a mini bar but to be honest I drank very little the week I was there. I did have some lovely Tunisian wine though and most of it was very reasonable. The best thing was that if you ordered a bottle and didn't drink it all they'd keep it for you for the following night!

to be honest Puddle..i probably will be the same...the heat funnily puts me off drinking,I prefer water when its hot.. which is why I wondered if you could buy any to take to my room.. I would rather have a few glasses of wine after sundown in my room to relax...and I relax after 12 midnight so sounds like everywhere will be closed by then...not fussed about any alcohol before then..I know..I am strange lol

Tunisian wine is very palatable, and the Magon is excellent if you can find it. Tunisians seem to prefer Rose wines. Monoprix in Sousse was closed for refurbishment in April but should be open again by now. They do sell alcohol on Fridays but only to non-Tunisians and it is not on show but behind a curtain.

we are booked up now to go to PEK in 5 weeks on Sun . How much can we expect to pay for a bottle of wine as mentioned above? Both for ourselves in our room and at restaurants etc?

Thanks
Pamela

Last visit Sept. 04, I was paying 6,500TD in a 4star hotel for a bottle of good red wine. In the supermarket at various prices but 3-4TD got my favourites.

do they have beer such as john smiths in tunisia.

Hi

Sorry I found no John Smiths or any other bitter there.just Celta or Lowenbrau.

Daveyboy

I don't consider myself a wine expert, and I may have just been unlucky, but I found the wine almost undrinkable, and if you wanted to buy a decent bottle from a shop, it was very expensive - and the local beer was like water. I would suggest buying your wine at the airport and taking it to your hotel room....

I like to drink a glass of wine while sitting on my balcony watching the sunset.

Will I be able to buy a bottle of wine and take it up to my room, I'm going AI.

Yes.. standardly.. you brought it, you take it wherever you want.

If you buy the bottle outside of the hotel, then it helps to conceal in a rucksack or something cos I have heard they can be funny about bringing stuff from outside.

Thanks

Looking forward to the wonderful sunsets.