Personally i would stick with the taxis... From what ive seen driving in tunisia isnt like home ....Ive been known to hang on the the seat when traveling in a taxi . but its everyones own choice ....

Hi,

It is possible to hire a car for the day from Avis or Hertz and arrange for the delivery driver who drops the car off at the hotel to stay on and drive you around for 20D cash. If there are 2 of you it tends to work out about the same cost as the organised excursions, if there are 3 or more it works out cheaper and gives you much more flexibility. In my experience taxi drivers will still try and take you to particular shops - especially in Kairrouan but the care hire drivers couldn't care less. It's an easy days work for them, gets them out of the hire office and they'll just take you to wherever you want to go with no hassle. When I took my parents we did Dougga this way from Skanes and it was definitely worth it.

I don't know when you are planing on going but it's worth bearing in mind that during Ramadan any taxi or car hire driver will want to be home in good time for sunset in order to break their fast as soon as possible with their family.

SM

thanks for your replies, my hubby drives I don't and he wanted me to ask, he wants to see a bit of Tunisia, while we are there.
Will pass the info on to him.
Thanks again

Thanks Briarskeg,
I was thinking on those lines will show him your reply.
thanks again

Definitely stick with the taxis, they`re more used to the maniac way that the locals drive. It cost us about £4 from Skanes to Sousse, and the same to Monastir. It was just a little more to Port El Kantoui.

thank you all for your replies I 'll be showing my hubby the replies.
Thanks again.

Does anybody know of any reasonably priced car rental places?
Going out 13-17 July as my friend is getting married - would be
ideal if I could get a car instead of relying on taxi's as I have a bit
of running round to do to & from airports etc.
The only price I can get for a car though is £260 for 5 days - and
that's for the smallest type!!
Any info would be greatly appreciated - shukran!

If I were to hire a car again I would negotiate a deal when I'm over there.However driving in Tunisia is a bit different from dear old blighty with some unexpected hazards. Instead why not do a deal with a taxi driver for the day. Let him know it will be a wedding and be more afternoon and evening work.

A Tunisian wedding can involve some travelling and late nights. Out of town the street lighting and roads can be poor. I would think you could get a car and driver for the price of car hire. I've seen the cost of a driver quoted at 20TD a day on Tunisian travel sites.

With you own driver you will be able to relax and enjoy. Even have a drink - just make sure you take your own.

Thanks Dorra,
Have driven over there before on several occasions and yes, it is indeed
different, though it's not the driving bit I'm worried about!!
It is my english friend marrying her tunisian fiance & different members of the family will be arriving at monastir at different stages, which is why a private hire car would have been better. However, if I can't find anything reasonable, will stick to the taxi's!!

Hello, all,
we (myself, wife and two small sons) are off to Tunisia for the first time, and I was wondering about the practicality of car hire.

I have seen some indications that the prices of hiring on the ground can be "exorbitant" and that unleaded is not very common (so that might be an issue if we go too far off the beaten track). I have also seen that the roads and other drivers are very nice (excepting the errant mopeds!).

Can anyone offer any advice on whether it is worth hiring a car for one week. We intend to see a number of standard tourist places but are also of the mindset to get out and see the rest whenever possible.

I understand that the louages are good value but fear they might be restrictive as far as the places we could go (-plus there are only 4 of us and I understand trhey need 5).

thanks very much in advance

Hiring a car can be expensive in Tunisia and for a full week is likely to only represent good value if you intend to use it every day, all day. Assuming that you are staying in the same hotel for your trip rather than touring, then a better bet for most visitors to Tunisia is to arrange to book a taxi for the day, for those days when you want to visit other places. It will greatly undercut the price of the TOs trips for a group of 4 and will mean that none of you have to brave Tunisian roads and other drivers which can be hair-raising once you get off the motorway-standard toll roads.

You'll find plenty of advice on how best to do this along with guideline prices for different destinations elsewhere on this forum. but if you could provide more information about where you are staying (ie Sousse or Hammamet for example) and where you would like to visit then there are a lot of 'old hands' on this forum who could provide more specific advice and info.

SM

Hi

I've hired a car on two occasions and I found it to be totally worth it. Roundabout this time you can hire a small car for around 40TND a day, but haggle. In the summer, it was more expensive and very hard, as most places were sold out, 100TND per day.

You get to go and see more places when you have the car without relying on taxis, buses, trains, louages. Everytime I go back and I don't hire a car I kick myself.

Sometimes a car can be more economical, take for instance, if 4 of you are going to tunis, it will cost you 7tnd each one way, whereas you may get the car for 40-60tnd for the day (depending on what you want) and go wherever.

Just shop around, but to me it's well worth it for freedom to get up and go when and where you want!

If you are touring then definately hire a car, if it is for day trips, from one base, then it may still be good if you choose the right places.
I've driven most of Tunisia over the last 3 years, including the desert, I take my own car. To visit the out of the way places is a lot better than just doing the regular tourist attractions. See my website http://www.4x4-travel.co.uk. Any more questions please ask.
Kevin

Thank you all very much for getting back to me.

We will be staying in Soussa for the week but it is our intention to use the car to go to both the more visted and, it appears, more accessible places (Carthage, Tunis, El Jem), but also would also like to have the ability to get out to the further out areas (like Dougga) and have the ability to stop off at little villages we might pass through or just drive around an area to see what is there.

I guess the main concerns I have are:

1. how accurate are the reports that even cars from international companies are not well kept. I realise that every country has its local 'elements'.
2. assuming all new hire cars are unleaded (?) how available is this?
3. would it be worth it, taking into account the info from roundasapound about rates, to have public transport to some places and get a car for other longer trips on an ad hoc basis.
4. SMa, you mention hiring a taxi for the day. Sounds like a good compromise. Is this as safe as 'common sense' dictates?

thanks again in advance

Depends a lot on when you go. If you are going in high summer then car hire will be expensive. There is a big demand for hire cars for weddings which often take place in the summer. While I personally enjoy travellling by louage I might think twice with kids over long distances. You can always pay for the extra place.
Taxi seems to me your best option. I would say try out your driver first. Most of them are good, careful drivers; but you do get the occasional lunatic. So take e few local rides with different drivers and find one with reasonable english, he will be really useful for finding toilet stops, restaurants etc. Then negotiate. Or you could try the train on routes like Sousse-Tunis

I would second what Dorra says - if you're staying in either Sousse or Hammamet then Tunis is easily done by train and if staying in Sousse, Tunis is a long drive and I'd no more think of taking a hire car into the centre of tunis for a day trip than I would London. Once there the public transport within the city is good, including a local subway train system. Carthage is a suburb of Tunis and easily accessible from the centre

From Sousse, El Djem and Kairouan are easily combined in a single day using a local taxi hired for a flat fee for the day. Whilst a longer drive, I've also done Dougga from Sousse in this way and it would be even easier from Hammamet.

As Dorra says, using the taxis for a few local journeys to suss out who you like is a good idea but I've also done it 'cold' by just asking the hotel reception to arrange it. It's not in their interests to use anybody remotely dodgy as if you're unhappy with the taxi or driver they're ones who take the flak. But even in that instance do haggle about the price!

Another alternative which I've also used is to hire a car from Avis and arrange for the delivery driver who'll be dropping it off at the hotel to then stay and drive you around for the day. The last time I did this we paid him 20 Dinars on top of the hire fee. He took all the strain of the driving on the long return trip to Dougga and had the local knowledge on the return leg for how to avoid the big hold-up on the toll road. The actual cost worked out slightly cheaper than a taxi for the day on that occassion but in weighing up the respective costs, remember you are responsible for the petrol and tolls over and above the hire cost whereas this will all be included in the flat fee you negotiate with a taxi driver.

SM

so we are back!

The holiday itself was great and we did hire a car but only for a few days. Like you say, it wasn't practical to have one for every day but for the three days we did have it it was gerat. We got out to Dougga (5 hours on back roads 3 hours back on the motorway) and down to Monastir. Tozeur and Matmata were a bit far, though !

What I didn't heed was WHERE to book. I thought that the price I found on the net was good, and it was, half everyone else's. But then when we got there I took it for one day less even, got a 'discount' paid for with VISA, signed the paper only after they wrote the price on to be careful, but got stitched for another 20GBP when I called VISA.

watch out for the locals (as in any country). knowledge of the language (French at least) helped in 'bargaining/arguing' over price. I would hire again, but next time will do it on the spot when I can see the car first. Hotel reception said they could get a better price, but...

Thank you all again, and sorry if I didn't heed eveything. We didn't have too many troubles actually getting around except for a lack of signs at some important decision-making junctions.

regards to all

Ah never mind, you learn for next time

A car is great to have when there though, personally I like to get up and go whenever, without relying on public transport, so for me its ideal even if not going on long journeys. Unfortunately patience isn't one of my virtues, especially when waiting for a louage to fill up

When it comes to car hire, best to make a deal when you're there so you're in full control, choose the car, haggle the price.

From my experience I should have thought only madman and native born Tunisians are able to drive in Tunisia. :lol: I've been in plenty of taxis and louages and also gone out to Matmata in a car driven by a Tunisian friend and to say it has usually been quite an experience is to put it mildly. Before anyone jumps on me, I do love the place, with all its quirks, which is why I go so regularly.