hello mike, i just got home from tunisia, some of these forums helped me some didnt but i'll tell you what i experienced. we went self cattering and its not easy to cook decent meals. after you have shopped around for food and seen the choices on offer you start to realise why the resturaunt meals arnt too cracky. and you see the same ingriedents popping up in each meal. you can get fresh fruit and some vegetables, meat cooked/raw and bits and bobs. theres a market that sells veg/fruit but they will try to rip you off. prices seem like uk ish. you can make your own meat+veg dinners but i think we worked out how much we spent in the supermarket in 2 weeks and it was alot more then we spend at home in tesco. tunisia is not cheap. ok its not dear but i didnt come home going woooooooooo that was cheap. you go to poland and you do say woooo cheap. tunisia is dearer then egypt by a fair bit. shopping for presents wise its not cheap, everything is tat, and they think we are rich. i remember getting frog marched into some guys souk to look at his stuff. he held up some tatty fake nike tshirt in my face asking 'how much in uk?' he wanted about £35 i told him what its worth and he frog marched me back out. every shop is like that. its like going round a car boot sale where the 25p stickers been changed to £25.
i went in the british pub and the irish bar. they are same as any other tunisian bar. had to buy red wine in both because only had celtia beer on tap which is 2% and tastes like fly pish.
if you like a drink id suggest taking some with you. i took 2 litres of absolut voddy in a water bottle and got 4 bottles of bacardi on the plane for £30. the barcardi was to take home but ended up drinking it as the drinks in tunisia are dire. expect to pay £50 for a litre of spirits out there. theres no limit to how much you can take in, i went through customs with my 4 bottles of bacardi and no-one was bothered.
for meals out its the same as uk , you get what you pay for. i got the impression from these forums that you could get a meal for 2 people for a tenner. thats true if you wanna eat a thin base no topping margarita pizza or a uncooked pannini with wiltered lettece and chips. most meals are same as pub meals in uk. 7-12 pounds per head and an extra 10pounds for some ropey red wine.
dont wanna sound all negative. i had a lovely time, weather was fantastic. spent about £900 between 2 in 14 days ( no excursions or gifts) if we add it up we could of gone AI in cuba for same price.
got any questions just ask
amoresperros

Hi Mike,

Can't disagree more with the previous reply.

We returned 3wks ago and had a great time.We went AI but we did eat out.We went to La Goulette which is a port just outside Tunis and had a huge bowl of mussels and clams in a fantastic garlicky sauce,another huge bowl of freshly cooked prawns and squid,then we could choose whatever fish you wanted then it was cooked there and then for you.All served with fresh bread,olives,salad and harissa.Also we had 2beers,2 wine and a large bottle of water.
That cost for 3 of us roughly £32 which I thought was great value!!!!

Cheers
Doreen

Pizza's and Pannini's are Italian are you sure you got the right country.

Surely if you go to Tunisia you would expect the best cooked, and most well presented, food to be Tunisian, wouldn't you?

I can feed my family of 4 in Tunisia for about £8.

That is a 3 course lunch, at a cafe, also with bread and a bottle of water.

Kevin.

Amoresperros,

How did you spend that much for 2 of you in a fortnight?

No excursions or trips!!!!!!!!!!

We did trips independently{3 of us] and don't think we spent more than £230 in all and that included bits that we bought. OK we were only there for 1wk but even so. what you spent was some going!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi,

Amoresperros - I think you must have been a little unfortunate in your experiences in Tunisia re food and drink! In my many trips out there I can safely say that I have had fantastic meals for next to nothing - certainly much much cheaper than anything of the same standard in the UK. Though as with anywhere that sees a large number of tourists there are plenty of places that leave a lot to be desired. It seems you may have found a number of these!

Kevin - I totally agree with you. In Tunisia the best food is Tunisian. Makes sense to me! I see so many people at the hotel buffets trying to find what most closely resembles what they eat at home. And usually there's a fabulous Tunisian speciality on offer most evenings.

Mike - I've never been self catering but would imagine trying to shop for things out there would be quite difficult, especially given that us Brits are so used to popping into our nearest Asda or Safeway and getting everything we need in one go. The shops near the hotels will be overpriced as they are targeted at us 'rich' tourists. I suppose this is the equivalent of our corner shops - so much more expensive than the big supermarkets.

If you're feeling brave and are good at haggling you can try the markets. The main market in Hammamet is on Thursday morning. A bit further away the market at Sidi Jedidi is on Tuesdays - some tour operators organise excursions there now. But be warned - it's busy!

The 'supermarkets' are Bon Prix, a long way from where you're staying, in Jinene Hammamet - and the prices really aren't that good and the Magasin General in the centre of Hammamet. However, don't expect anything great from this! You'll be able to buy water, fruit juices, pastas etc, but it won't be anything like shopping at home. It is the only place in Hammamet, other than hotels and bars, where you can buy alcohol. Though remember that Friday is the Islamic holy day and the alcohol section will be closed.

Imported spirits in Tunisia are expensive, especially compared to general prices in Tunisia. However, I've rarely paid more than I would pay in the UK. As an example in May I went to the Habana disco bar in Hammamet with my boyfriend. Over several hours we got through 3 half bottles of wine, 2 or 3 vodka and cokes (larger measures than the UK) and 7 or 8 bottled beers (yes we had hangovers the next day ). All that came to about £40. And it came with constantly replenished baskets of popcorn and other snacks. I usually take a bottle of something from duty free to drink of an evening on the balcony and a second as a present for my boyfriend. I've never been stopped and checked at customs in Tunis, but I wouldn't tempt fate by taking more. Technically there shouldn't be a problem with taking stuff bought here in your case, as the taxes will already have been paid - though that's only a guess.

I get the feeling you may well be wanting or needing a restaurant at some point! Near the Aziza is the Marco Polo. It won't be getting any Michelin stars any time soon, but it's decently priced and the couple of times I've been there the food has been good. There's another restaurant next door to it called Arabesque, though not having eaten here I can't comment on prices or quality.

Hope this is of some help. Any more questions let us know.

A.

Thanks for all the info guys, much appreciatied. Its nice to be able to go with a bit of background knowledge. Will post and let you know how it goes...... again, many thanks......regards......mike

kevin, you got a 3 course lunch with bread and water for £2 a head!!!! no wonder you love tunisia so much personaly i dont feel the need to mention the fact i got bread with a meal, its about 8p for a french stick. we did have some nice tunisian dishes but they cost the same as a decent meal in uk To reiterate an earlier point I made, you get what you pay for in Tunisia. went to egypt earlier in the year and i suppose i expected the food to be to the same standard and the same price and it just wasnt.

amoresperros,
Take a look here it will give you an insight to what we do.

Obviously, as I have my own transport I'm not confined to the "Zone Touristique", in fact we rarely go near one. If, as we know they are, the Tunisian wages are so low (10-30TD a day in a lot of cases), they would not be able to afford the prices you are paying so they must be shopping elsewhere.

The Tunisian attitude to pricing is that you should pay what you can afford, so if you are European in a tourist area then certainly you will pay top prices.

When back at home and we are asked where we went for our holiday, 90% of people that have been to Tunisia say that they didn't enjoy it; too much hassle in the souks, horrible food (couldn't get English food, or not cooked properly), so you're not alone.

I actually spent some time talking to a young Tunisian sportswear shopkeeper in Sousse. He really wound me up because of his attitude. He said that he would not sell things cheap to Europeans as we could afford to pay more and we expected to go to Tunisia and buy everything cheaper. I pointed out that we would not be buying from his shop.

Going back to the food thing; it really helps to read a "Rough Guide", "Lonely Planet" or the like. They will tell you of where to eat on a budget, by name. It is all very well being told to eat where the locals eat, but finding a place where you feel comfortable sitting in a crammed full cafe as the only English can make you feel quite awkward.

Finally, this time. I live on the coast in Dorset, we rely on tourism for the local economy. Our ice creams cost more than inland, so do our fish and chips, and, I actually know of a pub that charges a "local" rate for it's draught bears and lagers and the owners are definately English. One of the ice cream sellers is Italian though.

Regards,
Kevin

I too live in an tourist area, Kevin, and I think that you're right to remind us all that Point No 1 in the job description for Tourist is 'Spend Money', especially if you want the locals to provide you with what you are used to at home. Wherever possible I try to experience local life as much as possible but in Tunisia it's not easy to find somewhere frequented by locals that I feel comfortable in - it means not only often being the only English person there but being the only lone woman. So unless I'm with other visitors I don't go into local cafes on my own and do tend to frequent facilities that are used to dealing with tourists and lone women don't attract undue attention but have never paid anything like the prices that amoresperros quotes. Like you and others on the forum I find it hard to reconcile amoresperros description with what I've experienced and have never paid more than 10 dinars for a lunch including a beer or a glass of wine even in one of the hotels.

I have to admit that I've never been self-catering to Tunisia - the price I've always been able to get HB with sole use of a double room for in a 4* hotel make it a bit of a no-brainer for me and looking back at one of amoresperros posts on other threads I didn't realise that he had gone self-catering because I think that even in Tunisia expecting to go self-catering and to still only spend £400 pounds for a couple for a fortnight is being unrealistic. That works out at less than £15 per head per day to cover everything as well and I don't know anywhere that I would budget that little for a self-catering holiday, especially if it was to cover drinks of an evening and not just food. But then I do budget to eat out most nights as I don't go on holiday to cook but I never particularly thought of myself as a spendthrift either!

I'll take a lot of convincing that Tunisia is an expensive destination. For example, this year I've put a DIY self-catering package together for a family holiday on one of the smaller Canary Islands for a week in October. I think I've got a good deal on the flights given it's the school half-term holiday and have been able to put something together that I think is good value for money and cheaper than a package with any of the TOs going to La Gomera but I could have got us half-board in a 4* hotel in Tunisia (including singel rooms for my brother and I) at that time of year for less than we're paying to get 4 adults and 2 teenagers to the canaries and staying in nice but fairly simple apartments. And it will cost us more to eat out there too. But we wanted to go to La Gomera so are willing to pay. I don't choose our holiday destinations on price alone but perhaps some people do.

SM

Hi all, Just got back on Sunday boy was it hot pheeeeew not as hot as the week before it was in the 120s till a massive storm cooled it down a bit. All the posts on the forum were of use even thou we didnt do much travelling about. We are more beach and pool people with a walk about in the evening food and drink and a look about local. Amoresperros post July 8th was spot on what we experienced. If you dont mind pizza or pasta all week and Celtia beer you will be ok. We did take our lives in our hands and get a taxi to the Bell Air. I think the driver took the long way to boost his fair. The area seemed a bit run down and the cheers bar looked a bit of a dump. So we popped in the Irish bar for a Guinness and guess what they didnt have any. The young chap said sorry and asked us not to get angry so he must have had a few people ask "how can you have an Irish bar without Guinness" We had a Celtia and left. We went to the British pub opposite for a meal. The Celtia was half price and the food cold. The best place we found was the Marco Polo but when friday/saturday come the local tunisians head for the bars and only come to drink but we were dining and seemed to get a bit neglected by the staff.

All in all we had a good time but I wouldn`t go again........ ........ regards... mike

Mike- I stayed in Bell Air 25th June - 2nd July for a week.
One and only complaint I had was the noise from bars/clubs that surround the hotel - could not get to sleep till about 5 am
Saying that - British Bar was so much fun at night (if you were there, not in your room trying to get some sleep LOL) with waiters dancing Macarena on the tables etc LOL
I have to say I did not join the hotel entertainment (normally quite kids oriented so not my cup of tea) but went round a bit.
Took a taxi to Yasmine a few nights and to Fort (opposite direction) on few other nights. Completely different parts of town and loved them both....

Ah, I am sorry to hear you did not get the "Tunisian bug" and won't be going back

I think that the moral of the story here is that Tunisia isn't Spain and it is not the ideal destination for those who are used to going to holiday resorts which are geared up to catering for British tourists who want to eat and drink as they would at home but from the sound of it that is beginning to change. The idea that there might now even be such things as 'Irish' pubs in Tunisia is beginning to turn me off the idea of returning - I haven't been for a couple of years now and it sounds as if it is changing in response to the demands of visitors who are looking for a cheaper version of the Costas and as a result is losing its distinctiveness which is what always made it so appealing to me.

SM

SM- I know exactly what you are saying....

While in Hammamet we were trying to find a place with decent Tunisian food and were surrounded by pizza/chips and other rubbish.. all so much in "demand"

Found a fantastic restaurant - Sidi Slim and had great cous cous with meat and vegs there.

We did not succeed in finding a place with Tunisian music (any arabic music) as everyone was playing spice girls type stuff - again, demand from the tourists unfortunately.

Makes you wonder - why do people go away to foreign country when they are so resistant to anything "local"?

Hi all, dont get me wrong we enjoyed Tunisia and I take on board all your comments. We were in a quiet part of Hammamet and decided to venture out. We had heard that the Bell Air had a cheers bar so considered it a good base to start the evening. We didn`t wander too far and were not impressed with what we saw. We are not Kareoke type all night revellers who just get drunk and make noise. We enjoyed the Marco Polo Resturant and did sample real Tunisian food, we even tried out a few choice Arabic words, which amused the waiters (with our English accents). We didn`t travel about too far because one of our party has a slight disability and finds walking for too long uncomfortable so we probably missed out a lot. I now what you mean, if you just want chips with everything and loads of British beer stay at home or visit the Costas. On reflection I would revisit Tunisia after I had visited the other places I want to see. We have finally reached the stage where we dont have the kids tagging along so can go for more culture rather than guaranteed entertainment.

I hope I have made amends for my earlier post. (please be gentle with me )....... mike

please be gentle with me

Hmmmm, will consider and get back to you on this one - in due course

Hey Its ok!! Sounds like you had a good time anyway!! I myself found out that Tunisia isnt the costas (much to my delight).
Though to be honest the resort of PEK could be anywhere in the world but it was when I ventured out I found that the real Tunisia was even better. Loved Sousse and Monastir. I would definatly try Hammamet next time

"how can you have an Irish bar without Guinness"

In my experiance foreign Irish pubs are not remotely like in real Irish pubs where the guinness is the best in the world. Thats why some of the Irish I know won t try Guinness abroad because its not the same
Irish pubs abroad can be tacky but where else would everyone celebrate St Patricks day Nearly every nationality I ve ever met celebrates it even some Tunisians to my surprise.
March the 17th is the only time I go to Irish pub when abroad . Though I never saw any except for a bar in Sousse called English Rose but thats not really my cup of tea.
Tunisia does have to cater for its tourists but it would be a real shame to see them turning into the Costas with pubs and clubs everywhere

In my experiance foreign Irish pubs are not remotely like in real Irish pubs where the guinness is the best in the world. Thats why some of the Irish I know won t try Guinness abroad because its not the same

Which is why the Irish Centre in Liverpool used to have its draught Guinness delivered by tanker from Dublin rather than from the local Guinness brewery down the road in Warrington :-) . The story may be apocryphal but my Dad swore that the Guinness there was better than any to be had elsewhere in Liverpool!

SM

Hi Mike,

I wasn't getting at you and I apologise if you thought I was. One of the things that I always enjoyed about Tunisia was that the facilities for tourists, all the nightlife and entertainment etc is largely concentrated on the hotels and that the moment you stepped outside of them you were straight into the full-on Tunisian experience. My backpacking days are nearly over :-) and I liked the way I could travel around getting a real feel for the country and culture but could return to 4/5* living at the end of the day! It gave me the best of both worlds. Perhaps should add that I've decided that the camping days are over and that I might as well give the tent away :-) But if the 'tourist ghetto' is going to extend beyond the hotels (and this is why I've never wanted to stay in PEK) well for me that means that Tunisia is well on its way to becoming just one more sun and sand destination around that Med.

There are few places left in the world where you can get this combination, especially on shorthaul destinations but it's also the case even with some longhaul ones because the tourist hotels are so isolated from the local communities. On my last trip to Cuba I spent my last night in a hotel in Miramar before flying back from Havana. It was the first time I'd stayed in a hotel - I always stay with local families (as I said, the backpacking days aren't quite over yet!) - and was amazed at how unCuban an experience it was. To all intents and purposes I 'left' Cuba the moment we walked through the door. The hotel was a 15CUC ride from Old Havana and it was clear that most of my fellow guests never made the journey apart from joining the organised excursion - they were missing so much that I felt sorry for them.

SM

SM

Hi, No need to apologise. I think it may have been the way I worded my post that made people think I was looking for a Costas type holiday and had judged all of Tunisia by the small area that we had visited. No harm done. Thanks for all your comments..... ......mike