Although most reports of the hotel are quite good, there really isn't much to do in Skanes itself as the area is simply a long string of hotels set alongside a nice beach. The good thing is that transport is cheap so it won't break the bank to get out of Skanes to places such as Sousse and Monastir (providing you 'negotiate' (haggle) with the taxi drivers), where you'll also find trains and buses to take you further afield.

I rather doubt you will need factor 50 sunscreen as the temperatures for the next couple of weeks are shown as 19 - 27 approx. I wonder who advised you to take dollars? I would have thought that an unnecessary complication as sterling or euros are easily changed. As I have done before, I will be changing Danish kroner left over from a recent trip when I arrive later next month. ATM's are everywhere in Tunisia so there is never a problem in finding one, though beware of the extra charges your bank impose.

Thankyou,
i thought of factor 50 for my little girl and my son who is very fair.
it was my travel agent who recommended dollars and travellers cheques.
so should i order different??
this is why i am glad i found this site before we go.

I certainly wouldn't bother with dollars, unless you have some left over from a previous trip. Personally I never use travellers cheques either, but I know many people feel they are more secure. If you have a credit/debit card which doesn't bump up charges for use abroad (I'm not sure, but think Nationwide are good for this) this is the easiest way to access cash. Most large hotels will change money but they usually have set times for this which can be a nuisance. The exchange rate is set by the government so is the same throughout Tunisia, therefore you don't have to search for the best rate. Don't hesitate to come back on here if you have any further questions as I'm pretty sure someone will be able to help.

so what is the best currency for tipping???
as i read some people gave them £1 others euros etc etc

Hello devaloco welcome to HT

I would agree with aslemma's advice, don't bother changing your money in to Dollars then again in to Dinar when you get there, all you are doing is loosing value with your exchanges.

You can use one of the many ATM's for money, if you wish you can exchange some £ Sterling in to Dinar at the small exchange when you arrive at the airport, it's located beside the luggage carousels.

As mentioned by aslemma the exchange rate is fixed so you get the same everywhere, with this in mind you may wish to take £ Sterling in cash and exchange it at your hotel, if you do this make sure that you keep the money securely locked in a safe.
Remember also that you should try and budget so that you don't have to exchange money back from Dinar in to Sterling at the end of your holiday as the rate you are given is very poor when exchanging back.

Graham

Ps. make sure if you decide to take Sterling that it is all Bank of England notes

Thanks.
I would be happier taking the travellers cheques.
so itl be that and english money then.
gonna ring the travel agents now and get them to cancel my dollars.
so if i have unused cheques will i be able to just cash them here for say euros,as my daughter is going to france in july

The only time we tipped with a £1 was when we first arrived as we had no Dinars to tip the lad who took our cases to our room.
When he came to take our cases to the luggage room when we were leaving my husband asked him if he had any £1 coins and he was thrilled that we changed them into dinars for him.

As Jay Trip says, that is a very useful way to change any left-over dinars at the end of your holiday. Although we can easily change sterling or euro notes, the locals have far more of a problem changing the coins we give as tips. Before I even got to the hotel one year the driver of the transfer bus asked if I could change £10 into dinars for him. He was very happy when I said I'd change up £5 as I wanted to keep the rest until I could get to the bank. If you print off the currency converter below (Oanda Cheat Sheet) and take it with you it can be very helpful in that neither side feel they are being cheated.

http://www.oanda.com/currency/travel-exchange-rates

Thanks aslemma, I will use your mention of the cheat sheat as a reminder to everybody that here on HT we have our own cheat sheet and other useful tools available via the 'Holiday Tools' tab at the top of the page or click on link below.

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/tools.php

Graham

Same cat, different whiskers Graham!! I've been using Oanda for years and, having had a quick look at the HT one, notice that it is the same one in slightly different livery.

well i have literally just got back from here and we loved it

Please tell me more, what was good, what was bad?

on our trip last october , our friendly door man used to ask if we could change the £1 coins that guests had given him into dinars which was not a problem .

What was good...we just loved the place so much.
The people were friendly,staff were cleaning around the hotel all the time.
Not all the snack bars were open,but there was enough.
we were going for dinner everyday in the main restaurant,then we just went to the beach snack bar,there was kebabs,burgers,spagetti bolognaise,salad,pizza,chips etc.
I used to make a salad sandwich,my kids had burgers,pizzas,chips.
Then wed have tea in the dining room.
Cus cus (ive spelt that wrong),a vegie thing with eggs,which was really nice,there was different fish everyday,turkey,chicken,beef,salad,chips.
I mainly had cus cus,vegie things and i got food from the kids buffet,plain pasta and tomato sauce,this is because i dont eat red meat,but there was plenty of red meat dishes,as my son is a big meat eater.
We didnt use the outdoor pools, we used the indoor one,we were on the beach everyday sunbathing and going in the sea (more so cos i was watching the talent..lol).
We had 2 rooms,both had 2 beds in,they were adjoining,which was good,cleaner was very helpful.He used to bring my little girl teddies etc people had left.
We went on the sahara desert trip,which i have had to complain about,as we wernt told some important things,like the full length of the trip,as i suffer from athritous and if id have known the full details i wouldnt have wasted my time.
We were suppose to have a camel ride as the sun was going down...didnt happen,it was about 4pm we were on the camels,we were suppose to watch the sun come up over the desert,didnt happen.
The 4x4 was not a cruiser it was an older one,and we felt every bump of the desert road,no sand dunes,even thou our rep said we would be going over them just as you see on tv.All that way just to see star wars set,never again.
The hotel we stayed in there was ok,nice warm pool,but it stunk and there was green stuff growing in it.
The next trip we went on to the potery shop,then the market,defo an experience,got some nice bits aswell as my daughters medication.She had 2nd degree burns from the sun,even thou she wore sun cream,bless her.Doctor was great.
We then went to a zoo,But we were there for nearly 2hours,so didnt get to see the sealion show and the dolphin part didnt open til 3.30pm we left at 3.15pm As we were there longer than our 2 weeks we went shopping to monistir,was ok kids got new trainers,but i wish id have been really cheeky and haggled more,but ill remember for next time.
The First choice rep i did feel so sorry for her as the stick she got from guests was horrible at times due to the volcano erruption,totally out of her hands and she was on her own,where as thomas cook had 4 or 5 reps in the hotel for support even thou they were getting screamed at too.
My little girl kept getting annoyed as people kept touching her hair (shes fair and curly),she hated it and i just kept pulling her closer to me.
I felt the hotel couldve done more for the 13-16 yr age group,as my son is 13 and he did football (which he never plays) and water polo,but the adults kept taking over at theyr time to play.
Archery was for over 16s which he wanted to do but couldnt.
I have sudjested they maybe do a pony club and other activities.
Horse riding,me and my 5 yr old went,but not again,it was good,but i didnt like the man,he was slimey (but he was only 1 of them,there is others work there),he asked me for a date,i stood him up.My little girl didnt like him either.
My 5 yr old spent some time with Sem in the kids club,she enjoyed it at times,me and my 15 yr old girl went along for belly dancing :).we were welcomed in any time.Sem who runs the kids club was brill.
The whole animation team was good,even thou you got sick of that song,the work long hours but are so friendly,there is 1 lad who dances on his hands,if he is doing the fitness session id go sunbath as he really does do the fitness session,i had to stop...lol
overall a fab holiday and cant wait to return,even thou i have been recommended another hotel,which i am looking into

Hi all.. just wanted to say what a joy to read.. another happy holiday .. i have been going to Tunisia on and off for 5 years ( killtedwarrior) old log in..) hope to get over in october , well im looking now..
ive been to Thalassa village , Neptuna beach, the sister Liberty, all can be seen from the other.. and never ever had a bad holiday.. i just love the counrty and the people..