I took a couple of bottles of whisky out this year and gave one to the hotel manager, as I'd booked independently and he'd given me a very good price. The lad who ran the hotel shop also asked me if I had any so I let him have the other bottle, which he would be able to sell and make himself a bit of cash towards his wedding later this year. These people only get paid commission and he had to sit there from 10 in the morning until 10 at night with very little being sold so I was pleased to do it as he was always helpful and friendly.

I've been told to take a good bottle of malt with me as they cant get good stuff over there, someone told me they gave a bottle to the manager of their hotel and they got a better room and other perks.Am i just getting my leg pulled or is there any truth in this.......under three weeks to go now!!!!!!!!!!

No your not getting your leg pulled, it's definately true. They will snap your hand off for a bottle of Jack Daniels or like. Their local stuff is disgusting and if they wanted to buy the real stuff it's too expensive for them to buy. This was the same in Egypt last year, friends of ours went to buy a bottle of Jack Daniels and the price was £93.00 so he gave that a miss and went without. He wished he had brought the duty free with him. So yes take what ever your allowed to take duty free with you. You will have friends for life

I love all these ideas of Brits bartering - but think that it isn't really acceptable. It's a muslim country and we visitors should respect their customs and way of life. And the sellers really want MONEY - which is only reasonable - in exchange for goods. This 'exchanging for goods' behaviour of the British really doesn't improve our already tarnished image abroad. Why not just accept to pay the going rate which is fair, rather than embarrass your hosts by bartering with goods.

To be fair, the concept of barter is as old as man and as international as they come.
Yes Tunisia is a muslim country; but there are muslims who drink alcohol, just as there are catholics who use contraceptives.
As a long time visitor I am often asked to bring whisky and I usually do. It serves as a useful present (which may oil the wheels of future transactions), it can make a good tip and if I have a wedding invitation then it is always useful for the band.

Johnny Walker black label is the status brand but if it is for the waiters i will settle for the dutyfree best buy. If you do take whisky, just be discreet and keep it out of sight in a bag.

Dorra

I wouldn't bother taking run-of -the-mill ordinary brands of whiskey to try and barter with. I tried this once and was taken into the back room of the shop and shown about 50 bottles of the same stuff on shelves. He offered to sell me some! But the finer old malts like Johnnie Walker Black Label are always required but again they will hassle you on the price for a couple of hours if necessary so it's not easy money to be made. Easier not to take any and just get on with enjoying your holiday!

Dorra i would agree with you. Tunisia is one of the most liberal muslim countries (only 20% practise) and drinking seems to be far from forbidden (judging by the amount of empty celtia bottles I saw everywhere). Even our Tunisian guide told us that Tunsians have special permission from Allah to drink !!!!
I think maybe people are doing them a favour if good alchohol is so expensive. (£93 ) But I personaly wouldn't dare try it against something so expensive like a leather coat (I honestly can't see that working). As it has pointed been pointed out before Tunsians have to know its much cheaper elsewhere.
Maybe as present for someone you know or just to help seal a deal in addition to money.

A bottle of whisky as an alternative to a tip or as a thank-you gift for someone whose hospitality you've enjoyed will probably always be very gratefully received - just as it would be here. But just like here, trying to offer it as payment for goods worth far more than the whisky cost you will result in you being given short shrift. It's an urban myth and could cause you a lot of grief - it's simply not worth it.

SM

Hello e.body
As Dorra said previously, taking with you 2 nice bottles of Whisky [especially Scotch, J.Walker Black, J&B...] will really help you to use them as tip/gifts to get in exchange special attention in the hotel or from a shop sales person if you are buying huge quantities from them such as in my case. I used to live in Tunisia about 6 years ago. A bottle of Jhonny Walker Black (1L) is selling for 18$ to 24$ in the streets, while it costs around $60 in regular shops.
As I have said before It is really helpful, at least for me, to take some with me everytime I am visiting eventhough I've never used it as a method of payment.
P.S: Yes Tunisia is a muslim country, but the government revenues from taxes imposed on alcohol sales represents a huge chunk of its annual income.

hi we went to hammemet last year.
we bought some j walker to barter but we never got round to taking it out around the shops the market. to be honest they barted etc and you could get stuff for dirt cheap price. so we brought it back to uk ..hahaha.

Well in the end i didnt get any to take...what a mistake...made some realy good friends over there and would have liked to have given them some.Was asked a few times if i had any with me when people knew i was scotish,one shop keeper said i could have anything in his shop for o bottle, i hope to go back in October and i'll be taking some then...

We have just booked to go to Hammimet on 4th Feb on an all inclusive package, we havent been to Tunisia for about 15 years. Last time we went which was our first time lots of people in the hotel had taken bottles of whiskey in with them which they then traded in the shops and markets for goods. One couple we had got friendly with had exchanged his bottle for a leather jacket for his wife. Do they still do that? I was wondering if it was worth buying a bottle to take with us, as we are all inclusive and we dont drink whiskey anyway we wouldnt use it ourselves.
Does anyone also know if you can get diet soft drinks in the hotels, I am diebetic so cant have sugar.
Thanks Imp

The days when you could get fabulous bargains in exchange for a bottle of whisky have long gone, as the local people are wiser now to what it actually costs us at the Duty Free in England and don't like being ripped off any more than we do. It is still much appreciated however, and can certainly 'oil the wheels' in a transaction, such as persuading the hotel manager to upgrade your room.

A very useful barter can sometimes be done with a mobile phone, particularly if it is already unlocked and has a charger etc. Tunisians love their mobiles but can't always afford them. I did a straight swap with my old Nokia for a heavy silver and turquoise necklace a couple of years ago.

I'm not sure about diet drinks but think there is what they call 'coke light' which is probably the same. As I don't drink it myself I haven't taken a lot of notice, but I'm sure someone else can confirm this.