OK, hope I am not overdoing it already with the questions....



I was told by my bank manager (off all people) that a couple of Johnie Walkers can get me anything I want inTunisia...but I didn't ask him exactly what he meant... Then I've read someone saying they got leather jackets and so on..

Is this true? I have to find a shop that does the pipes and some nice clothes then...and a big suitcase to put them all in
(good job my bf is always travelling light)

Thanks Fiona that's handy, I mentioned it to bf about the whisky and the first thing he said was 'but it's a muslim country, we are going to be lynched' LOL

So is it best to buy the whiskey here in the UK... or at the Tunisian airport? And how do you find who to sell/trade it with???

One of the ladies at the hotel had done this, bought in a bottle of whisky to exchange for a leather coat in the Medina. She found a shop willing to trade but they wanted money as well as whisky which she refused and walked out. She says she was followed down the street getting grief. How much of that is true I dont know. That was the only story I heard of anyone attempting to barter

Whisky, like all imported spirits in Tunisia, is expensive if bought locally but traders have long got wise to the fact that British visitors trying to barter whisky for leather goods have probably paid very little for that bottle of blended whisky in the duty free shop at their departure airport and don't like being taken for a ride any more than British visitors like being ripped off when they discover they've paid an inflated price for something in the medina compared to what a local would pay. By all means take the chance if you want to but don't complain at the grief you'll get if the trader realises you've offered them a bottle of whisky worth a 10th of the worth to you of that leather coat you've been trying on.

Frankly I think that the 'Bottle of whisky in exchange for a leather coat' story has now achieved the status of being an urban myth. It's always a 'friend of a friend' who's done this these days rather than the person themselves who tells you the story. It might have been true in years past when few British visitors went to Tunisia but I suspect that these days many traders get pretty fed up with the umpteenth tourist who tries this on with them and then gets annoyed when the trader refuses to be exploited in this way.

If you want a decent leather coat at a bargain price compared to what you'd pay here, check Briar's earlier posts on the subject and pay for it fair and square at the manufacturers in Hammam Sousse secure in the knowledge that you've got a quality product for far less than you'd have to pay here and that neither you nor the trader have been ripped off.

SM

In April I bought two bottles of whisky from the duty free at Gatwick for £15. Someone who worked at the jewellery shop at the hotel asked me if I had any and how much I wanted for it. I said that I hadn't really thought about it but I had to pass him every evening going in to dinner and he wouldn't give up. Eventually we settled for TDN 55 for the two - about £12 profit, which was hardly worth bothering about when you think about the weight.

The owners at the bar "the full english" will buy whisky and other spirits off tourists as it is so expensive there.

l remember my dad getting a leather jacket while we were in Sousse he got it a lil cheaper due to giving the guy a bottle of whisky !!

Jguicha

where is that bar?

We have just returned from our first visit to tunisia, and were told before we went to take a bottle or two of whiskey.....
We did take 1, we were offered 20 dinar, perhaps £1 or so more than what we paid, so its not worth the carriage really, however it will get you first class service if you give the waiter a bottle, its only perhas a tenner to buy at the airport but its worth a couple of days wages to the waiters, so in the future we will only take it for this purpose.

so the whole thing of bring a couple of bottles of whisky is a waste of time ? unless you plan on drinking them sorry briar:oops:

Please do not use phone text ie U instead of you etc thanks Briar

well having read all the comments about whiskey I decided not to buy any beforehand and no one asked me for it. Besides, I was happy to pay a few dinars to get some nice souvenirs and I wasn't too keen on their leather products in the medinas so it was OK after all.

Hi, Can anyone help - My partner and I are going to Tunisia in 3 weeks and a couple of people told me that when they went you could take some scotch whiskey or years ago it was nylon tights and you could swap them for a leather jacket! Are they winding me up? Is there anything that I can take that the locals ask for? I would love to swap for a leather coat!
If Anyone could help I would appreciate it!

The best thing you can offer to someone having a leather coat that you like is..... money
I think they may be winding you up - that may have been true few years back but I do not think swapping whisky or nylon tights for a leather coat?

Where in Tunisia are you going to?
Have a lovely holidays

at my hotel they had a jewellery shop and the man asked me if i would swap my lonsdale trainers for some jewellery!!! they were for his sister and apparently they cant get that make there. however i decided to keep the trainers as they were my comfy going home shoes. i am going back next year and taking a extra pair for him.

We got back from Hammamet on Sunday and found a place where we ate was selling Johnny Walker whiskey - you could buy a bottle for 135 dinar!

I have been told by a few people that it is worth taking a couple of bottles of whisky to barter with local shopkeepers for leather jackets etc.......could someone please tell me if this is just a myth or is it really worthwhile??? We are going to Sousse in July..many thanks!!

I haven't heard this, but as most Tunisians are Muslims they don't drink.

I have heard this as well and apparently Cadbury`s chocolate is popular
thou we will be going in July so it would be more like drinking chocolate with the heat. I suppose you will have to abide by customs regulations as to how much you can take into the country....Good luck..........mike..