Things may have changed by now, but when I was there 8 years ago there wasn't bars as such, more like cafe's really . Whenever we sat in one the waiter came over, no menu and just said coffee,juice or beer . Definitely no nightclubs! We must remember its a very religious country though. We had so much hassle from the shop keepers e.t.c we preferred to stay at our hotel in the evenings. We still had a nice holiday but it was a bit quiet for my liking. Enjoy

The evenings in PEK are very quiet and there seems to be only a few cafes and one Irish bar..
My friend stayed at this hotel in December and she said it was very quiet on an evening so went to the Golf residence hotel a little further up the road.
We stayed at the Riviera at Christmas and there was entertainment on an evening so we didnt venture out.

We have never done the Sahara trip (star wars) but I believe there is quite a lot of travelling for this trip. There is a big square in PEK which has fountains which all light up of a night, and a few bars with shops, we enjoyed just having a few drinkies there an watchin the world go by :-) We done the African evening, which again we both enjoyed a couple of years ago, and my son done quad biking, he loved the quads, I hated them :-) I find Tunisian a very relaxing holiday and the people are so friendly :-)

Roo

We did the Desert Safari a long time ago which was 1 night stay in a hotel and took in El Djem, a visit to the trogladytes where they filmed part of star wars (but it wasn't a tv or film set - just a location), sunset over the Sahara (night in hotel) followed by sunrise over the salt lake, a visit to the desert oasis and a ride around in a horse drawn carriage, the holy city of Kairouan (and obligatory carpet factory tour) then back to Hammamet.

It totally stopped me going stir crazy during our 2 weeks in Hammamet but we've been back to Tunisia a number of times and have found Port el Kantoui and Sousse much more in line with our "wants" on holiday.

The desert safari cannot be classed as "relaxing" but we thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it.

There are a few nightclubs in PEK and Sousse - Bora Bora and Bonapartes come to mind though I've never been as they're not my scene, and some of the hotels also have their own nightclub. The safari trip is good though not relaxing as there is a lot of sitting on the coach. You can usually do a 2 or 3 day trip and can find a whole lot about it elsewhere on here. The rep at your hotel will often have it on offer but I booked it locally with a company called Saphir Voyages who were excellent. There are some nice restaurants around at various prices. A new one in Sousse is called Vintage, a restaurant/bar just opened by a couple of French men, Eric being the chef and singer. It's just past the Marabout in Sousse. Not one of the cheaper places but beautiful food, excellent service and a nice atmosphere.

Most cafes have their price lists posted outside and, unlike Marlou, I've always been offered a menu . I've also never had a problem with the shopkeepers, not even in the Medina in Sousse. They obviously try to get you to buy and inflate their prices for the tourists but ,as long as you realise that, you should be able to 'negotiate' a good price for most things. A good buy for ladies are the beautiful pashminas. They usually start off at about 30 dinars but I've never paid more than 10.

You can get the train or metro from Sousse if you want to explore on your own, such as Tunis or Sidi Bou Said. You can also take a louage (shared taxi) which will get you to most places. Train, metro and bus fares are dirt cheap but with ordinary taxis you need to either insist they put the meter on or 'negotiate' a price before you get in - don't pay more than 7 dinars from PEK to Sousse.

Thanks so much for the responses! Really looking forward to it now.

The Sahara excursion sounds like it might be a good little break from the resort, we definitely look into that.

Will be trying some of your recommendations too.

Bring on the sun! Thanks!

Personally, I wouldn't do the Sahara trip if you are only going for a week as it is pretty tiring and wipes out 2 days of your holiday - we did it from Hammamet and covered 1300km in those 2 days so spent hours on the coach. We'll probably go back and do a week long tour sometime to give us a chance to properly appreciate it all!

Hey, Aslemma, how are you, yep I am still alive.
Col256, this lady is pretty good on this area, she has been there a couple of times. lol. I've never done the Sahara Trip that people talk of. I have done "a" Sahara trip but was in my own Land Rover, 3 times oh, and I back-backed twice too.
The desert is awesome, but, as I have said many times on here this trip is only a small taste of the real thing, and the people you meet are all part of the tourist industry. the views are amazing though. As already mentioned, the distances are large and it will take two of your precious days. I would suggest that you stay local, if you want a taste of Tunisia for real, venture into the Sousse Medina, be nice to the locals and respect that they need to make a living, if you make conversation with them you should enjoy yourselves.

Lovely to see you here again Kevin, I was wondering what had happened to you.

I do agree that the Sahara trip takes quite a chunk out of a week's holiday but on my more than 20 trips I've done it a couple of times, once as a proper tour and once by car with Tunisian friends, both entirely different experiences but equally enjoyable.

You certainly must venture into the Medina at Sousse. Apart from the fun of haggling you might like to explore Dar Essid. This is an old merchants' house in the Medina which is now a museum. Unlike British museums it 's as cheap as chips (only 4 dinars) and you can actually sit on the beds! I've never found it crowded and the present owner (who obviously doesn't live there) will show you round and explain things if you like. There is a little cafe at the top, though they only seem to do cold drinks, but the view is fantastic.

Thanks so much for all your comments!

Had a great time. At the end of the day we went there to relax, get some sun and it was perfect for that.

We decided against the sahara trip, a few days on a coach would have eaten into our time there, but we went to El Djem, that was great and into the Sousse medina - was great to see how the locals go about their everyday shopping so thanks for that recommendation. I'm certainly no good at haggling! I'm glad we stuck to the excursions too, first time there it was good to get expert advice and tours. Can imagine it's a bit daunting going off out of the resort on your own at the start.

In the evening we'd tend to go and see what's happening around the marina, have a few drinks and then head back. We also found the micro brewery 'Golf Brau' which had live bands on every night and a really chilled atmosphere. Would recommend that.

Col

Thanks for coming back and telling us how you got on in Tunisia, really glad you enjoyed it

So glad you enjoyed it Col. I agree the Marina is a very nice place to sit and people-watch and perhaps if you go again you'll actually try your haggling skills in the Medina. The first time I went I stuck to the organised excursions, which are a good introduction and help you to get your bearings, but now I prefer to simply jump on a train or bus.