Southern Tunisia by 4x4: Matmata, Tataouine and Djerba Small Group Tour in 6 Days

Upon arrival at the Tunis-Carthage International Airport, our airport staff and your driver will greet and assist you and transfer you to your accommodation. Spend the rest of the day relaxing in the hotel facilities or head outside to explore the area and in the evening enjoy a delicious dinner at your hotel.

Start the day with a refreshing breakfast, followed by an even more refreshing view from the 300-meters above sea level Berber village of Zriba Olya. After, you will head to El Djem for a visit of the Roman Amphitheatre, second largest in the world after the one in Rome. Enjoy a Tunisian menu at a local restaurant then continue your way down to the Berber village of Matmata where you will overnight in a quirky hotel, similar to the real troglodyte habitations of the village. You will arrive at the hotel around 6 pm.

This day is all about discovering the Berber culture. After breakfast, you will be picked up at around 8 am. You will start with Tataouine, the capital of the Berber Region in the South of Tunisia. To understand the Berbers culture, it is important to note their purpose behind living. As the originals of the country, having been there since the beginning and before any other civilization had arrived and started invading their regions, the Berbers used the South and central areas to escape from the Romans, then from the Carthaginians, then from the Arab civilizations that followed. They mostly chose remote areas from where the invaders would sail, and high altitude locations, where they built their habitations, usually in-ground and in a strategic place from which they can see their attackers approaching. There are about 150 Berber Ksours between Matmata, Tataouine and Chenini. Ksours, plural of Ksar, are what the Berber called their habitations. Most of these sites are only accessible by 4-wheelers for they are perched on ridges like Chenini's Ksours and hanging on hillsides like the Old Guermassa. Some of these Ksours were even used for the filming of the Star Wars movies such as the ones in Ksar Haddada, made of 380 ghorfas, rooms, located on the same level. After lunch in a local restaurant in Tataouine you will head to Djerba at about 6 pm, for check in. Dinner will be served in the hotel.

Enjoy your breakfast in the hotel and be ready for the pickup at around 8 am. You will start this day in the Berber village of Guellala, from the Berber name Iquallalen, meaning potteries and renowned for pottery making, an activity practiced since centuries and defining the main economic base for the locals then and until the present day. After lunch, you will move into a different culture located in Djerba, and equally significant for its history, in the Jewish hood, the center of which is the Synagogue of El Ghriba located in the village of Erriadh. 20 synagogues were once present in Erriadh, one of which is today a site of pilgrimage for many visitors from all over the world. The synagogue is a modest building when seen from the outside, but has a fascinating interior, richly decorated by colorful windows and tiles and authentic and very well-preserved furniture. It is most fascinating to know that today Djerba is home to around 1400 Jewish people, living in harmony on the island along with Muslims, reunited under the Tunisian patrimony. Return to your hotel at 6 pm.

On this day you will move to the Capital of Islam in Tunisia, the city of Kairouan. You will be picked up after breakfast at around 8 am and you will start with the visit of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, located in the middle of the Medina and built by the Arab general Uqba Ibn Nafi in 670 AD. The site attracts thousands of local and international visitors for its magnificent architectural and spiritual value. After a walk through the Medina of Kairouan, and a glimpse at the local life, a taste of Tunisian freshly made pastry and a touch of the authentic carpets, you will head to the Mausoleum of Sidi Sahbe. This complex stands outside the medina, on the site of the tomb of one of the Prophet's companions, Abu Zama'a al-Balawi, known as Sidi Sahbi. It includes a mausoleum, a madrasa and several rooms. The mausoleum is popular and frequently visited by the locals for blessings, ceremonies and religious festivities. At the end of the afternoon at approximately 6 pm you will head back to Tunis for check in. You can spend the rest of the day exploring the area. A flavourful dinner will be served at the hotel.

Last but not least, and before you make your way to the airport for departure, you will be taken for a guided visit of the Medina of Tunis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, containing some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains dating from the Almohad and the Hafsid periods. The visit will start at about 8 am and will take approximately 2 hours. You will then be transferred to the airport and assisted with departure. (Depending on your arrival and departure flights, the first and last day itineraries may vary and lunch is either included on the first or last day of the roundtrip).

This tour travels to the far south of Tunisia by 4x4, with no more than six travellers in each vehicle. You arrive in Tunis and stay the first night in Hammamet. Day two visits a Berber hill village and the Roman amphitheatre at El Djem, with a night in Matmata. You then drive through Tataouine and the Berber village of Chenini to the island of Djerba for two nights. On Djerba you visit the pottery village of Guellala, the Jewish quarter and the El Ghriba synagogue. The road north stops at Kairouan for the medina, the Great Mosque and the Mausoleum of Sidi Sahbi. The last morning is a tour of the medina of Tunis. Guides speak English, French, German, Italian or Spanish and the tour is shared with other travellers. Five nights in 4-star and 5-star hotels, five breakfasts, five lunches, five dinners and the entrance fees are included. Departures are every Thursday.

• Travel Insurance
• Personal Expenses
• Gratuities
• Optional Activities / Highlights
• Meals and drinks not specifically stated as included

Visa fees. Local hotel tax. Personal expenses. Porterage and gratuities. Optional activities. Meals and drinks not mentioned in the programme. Any type of personal or travel insurance. Other services not clearly indicated in the package inclusions above

Price per person sharing a double room. Single rooms on request. The land arrangements are confirmed by the supplier, TUI Tunisia, within two working days of booking. A local hotel tax is paid at each hotel. Check the entry rules for your passport before booking.