Tunisia isn’t always associated with beauty, yet I’ve now have a serious soft spot for this intriguing country. From sun-soaked beaches to atmospheric historic towns, it packs an incredible amount into a tiny footprint. After many trips here — from round-trip road adventures to laid-back holidays with my wife — these are my absolute favourite spots…
1. Hammamet
Once a humble fishing village we found this resort town was developed but still a relaxed gem with a fine collection of whitewashed medina walls, elegant Moorish arches, bougainvillea-draped villas and palm-lined boulevards set against sandy beaches and calm turquoise bays. I really liked its gentle mix of old-world Tunisian charm, laid-back beach life and polished resort elegance.
We landed at Tunis–Carthage and spent a week getting lost in its honey-gold 9th-century medina and sea-top kasbah, hanging out at our favourite beaches (the family-friendly Hammamet and the glossy Yasmine Hammamet!), indulging in a superb marine Algae Bath ritual at Bio Azur Thalassa & Spa, and finishing with a storybook flouka cruise at sunset!
Location: Northeast coast | Size: medium-sized resort town | Vibe: old-medina-meets-holiday-resort feel | Activities: swimming, snorkelling, jet skiing, parasailing, windsurfing, golf, spas.
My favorite highlights…
- Staying at the stunning Hasdrubal Thalassa & Spa Yasmine Hammamet Hotel and indulging in Thalassotherapy – I loved that they used mineral-rich marine mud sourced from the Gulf of Hammamet.
2. Sidi Bou Said
Hands down my second-favorite spot, this Insta-worthy clifftop beauty looked like a postcard — white-and-blue houses stacked above the Gulf, decorated with ornate doors, iron balconies, and splashes of bougainvillea. Add secret coves, wave-washed swimming rocks, sandy beaches toward La Marsa, and an artistic café culture that moves at the usual Mediterranean snail-pace, and I was completely sold!
Just a one and a half hour drive from Hammamet we based ourselves for another week at the La Menara Hotel & SPA, falling into a dreamy rhythm of lazy beach days, and slow wanders past artist studios and boutiques on Rue Habib Thameur and checking out the ornate Ennejma Ezzahra. With its creative soul, bohemian energy, and growing collection of elegant guesthouses and historic villas, it felt both nostalgic and quietly upscale!
Location: North coast| Size: small cliff-top village | Vibe: artistic and romantic | Activities: swimming, cliff-top wandering, café-hopping
My favorite highlights…
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Sipping a sweet mint tea at sunset on the blue-painted, mosaic-tiled terrace of Café des Délices, high above Sidi Bou Said, as the sun sank into the Gulf of Tunis!
3. Djerba
Djerba was all white-on-white beauty – menzel houses, ancient mosques, palm-dotted villages and splashy souks, backed by long silky beaches, clear turquoise shallows, and calm coves glowing under wide open desert skies. I liked its slow and soothing feel, with just enough exotic edge to feel special — part timeless island, part easygoing resort haven!
We landed straight into Djerba–Zarzis from London and gave ourselves 10 days to both kick back and explore — meandering through Houmt Souk’s whitewashed streets and markets, hanging out on Sidi Mahrez’s soft sands, stepping inside the centuries-old El Ghriba Synagogue, and watching pale-pink flamingos wade through the lagoons at Ras Rmel.
Location: Southeast coast | Size: large island | Vibe: relaxed and gently exotic |Activities: Swimming, kitesurfing, cycling, wildlife-spotting
My highlights…
- Staying at the beautiful Radisson Blu Palace Resort & Thalasso – their Thalasso Spa is famous and I could see why, it was seriously stunning as was its striking architecture and its lavish pool area complete with swim-up bar where I sipped on a fresh fig cocktail at sunset!
4. Sousse
After landing at Monastir International Airport and taking a 35-minute taxi, we stayed and then climbed the 8th-century Ribat for sea views, wandered the UNESCO-listed Medina and impressive Great Mosque, swam in the clear shallows along Boujaafar Beach, and browsed the spice-scented souks around Bab el Bhar.
Location: Central east coast | Size: large coastal city | Vibe: historic with a resort-beach energy |Activities: medina, souk shopping, swimming, marina strolls
My personal highlights…
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Staying for a week at the stunning Jaz Tour Khalef, I loved the private beach, the Insta-worthy pool with stylish white cabanas, and the modern Thalassotherapy spa—especially their underwater hydrotherapy circuit with a saltwater floatation pool!
5. Port El Kantaoui
Purpose-built yet still picturesque, we discovered a marina village of whitewashed Moorish architecture, blue shutters and domes wrapped around a yacht-filled harbour, with manicured promenades and wide sandy beaches edged by calm turquoise water. The vibe was chic, relaxed and subtly glamorous, especially in the evenings.
A quick 15-minute taxi ride north from Sousse dropped us into full holiday mode — lazy dips on Port El Kantaoui Beach, a glass-bottom boat spin along the coast, shopping for Nabeul ceramics at the medina (which sadly wasn’t ancient though!) and a cheeky round at El Kantaoui Golf Course.
Location: east coast | Size: medium-sized resort town | Vibe: polished, relaxed, and holiday-ready | Activities: swimming, yacht trips, glass-bottom boat trips, water-sports, golf
My highlights..
- Staying at the 4-star Hasdrubal Thalassa & Spa Port El Kantaoui, I loved the wellness focus, the spacious guest rooms, and the incredible spa with all kinds of seawater treatments—my favorite was the detoxifying, iodine-rich Algotherapy wrap!
6. Nabeul
Nabeul was beautiful but in a low-key way – there were whitewashed buildings with cobalt accents, ornate tiled courtyards, elegant mosques and cute little pottery workshops by the sea, all lined up beside golden beaches, and clear turquoise shallows – it was breezy, salty-aired and charmingly authentic, not shiny or over-styled at all. I liked how it felt like a laid-back, more local-feeling alternative to nearby Hammamet — and it was much kinder on the wallet too!
A 20-minute coastal taxi from Hammamet brought us to CALIMERA Delfino Beach Resort & Spa, with days split between Nabeul’s pottery souks, the interesting Neapolis Museum, soft-sanded Nabeul Beach, tile-adorned Sidi Mahrsi Mosque, and sunset boat-spotting at the harbour.
Location: Northeast coast | Size: medium-sized coastal city | Vibe: an authentic everyday-Tunisia feel
My favorite highlights…
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Nabeul’s Friday atmospheric souk — stalls clinked with hand-painted blue-and-green ceramics and traders shouted out prices. I quickly skipped the livestock area though, as it was a bit upsetting for me!
7. Bizerte
I found Bizerte to be far less touristy, yet still a total gem – pastel walls, old harbours, arched doorways and a hint of Ottoman elegance on one side, sandy beaches, secret coves and clear blue water on the other, and a gently bustling medina just behind it all. It was relaxed and refreshingly unpolished, it felt like living like a local, far from the crowds of the bigger resorts.
An easy one-hour drive north from Tunis and then we kicked back for two nights at the charming Al Madina, traditional Riad. Our days were filled with boat-watching along the sea-to-lagoon canal, lazy hours on pale, powdery Sidi Salem Beach, Insta-worthy sunset views from the historic Spanish Fort above the port and flamingo-spotting at the unspoilt Bizerte Lagoon!
Location: Northern coast | Size: medium-sized port city | Vibe: historic with a relaxed local rhythm | Activities: swimming, water-sports and wildlife-watching
My favorite highlights…
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Enjoying a steaming mint tea, crunchy pine nuts, and syrup-soaked baklava at the mosaic-topped Café Maure while people-watching in the Old Port!
8. Tunis Medina
UNESCO-listed Tunis Medina was a beautiful kind of chaos – a winding maze of honey-coloured palaces, domed mosques, ornate madrasas, carved wooden doors and lantern-lit souks hiding cool courtyard houses behind heavy timber doors. All my senses were alive with colour, incense-scented souks, an echoing call to prayer, and a buzz that felt ancient, raw and intimate.
It was just a short taxi ride from Sidi Bou Said into central Tunis and we made the traditional riad-style 4-star Dar el médina our base and spent two days wandering around photographing the striking architecture, haggling with the stall owners and soaking up the intoxicating atmosphere. I loved how it offered me a vivid glimpse into the sheer opulence of Arabian life between the 12th and 16th centuries.
Location: Central Tunis, northern Tunisia | Size: large old town district | Vibe: chaotic with a deep old-world character
My favorite highlights…
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Slowly drinking a floral geranium tea on the rooftop Café Panorama, the air perfumed with orange blossom and spotting the Zitouna Mosque among the medina rooftops!
9. Monastir Ribat
With its golden fortress walls planted right on the water’s edge, glowing arches, lofty towers and wave-cooled ramparts, I was so impressed with how Monastir Ribat was just pure drama – backed by small sandy coves and sparkling turquoise sea, wrapped in salt air, silence and a timeworn stillness that makes it feel more like an unreal film set!
We took a day trip here on a 30-minute taxi from Sousse and climbed the spiral tower to gaze at the big Mediterranean views, wandered the inner courtyard, prayer hall and finally the ramparts as the sun disappeared into the sea, and just soaked up the unearthly silence!
Location: Monastir, central east coast of Tunisia | Size: large historic coastal fortress | Vibe: dramatic, ancient, and quietly powerful
My personal highlights…
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The courtyard with its small monk cells lining the edges, and ancient carvings and inscriptions still visible in the rough-hewn local stone!
10. Plage de Chaffar, Sfax
Here there were no resorts, no gloss, no fuss (and definitely not a banana boat in sight!) – just faded seaside houses, sleepy cafés, palms in the breeze and a ridiculously long stretch of pale golden sand, glassy turquoise waters and quiet rocky corners and that wide-open-world feeling you only get in places that haven’t been polished to death. I really admired with the rawer, much less developed feel.
After landing in Tunis, we jumped on an internal flight to Sfax, checked into the wonderfully unique Borj Dhiafa, and settled into beach life for a lazy week – long swims at Plage de Chaffar, sunset walks under the palms, fresh seafood at tiny village cafés, and boats rocking gently on the horizon.
Location: South of Sfax on Tunisia’s central east coast | Size: long, sandy beach | Vibe: local and low-key seaside feel
My favorite highlights…
- Snacking on a paper-wrapped cumin-warm veggie Brik among the wild, honey-coloured sand dunes behind the beach.
11. Chebika
One minute it all was blazing red-hued desert, and then the next it was palms, waterfalls and blue pools – Chebika was a surreal cliff-top tangle of crumbling stone ruins and oasis gardens overlooking vast golden plains and salt flats, with an unearthly silence apart from the sound of trickling water and gentle wind. It was so cinematic, it barely felt real (seriously)!
We reached Chebika on a jeep excursion from Douz via the Nefta–Tozeur region (it was a long but epic journey crossing the the Chott el Jerid) and spent two hours hiking the main Oasis Loop Trail, passing palm trees sprouting from bare rock, cliff-top viewpoints, and cool spring-fed streams at the base of the mountains.
Location: Near Tozeur in southern Tunisia, at the edge of the Sahara | Size: tiny mountain oasis village | Vibe: dramatic, otherworldly, and peacefully remote
My favorite highlights…
- Learning from our guide that it had been used for scenes in The English Patient!
12. The Sahara
Yep, the Sahara Desert really was as stunning as I imagined! Yes, there were endless sand dunes (stretching as far as the eye can see!), but we also stumbled across rocky plateaus, gorgeous oases (Chebika, Tamerza, and Mides), extraordinary oasis towns including the date-scented Nefta and the otherworldly Tozeur and the vast salt flats of Chott el Jerid, which was even used as a Star Wars filming location (and we got to wander around the set)!
We opted for a guided 4×4 three-day tour from Douz, I personally don’t like animals being used for tourism and I’ve even seen some awful videos on Instagram so we swerved the camel tours on an ethical basis and we went for the jeep one instead.
Location: Southern Tunisia (and across North Africa) | Size: vast desert region | Vibe: epic, silent, and otherworldly
My favorite highlights…
- Staying overnight in a traditional white Bedouin-tent as part of the tour – it was an authentic and very romantic experience (we just had our belongings covered by sand afterwards)!
13. Matmata and the fortified granaries of the Ksour
These were both surreally beautiful places, Matmata had moon-like landscapes and sunken troglodyte homes—dwellings dug deep into the earth. Further south, the scenery shifted to the Ksour (fortified granaries), which look like mud-brick citadels stacked with arched “ghorfas” (storage chambers). Both locations felt completely ancient, rugged, and untouched by the modern world!
We opted for a full-day guided trip from Douz, heading first to Matmata to step inside the Hotel Sidi Driss, a traditional underground home that became world-famous as Luke Skywalker’s childhood house. Then we went to explore the dramatic Ksar Ouled Soltane and Ksar Hadada with their honey-colored, vaulted honeycomb chambers!
Location: Southern Tunisia (Matmata & Tataouine region) | Size: small Berber villages and historic fortified granaries (ksour) | Vibe: ancient, rugged, and very atmospheric
My personal highlights…
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Instantly recognizing the locations as a Star Wars fan! Our guide explained that George Lucas used the troglodyte homes for the original 1977 film, while the unique “honeycomb” architecture appeared in The Phantom Menace!
14. Kairouan
All warm stone, gentle light and graceful geometry, Kairouan was serene and quietly majestic rather than hugely showy – but the grand mosques were truly incredible in this UNESCO-listed holy city and made the visit worthwhile for sure. It was also home to quiet streets and sun-washed courtyards that felt scholarly, sacred and wonderfully historic.
A 1 hour 15 minutes taxi ride inland from Sousse dropped us into Kairouan, where we wandered wide-eyed through the incredible Great Mosque of Okba (one of the largest and oldest mosques in the country), the Mosque of the Three Doors, and the buzzing medina souks piled high with handwoven rugs and traditional crafts!
Location: Central Tunisia | Size: medium-sized city | Vibe: sacred old-world feel
My highlights…
- Trying the signature sweet pastry, Makroud in the souks of the medina – the tasty treats were made from semolina, dates, and local honey and were delicious!
15. Ichkeul National Park
The UNESCO-listed park was all shimmering clear water, emerald hills, glowing reeds, open marshland and skies dotted with birds – Ichkeul was one of those rare places where mountains, wetlands and water collide in the most peaceful, goosebump-inducing way!
We took a day trip (it was just over an hour’s bus journey) with a tour operator from Tunis and spent it walking and photographing the lakeside trails around Lake Ichkeul, hiking up Jebel Ichkeul, spotting flamingos in the wetlands, checking out the natural hot springs (hammams) at the base and staying for the glorious sunset when the lake spectacularly turned into a mirror!
Location: Northern Tunisia near Bizerte | Size: 126 km² | Vibe: peaceful and wild | Wildlife: water buffalo, wild boars, otters and jackals. thousands of migrant birds including flamingos and white storks, glossy ibises
My personal highlights…
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Hiking the thyme-scented scrub and rocky paths of Djebel Ichkeul trails – we paused at the summit to take in the superb, glassy views over the silent lake and reed-dotted wetlands far below!
Please always check the latest government advice before deciding on any travel destination.
thanks for posting these pictures but i have so much pictures and they are better btw
Thanks for sharing such mind blowing pictures from Tunisia. So money saving starts for my next year’s vacation 🙂
Tunisia is amazing indeed! You can take a look at my post about Tunisian part of Sahara (linked below.
Such stunning pictures! It seems like there are so many different variety of places to visit in Tunisia with so many different cultural and environmental experiences. Definitely adding this place to my bucket list.
I’ve been recently and all these choices are good, I’d have to give a special mention to the Roman ruins and the spa hotels are pretty incredible too!
The spa hotels are gorgeous!
Well it definitely looks beautiful in these photos! I’ve never really considered it before as a travel destination to be honest, but it looks as though I’m missing out!
I love this list, I have never considered traveling in Tunisia, always somehow connected it with all inclusive cheap holidays deals until now, you have change my mind! Bravo!
Thanks Marysia, I’m glad we did! 🙂
So many beautiful places, Sidi Bou Said looks gorgeous!
OMG that shot in the Sahara!!!!!
All those places look nice. But my last trip was Morocco so for the next few I will try something radically different.
But I will keep in mind this post for the future! Thanks
These places in Tunisa looks amazing! Sidi Bou Said reminds me of Greece. Beautiful photos too!
I have never been to Tunisia, and dream about Sahara for years… Great list! Beautiful photos. Now I wanna go even more [smile]
Wow, I’m impressed. I’ve never thought about visit Tunisia, I even don’t know why, this place just haven’t have been on my mind, never. But looking at these photos it would be a shame if I wouldn’t go there.
Hope you get to go one day, it’s a very underrated place!
I would absolutely have to go to Tunisia just to visit the old Star Wars set! A lifelong dream come true for me and before the sand engulfs it permanently. I would love to sit and people watch in the Medina, Becky! That looks like so much fun. Btw…the pictures are amazing. Especially that one of the Sahara…wow 🙂
Not a place I had ever really though of visiting before until now. The moon pic is amazing! Adding this to the list..
Great list! Hammamet actually reminds me of a fish market in Bali, Indonesia!
Thanks Agness!
I like your list. I have to say I liked a few other places better and was really kind of disappointed in Sidi Bou Said,let alone where Star Wars was filmed, however I loved Tunisia. My favorite place by far was El Kef! Great post.
I have never been there, looks like some really nice places to visit .