Ground rules for walking Tunisia has no daily programme of free English-language walking tours. Walking here means following a route yourself, or paying a licensed local guide for a private walk. The old towns reward both, as long as you prepare. Cobbles are slippery and uneven, and many lanes tilt towards a central drain, so wear shoes with a good grip. Cover shoulders and knees in medinas and residential streets. Aim for the morning, when shops are opening and the light is soft.

Hours and closing days Opening times at Tunisian sites shift with the season and with Ramadan, so treat this table as a guide and confirm at the gate. Site Usual hours Closed Bardo National Museum 09:30 to 16:30 in winter, 09:00 to 17:00 in summer Mondays Carthage sites about 08:00 to 17:00 in winter, later in summer check at the gate El Jem amphitheatre about 08:00 to 17:30 in winter, later in summer check at the gate Great Mosque of Kairouan about 08:00 to 14:00, Saturday to Thursday shorter on Fridays, about 08:00 to 12:00 Travel advice, 31 October 2026.

Romance in Tunisia is mostly about where you sleep and where you watch the light fade. These four settings cover the usual choices, from a cliff above the sea to a tent at the edge of the dunes. Travel advice, 31 October 2026. Before you book, read the latest US State Department and UK FCDO pages: parts of the border regions and military zones are off limits to tourists. The US rating for Tunisia is Level 2, and the FCDO (last revised 24 July 2026) names areas to avoid along the Algerian and Libyan borders and around Kasserine.

Travel advice, 31 October 2026. Before you book, read the latest US State Department and UK FCDO pages: parts of the border regions and military zones are off limits to tourists. The FCDO (revision of 24 July 2026) advises against all travel to Chaambi Mountains National Park, the Salloum, Sammamma and Mghila military zones, and the zone south of El Borma and Dhehiba, and against all but essential travel to Kasserine Governorate and Sbeitla.

Heat and water come first Plan a family holiday in Tunisia around temperature. Spring and autumn are the easy seasons across the country. In July and August the Sahara around Douz and Tozeur is at 40 to 46 degrees Celsius, which is dangerous for children, so leave the desert for winter. The coast carries the summer, with beaches at La Marsa, Hammamet, Sousse and Djerba that anyone can walk onto. Chott el Djerid, the salt pan between Tozeur and Kebili, is not for paddling, because soft mud lies under the crust, and the only safe place to stop is along the P16 road.

Advisory note, 31 October 2026. Before you book, read the latest US State Department and UK FCDO pages: parts of the border regions and military zones are off limits to tourists. The US rates Tunisia Level 2. In its 24 July 2026 revision, the FCDO advises against all travel to Chaambi Mountains National Park and the Libyan border belt, and against all but essential travel to Kasserine Governorate. Every trip on this page is on the main tourist circuit.

Start with the entry fees Tunisia reset its heritage ticket prices on 1 April 2026, and the new tariff shapes what any guided visit costs. The most expensive category is around 30 TND for foreign adults and rises in January 2027, and the second is 20 TND. Tunisian nationals, foreign residents and Maghreb citizens are charged less, and students and accompanied children under 12 pay 2 TND. A joint Bardo and Carthage ticket is 45 TND today and 70 TND from January 2027.

What to do, and when The right activity in Tunisia depends on the month more than on the town. Between March and May and September and November, the whole country is comfortable, and most of the items below work. From June to August the coast is the place to be, and the interior around Douz, Tozeur and Tataouine is too hot for anything but dawn and dusk outings at 40 to 46 degrees Celsius.