Day 1
Arrival in Tunis
You are met at the airport by your guide and taken to your hotel. If you would like to begin touring today, your guide is ready as soon as you have refreshed yourself from the flight.
Night in Tunis, at Dar Said (or similar).
Tunisia archaeology tour: 7 days, 6 nights from Carthage to Kairouan
$2,190
A person, double occupancy.
Roman and Punic Tunisia, site by site, with Kairouan and its Great Mosque between them: eight archaeological sites in five days of touring, and no desert in the itinerary.
The journey in brief
- Length
- 7 days, 6 nights
- Price
- $2,190 a person, double occupancy
- Single room supplement
- $450 a person
- You sleep in
- Tunis (2 nights), Ain Draham (1 night), Kairouan (1 night), Sousse (1 night) and Tunis (1 night)
- Meals
- All meals, including a welcome dinner at a fine restaurant
- Not included
- Tips and drinks
- Best months
- March to June, September to November
Along the way
Carthage
Day 2
Bulla Regia
Day 3
Dougga
Day 4
El Djem
Day 5
Day by day
Day 2
Carthage and the Bardo
The remains of Carthage are extensive and layered: the Antonine Baths, one of the largest Roman bath complexes in Africa, the amphitheatre, the Tophet, Byrsa Hill at the heart of Punic Carthage, and the Punic ports. Then the Bardo Museum and its mosaics.
Night in Tunis, at Dar Said (or similar).
Day 3
Utica, Bulla Regia and Ain Draham
Utica is one of Tunisia's oldest sites, with a well preserved forum, residential quarters carrying mosaics and frescoes, bath complexes and a necropolis. Then Bulla Regia, which is unlike anywhere else: to escape the heat its builders put whole villas underground, and the mosaics down there are still in place.
Night in Ain Draham, at Hotel la Foret (or similar).
Day 4
Dougga, Sufetula and Kairouan
Dougga is often called the best preserved small Roman town in North Africa: a theatre, temples, baths and the Capitol. Then Sufetula, whose Capitolium is unusual in placing three temples side by side on one raised platform, along with the Arch of Diocletian and the forum.
Night in Kairouan, at La Kasbah (or similar).
Day 5
Kairouan, El Djem and Sousse
Kairouan is North Africa's oldest Islamic city, and its Great Mosque dates from the seventh century. In the afternoon, the Roman colosseum at El Djem, the best preserved in the world.
Night in Sousse, at Movenpick Sousse (or similar).
Day 6
Thuburbo Majus and Uthina
Thuburbo Majus has a large forum, a Capitolium, summer and winter baths, and the House of the Bacchic Procession with its mosaics still in the floor. Uthina adds an amphitheatre, baths, temples and residential quarters.
Night in Tunis, at Dar Said (or similar).
Day 7
Departure
Transfer to the airport for your flight home.
Start from this journey on the map and change what you like. The estimate moves as you build.
Where you sleep
The hotels our programme sheet names for this journey. Where the sheet says or similar, so do we, and a similar property may stand in.
Tunis, 3 nights
Days 1 to 2 and 6Dar Said (or similar)
Guest house
Ain Draham, 1 night
Day 3Hotel la Foret (or similar)
Five star
Kairouan, 1 night
Day 4La Kasbah (or similar)
Five star
Sousse, 1 night
Day 5Movenpick Sousse (or similar)
Five star
What the price covers
Included
- Airport transfers
- Hotels
- Baggage handling
- Transportation as indicated
- English speaking guide
- Entrance fees to all sites
- All meals, including a welcome dinner at a fine restaurant
- All taxes
Not included
- Tips
- Drinks
This programme's cost sheet lists no 4x4 excursion. The 4x4 excursion is on the sheets of four of our five other private programmes. If one of those matters to you, ask on the call and we will put the answer in writing.
When to go
We suggest March to June and September to November for this journey. We leave out any month in which the average daytime high reaches 95F (35C) at a place on this route that the table covers, and we leave out December to February.
- Bulla Regia: an average daytime high of 98.2F (36.8C) in July and 98.1F (36.7C) in August.
- Dougga: an average daytime high of 96.8F (36.0C) in July and 97.2F (36.2C) in August.
- Sbeitla: an average daytime high of 96.6F (35.9C) in July and 95.2F (35.1C) in August.
- Kairouan and El Djem, where you spend one night: an average daytime high of 99.9F (37.7C) in July and 99.5F (37.5C) in August.
- Tunis stays under the line all year. August is the warmest month the Institut lists for it: 93.4F (34.1C) at Tunis.
- June is the warm edge of that window, and the Institut puts it just under the line: Kairouan and El Djem average 93.7F (34.3C).
- We leave out December to February. Tunis is at its wettest in December, with 75.2mm (3.0 in) of rain, and in January, with 63.1mm (2.5 in), and those three months are the coolest of the year at Tunis and at Tozeur.
Source: Institut National de la Météorologie, Tunisia's national weather service. The figures are its long term monthly averages, and no station sits at a site. The choice of months is our advice, and none of our programme sheets states a season. Each figure is from the Institut's station nearest the place: Tunis-Carthage for Tunis, Jendouba for Bulla Regia, Beja for Dougga and Kasserine for Sbeitla.
The other seven day journey
Two of our private programmes run seven days, and their names are close. This is how they differ.
| Compared | From Carthage to Kairouan, this page | Carthage, Kairouan and the Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | From Carthage to Kairouan: Roman Africa, city by city | Carthage, Kairouan and the Coast: The Roman north and the coast, if your week is short |
| Where you sleep | From Carthage to Kairouan: Tunis (2 nights), Ain Draham (1 night), Kairouan (1 night), Sousse (1 night) and Tunis (1 night) | Carthage, Kairouan and the Coast: Tunis (2 nights), Kairouan (1 night), Sousse (2 nights) and Hammamet (1 night) |
| Price | From Carthage to Kairouan: $2,190 a person, double occupancy | Carthage, Kairouan and the Coast: $1,950 a person, double occupancy. Private tour for six adults |
| 4x4 excursion | From Carthage to Kairouan: Not on its cost sheet | Carthage, Kairouan and the Coast: Included |
The other private journeys
Shape it around your weeks.
The published price is where this journey starts rather than what it has to be. We reply within one business day, US Eastern time. After a twenty minute call, a day by day proposal follows within 48 hours, with the hotels named and a firm price per person.
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