In December 2025, our family spent two weeks roadtripping around Tunisia. It was truly a fabulous experience! When I started writing a post about our trip, I realized it’d be easier to create different posts for the cities we visited instead of putting all the information in one long post. If you want to read more about logistics and our overall experience in Tunisia, click here. To read about the other cities we visited, you can go to our Tunisia page.
Day 1: Arrive in Tunisia and stay in Tunis.
We arrived at the Tunis-Carthage Airport late at night. The immigration process was quick, and we were only asked for our address in Tunis before being stamped into the country. After immigration we found several different ATM machines, which was perfect for withdrawing money in the local currency.
Our host was waiting for us at arrivals to take us to our Dar. A Dar is a courtyard home featuring gardens, pools, and traditional architecture. It is similar to a Riad. We had arranged pickup with him a couple of days before departure. Our Dar was in the old Medina of Tunis, just a 20-minute drive from the airport.
Day 2: Tunis – Walk around and see the Tunis Medina.
After a nice breakfast delivered by our Dar host, we set out to explore the Medina. We woke up to rain, but it wasn’t much of a problem because a lot of the Medina is covered. Also, this is why we always pack rain gear! Exploring the Medina was super fun! First we visited the Kasbah Square, which was all decorated with Tunisian flags, and had kids playing football in the rain. All the main government buildings are around this square. It is advised not to take photos of official buildings or army/police, just an FYI.
We spent the day walking around and exploring, which is always fun to do. We started at the Zitouna Mosque’s courtyard, followed by Bab El Bhar (1848), a historic city gate that once formed part of the walls of the old city of Tunis. Today, the gate divides the old city from the modern one. Then we continued our walk past the heavily-protected French Embassy and the Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul. Both of these sites are located on the Place de l’Indépendance.
In the evening we went out in the Medina again and walked around the Gold Souk (formerly a slave market). We ended our day with dinner at Restaurant Set Al Habayeb, a family-run restaurant with over 600 5-star reviews! The restaurant was a little bit hard to find at night, but we were happy we stuck to it because it was delicious!
Day 3: Tunis – Day Trip to Dougga.
We picked up our car at the Clocktower Square in Tunis, and drove to Dougga.
Dougga is one of North Africa’s best-preserved Roman cities. Set on a hilltop in northwestern Tunisia with sweeping views of the surrounding countryside, Dougga is just a scenic 2-hour drive from Tunis. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and features incredibly well-preserved temples, an amphitheater, baths, and remarkably intact urban layout. If you are a fan of Roman history, you can’t miss Dougga if you are in Tunisia!
We explored the city for about 3 hours. I loved the fact that you can explore it freely, and that it wasn’t crowded at all. After the archeological site, we grabbed lunch at Dar Jdoud Restaurant, right by the parking lot and entrance to the ruins. We all really loved the food and ambiance here, which was made even better but the fact that they served us dishes that were on the house in addition to what we ordered!
Back in Tunis, we went back to the Medina for dinner. The Medina seemed to get quiet in the evenings, with more places closing down. We found a nice restaurant called Shakshuka inside a side alley and order a plate of Oja to share, which was perfect! On the way back to our Dar, part of the Medina has been closed up, so we had to find an alternate route back to our accommodation!
Day 4: Drive to Sousse
Sousse is just a 2-hour drive away from Tunis. We arrived in the late morning and had time to do some exploring before checking into our Airbnb. You can read more about our time in Sousse here.
To read more about other places to visit in Tunisia, visit this page. For all of our other travels, go here.
