Product Description

The Rough Guide to Tunisia is the definitive guide to this Afro-Mediterranean destination. The full-colour introduction covers the mile-long beaches of the distinctly European northern coast, as well as the fortified kasbah’s of the mountainous interior and the sub-Saharan oases. There are lively accounts of all the sights, from Roman remains and Islamic monuments to the ancient Medinas of Tunis, Sfax and Sousse. You’ll find two full-colour sections that highlight Tunisia’s striking architecture and varied wildlife, information on the best resorts, and exciting excursions into the mountains and desert. The guide is fully updated, with expanded listings of restaurants, accommodation, and nightlife for all budgets, as well as all the practical grittiness you’d expect from a Rough Guide. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Tunisia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7306 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Excerpted from The Rough Guide to Tunisia by Daniel Jacobs, Peter Morris, Linda Cool, et al. Copyright © 1998. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Climate and seasons

Tunisia follows usual Mediterranean patterns of climate. The best time to travel, from a scenic point of view, is spring, when the south has not yet reached full heat and the north looks astonishingly fertile - above all, around the orchards and vineyards of Cap Bon. Be warned, though, that March and April are the dampest months of the year in the south and it can bucket down in the north.

Summer has mixed virtues. July and August are much the hottest months of the year - if only slightly more so than in the southern parts of Italy or Greece - and the one time you really do need to lapse into a local way of life, for example resting through the midday hours at a cafe or taking a siesta at your hotel. Obviously this goes above all for the deep south and the ksour (see Chapter Nine). On the more exposed beaches of the north coast, midsummer is actually a pull - some of them are only warm enough for swimming from around May until October. If you wait until autumn, you get the best of both worlds, with warm swimming and few crowds, even at the big resorts.

In winter, the north and the Tell can get distinctly cold; Ain Draham, the highest mountain town, commonly has a metre of snow, and in 1985 it even snowed at Bizerte on the Mediterranean coast. Tunis, Cap Bon and Sousse are not so much cold in winter as dull, with sporadic rains. But this is an ideal time for covering the ancient sites at leisure and then migrating south to Jerba's beaches and the Sahara.

Customer Reviews

Worth far more than you'll pay for it.
My other review was not of this edition, but of a previous edition, which was still being sold when it was very out of date.

This book helped us travel all around Northern Tunisia as well as helping us survive the south - almost like two different countries, incidentally.

Excellent on hotels. Excellent on street maps. Very good on public transport. Misinformed on road rules. (I drove 850 Kms and didn't find a single roundabout where the give way rules differed from England.)

Seems to be misinformed about women's place in society. The articles by women about how repressive Tunisia is seem to be from 1990 - possibly earlier. We didn't see any examples of women being harrassed. (We were not in 'tourist areas' very much). In fact, men were especially polite and friendly to my wife. We saw young couple behaving the way they do anywhere in the world and girls dressed in the usual modern skin tight jeans and tee shirts. As I say, we never saw any of them hassled.

Overall, a very useful guide for travelling in Tunisia.

Great guide to places to see, stay, and eat.
The Rough Guide to Tunisia gives accurate information on the culture and customs of the Tunisian people. From limited usage of it, it appears to state very accurately what is, and what is not worth seeing. There is a good section on transport throughout the country, and each Town listed has hotels listed as well as places to eat, with a guide as to what the cost is likely to be (non specific, just expensive/cheap.) A very useful companion to have with you when visiting the country.

very extensive work
afetr 8 days runnign up and down the country, i`d give a very good ratingto this guide as it provides a very good insight in what is worth seeingor not. i really appreciated the extensive description of the roman sitesand the Tunis Medina. i sometimes even found it too complete. the travelinformations are very accurate and helped greatly to move around thecountry. A must to have if you plan a trip to Tunisia.