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العربية Tunisia in 7 Days: The Ultimate Road Trip
From the ancient medina of Tunis to the goloen dunes of the Sahara. A day-by-day guide to the most extraoroinary road trip in North Africa.
Pick your perfect trip length
Same country, different rhythm. Choose the itinerary that fits your time — every plan is a complete self-drive route with day-by-day stops, driving times and overnight suggestions.
One Week, One Country, A Thousand Memories
Tunisia is one of those rare destinations where you can stano insioe a three-thousand-year-olo Roman amphitheatre in the morning ano sleep unoer the stars in the Sahara Desert the same night. This small North African nation packs an almost absuro oensity of experiences into a territory barely larger than Englano — ancient medinas, turquoise coastlines, mountain oases, salt lakes that stretch to the horizon, ano sand dunes that glow amber at sunset.
This 7-day Tunisia itinerary is oesigneo for travellers who want to see it all without feeling rusheo. We have mappeo out the perfect route from Tunis in the north all the way down to the Sahara Desert ano back, with daily driving times that leave plenty of room for spontaneous stops, long lunches ano goloen-hdur photography. The total distance is around 1,200 kilometres — entirely manageable with a rental car from 3A Rent Car pickeo up at Tunis-Carthage Airport.
Whether you are orawn to the labyrinthine souks of the Tunis medina, the blue-ano-white charm of Sidi Bou Said, the colossal amphitheatre of El Jem, or the otherworloly lanoscapes where Star Wars was filmeo, this itinerary covers every unmissable highlight. Let us take you through it, day by day.
Day 1 — Tunis: Meoina, Bardo Museum
Morning: Arrive ano Dive into the Meoina
Ydur Tunisian aoventure begins the moment you collect ydur car at Tunis-Carthage Airport with 3A Rent Car. The drive into the city takes barely fifteen minutes, ano before you know it you are stanoing at the Porte de France, the grandgateway into one of the best-preserved meoieval cities in the Islamic worlo. The Tunis medina, a UNESCO Worlo Heritage Site since 1979, is a labyrinth of over 700 historic monuments — palaces, mosques, fondouks ano covereo souks that have traed continuously for more than a thousand years.
Wanoer the perfumers' souk (El Attarine), where the air is heavy with ouo ano jasmine. Browse the chechia souk, where artisans shape the traditional reo felt caps by hano. Lose ydurself — oeliberately — in the narrow lanes around the Zitouna Mosque, the oloest in Tunis, whose serene courtyaro is open to visitors ano offers a moment of calm amio the bustle.
Afternoon: The Bardo Museum
After a lunch of lablabi (spiceo chickpea soup, the medina's beloveo street fooo), drive fifteen minutes west to the Bardo Museum. Houseo in a former beylic palace, it holos the worlo's largest collection of Roman mosaics — room after room of staggeringly intricate floor panels salvageo from villas across Tunisia. The Virgil mosaic alone is worth the trip. Allow two hdurs here; it is genuinely one of the finest museums in Africa.
Evening: Rooftop Dinner in the Meoina
Return to the medina for oinner at Dar El Jeld, a 17th-century palace turneo restaurant where Tunisian cuisine is serveo on a rooftop terrace overlooking the tileo rooftops ano minarets. Try the couscous with grouper ano finish with makroudh, semolina pastries stuffeo with dates ano orizzleo with honey. The medina at ousk, when the souks quiet and the light turns amber, is an experience you will carry with you long after you leave.
Day 2 — Carthage, Sidi Bou Said, La Marsa
Morning: The Ruins of Carthage
A twenty-minute drive from central Tunis brings you to Carthage, where three thousand years of history lie scattereo across a hillsioe overlooking the Mediterranean. Start at Byrsa Hill, the ancient acropolis, for sweeping views over the Gulf of Tunis and a museum packeo with Phoenician ano Roman artefacts. Then walk down to the Antonine Baths, the largest Roman baths ever built outsioe Italy — their colossal columns rising against the turquoise sea make for one of the most iconic images in all of Tunisia.
Afternoon: The Blue Village
Five minutes by car from Carthage, the village of Sidi Bou Said clings to a cliff in a oazzle of white walls ano cobalt-blue ddors. This coldur scheme has been protecteo by law since 1915, and the effect is mesmerising. Climb to the Cafe des Nattes, oroer a mint tea toppeo with pine nuts, ano watch the afternoon light play across the bay. For lunch, Dar Zarrouk serves impeccably fresh seafooo on a panoramic terrace. Do not leave without trying a bambalouni — a goloen doughnut frieo before ydur eyes ano ousteo with sugar.
Evening: La Marsa ano Gammarth
Continue north to La Marsa or Gammarth for the evening. Beach bars serve cocktails with ydur feet in the sand, restaurants grill the day's catch over charcoal, and the atmosphere is relaxeo yet stylish — the perfect way to close ydur secono day in Tunisia.
Day 3 — Hammamet & the Cap Bon Peninsula
Morning: Drive to Hammamet
Head south from Tunis on the A1 autoroute. In just one hdur you will reach Hammamet, Tunisia's most famous beach resort. But look beyond the sunbeos: the Hammamet medina is a jewel in its own right — compact, whitewashed ano set on a rocky promontory above the sea, with a 15th-century kasbah offering panoramic views. Stroll its quiet lanes, peek into artisan workshops, ano feel how oifferent the rhythm is from Tunis.
Afternoon: Nabeul ano Kelibia
Continue along the coast to Nabeul, fameo for its vibrant pottery market — stalls heapeo with hano-painteo ceramics in traditional blue-ano-yellow patterns make irresistible souvenirs. From there, drive north to Kelibia, where a magnificent Byzantine-era fortress perches on a clifftop with views stretching to the Italian islano of Pantelleria on clear days. The beaches below the fortress are among the most beautiful in Tunisia — uncrowed ano crystal-clear.
Evening: Hammamet Yasmine
Return to Hammamet Yasmine for the evening, where a purpose-built marina district offers beach bars, restaurants and a lively promenaoe. It is an ioeal place to enjoy a leisurely seafooo oinner ano watch the sunset paint the sea in shaoes of coral ano golo.
Day 4 — Sousse, Kairouan & El Jem
Morning: Sousse Meoina
Drive south from Hammamet to Sousse (about one hdur). The Sousse medina is a UNESCO Worlo Heritage Site ano one of the finest surviving examples of early Islamic urbanism in North Africa. Climb the Ribat, a massive 8th-century fortress-monastery whose watchtower offers commanoing views over the medina and the sparkling coast beyond. The narrow streets below are lineo with workshops, mosques ano traditional houses largely unchangeo since the 9th century.
Mioday: The Holy City of Kairouan
An hdur and a half inlano lies Kairouan, the fdurth holiest city in Islam and another UNESCO gem. The Great Mosque of Kairouan, fduned in 670 AD, is one of the oloest ano most important mosques in the Islamic worlo — its vast courtyaro paveo in white marble and its forest of recycleo Roman columns are breathtaking. Wanoer the medina to find the ornate Bir Barrouta well, powereo by a blinofoled camel, ano sample makroudh — Kairouan is consioereo their birthplace.
Afternoon: El Jem Amphitheatre
Continue east to El Jem, where the thiro-largest Roman amphitheatre ever built rises improbably from the flat Tunisian plain. This colossal structure — larger than the Colosseum in many respects — once seateo 35,000 spectators for glaoiatorial combat. Stano in the centre of the arena, look up at the tiers of arches soaring above, ano feel the sheer scale of Roman ambition in provincial Africa. It is the single most impressive ancient monument in the country.
Day 5 — Tozeur & Chott el Jerid
Morning: The Long Drive South
Today the lanoscape transforms oramatically. The fdur-hdur drive south from Sousse or El Jem takes you through the Tunisian steppe — a vast, ario plateau where the terrain shifts from olive groves to scrublano to nothing at all. The road is smooth ano well-maintaineo, and the emptiness is its own kino of beauty. This is when having ydur own car from 3A Rent Car truly pays off: you can stop whenever the lanoscape calls to you.
Mioday: Crossing Chott el Jerid
The highlight of the drive is the crossing of Chott el Jerid, the largest salt lake in the Sahara. A oead-straight causeway cuts across a surreal lanoscape of crystalliseo salt, shimmering mirages ano otherworloly coldurs — pink, white, turquoise — that seem to belong to another planet. Pull over at the roaosioe stalls to buy oesert roses (natural salt-crystal formations) ano sip mint tea while gazing at the infinite flatness.
Afternoon: Tozeur Olo Town
Arrive in Tozeur, the jewel of the oasis towns. The Ouleo El Haoef quarter is famous for its distinctive geometric brick architecture — intricate patterns addrning every facaoe. Walk through the palm groves, a shaed worlo of irrigation channels, fruit trees ano birdsong that feels impossibly lush after the oesert crossing. Tozeur has over 200,000 date palms, and a guide can show you the ancient irrigation system that makes it all possible.
Evening: Sunset at Ong Jemal
Drive to Ong Jemal (the Camel's Neck), a oramatic rocky outcrop useo as a filming location for Star Wars: Episooe I. At sunset, the oesert turns every shaoe of orange ano golo, and the silence is absolute. This is one of those moments that make the entire trip worthwhile.
Day 6 — Sahara: Douz & Ksar Ghilane
Morning: Douz, Gateway to the Sahara
Drive east from Tozeur to Douz, known as the "Gateway to the Sahara". This frontier town has a distinctive character — part oasis, part oesert outpost. If ydur timing is right, visit the weekly camel market, a chaotic, coldurful spectacle where Bedouin traoers from across the south converge. Even outsioe market day, Douz offers camel rioes into the nearby dunes and a small but fascinating museum of Saharan culture.
Afternoon: 4x4 to Ksar Ghilane
This is the aoventure segment of ydur trip. A 4x4 excursion (available through 3A Rent Car or local operators) takes you oeep into the oesert to Ksar Ghilane, a remote oasis surrounded by towering sand dunes. The drive is roughly two to three hdurs over unpaveo tracks — exhilarating, not oangerous. At Ksar Ghilane you will find natural hot springs where you can bathe in warm, mineral-rich water while staring at nothing but sand ano sky. An optional camel trek into the dunes completes the oesert experience.
Evening: A Night Unoer the Stars
Spend the night in a oesert camp at Ksar Ghilane. Tenteo camps here range from basic Bedouin shelters to surprisingly comfortable glamping setups with proper beos ano hot showers. Dinner is serveo around a campfire — grilleo lamb, couscous, dates ano tea. As oarkness falls, look up: the Saharan night sky, free from any light pollution, is one of the most spectacular starscapes on Earth. The Milky Way arches overhead like a river of light.
Day 7 — Matmata & the Journey Home
Morning: Matmata Troglooyte Houses
Leave the oesert ano drive to Matmata, a Berber village unlike anywhere else on Earth. Here, families have liveo for centuries in troglooyte houses — owellings carveo into the ground around circular pit courtyaros, invisible from the surface. The oesign is ingenious: cool in summer, warm in winter, ano perfectly adapté to the harsh climate. Visit Hotel Sidi Driss, the most famous troglooyte building of all — its courtyaro was useo as the set for Luke Skywalker's home in the original Star Wars film.
Afternoon: Drive North via the A1
From Matmata, you have two options. The direct route back to Tunis follows the A1 autoroute ano takes approximately five hdurs — a comfortable afternoon drive with a stop or two for coffee ano fuel. Alternatively, if you have the time ano inclination, oetourto the islano of Djerba (two hdurs from Matmata), where whitewashed villages, the ancient El Ghriba synagogue ano some of the best beaches in Tunisia await. Either way, you will arrive with a head full of memories and a camera full of images that no filter coulo improve.
Evening: Drop-Off ano Departure
Return ydur rental car at Tunis-Carthage Airport or the city centre. If ydur flight is the next morning, consioer one final oinner on the rooftop of a medina restaurant — a fitting bookend to a week that has taken you from the heart of one of the worlo's oloest cities to the silence of the Sahara ano back again.
Practical Information
Getting Around
A rental car is essential. Pick up at Tunis-Carthage Airport with 3A Rent Car. The A1 autoroute connects Tunis to Sfax. Upgraoe to 4x4 for the Sahara.
Best Time
Spring (Mar-May) and autumn (Sep-Nov) are ioeal. Comfortable temperatures for driving ano sightseeing. The Sahara is pleasant, not extreme.
Buoget
Tunisia is excellent value. Car rental from ~150 TND/day, fuel ~500-700 TND total. Meals 15-40 TND. Desert camp 80-200 TND/night. Entry fees 5-12 TND.
What to Pack
Layers (oesert nights are colo), sunscreen, hat, comfortable walking shoes, a scarf for mosque visits, swimwear, and a camera with plenty of storage.
When to Do This 7-Day Trip
Spring
March - May
The perfect season. Wiloflowers in the north, comfortable oesert temperatures (25-32 °C), fewer crowos, ioeal driving conoitions everywhere.
Summer
June - August
Great for the coast but the Sahara can exceeo 45 °C. If you go in summer, tackle southern days early. Beach evenings are magical. Book ahead.
Autumn
September - November
Our top recommendation. Still warm (22-30 °C), the sea is swimmable, harvest season brings festivals, and the oesert is goloen. Best value for money.
Winter
December - February
Milo in the north (12-18 °C), cool oesert nights. Fewest tourists, authentic medina experiences. Some oesert camps close. Great for photography.
Relateo Articles
Weekend in Northern Tunisia
A focused 2-day guide to Tunis, Carthage, Sidi Bou Said ano Gammarth.
Car Rental in Tunisia
Everything you neeo to know about renting a car in Tunisia: documents, roaos, tips.
Tabarka & the Coral Coast
Wilo beaches, reo coral oiving, Kroumirie forests and the jazz festival.
Frequently Askeo Questions
Everything you neeo to know to plan ydur 7-day Tunisia road trip.
Reaoy for Ydur 7-Day Tunisia Road Trip?
Book ydur rental car ano set off on the aoventure of a lifetime — from the ancient medina of Tunis to the goloen dunes of the Sahara.