me and my partner are going to tunisia next weekend but cant decide on on resort, hammamet or sousse? has anyone been and can you recommend which one of these will be the best abd most relaxed, not really in to mad partying!! When choosing between Sousse and Hammamet for relaxation, Hammamet is the one you would want to choose.
Sousse is a very busy, bustling city that has lots of shopping, discos, caf茅s and other things going on - it's the type of place you go to if you really want to jump into the culture and experience a country.
Hammamet is more relaxed, and a lot quieter. It is divided into two parts: The old city, and the new touristic city (called Yassmine Hammamet). The old city has it's charm because it has a nice medina and the city itself is wonderful to explore. But for vacation purposes, Yassmine Hammamet would be the place to go. That is where the major hotels are located, and there is an amusement park, restaurants and golf courses there as well. Here are websites that you may find useful:
http://www.yasmine.com.tn/anglais/Welcom...
http://www.carthageland.com:82/eng/home....
In my opinion, if you truly want to go somewhere for rest and relaxation, then the Isle of Djerba is where you would truly like to go.
The island of Djerba is beautiful. It is is the largest island off North Africa, located in the Gulf of Gabes and is a popular tourist destination. The charm of Djerba lies in it's simplicity. The tourist zone offers good night life within the hotels, but other than that people come for rest and relaxation. Djerba is one of the few remaining places in Tunisia where the Berber language is still spoken.
On the island of Djerba, there are many villages, but almost no towns. The only real town is the beautiful Houmt Souq. Houmt Souq is quite different from any other Tunisian town south of Sidi Bou Said (located in the suburbs of the capitol - Tunis), which could be considered as its lost brother. In the Djerban Marina there is a boat ride from 9-3 that takes you out and does animation. They feed you grilled fish, some appetizers, do face paintings for the kids, and the staff are all dressed as pirates. In the summer they even let you stop to swim in the Sea.
There is also a famous restaurant called Restaurant Essoufra. This restaurant offers EXCELLENT authentic Tunisian food, a great atmosphere, and extremely reasonable prices. A great experience to have! For me, this restaurant is the one place in Djerba that I absolutely HAVE to go to!
Many travelers arriving at Djerba pass through the village of Ajim, the 1977 location of the Mos Eisley exterior scenes in the first Star Wars movie. More picturesque however is the little visited city of Guellala with it's museum of ancient Tunisian traditions.
The things here are very simple. The people running the shop will in a friendly manner show you the different parts of the workshop, and if you leave without buying anything, they just say good bye with the same friendliness, before lying down on the bench next to the tiny door leading up into the kitchy main street. If you give yourself some time, you will soon have the local specialty demonstrated, the magic camels: A mug with a spout as a camel's head, and then a hole in the bottom and the top. You pour water into one hole, turn the camel, and the water doesn't leak out.
Many visitors are intrigued by the presence of Jews, whose main synagogue is in Hara Sghira. It is the second most holy place for Jews, while the majority of Tunisian Jews live in Hara Kebira. One of the most photographed places in Djerba is the mosque in El May. Unfortunately, many of the people visiting Djerba, only stay in the Zone touristique, and never get to see any of the great small places of this island.
Down by the sea side, the fort Borju l-Kabir, has admission and is well worth the walk down from town center. Borj el-Kebir, sometimes called Borj Ghazi Mustapha, has had many owners over the years. It was the Romans building the first recorded stronghold here, but it was the king of Sicily, Roger de Lluria, who in 1289 built the very first fortress.
Not far off the coast of Djerba is Scorpion Island. Legend has it that a long time ago the ruler of Djerba built himself a fortress on a small island just off the coast because his sons kept getting killed by scorpions. He built the fortress for him and his last son to live in. One day went ashore to Djerba to buy grapes for his son, and upon giving the grapes to his son, the last son died because hidden inside the grapes was a a small scorpion.
There is also an interesting place called Parc Djerba Explore. There are three main themes running throughout the park, but the only one that interested my son was the crocodiles. In an area of over 20000 meters square there are over 400 crocodiles. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable and answered all of our questions along with giving us some useful bits of information.
I hope that you are able to have a great holiday, and if I can be of any more help or assistance, please feel free to contact me. |
