Getting around Tunisia: car, train, plane, TGM and ferries

A car is the most flexible way to get around Tunisia: the road network is good, and the A1 motorway now runs from Tunis to the Libyan border via Sousse, Sfax and Gabès. Trains are slow but punctual, domestic flights bring Tozeur and Djerba within reach of Tunis, and two urban networks are useful to visitors: the TGM in Tunis and the Sahel Metro between Monastir, Sousse and Mahdia. One rule applies everywhere: stay off the roads outside towns after dark.

Distances from Tunis

Driving times from Tunis-Carthage Airport, calculated with no stops or traffic; allow more in practice.

Four other international airports are useful to travellers: Enfidha-Hammamet and Monastir for the Sahel, Djerba-Zarzis and Tozeur-Nefta for the south. Flying into the right one often saves hours on the road: Sousse is 15 km from Monastir airport, Houmt Souk 9 km from Djerba's.

Driving in Tunisia

Licences and car hire

Depending on the country that issued your licence, your national licence is enough for a tourist stay, or you also need a 1968 international driving permit, obtained in that country before you travel. The formalities for your country:

Tourists entering with their own vehicle receive a three-month circulation permit; they are insured if their green card, the international certificate of insurance, covers Tunisia.

To hire a car you need your passport and licence. Avoid leaving your passport as a deposit.

Rules of the road

• Speed limits: 110 km/h on motorways, 90 km/h elsewhere, 70 km/h on the island of Djerba.
• Alcohol: 0.3 g per litre of blood at most, and zero for new drivers and tourism professionals.
• Tolls: the motorway is tolled and paid in cash.
• Checkpoints: police and military checkpoints are frequent. Approach them slowly, do not cross without permission and show ID and licence when asked.
• Accidents: a joint accident report is drawn up; after a fatal accident the driver is taken into police custody.

What to expect

Driving demands constant attention: unmarked speed bumps in many villages, potholes after heavy rain, sand on the road in the south, right of way often ignored at junctions and roundabouts, and pedestrians walking in the road. Before a long drive in a remote area, ask about petrol stations.

Driving at night is strongly discouraged: unlit roads, vehicles without lights, livestock on the road. For the same reason, it is better to fly or use the motorway to reach the tourist areas of the south-west.

A car with a driver avoids these constraints. The custom is to tip the driver, like a guide, about 50 dinars a day (about €15).

Tunis, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said

The TGM

The TGM (Tunis - Goulette - Marsa train) runs from Tunis Marine station to La Marsa via La Goulette, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said: 19 km in about 45 minutes. Works have reduced the line to a single track between Le Bac station and Tunis Marine: since direct service resumed at the end of February 2026, there has been one train every 45 minutes on the 2026-2027 winter timetable.

• Tickets: 0.500 to 0.800 dinar in second class, 0.900 to 1.250 dinar in first (under €0.40), sold at the counter for cash only.
• Carthage: Carthage Hannibal station is about 250 m from the Antonine Baths.
• Sidi Bou Said: the station sits below the village, a 10 to 15 minute walk uphill.
• Watch out: the station called "L'Aéroport" does not serve Tunis-Carthage Airport.

The Carthage and Sidi Bou Said page covers the sites along the line.

Light rail and taxis

Tunis also has a tram network known as the "métro léger" (light metro), run like the TGM by Transtu, the Tunis transport company. In town and the suburbs, metered taxis are the most common way to get about, according to the tourist board. A taxi is free when its light is red and taken when it is green. If the meter is not running, ask for it or agree the fare before setting off; the custom is to round up.

Tunis-Carthage Airport is 8 km from the medina, about ten minutes by car, and about a quarter of an hour from Carthage and Sidi Bou Said. The Tunis page covers the city.

The Sahel Metro

The Sahel Metro is an electric regional train run by SNCFT, Tunisia's national railway. Its line links Sousse Bab Jedid to Mahdia through 31 stations, one of them next to the Monastir airport terminal. There are 46 services a day from 5 am to 10 pm (local time), a train every 40 minutes on average. Tickets are paid in cash. It is the easiest way to reach Sousse, Monastir or Mahdia from the airport.

Main-line trains

The SNCFT network covers about 2,000 km. It links Tunis with Bizerte in the north and with the east coast as far as Sfax and Gabès; trains are rather slow, but cheap and punctual. Some reference times from the winter timetable, 1 September 2026 to 30 June 2027 (local time):

• Tunis - El Jem - Sfax: the main southern line stops at El Jem, for the amphitheatre.
• Tunis - Gabès: departures at 1:05 pm (arriving 7:36 pm) and 9:15 pm (arriving 4:25 am).
• Tunis - Gafsa - Metlaoui - Tozeur: leaves Tunis at 7:25 am, arrives in Tozeur at 6:30 pm; the return leaves Tozeur at 6 am.

A different timetable applies during Ramadan: see the guide Ramadan and public holidays 2027. The Lézard Rouge, the old tourist train through the Selja gorges, has not run since 2017; its return has been announced several times without a published timetable.

Louages and coaches

The louage, a shared taxi with 5 or 6 seats, is the Tunisians' favourite way to travel between towns. Every town has a louage station, and vehicles leave when full. Cars with blue stripes serve nearby places, those with red stripes long distances. Coaches also link towns, for example Sousse and Kairouan, 56 km apart, which have no passenger train between them.

Domestic flights

• Tunis - Tozeur: the Tunisair Express route was restored on 27 April 2025, with about four flights a week according to Tozeur airport in February 2026. By road, Tozeur is 6 h 35 from Tunis; by train, 11 hours.
• Tunis - Djerba: Tunisair Express also flies between Tunis and Djerba.

Djerba is a few hours' flight from Europe's main cities, direct or with one stop, and Tozeur a few hours' flight from Europe's main cities, direct or with one stop: flying into these two airports often saves going through Tunis. See Tozeur and Nefta and Djerba.

Djerba: ferry, causeway and taxis

Djerba is linked to the mainland in two ways: the Ajim - Djorf ferry, a short crossing running continuously, on the Gabès and Matmata side, and the El Kantara causeway to Zarzis, which is being widened. On the island the speed limit is 70 km/h. A regional bus links Houmt Souk with the airport for 1 dinar (about €0.30), five times a day; taxis are metered, with a 50% surcharge from 9 pm to 5 am (local time), according to the civil aviation and airports authority.

Kerkennah: the ferry from Sfax

Sonotrak ferries link Sfax to Sidi Youssef, in the Kerkennah archipelago, in about an hour. The timetable in force since 1 September 2026 has 10 departures a day from Sfax, from 4:15 am to 10 pm (local time). Vehicles can be booked online on the company's website.

The desert south of Douz

South of Douz, a travel permit is needed to venture into the desert; the agencies that run bivouacs and camel treks obtain it for their clients. Several European foreign ministries recommend the desert only in organised groups with a guide, and several advise against the whole area south of the line Algerian border - Tozeur - Douz - Ksar Ghilane - Tataouine - Zarzis. The guide Safety in Tunisia gives your country's advice; see also the guide A night in the desert.