# Classic Tunisia in 8 days Eight days and seven nights covering the essentials of Tunisia: three nights in a palace in the Tunis medina with the Bardo, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said, two nights in Sousse for its medina, Kairouan and El Jem, then two nights by the sea in Mahdia before flying home from Monastir. Source : https://sabaro-travel.com/en/ideas/tunisie-classique-8-jours/ ## How it works In one week, this trip takes in five of Tunisia's UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the medina of Tunis, Carthage, the medina of Sousse, Kairouan and the amphitheatre of El Jem. It travels south from the capital to the Sahel, the central-eastern coast, in three stages, and ends with two quieter days by the sea in Mahdia. You fly into Tunis-Carthage and out of Monastir. Tunis is a few hours' flight from Europe's main cities, direct or with one stop and Monastir a few hours' flight from Europe's main cities, direct or with one stop, and this open-jaw routing saves the drive back north at the end. Distances are short: about 160 km of motorway from Tunis to Sousse, 56 km from Sousse to Kairouan and 43 km from Mahdia to El Jem. ## At a glance | Day | Plan | Night | |---|---|---| | 1 | Arrive in Tunis, first walk in the medina | Palais Bayram | | 2 | Bardo Museum and medina with a guide | Palais Bayram | | 3 | Carthage and Sidi Bou Said with a guide | Palais Bayram | | 4 | Drive to Sousse, medina and ribat | Mövenpick Sousse | | 5 | Kairouan and El Jem day trip | Mövenpick Sousse | | 6 | Mahdia, the Fatimid medina | Iberostar Royal El Mansour | | 7 | Mahdia, beach and thalasso | Iberostar Royal El Mansour | | 8 | Fly home from Monastir | | ## Days 1 to 3: Tunis, the Bardo and Carthage ### Staying in the medina Tunis-Carthage airport is only 8 km from the medina, about ten minutes by car. Your base is the [Palais Bayram](/en/hotels/palais-bayram/), an 18th-century palace with 16 rooms and suites in the oldest part of the medina, a few steps from the Zitouna Mosque and the Kasbah. It has a three-room domed hammam, a vaulted restaurant, a tea house above the garden and a collection of early 17th-century Iznik tiles. Rates start at about €150 a night, room only, for a stay in March 2027. The [Tunis medina](/en/tunisia/tunis/), listed by UNESCO in 1979, holds some 700 monuments: palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains. It was one of the great cities of the Islamic world under the Almohads and the Hafsids, from the 12th to the 16th century. Visitors can enter the courtyard of the Zitouna Mosque and look into the prayer hall, which is closed to non-Muslims. ### The Bardo On day two, a four-hour guided tour combines the Bardo Museum and the medina. The museum fills a 19th-century beylical palace that opened as a museum on 7 May 1888, and holds one of the world's largest collections of Roman mosaics, including the Triumph of Neptune in the entrance hall. It is closed on Mondays. From 1 January 2027, admission for non-residents will be TND 45, about €13. ### Carthage and Sidi Bou Said Day three is given to [Carthage and Sidi Bou Said](/en/tunisia/carthage-sidi-bou-said/), with a guide for six hours. Founded in the 9th century BC, the Punic city was destroyed by Rome in 146 BC and rebuilt as a Roman town. A combined ticket covers the Antonine Baths, the theatre, the Roman villas park, the amphitheatre, the Magon quarter and the Palaeo-Christian Museum, which reopened in December 2025; it rises to TND 30, about €9, on 1 January 2027. The National Museum on Byrsa Hill has been closed since 2018. In Sidi Bou Said, the Ennejma Ezzahra palace, built between 1911 and 1922 by Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger, houses the Centre for Arab and Mediterranean Music: instruments, gardens and concerts. It is closed on Mondays and admission is TND 10. ## Days 4 and 5: Sousse, Kairouan and El Jem ### Sousse The motorway takes you to Sousse in just over two hours. The [Sousse medina](/en/tunisia/sousse/), listed by UNESCO in 1988, was the port of the Aghlabids, the dynasty that ruled the region from 800 to 909. The ribat, a fortified monastery completed in 821, costs TND 10, and you can climb its watchtower. The Great Mosque of 851 looks like a fortress and has no minaret. The archaeological museum in the kasbah displays Roman mosaics and is closed on Mondays. The [Mövenpick Resort & Marine Spa Sousse](/en/hotels/movenpick-sousse/) sits on the Corniche, 2 km from the centre, with direct beach access, a spa with thalassotherapy, seawater pools and four restaurants. Rates start at about €120 a night with breakfast. ### Kairouan and El Jem in a day On day five, a day trip from Sousse covers Kairouan and El Jem, with lunch and admission included. [Kairouan](/en/tunisia/kairouan/), founded in 670, is the leading holy city of the Maghreb. Its Great Mosque, the first to be founded in the Maghreb, became the model for mosques across the region and in al-Andalus; non-Muslims may enter the courtyard and look into the prayer hall. It closes at 2 pm local time, and at noon on Fridays, so Friday is best avoided. In the medina, the Bir Barrouta well is still turned by a camel, and workshops sell knotted carpets and makroudh, a semolina pastry filled with dates and honey. The El Jem amphitheatre, built between 238 and 250, measures 147.90 m by 122.20 m and stands 36 m high, among the largest in the Roman world; you can walk down into the passages beneath the arena. The ticket includes the nearby museum and its mosaics. ## Days 6 and 7: Mahdia Mahdia sits on a narrow peninsula. It was the capital founded by the Fatimids in the 10th century, and their legacy includes the Skifa el Kahla, a monumental gate now lined with wedding-dress shops, and the Great Mosque of 916, which has no minaret. Borj el Kebir, a late 16th-century fortress, costs TND 8; the Mahdia Museum, closed on Mondays, shows Roman mosaics, Byzantine gold coins and a local bridal costume. Weavers in the medina still make silk striped with gold and silver thread. The [Mahdia and El Jem](/en/tunisia/mahdia-el-jem/) page covers the area in detail. The [Iberostar Selection Royal El Mansour](/en/hotels/iberostar-selection-royal-el-mansour/) faces the beach, a six-minute walk from the old town, with a thalassotherapy centre, a pool heated in winter and a kids' club. Rates start at about €110 a night with breakfast. Day seven is free for the beach, a treatment or a stroll along the seafront. ## Day 8: departure Monastir airport is 56 km from Mahdia, about an hour by road. ## Good to know - **Getting around.** The price does not include a car or driver between stops. The [getting around Tunisia](/en/guides/se-deplacer-tunisie/) guide compares car hire, trains and private drivers. - **When to go.** In Kairouan, average highs rise from 21.7 °C in March to 29.7 °C in May and top 38 °C in July; spring and autumn are better for sightseeing. - **Closing days.** The Bardo, Ennejma Ezzahra and the museums of Sousse and Mahdia close on Mondays. During Ramadan, expected from 8 February to 9 March 2027, opening hours change: see [Ramadan and public holidays 2027](/en/guides/ramadan-feries-tunisie-2027/). - **Entry requirements.** Tunisia has required a passport from all travellers since 1 January 2025; the [visa and entry requirements](/en/guides/visa-tunisie/) guide covers the length of stay and the validity required. The rule for your country: (Depends on the traveller's country: see the table on https://sabaro-travel.com/en/ideas/tunisie-classique-8-jours/) - **Money.** Dinars can only be obtained in Tunisia; keep your exchange receipts to change leftover dinars back. On 19 October 2026, €1 was worth TND 3.36. See the [money in Tunisia](/en/guides/argent-tunisie/) guide. - **Safety.** None of the stops lies in an area advised against by the European foreign ministries Sabaro follows. The country has been under a state of emergency since November 2015, and several ministries ask for heightened vigilance. The [safety in Tunisia](/en/guides/securite-tunisie/) guide has the details; foreign ministries do not all give the same advice. Yours: (Depends on the traveller's country: see the table on https://sabaro-travel.com/en/ideas/tunisie-classique-8-jours/) Hotel prices include taxes; the tourist tax of TND 12 per person per night in 4- and 5-star hotels is paid at the hotel. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can we stay in Kairouan instead of Sousse? Yes. The [Palais Harran](/en/hotels/palais-harran-kairouan/), a seven-room guesthouse in a 13th-century house in the medina, lets you see the city early in the morning, when the Great Mosque opens. This itinerary keeps Sousse, where the day trips start and the hotel is on the beach. ### Do we need a hire car? Not necessarily: Tunis, Carthage, Kairouan and El Jem are all visited with a guide, and the Sahel metro links Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia. You still need to plan the transfer from Tunis to Sousse, by car with a driver or by train. ### Is this trip suitable for children? Yes, especially the El Jem amphitheatre and the beach. Both hotels in Sousse and Mahdia have a kids' club. ### Can we add a few beach days? Yes: stay longer in Mahdia, or continue with [Djerba and its thalasso](/en/ideas/djerba-thalasso-6-jours/). The sea is above 22 °C from June to October.