Hammamet, Nabeul and Cap Bon

Hammamet is the main beach resort of northern Tunisia and the closest to Tunis: about 75 km, or an hour by the A1 motorway, from Tunis-Carthage Airport. The town runs along a sandy bay, from its walled medina through the garden hotels of the northern zone to the newer resort of Yasmine Hammamet in the south. Nabeul, a few kilometres away, is known for the mosaics of ancient Neapolis and for orange-blossom water. Beyond it lies Cap Bon, the peninsula pointing towards Sicily, with a quieter coast, Punic sites and fishing villages.

Choosing where to stay

• Hammamet North for garden hotels close to the medina; Yasmine Hammamet for a full resort with a marina, an amusement park and golf; Cap Bon as a day trip or a one-night stop.
• Airports. Tunis-Carthage is an hour from Hammamet. Enfidha-Hammamet Airport is 35 to 40 km from the resort, according to the hotels. A private transfer from Tunis-Carthage starts at about €29.
• Weather. Average highs climb from 16 °C in January to 32 °C in August at the Nabeul weather station. The sea is above 22 °C from June to October and peaks at 27 °C in August. Spring and autumn suit sightseeing; summer is for the beach and the festivals.

Hammamet's seafront medina

The medina is free to wander. Its kasbah, known locally as the borj, is a square about 50 m across with 12 m curtain walls, a Hafsid tower and 16th- and 17th-century bastions. An inscription carries the date 1600, and the mausoleum of Sidi Bouali stands in the courtyard. It opens daily from 8:30 am to 6 pm in winter and 8 am to 7 pm in summer, local time; entry is 8 Tunisian dinars (TND), about €2.40.

South of town, Dar Sebastian is the whitewashed villa George Sebastian built among the gardens in the 1920s. It now houses the Hammamet International Cultural Centre, whose amphitheatre stages the Hammamet International Festival every summer. In the hotel zone, the Roman site of Pupput costs TND 5, about €1.50.

Yasmine Hammamet: resort life

Yasmine Hammamet was built south of the town around a marina and a purpose-built "medina". The Carthage Land amusement park charges about TND 15 per adult and TND 10 per child, roughly €4.50 and €3. The resort's two golf courses, Citrus and Yasmine, are a quarter of an hour from the hotels. Citrus has 45 holes; an 18-hole green fee on La Forêt or Les Oliviers was listed at €112 outside summer, with a handicap of 36 required. Our golf and thalasso guide compares the country's courses.

Local operators sell two-hour horse rides on the beach from about €55 per person and two-hour quad-bike trips in the hills from about €35. Wear a helmet on quad bikes, as safety standards vary from one operator to another, and follow beach flags where there are any.

Nabeul: mosaics and orange blossom

Nabeul is 74 km from Tunis-Carthage Airport and a short drive from Hammamet. A guided half-day combining Hammamet medina and Nabeul market starts at about €25 per person.

The Nabeul Archaeological Museum displays 4th-century mosaics from Neapolis, the town's ancient predecessor, including Philoctetes and Poseidon and Amymone, the large marine mosaic from Sidi El Mahersi and mosaics from Kélibia. One room explains fish-salting and garum, the Romans' fermented fish sauce. The museum is closed on Mondays; entry is TND 8. The Neapolis site, an ancient fish-salting quarter, costs TND 5 and is also closed on Mondays.

In spring Nabeul distils the blossom of the bitter orange tree into orange-flower water, known as zhar. The bitter-orange blossom festival took place from 17 to 19 April 2026 at Dar Sidi Ali Azzouz in the old town.

Cap Bon, from Kélibia to Korbous

Cap Bon is best explored by car over one or two days. From Tunis-Carthage Airport, Korbous is 68 km away (1 hr 15), El Haouaria 109 km (2 hrs), Kélibia 131 km (1 hr 55) and Kerkouane 142 km (2 hrs 10).

• Kélibia fortress covers about 1.5 hectares on a rock above the harbour, one of the largest Islamic fortresses in the country. Byzantine, then an 8th-century ribat (fortified monastery), taken by the Normans of Sicily, it was rebuilt by the Zirid prince Yahya after 1112. Inside are Roman cisterns and the remains of an Aghlabid mosque. Open daily, 9 am to 5 pm in winter and until 7 pm in summer; TND 8.
• Kerkouane is the only Punic town to survive, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 November 1986. Lived in from the 6th to the mid-3rd century BC and destroyed during the First Punic War, it was never rebuilt, so the layout of a Carthaginian town is still legible: a double wall, grid streets and courtyard houses, each with its own bathroom. The site opens 9 am to 4 pm in winter and until 6 pm in summer; the museum is closed on Mondays. Entry: TND 8.
• The El Haouaria quarries, or Ghar El Kebir, are man-made, carafe-shaped caves north-west of the village. From the 7th century BC their stone was shipped to Carthage, about 60 km away. Open daily, TND 8. El Haouaria is also famous for hunting with sparrowhawks: the Sparrowhawk Festival held its 57th edition from 25 to 28 June 2026.
• Korbous, on the west coast facing the Gulf of Tunis, is a spa village the Romans already knew; its baths were built in the 19th century by Ahmed I Bey. The springs emerge at 40 to 60 °C, and Aïn El Atrous runs straight into the sea, where people bathe in rock pools.

In Kélibia and El Haouaria, avoid minor roads and deserted places such as isolated beaches at night.

Where to stay

Sabaro has chosen two hotels in the area.

• La Badira, in Hammamet North, sits on a small peninsula facing the bay. Its 130 suites are for adults aged 16 and over. The hotel belongs to The Leading Hotels of the World, an association of independent luxury hotels, and has a Clarins spa, an infinity pool and a heated indoor pool facing the sea. Expect from about €115 a night for two in March, breakfast included.
• Hasdrubal Thalassa & Spa Yasmine Hammamet is an all-suite beachfront hotel in the heart of Yasmine Hammamet, a few minutes' walk from the marina and Carthage Land. Its thalassotherapy centre, devoted to seawater treatments, covers 5,500 m², and the junior suites measure 73 m². From about €120 a night for two in March, breakfast included.

These prices include taxes; the tourist tax of TND 12 per person per night in 4- and 5-star hotels is paid separately at the hotel. Our adults-only and spa and wellness pages list more options.

Safety and entry requirements

None of the European foreign ministries Sabaro follows advises against Hammamet or Cap Bon. Choose hotels, restaurants and cafés with security measures and avoid deserted beaches at night; European women may face harassment. The "Travel advice" table on this page gives the advice for your country, and our Tunisia safety guide sets out the situation. A passport has been required since 1 January 2025, even on package holidays: see our visa and entry guide.