Exploring Tunisia: An Adventure-Packed Motorcycle Ride
EXPLORING TUNISIA: AN ADVENTURE-PACKED MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Having a Mediterranean vibe in cities like Tunis and Sousse in northern Tunisia, to the otherworldly feel of the desert landscape in the south, Tunisia is definitely a place worth visiting.
With friendly, kind, and humble people, in addition to, lovely beaches, striking blue medinas (city centers), a rich cultural history, and the Sahara, we were able to fulfill both the adventurous and curious parts of our minds.
To really explore Tunisia, one should venture deeper inland towards the mountains and desert, where diverse cultures, traditions, as well as the rugged beauty of nature await to give you an unforgettable journey.
Luckily, for motorcyclists, Tunisia offers a wide range of ever-changing landscapes and settlements that take your breath away at every turn.
THE PLAN
For this trip, we chose to join a local motorcycle group Moto Perpetuo Community In Moto because the group leader had a lot of experience riding and exploring Tunisia.
We rode in early March so the weather was mildly cold. This meant that the coastal towns weren’t yet filled with the summer crowds.
But this also meant that we had to endure some measure of cold wind during our ride with temperatures of between 7 and 15 degrees Celsius. The good thing though, is that motorcyclists don’t have to endure the heat while riding.
The plan was to explore deeper into the less-traveled Southern Tunisia and the Sahara.
Here's a quick itinerary of our motorcycle ride through Tunisia
- Exploring Tunisia Day 1: Palermo - La Goulette, Tunis (ferry crossing 12 hours)
- Exploring Tunisia Day 2: Tunis-Hamamet-El Jem-Matmata (474km)
- Exploring Tunisia Day3: Matmata - Medenine - Djerba (188km)
- Exploring Tunisia Day 4: Djerba- Ksar Ouled Soltane - Douiret/Chenini - Ksar Ghilane (306km)
- Exploring Tunisia Day 5: Ksar Ghilane - Douz - Chott El Djerid - Rommel Track - Chebika - Tamerza - Tozeur (344km)
- Exploring Tunisia Day 6: Tozeur - Mos Espa - Kairouan (199km)
- Exploring Tunisia Day 7: Kairouan - Sousse - Sidi Bou Said (251km) - La Goulette
This post is purely informational and based on our own experiences. We also use affiliate links which help us keep this website running, at no cost to you.
Watch the trip here
Exploring Tunisia Day 1: Palermo - La Goulette, Tunis (ferry crossing 12 hours)
We started our motorcycle trip into Tunisia from Palermo, Sicily with a ferry crossing to the port town of La Goullett, Tunis, that took nearly 12 hours.
Since the ferry crossing from Palermo to Tunis is during the day, day 1 was spent chilling and getting to know other members of the motorcycle group.
On arrival in La Goullette, we spent several hours getting through customs, checking the insurance on our moto, and changing Euro to Tunisian Dinars.
Finally, we made it to our hotel and to a comfortable bed.
Exploring Tunisia Day 2: Tunis-Hamamet-El Jem-Matmata (474km)
HAMAMET
The next day, we set off at 8:30 am to our first stop – Hamamet.
Hamamet is a fortified village from the middle ages which was a position of contention between the Spanish and the Turks due to its strategic position in the Mediterranean in the 16th century.
We first stopped for our first taste of traditional Tunisian mint tea at café Sidi Bouhdid (link). Looking around, we are surrounded by colour, culture, and serenity.
After tea, a short walk around The Medina (the old town) of Hamamet revealed a lively and bustling town with with narrow streets, and wistful blue and white houses, very typical of meditteranean towns.
AMPHITHEATRE OF EL JEM (UNESCO SITE)
Then we rode 155km south to El Jem, a town with one of the most well-preserved evidence of Roman architecture- The Amphitheatre of El Jem.
Riding through the town center, we are confronted with everyday life in Tunisia, only to turn a street corner and find this looming and majestic amphitheatre.
Wondrously, it is more intact than its more famous counterpart in Rome. Unsurprisingly, this is what makes the amphitheatre of El Jem, a UNESCO world heritage site, being the 3rd most preserved amphitheatre in the world (link to unesco).
Heading further south, we come to one of the most interesting places in Tunisia – Matmata.
Given the late hour, we check into our curiously designed hotel and call it a night.
Exploring Tunisia Day3: Matmata - Medenine - Djerba (188km)
MATMATA
In the morning, we take a 3-minute walk through a landscape that looked so empty of life, to another structure that resembles our hotel but is conspicuously hidden out of sight, underground.
This is a troglodyte house. An underground cave compound constructed by the Berber tribes of the Sahara, who used them not only to hide from raiding Arabs, but also to protect them from the harsh weather.
We meet a local Berber family who, despite most locals having moved to bigger cities, remain in the area and show visitors their interesting culture and way of life.
MEDENINE
After a light meal and some more mint tea, we thank the Berber family and ride further south to Medenine, a major trading town in North Africa.
night.
The road to Medenine takes you through Toujane, a mountain region with lots of winding roads uphill giving you breathtaking views of the landscape.
Notably, Medenine’s importance as a commercial hub dates far back in history. And this is ever so evident in the well-preserved and still functional, storage units called “Ghorfa”.
A Ghorfa is a structure, made of mud that is used to store grains. A collection of ghorfas are known as a “Ksar”, serving two main functions, to store food, and to act as a fortification to protect the stored merchandise and the town.
Arriving at one of such Ksars, the feeling is one of amazement and wonder. The architecture is so unlike anything ever built anywhere, with the reddish-brown colour of hard mud, giving it an otherworldly feeling.
It is no wonder that Goerge Lucas, chose Tunisia as his main location for filming most of the Star Wars Franchise, with the “ghorfas” in as homes for the Martians in Mos Espa (link).
DJERBA ISLAND
Once we were done marvelling at these ingenious structures, we continued East to the Island of Djerba.
Getting there by road is very easy due to a modern causeway that was constructed to link it to the mainland.
Djerba is a mix of old and new traditions, cultures and religions. The market neighbourhood, Houmt Souk is a thriving hub of activity, colour and smells of spice.
After walking around the souk, we made our way to a special neighbourd called “Djebarhood”. In the early 2000s, the neighbourhood was made into an open-air art center with colourful, large murals painted on most of the white walls of the town.
EL GHRIBA SYNAGOGUE, RIADH
A few kilometres from Houmt Souk, we arrived at a place that stands as a testament to the intercultural nature of Tunisia. The Jewish neighbourhood of Riadh.
Indeed, it came as a surprise to learn that not only does Riadh house 14 synagogues, but it is also home to a synagogue that is a place of pilgrimage for many Jews from around the world.
“el Ghriba, translated to “the isolated one” is a synagogue mixed in mystery and history reaching far back to the time of Solomon. But whatever its true story, it is a place definitely worth visiting. Colourful and bright, the synagogue is a modest building.
Exploring Tunisia Day 4: Djerba - Ksar Ouled Soltane - Douiret/Chenini - Ksar Ghilane (306km)
KSAR OULED SOLTANE
149km from Djerba, we rode to Ksar Ouled Soltane, another Ksar that is featured in the Star Wars movie.
Once again, it the ksar is a sight to behold. Unique and primitive, yet sophisticated for its time.
DOUIRET/CHENINI
Then riding inland towards the center of Tunisia, the landscape suddenly changes from flat lands to a rocky mountainous region. The roads here are a heaven for motorcyclists. Perfectly asphalted, they wind around rocks revealing quaint villages along the way.
Riding up the mountain range (couldn’t find a name!), we arrived at a mysterious mosque with seven graves, standing atop an isolated hill called “Mosque of the Seven Sleepers”.
MOSQUE OF THE SEVEN SLEEPERS
The Seven Sleepers mosque sits proudly high atop the mountain. Its bright white colour in stark contrast to the reddish brown of the surrounding rocks.
Here, legend has it that running away from christian persecution in 250AD, seven youths went to sleep for 4 centuries before being awakened to a strange world.
After exploring this part of Tunisia and marveling at the power of nature to change from watery sea to desert land, we got back on our motorcycles and rode to our next stop.
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HOTELS
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Exploring Tunisia Day 5: Ksar Ghilane - Douz - Chott El Djerid- Rommel Track - Chebika - Tamerza - Tozeur (344km)
KSAR GHILANE
Right in the middle of the Sahara Desert, we spent an interesting night glamping in the only tent hotel in Ksar Ghilane.
Ksar Ghilane is a rich palm oasis with a thermal lake with suggested benefits to the skin, and one of the best places to enter the Sahara in Tunisia.
THE SAHARA
Excitedly, the next morning, we made our way to the desert on quads, riding deep into the Sahara to a roman ruin right in the middle of nowhere.
Spending some time taking in the vast, open, and arid atmosphere of the Sahara was the most exhilarating part of this trip.
DOUZ
The next on our agenda of this amazing motorcycle ride through Tunisia was Douz.
Douz is known as the gateway to the Sahara. It’s even complete with a doorway and an arena where the International Festival of the Sahara takes place yearly with games and other cultural displays.
Here, motorcyclists can test out their sand-riding skills since there is only a thin layer of sand here and so fewer risks of getting into trouble.
CHOTT EL DJERID
From there, we rode to Chott El jerid, a salty lake that remains dry for most of the year until winter brings in the rain.
To get to the chott, the roads are flat but still snake around the desert.
Eagerly, like little children in a play yard, we ventured onto the dried-up lake, revving and marveling at the infiniteness of it all.
THE ROMMEL TRACK
Subsequently, we rode to a rocky region with rough gravel tracks known among motorcyclists to Tunisia as The Rommel Track.
Rommel was a German Commander who became infamous in the Afrika Korps during WWII, for his daring operations in the Sahara of Tunsia.
Ironically, he also met his downfall right on this track.
OASES OF CHEBIKA, TAMERZA AND MIDES
Next we headed, southwest of Tunisia, near the border of Algeria on the Tunisian side of the el Negueb mountains. In this region, 3 of the largest oasis in Tunisia can be found- Chebika, Tamerza, and Mides.
While Chebika can be found at the foot of the mountains with a small canyon and a stream leading to a short waterfall, Tamerza is higher up on the mountain and features a very big canyon with thousands of stratified rock formations.
Tired but contented with a very long day in the impressive desert region of Tunisian, we went to sleep in a big town called Tozeur, a perfect location for tourists wishing to visit the areas in and around the Sahara.
Exploring Tunisia Day 6: Tozeur - Mos Espa - Kairouan (199km)
MOS ESPA, THE SAHARA
Day 6 starts with another ride to a different part of the Sahara.
Mos Espa is a moderately well-preserved, designed Star Wars set in the middle of the desert.
Obviously, it is famous among die-hard Star Wars fans. Besides this however, with both low and high sand dunes, it is also the perfect spot for enduro riders and jeep drivers to drive their tyres deep into the desert sands.
Sadly, this marked our last day riding the south of Tunisia and the Sahara.
After a few hours, we started our 331km ride back up towards the north, stopping at Kairouan.
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Exploring Tunisia Day 7: Kairouan - Sousse - Sidi Bou Said (251km) - La Goulette
KAIROUAN
Kairouan is another Unesco World Heritage Site in Tunisa due to its rich cultural heritage.
Together with the Great Mosque, the Mosque of the Three Doors, and the Basin of the Aghlabids, not to mention the numerous archaeological sites, Kairouan bears exceptional witness to the civilisation of the first centuries of Arabic settlement in this area of Tunisia.
The great mosque is a grand structure with high, intricately decorated columns and pillars, as well as beautifully coloured carpets and chandeliers. Of course, being non-Muslim, we could only admire the mosque’s interior from the door.
SOUSSE AND EL KANTAOUI PORT
Being of the most visited beach resort regions of Tunisia, the modern and charming coastal city of Sousse has a very modern feeling to it, so different from the south and its tranquil atmosphere.
The medina of Sousse is very rich in culture and history. Containing several architectural and archaeological treasures, it is another UNESCO site in Tunisia.
SIDI BOU SAID
From Sousse, we sadly made our way to our very last stop on this amazing journey- Sidi Bou Said, another pretty seaside city with striking blue and white houses, a lively center, and great Tunisian vibes.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to wander through this vibrant city.
A good reason to return to Tunisia, of course!
final thoughts
And with that, our time in Tunisa came to an end.
We left with a deeper knowledge of this often undervalued North African country. We count ourselves fortunate to have met so many wonderful people on this journey. We know that, with a full heart and the memories of the desert, this exploration of Tunisia is a journey that will stay with us forever.
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Isabella & Pietro
TRZ TEAM
A couple with a zest for all things travel, a love for motorcycles, and a voracious appetite for good food!
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So cool! I’m thinking about someday riding from Italy to Malta, Tunisia, Algeria, Spain then back to Italy… the big loop. Your post is filled with such valuable information! Now I know I should make time for a much longer visit to Tunisia. You can see my rides at fuz-moto.com. Thank you so much for your wonderful blog.
This looks like the adventure of a lifetime! Would love to do this one day.
You most definitely should! It was a wonderful experience.
What an adventure! This is an epic itinerary on how to explore Tunisia. Fabulous views!
Thanks for you comment. It was indeed an amazing experience.
Oh this is so cool! I’ve always wanted to visit Tunisia. Ksars looks beautiful and the camping in the oasis must have been super special. Looks like you had a blast!
We definitely did! Hope you get to visit one day. Save this post for when you do decide to visit Tunisia.