Taxi prices in Tunis or guide recommendation

[Netta7]

We are trying to decide between hiring a guide for the day or just getting a taxi at the pier and having the taxi driver take us around for the day. We have a list of places we want to see. Has anyone hired a taxi for the day recently? Any idea what the going rate for this service is?

 

Unlike other cities (i.e. Rome) where there numerous reviews of guides and different companies, the information for Tunis is not very detailed. There are a couple of guides promoting themselves on various sites, but I haven't found many reliable reviews. Does anyone have any recent personal experience? Did you hire a guide directly or go through a company?

 

Thank you,

 

Netta7

[sunsetbeachgal]

netta,

 

We visited Tunis last September and after finding very little to nothing as you did on private tour companies and not wanting to "do it on our own" we did a ship's tour-we did Sidi Bou Said, the ruins at Carthage and the WW II American Cemetary-it was a good tour and we enjoyed it very much. The tour guide was excellent. Not sure I would do a taxi-taxi drivers are not tour guides...

 

I hope they ships are still calling there as I know this county relies on tourism.

[KirkNC]

Last year the stated rate was 50 euros for the day but be warned, the Tunisians redefine negotiating.

 

Kirk

[Netta7]

Thank you. Our ships tour does not go to the WWII cemetery which we really want to see. We are carefully monitoring the area and may still take the ships tour. Assuming we feel safe going on our own, we would like to find a reputable private guide. Recommendations on guides for this region seem to be very sparse. If we can't find a guide, the taxi price and some research on our own seem at least affordable.

 

Any thoughts on guides in the region? Has anyone had a good or bad experience with a private guide?

 

Thanks so much.

[KayAnnie]

I know this sounds slightly odd, but last year when I was in Tunis with a ship tour, I made good friends with the guide who was an apprentice. We had planned on going back this year and hiring him personally, but the cruise changed plans. I can give you his info if you like. His English is great and he is very mild-mannered and polite as well as knowledgable. I also assume he would be pretty cheap. You can contact me through my website in my signature, if you like (there is a contact link on the main page)

[KirkNC]

Thank you. Our ships tour does not go to the WWII cemetery which we really want to see. We are carefully monitoring the area and may still take the ships tour. Assuming we feel safe going on our own, we would like to find a reputable private guide. Recommendations on guides for this region seem to be very sparse. If we can't find a guide, the taxi price and some research on our own seem at least affordable.

 

Any thoughts on guides in the region? Has anyone had a good or bad experience with a private guide?

 

Thanks so much.

 

We had no luck trying to find a guide pre-cruise last year. We really wanted to go to Dougga but no luck. There were a ton of taxis available.

 

Kirk

[suesie]

I know this sounds slightly odd, but last year when I was in Tunis with a ship tour, I made good friends with the guide who was an apprentice. We had planned on going back this year and hiring him personally, but the cruise changed plans. I can give you his info if you like. His English is great and he is very mild-mannered and polite as well as knowledgable. I also assume he would be pretty cheap. You can contact me through my website in my signature, if you like (there is a contact link on the main page)

 

Hi I have looked on your web page which is great by the way.Can't find your contact details and would like to know about the chap you ahve mentioned above. could you contact me susanpottingeratymaildotcom.

Thanks

Susan

[startpacking]

I was in Tunisia last year, I flew in and out of Tunis and didn't visit the country on a cruise. I searched for information on the destination and found it next to impossible to get good information on the country. I emailed some companies for FIT arrangements, some were slow to respond and didn't answer all my queries, others just didn't respond. I deceided to make my own arrangements and travel independently. It was extremely easy, much to my surprise. Of course, this was before the political events unfolded earily this year so things may be different now.

 

I obtained most of my information from guidebooks, and I found one website to be useful. The website is not geared towards tourists and is hosted by a British expat living in Tunisia, so don't expect to read all about the dos and don'ts at the cruise port, but definitely take a look at www dot nomarmiteintunisia dot co dot uk.

 

I found Sidi Bou Said and Sousse worth visiting (not sure if the later can be visited easily from the port (will depend on the ship's port times).

 

It helps if you know a little French to communicate with the locals. You MUST negotiate with the taxi drivers in advance and know exactly where you want to go and what your want to see.

[jccruiser]

We were there last September and we took 2 cabs for the 6 of us, paid $10 US per person total, from around 9am - 2pm.

We drove into the city, spent approx. 1 hr in the Mdina, then went to the Bardo Mosaic Museum (which we found very interesting) and had about 3/4 hr there (you need Tunisian currency to purchase the tickets, we changed some at the bureau de change at the pier, but some people were just changing US $ at some of the little stores outside the museum).

Then we drove to Carthage to visit the Cemetery, which was very moving.

Then back to the ship - where DD had a quick camel ride.

Traffic can be very slow, so be sure to allow lots of time to get back to the ship.

We asked to have our passports stamped as we left the port area and they were more than happy to do this for us.

Make sure that you are on deck as you arrive in the port as there were camels, a band etc. to welcome us.:)

[KayAnnie]

Hi I have looked on your web page which is great by the way.Can't find your contact details and would like to know about the chap you ahve mentioned above. could you contact me susanpottingeratymaildotcom.

Thanks

Susan

 

Susan, I am sorry I didn't see this before now. I will try to email you. That is at ymail.com ?

[bonnieg]

We were there last September and we took 2 cabs for the 6 of us, paid $10 US per person total, from around 9am - 2pm.

We drove into the city, spent approx. 1 hr in the Mdina, then went to the Bardo Mosaic Museum (which we found very interesting) and had about 3/4 hr there (you need Tunisian currency to purchase the tickets, we changed some at the bureau de change at the pier, but some people were just changing US $ at some of the little stores outside the museum).

Then we drove to Carthage to visit the Cemetery, which was very moving.

Then back to the ship - where DD had a quick camel ride.

Traffic can be very slow, so be sure to allow lots of time to get back to the ship.

We asked to have our passports stamped as we left the port area and they were more than happy to do this for us.

Make sure that you are on deck as you arrive in the port as there were camels, a band etc. to welcome us.:)

 

We are thinking of taking a taxi for our upcoming visit. From what I have read on these boards there are set taxi prices. Is this correct? Did the taxi driver give you any commentary on what you were seeing or did he just do the driving? Thank you.

[DocRonSD]

Please give me the name of the tour guide that you used in Tunis. I hear that Carthage ruins are not much to see as the Romans destroyed most of them. I don't trust the taxi drivers...and I don't want to do the large bus tour from the Nieuw Amsterdam. Can you advise me. I leave on Wed for BCN.

[Softball20]

We, too, typically do private tours and I am looking for info on Tunisia. A google search didn't reveal much. I did find a company called TourinMed.com that does a few half and full day things in the area. Has anyone ever used/heard of them? Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

[KayAnnie]

The guide who I recommend for Tunis is Tarek Dhif. We met him last year on our cruise, and he was extremely knowledgeable and kind. His email address is dhif_tarek@yahoo.fr .

[Netta7]

We tried contacting Tarek. He replied after a few days to our email message. He said he would like to show as around, but to do so he would have to rent a car and there would be a cost for the car. I asked him what the cost would be, and he never replied. I am sure he is a great guide, but he may be new to doing private tours.

 

Finding a guide for Tunis has been very difficult, and it is not in other places. I know French is used more than English and that may be part of the problem for us.

[Ingakatrin]

We were in Tunis in June and took a taxi.

Inside the new Port Shopping Mall is a taxi coordinator with set prices for all kinds of excursions. Since the price is per taxi my husband and I waited about 10 minutes for somebody to share a taxi.

Since people are still afraid of Tunisia most people stayed on board or booked ship excursions.

Finally we quit waiting and decided to take a walk around La Goulette. As we approached the port gate there was a security guard and outside the gate about 20 taxi drivers hanging on to the gate and fairly frightening us. This were taxis not authorized by the port authority.

To make a long story short, we got the tour for half price, after lenghty negotiations with a very old taxi but a very nice driver.

However my husband felt very uncomfortable the whole trip and was sure we would return without our money and abandoned somewhere along the road. This did not happen and the trip went exactly as we wanted.

Tunis was full of military and police including armourd vehicles and areas surrounded with barbed wire.

The Tunisians went about their business as usual and they are very friendly. We had been to Tunisia before and ther really are less tourists than usual.

 

 

[bonnieg]

We were in Tunis in June and took a taxi.

Inside the new Port Shopping Mall is a taxi coordinator with set prices for all kinds of excursions. Since the price is per taxi my husband and I waited about 10 minutes for somebody to share a taxi.

Since people are still afraid of Tunisia most people stayed on board or booked ship excursions.

Finally we quit waiting and decided to take a walk around La Goulette. As we approached the port gate there was a security guard and outside the gate about 20 taxi drivers hanging on to the gate and fairly frightening us. This were taxis not authorized by the port authority.

To make a long story short, we got the tour for half price, after lenghty negotiations with a very old taxi but a very nice driver.

However my husband felt very uncomfortable the whole trip and was sure we would return without our money and abandoned somewhere along the road. This did not happen and the trip went exactly as we wanted.

Tunis was full of military and police including armourd vehicles and areas surrounded with barbed wire.

The Tunisians went about their business as usual and they are very friendly. We had been to Tunisia before and ther really are less tourists than usual.

 

 

 

Did you end up taking one of the authorized or unauthorized taxis? How much did it cost?