Originally Posted by
beachfan
A belated thank you for this very informative trip report! And the answers to the followup questions, also very helpful for what I was thinking.
We like to take things more slowly, and was originallyh thinking of the following:
4-5 nights in Tunis with one day for the Bardo, one for the other local sights, (Medina/Colonial area), 1 for Carthage and Sidi Bou Said, one for a day trip to Dougga. Right now, thinking of 5 nights, 4 days (late arrival into Tunis from Paris, early departure from Tunis to next stop).
Then I was thinking of 3 nights in Sousse, one for a day trip to El Jem, and another for a day trip to Karouian, and fitting in Sousse on day of arrival.
Is three nights in Sousse too much? El Jem is one of the reasons for the trip, but we could combine it with Karouian if you think Sousse will not be an enjoyable place (assuing nice hotel).
If you like to take things slowly and have the time, I suppose this is a sensible allocation. We'd be really antsy on such a slow trip, but different strokes... I'm a little confused though -- why would you want to combine El Jem and Kairouan, but not combine the Bardo with the medina and colonial area? You could definitely combine both of them and not feel rushed.
If you're mainly using Sousse as a base to see El Jem and Kairouan and staying at a nice hotel, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Rather than spend the remainder of the arrival day in Sousse, you could also consider checking out Monastir. The ribat (old fortress) is apparently bigger than that of Sousse, and the mausoleum to the former president looks kind of cool.
After reading your report, I looked at Djerba and it was appealing. Did you find an efficient way of getting there - seems like a very long drive from Sousse, and the domestic flights are on Air Tunis. Any international flights that leave Djerba? (ETA: I see some on airlines unfamiliar to me - Nouvelair Tunisie, Transavia, TUI fly Belgium - any of these better than Air Tunis?).
Djerba could efficiently be visited with a private driver, if you are willing to spend the money. The quotes we got for private guides/drivers who had good recommendations seemed excessively high, though. Plus, a driver will probably want to charge you double for a one-way trip from Sousse to Djerba on the theory that he'll have to return empty handed. The roads in Tunisia are good, and if you can afford it, a private driver is probably your best bet.
I have no idea if Tunis Air's domestic flights are more efficient than their international flights, but I suspect that they're equally a disaster. You could waste an entire day at the airport for a half-hour flight. I absolutely wouldn't do it.
There are definitely int'l flights from Djerba (DJE) to various points in Europe. You could definitely fly from DJE to somewhere in Europe and then head back to the US from there. I'd avoid any Tunisian carrier -- Nouvelair is one of them. I read they're * worse * than Tunis Air, but I have no experience. Don't know anything about those other two carriers you mention, but a European LCC is probably adequate and much preferable to a Tunisian carrier. I'd go through the airlines on here and see what works:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djerba...tional_Airport
You could always fly back from DJE to TUN, but that requires taking Tunis Air. Might as well just leave from DJE.
Hope that helps. Let me know if I can help more...