Campsites and Secured Motorhome Parking in Tunisia
Our research of campsites and secure motorhome parking areas in Tunisia was helped by lots of fabulous folks offering pointers to new sources of information. It turned up the following list of places. They’re either camp sites, or parking attached to a hotel or port, with some kind of security provided and varying levels of service (and cleanliness!). We’ve not included any wild/free camping locations, as we chose to stay in places with at least some degree of security (there is currently a state of emergency in place).
We’ll continue to update this as we travel the country, and welcome any new locations we’ve not included (send them to julieandjason@ourtour.co.uk). Since we’ve only visited a few places, we can’t vouch for the accuracy of any of this info, but hope it acts as a good starting point for your research.
A few notes:
- The ‘Comments’ column lists our impression of the place (completely subjective!) from either a visit (made clear in the preceding column if we’ve been there) or from reading other people’s comments on their source websites. Sometimes these are based on very little information – please treat them with caution.
- What qualifies as a camp site in Tunisia (and Morocco) varies significantly from what qualifies a camp site in Europe. Expect a walled enclosure on packed earth or sand, with an often filthy toilet block and nowhere to drop your grey water (we’ve not seen a single water drain, even in towns), and your expectations will be well set!
- Camping at ports, archaeological sites and hotels is often just a car park, with a night guard. Some have no services, some have electricity, some water.
- The GPS co-ordinates are click-able, so you can see a Google map for the location. They may be inaccurate – apologies if any are wrong.
- Costs vary between about £8 per night and £14 in 2013 (guarded parking should be less). Unlike sites in Morocco, Tunisian sites don’t seem to have a written price list – you just have to ask and agree a price up front. We’re pants at haggling – we usually either pay the price asked, unless it’s something daft (one hotel in Bizerte asked for 50 dinar to stay in the car park overnight).
- We don’t have a 4×4. There are camspites in the desert which need one. As far as I know none of them are included in the list below. Ksar Ghilane requires a bit of driving on a sandy road, but we managed it, with some swearing and sweating but no digging!
- Some of the source sites are not in English – we just used Google Translate to read them.
- They’re in **roughly** alphabetical order!
Town | Site Name | Type | GPS | Notes | Source | Comments |
Ain Essbat | Camping Ain Essbat | Camping | N 35° 49.987 E 9° 38.029 | See source | 10km of non-surfaced gravel road into the desert to get to the site, which may get covered in sand. | |
Al Kairouan | Youth Hostel | Camping | N 35° 39.953, E 10° 06.468 | See source | Latest costs I can find: 10DT per night plus 2DT electricity. No sockets outside for power – cable has to go through a window into the TV room. Reported as helpful people. | |
Al Kairouan | Continental Hotel | Hotel Camping | N 35° 41.150 E 10° 05.833 | See source | Was 20TD per night, including electricity, water and toilet emptying in 2011 | |
Al Kairouan | La Kasbah Hotel | Hotel Camping | N 35° 40.859 E 10° 5.656 |
See source |
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20TD per night in the open car park of a 5 star hotel 100m from the medina. Guarded 24 hours. Water appears available, but black waste emptying looks difficult. |
Bizerte | Youth Hostel | Camping | N 37° 15.139 E 09° 55.159 |
We had to argue with the guard to let us stay. Cost 12TD per night, no services. Dogs roam the enclosed parking area, but were not dangerous. Another database reported the area as closed in Dec 2012, but it was open when we arrived (with some persuasion). | Owner added 3TD to list price after stay. Guard really didn’t want us to stay, and then another guard begged from us as we left. Roaming dogs covered in fleas in compound. Several km from Bizerte, only bother if you have to. | |
Bulla Regia | Archaeological Site | Guarded Parking | N 36° 33.414 E 08° 45.264 |
Ask at ticket office to park. Cost 15TD per night. Possible to empty black waste in toilets and take fresh water. | Toilet block clean. Guard had us park between the buildings with a spotlight on us all night. Felt like security was good. | |
Carthage | Archaeological Site | Unsure – Unguarded or Guarded Parking? | N 36° 51.454, E 10° 19.517 | See source | Unclear whether this is guarded or not, but will be a car park. | |
Djerba/Aghir | Hotel Sidi Slim | Hotel Camping | N 33° 46.104 E 11° 01.680 |
See source | Sounds rough, one to avoid. | |
Djerba/Aghir | Youth Hostel | Camping | N 33° 45.477 E 11° 00.833 |
See sources | Not much info, could be OK, could be same as above. | |
Dougga | Archaeological Site | Guarded Parking | Unclear | See sources | ||
Douz | Youth Hostel | Camping | N 33° 27.604 E 9° 02.497 |
See sources | No info, just have to turn up and see. | |
Douz | Desert Club/CampingClub | Camping | N 33° 27.228 E 9° 01.505 |
See sources | Closer to centre than youth hostel. Ellie rated highly, stayed a week, has a washing machine. Some websites report as closed, but must be old info. | |
El Faouar | Hotel El Faouar | Hotel Camping | N 33° 21.502 E 8° 41.122 | See source | No reviews or other info available. | |
El Jem | Municipal Parking Near Amphitheatre | Unsure – May be Guarded Parking | N 35° 17.861 E 10° 42.320 | See source | Sounds like a fenced in parking area, cassette emptying possible by asking for toilet key from someone (bath attendant?). Was €2.5 per 24 hours | |
Gabes | Camping Gabes | Camping | N 33° 53.397 E 10° 05.531 |
See source | Hard to tell if OK. Last update 2009, but no mention of it being closed. Another turn up and see job. | |
Gabes | Fella Parc | Camping | N 33° 51.467, E 10° 05.017 | See source | Technomadics stayed two nights, manager a bit keen , sounds like a new place in 2010. | |
Gafsa | La Galia | Camping | N 34° 24.340 E 8° 46.756 |
See source | Al Hassan sounds better. | |
Gafsa | Al Hassan | Camping | N34° 24.542 E 8° 45.041 |
Secure camping under olive trees. 2.5km from town. 20TD per night in Jan 2013, including electricity and washing machine (the machine washes but doesn’t spin so clothes come out very wet). Chicken and chips in restuarant 8TD per person, and were nicely cooked. | Good place, plenty of shade, nice people, reliable electricity, fab Orange 3G signal! | |
Guizen, Jerba | Residence Guizen | Hotel Camping | N33° 52.242 E 10° 56.169 |
See source | Was 25TD per night, including electricity. Link to website here. | |
Kelibia | Horizon Bleu Restuarant | Hotel Camping | N 33° 41.724, E 8° 57.753 | See source | Unclear whether any guard available | |
Ksar Ghilane | Camping Ghilane | Camping | N32° 59.315 E 9° 38.385 |
See sources | Review from 2012 says good place. Need to be careful with owner though – Jospeh reports an attempted rip-off. | |
Ksar Ghilane | El Biden | Camping | N32° 58.364 E 9° 38.159 |
See source | Little info, hard to know if OK. | |
Ksar Ghilane | Le Paradise | Camping | N32° 59.199 E 9° 38.289 |
2Km piste road, with some deepish sand to get here, driveable in a 2WD 3.1 tonne motorhome though. Cost was 16TD per night, without electricity. Short walk to the pool and the dunes beyond. Loud music played until about 10pm. Guarded by a chap in a tent at the entrance. All fine, except for those banging tunes! Showers cold when we were there, we didn’t ask for water but emptying loo would be easy enough in the toilet block. | OK for a night, shame about the banging tunes as the location near the hot spring pool and the incredible dunes was just awesome. | |
Ksar Ghilane | Ain Sebbat | Camping | N32° 59.987 E 9° 38.029 |
See source | Probably about the same as Le Paradise – much of a muchness, and the music was so loud it would have rocked the van there too! :) | |
Ksar El Hallouf | Enakhil Relax | Camping | N33° 17.571 E 10° 09.193 |
See source | Not suitable for large vehicles. Sounds like you have to be careful agreeing prices. | |
Hammam Lif | La Pineta | Camping | N36° 42.670 E 10° 24.412 |
See source | Technomadics reports to be OK, but loo block is awful. Offroadreiesen gives impression it is in a bad state. | |
Hammamet | Hotel Samaris | Hotel Camping | N36° 24.241 E 10° 33.606 |
See source | Reasonable reviews on campingo.com. Sounds OK. Bus stop to Tunis nearby. Technomadics stayed for 2 months. | |
Hammamet | Ideal | Camping | N36° 24.410 E 10° 32.628 |
See source | Little info. | |
Hammamet Yasmine | Marina | Port Camping | N36°22.350 E10° 32.800 | See source | Not sure if GPS co-ords correct. 3.5m height limit. Ask at harbour to stay. There is a laundrette, was 7TD for 7Kg. | |
Kebili | Les Amis Du Desert (or Camping) | Camping | N33° 41.724 E08° 57.753 | See sources | Gets good comments on offroadreisen.org. | |
La Goulette | Roadside Nr Police Station | Roadside | N36° 48.888 E10° 18.303 | Parking on the road next to a beach and opposite a police station | Police outside the port directed us here. We had no trouble, arriving late and leaving in daylight. It didn’t feel a secure place to stay though. Technomadics may have been attacked in this spot by drunks? | |
Ben Guerdane | El Marsa | Camping | N33° 12.111 E11° 14.397 | See source | Last resort going off comments on offroadreisen.org. | |
Matmata | Museum Dia Amor | Camping | Unknown – Matmata route de Douz km 8 | See sources | Looks like a campsite, with services | |
Matmata | Chez Abdoul | Restaurant Parking | N 33° 32.687, E 9° 58.027 | Parking area specifically for motorhomes. Next to Chez Abdoul Restuarant, in the centre of the town, maybe a 400m walk to the pit dwelling used as a Star Wars set. Mohammed may offer you a tour, cost is around 20TD (includes entry fees and tips) and takes about an hour. We enjoyed it. | Unshaded parking area on sand/gravel surface. Looks out over the town and the pit dwellings. No price list – agree with Abdoul to buy a meal in return for a free night. Going rate in Feb 2013 was 15TD per person for the 3 course menu plus water and tea (we found the food to be good). Water available; we saw nowhere to empty the loo but didn’t ask. | |
Matmata | Koussaila | Hotel Camping | N 32° 35.300, E 9° 58.150 | See source | Sounds like opposite hotel, possibly not secure. Was 5TD per night in 2006 | |
Mdhilla | L’Autre Desert | Hotel Camping | N 34° 10.021, E 8° 40.349 | See source | Appears to be in the middle of nowhere. Costs and instructions to get to the place here. | |
Metameur | Ksar Metameur | Camping | N33° 22.134 E10° 26.216 | 12TD a night for two people, including electricity, water fill and black waste disposal. Seems to often be closed, either phone or just move the barrier and wait like we did, owner is a lovely lady who may arrive in the afternoon or morning. Possible to get food, but we didn’t try it. | This is an incredible parking place, we loved it here and came back after visiting Tataouine and surrounding area. There is no security guard, but you’re tucked away well off the beaten track and it felt very safe to us. | |
Monastir | Port de Plaisance | Port Parking | N35° 46.700 E10° 49.867 | Well guarded all night, right next to several £m worth of luxury yachts. Only a car park. Clothes washing place (leave it and they return it later) signed but a bit hidden in a corner of the port (guard took it for us). Nowhere to empty loo, port toilets locked. Fresh water might be possible if you feel cheeky using the taps around the port. | Price in Feb 2013 5TD per night. We witnessed a messy fight in the car park, but just locals and nothing to do with us. Several guards at night, restaurants and shops nearby, easy five minute walk to the ribat and the centre of town, a good overnight stop. | |
Nabeul | Jasmin | Hotel Camping | N36° 26.571 E10° 42.923 | See source | Mixed reviews on campingo.com. Well situated for Nabeul. 300m from sea and archeological site. Seems like a good spot. Was 14TD for two people, inc elec. | |
Nabuel | Youth Hostel | Camping | N36° 26.574 E10° 44.933 | See sources | Comments say good for night after the ferry. | |
Nefta | Hotel Marhala | Hotel Camping | N 33° 52.183 E 7° 52.439 | See source | ||
Nouil | Camping Nouil | Camping | N33° 29.628 E8° 52.158 | See source | No info on whether it is any good or not. | |
Port el Kantaoui | Marina | Port Camping | N35° 53.633 E10° 35.683 | See source | Guarded parking, was €5 per day in 2009. Tip gardener to get water. Loo emptying possible. | |
Rejiche | Les Pieds Dans L’Eau? | Hotel Camping | N35° 29.828 E11° 02.594 | See source | French-owned and photo of the place looks good. | |
Sbeitla | Hotel Sufetula | Hotel Camping | N35° 14.694 E9° 06.783 | Stayed Jan 2013, 25TD per night. Next to ruins. Included electricity and guarded. Fresh water hose pipe. Toilets available but in hotel. | 25TD a bit steep for parking, but otherwise was a good place to stay. | |
Sbeitla | Sbeitla Archaeological Site | Guarded Parking | N 35° 14.200 E 9° 07.300 | See source | Room for 15 motorhomes, level of security unclear | |
Sfax | Camping Hostel | Hotel Camping | N34° 44.103 E10° 44.827 | See source | 1km to the Medina, secure, sounds OK. | |
Sidi Fredj, Kerkennah Islands | Kastil | Hotel Camping | Unclear | See source | No services, nearb beach, photo looks good, attached to restuarant and bar, was 15TD per night. | |
Sfax – El Jem | El Kahena | Hotel Camping | N35° 01.246 E11° 00.364 | See sources | Gets very good reviews on campinggo.com and offroadreisen.org. | |
Bir Soltane | Soltane | Camping | N33° 16.349 E9° 42.083 | See source | Possibly not accessible to non 4×4? | |
Sousse | Youth Hostel Camping | Hotel Camping | N35° 50.404 E10° 37.473 | See sources | Safe place to stay. 300m to the beach, 1.5km walk to medina. Surrounded by plush-looking resturants, hotels and even bars. Guarded 24 hours. Friendly staff. Hot showers included. Toilet emptying and water refill both available (you have to use the hostel toilets, no dedicated black water point). Cost was 14TD per night for two people. | |
Sousse | Car Park on Avenue Taieb Mehiri | Guarded Parking | N35° 50.426 E10° 37.651 | 2TD for overnight arking, 1TD for day-only parking. Guarded 24 hours according to the owner. No services. |
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Looked OK as a back-up if the Youth Hostel is full, closed for some reason or if you want to save a few €s. |
Tamerza | Les Cascades | Hotel Camping | N34° 22.968 E7° 55.983 | See source | Sounds a bit rough. | |
Tatatoine | Mabrouk | Hotel Camping | N32° 55.052 E10° 24.899 | See sources | Sounds OK, possibly some noise, no power. Friendly owner reported, charging 20TD per night. | |
Tatatoine | Gazelle | Hotel Camping | N32° 55.615 E10° 26.785 | We saw no services, hotel parking close to centre of town, well guarded. Has a bar, but it closes early and we saw no problems with drunk folks. | Good central location, but still quiet for us. Guarded. 20TD per night in Feb 2013. | |
Tatatoine | Sangho | Hotel Camping | N32° 54.873 E10° 24.989 | A long way from town, secure, electricity availble (cable goes through a window into someone’s bedroom). We didn’t ask about toilet emptying or water refill as we used the Ksar at Metameur. | 30TD per night, no chance to negotiate. We asked how much for two nights, 60TD. Expensive, but a nice hotel with a good pool if it’s warm enough to use it! | |
Téboursouk | Hotel Thougga | Hotel Camping | N36° 27.459 E9° 15.343 | Stayed Jan 2013. Well hidden from road. Appeared some km from the town. No services available. | Good overnight stay, safe and OK value at 15TD per night. | |
Al Fahs | Thuburbo Majus | Archaeological Site | N36° 23.600 E09° 54.183 | GPS co-ordinates taken from the web, may not be correct. | Parking inside secure compond for the ruins. Pay guardian, have to leave before park opens? | |
Tozeur | Sahara Res-el Ain | Camping | N33° 54.632 E08° 06.884 | See source | All sounds OK. | |
Tozeur | Les Beaux Reves | Camping | N33° 54.829 E08° 07.611 | See sources | Good review from 2011 on campingcar-infos, possibly over 30TD per night. Washing machine available for a fee? | |
Sidi Bou Said | Marina | Port Camping | N36° 52.049 E10° 20.993 | See source | We stayed in the car park next door, and we advised to leave by the police at midnight. Blue Camel Tours website states they use this marina. | |
Tabarka | Marina | Port Camping | N36° 57.482 E8° 45.525 | On quayside. No services. Ask at police office at entrance, exceptionally friendly and refused payment. Short walk to beach and town. | Great place, no shade in summer and no services, but excellent welcome and easy to access the small town and beach.Joseph reported a charge of 5TD per night, and toilets accessible by asking for a key from the ‘captainerie’. |
Thanks so much for producing that very useful list – just great for route planning.
Simon
You’re welcome Simon, have fun over here! Jay