A week in Tunisia — Djerba, the Sahara, and the Star Wars deserts
I went to Tunisia expecting nothing. Ukrainians can enter visa-free only through a tour package, which meant booking an all-inclusive trip — the second one I've ever done in my life. The first was Egypt years ago, and that set my expectations low: a tourist fabric, a sealed hotel, a beach. Tunisia turned out to be far more than I'd planned for.
Tunisia is a country of about 12 million people, wedged between Algeria and Libya on the northernmost tip of Africa. Most tourists end up on Djerba — a flat island in the south-east. Fun fact: the name "Tatooine" in Star Wars comes from the real Tunisian city of Tataouine, and the planet's deserts were filmed here across multiple locations still standing today.
We booked an 8-day package and spent about four of those days driving through the Sahara. That was the unexpectedly good part.
What I Experienced
The strongest impression Tunisia leaves on you is the feeling that the country stopped developing decades ago. A lot of what you see is half-built or half-destroyed — archaeological sites next to hotels that look like they share the same age. Most hotels we passed through were in rough shape: old furniture, worn-out interiors, an overall sense that nothing has been refreshed in a long time. That wasn't a dealbreaker for me, but it's worth knowing before you arrive.
Djerba itself is fine as a base, but what changes the trip is going south. Starting from Tozeur and Douz, the country opens up. We drove 25 km south of Douz into Jebil National Park to watch the sunset in the deep Sahara — nothing but dunes in every direction. The next day we crossed Chott el Djerid, the largest salt lake in the Sahara, and later visited the Pink Lake of Zarzis. Further south, around Tataouine, the country actually looks neat — tidy living, better restaurants, more care put into public spaces than in the touristic north.
The Star Wars locations are the overhyped part. Every filming site — Sidi Bouhlel Canyon, Ong Jmal, Mos Espa — has been turned into a tourist trap. Decorations propped up in the sand, people waiting to sell you something, guys stalking you with camels. I treated it as normal for this kind of country and enjoyed the landscapes anyway; the canyons and the dunes around them are genuinely beautiful regardless of the franchise attached.
The single most interesting thing I saw in Tunisia had nothing to do with Star Wars. The country has several hot springs that flow endlessly at around 70°C, and during the French occupation special water-cooling structures were built to make the water usable. A few of them are still standing — they look abandoned from the outside, but you're actually looking at a system of passive, endlessly-powered infrastructure being fed by a natural thermal source. That one stuck with me.
Tunisian people are warm. Everyone we met was welcoming — including the camel sellers, honestly. But the country runs on haggling: you need to know the price before you start, or you'll pay tourist rates on everything from taxis to souvenirs. Car rental is the clearest example — it often costs more in Tunisia than in Europe, and the cars are older. There are essentially no luxury cars on the road. The "recognizable" brands you see are BMW and Mercedes, mostly entry models, often quite old. The whole automotive fleet feels one or two generations behind.
Desert, canyons, salt lakes, ksars on hilltops, old medinas, destroyed Roman bridges, camels, hot springs, Sahara sunsets — all of this in one week, and we didn't even make it to the capital. Tunisia is richer in things to see than I would've guessed from outside. It's rough around every edge, but if you go in expecting nothing polished, the country rewards you.
Practical Notes
- Ukrainians (and several other nationalities) enter visa-free only via a tour package, not independently.
- Don't base the whole trip on Djerba — the real rewards are 4–6 hours south, in the Sahara and around Tataouine.
- Negotiate everything: taxis, souvenirs, camel rides, desert excursions. Tourist prices are 2–3× local ones.
- Hotels are generally tired. Set expectations accordingly; a "4-star" inland might look like a 2-star in Europe.
- The Star Wars filming sites are worth visiting for the landscape, not for the decorations.
- Hot springs (especially around Ksar Ghilane and the Tozeur–Nefta corridor) are underrated — ask your guide to route through one.
- The Jebil park sunset point — 25 km south of Douz on the desert track — was the single best view of the week.
High-resolution Tunisia panoramas are available for purchase with commercial license.