Tunisia: Pack a language guide, but not a lot of money to see beaches, cities and the desert

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - Within an hour of arriving in Tunisia, my girlfriend and I wanted to dance _ and it wasn't because we heard the blasting beats of Rai, North Africa's infectious music.

We wanted to dance after seeing the bill that the waiter dropped on our table at our first Tunisian meal: lunch of fresh vegetables and grilled chicken panini at an outdoor cafe.

The cost of the entire meal for two?

$6.

Cheap by any standards, but to better explain our celebratory mood, let me back up a couple of days before our Tunisia arrival, when we sat at a similar cafe, this time in Paris. There too, we had ordered some food and drink, yet far less: two coffees and one order of buttered bread.

That bill totaled $29.

That was $29 for what amounts to basically bread and flavored water.

Our jaws dropped.

Then and there, on that small Parisian street, we realized that we had joined the ranks of Americans who are presently priced out of Western Europe, even with some recovery of the dollar. We can no longer afford to travel there with any great luxury because of the euro's strength and general European price hikes.

Enter our savior, Tunisia.

Tunisia, which sits on a stretch of land about the size of Wisconsin, sports about 800 miles of Mediterranean Sea coast and is sandwiched between Algeria and Libya. While those two neighbors could cause you to think twice about the North African gem, don't let this deter you from visiting Tunisia, which shares its borders but few problems with the other two. As someone who has lived and extensively traveled in the Arab world, I've never felt more at ease in the region or more welcomed as a tourist than I did in Tunisia.

And we had a blast _ at a bargain.

Perhaps the best way to think of a trip to Tunisia is to divide the country into three geographic categories: beaches, cities and the desert. And those beaches, while lovely, are perhaps best skipped outright, as they are crowded with all-inclusive resorts and thus packed with European package tourists looking to enjoy a Mediterranean vacation on the cheap. (Even some Europeans are not exempt from being priced out of their own continent.) Same can be said for Djerba, a popular island playground _ you didn't come this far to hang at a Mediterranean Cancun.

We started our trip in Tunis, the capital, which is a short flight from several European cites: an hour from Rome, less than two from Paris; London is about 2 ˝. One can even travel by ferry from several European ports, including Sicily, which lies less than 100 miles from Tunisia's northern tip.

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An estimated one-fifth of Tunisia's 10 million residents live in the Tunis area, and you should, too, at least at the beginning of a trip, as the city is a great hub for visiting surrounding sites and locales. It also has strong attractions in its own right, including a great museum or two, restaurants and a lively market. As a former French colonial capital, it exudes European chic _ the main boulevard is Avenue de Paris _ and its mix of cathedrals and mosques, smart boutiques and butcher shops, hint just how much this city straddles two worlds.

Our favorite museum in town was the National Bardo Museum, which houses a stunning collection of mosaics from the 3rd and 4th century. Many were collected at nearby Carthage, which was part of the Roman Empire during that period, and the tiled works of art feature subjects such as soldiers, elephants and battle scenes.

One fact you'll notice right away at the museum is how few signs are in English, although there often are English-speaking guides on-site during Tunisia's peak tourist season, which runs October through April. (Tunisian summers, from June to September, should be avoided unless you enjoy all-day saunas.)

French and Arabic are both national languages in Tunisia, and knowing some of either is critical here. Even if its high school or guidebook French, a little goes a long way, and you'll struggle here without some basic French or Arabic vocabulary. (One plus is that Tunisia, unlike, say, Egypt has few aggressive cabbies and vendors, so you won't need to learn the phrase: "Leave me alone! I don't need any perfume/saffron/water pipe!")

A place where you need neither language is the ruins of Carthage, because taking in the magnitude of the destroyed city needs no translation. Sacked in 136 B.C. and A.D. 698, Carthage exists today as an overflow of crumbling mosaics, columns and statues. It's stuff that an ancient Roman, time-traveled into the future, might see, shrug at and label "housing rubble," but the remains of the city, whose peak population grew to 700,000 or so, are impressive. Add in the turquoise-hued Mediterranean in the background, and the 8-dinar taxi from Tunis seems like a steal. (One dinar equals 71 cents at the current exchange rate.)

And it can be even cheaper: If you take the light-rail from Tunis, it's only 2 dinars. Plus, you can stop in Sidi Bou Said, the closest town to Carthage and only about 15 minutes from Tunis. Located on the coast, Sidi Bou Said clings to mountain cliffs, and with its blue and whitewashed walls and cobblestone streets, it resembles the more famous Santorini, Greece. It's a great place for a day trip of shopping and al-fresco dining, cooled by a steady sea breeze.

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One place that is worth as much time as you have is Tunisia's desert, a region that makes a trip to this country unlike anything you'll find on the European side of the Mediterranean. In fact, nearly 70 percent of Tunisia's land area is desert, which means you won't have any trouble finding sand. Several companies in Tunis offer day trips or 24-hour, overland excursions to desert towns and ruins in places such as Dougga or El Djem, a breathtaking Roman amphitheater in all its "Gladiator" glory.

You'll be better served, though, to push farther south, if your time allows. Tozeur, a 45-minute flight or an overnight train ride from Tunis, is in the heart of the desert and proves a great city base for visiting the surrounding Sahara. We took several day trips from there, enjoying sights such as the waterfall-dotted oasis at Chabekia or a sunset over the dunes as we sat perched high atop camels. Perhaps one of the most interesting places was the "ghost village" from one of the recent "Star Wars" films. There, miles from any settlement, sat this abandoned film set, a fake (and free to visit) village and one of the most unusual tourist spots on this planet.

Of course, this area looks like another planet: with a Martian vista of mountains and dry lake beds, with sparse sounds of wild camel grunts and the desert wind.

Try to find a place like this near Paris _ even with a pocketful of euros.

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IF YOU GO:

GETTING AROUND: Taxicabs are plentiful, and negotiating a fair fare doesn't require the barking or United Nations-caliber skills required in some other Arab countries.

Cars can be rented from easyCar (www.easycar.com) and Auto Europe (www.autoeurope.com) at the airport and in Tunis and Carthage. A car is not necessary unless you plan to trek long distances off the beaten path. Intercity buses and shared taxis also are available. The national rail (www.sncft.com.tn) has spartan trains, but they run on time, and it's an efficient way to get around the country. While there are three classes of service _ First Deluxe, First and Second _ the First Deluxe is not worth the extra money, because its claim to give you an "assigned seat" means little; everyone in First Class sits where they want.

Perhaps the best way to get between cities is TunisAir's budget airline for internal flights, SevenAir (www.sevenair.com.tn). Like the national rail Web site, the one for SevenAir features several languages but not English. You can buy tickets at TunisAir offices around the country (www.tunisair.com).

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In Tozeur, we used, and were pleased with, Agence DEX Desert Explorers for our desert trip and loved our guide, Muhammed Becher. No need to book more than a day in advance unless you plan to spend several weeks on a major Sahara excursion. (216-95-27-1888) Tozeur itself is worth an afternoon of exploring too. We learned a lot from Jamel Hadfeiguid, a local guide, who speaks several languages, including English. (216-21-88-7017)

STAYING THERE: In addition to the Dar El Medina, Tunis has several other good hotels, such as the Carlton Hotel (www.hotelcarltontunis.com), the Tunisia Palace Hotel (www.goldenyasmin.com) and the Africa Hotel. Rooms at those places run from $100 to $200 a night. Tunisia hotels love star inflation _ subtract a star for whatever the place claims.

For a quieter, albeit more boring location, try a night or two at Les Berges du Lac Concord (www.tunis.concorde-hotels.com), which is 15 minutes from downtown on the shores of Lake Tunis. With amenities such as room service and TV speakers in the bathroom, it aims more for the high-end business traveler, but we enjoyed its plush beds and strong showers after a few days in the desert. Average price is about $270 a night.

DINING AROUND: Like most former French colonies, the food in Tunisia is superb. Make sure to try brik, a pastry often filled with tuna, capers and onions, and tajine, which in Tunisia is a casserole of meats, eggs and cheese. If in/near the desert, don't miss the chance to try matabga, "Berber pizza," which the Berbers cook in the sand. In Tozeur they make the calzone-like pie in a traditional, wood-fired oven. Our favorite place was El Ehem Gemella, just south of La Palmeraie hotel.

ABOUT MONEY: ATMs exist in all major cities. One dollar converts to about 1.4 Tunisian dinars (subject to change). U.S. currency can be used, but merchants do prefer the euro, and you'll get better deals in the markets with the European currency.

INFORMATION: A good place to start is the official tourism Web site (www.tourismtunisia.com). Tourist visitors from the United States do not need a visa to enter Tunisia.

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Jason George: jageorge@tribune.com

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© 2008, Chicago Tribune.