Rest in Sousse and an independent trip to Carthage

This year, in early May, we decided to warm up with my husband and fly to the sea. The choice fell on Tunisia, and more specifically – the resort of Sousse, as we were approached by the ratio of price and quality. Of course, I expected a scorching sun and at least a little warm sea, and so I took a whole suitcase of summer clothes. Unfortunately, more than half did not come in handy for me, I went about where I flew from St. Petersburg. The beginning of May is Tunisian spring, the water has not yet warmed up, its temperature is no more than 16 degrees. Sometimes during the day it was possible to bask in the sun, but in the evening most often the temperature dropped to 15 degrees Celsius, plus a cold wind blew. But on excursions we were not knocked down by the sultry heat, as it would be when traveling to Tunisia in July or August! And the ideal time for a beach holiday is September, the velvet season. Warm sea, comfortable air temperature.

Many excursions are offered, prices start at $ 50 per person. The three most popular are the Sahara desert, a boat trip, and Tunis-Carthage-Sidi bu Said. A boat trip on the sea – a standard tour for all sea resorts, the price is $ 50 per person for three hours. Sahara Desert – a two-day tour. The price is $ 190 per person, but it includes an overnight stay at the hotel, meals throughout the entire time and ATVs in the desert itself.

Well, the third popular excursion, which, according to representatives of travel companies is mandatory for visiting – Tunis-Carthage-Sidi bu Said, three in one, at a price of $ 100 per person. I’ll tell you how to save and explore these sights on your own.

So, the first thing we get to the central station. There are two of them in Sousse, which we need is located within the city, and is proudly called “Gare de Suss”.

The most convenient morning train leaves at 9:00, the schedule has not changed for several years. Price – 18.6 dinars in both directions (which is multiplied by 25 to convert to rubles). In general, it was supposed to be an express train, which took 1 hour 40 minutes, but in fact we drove 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Arriving in the capital – the city of Tunisia, we leave the station, go around it on the left side and go straight along the main street of the city – Habib Bourguiba Avenue. On the way, you can taste delicious Arabian shawarma and enjoy freshly squeezed orange juice in one of the many cafes.

On the way we will see the Catholic Cathedral, the most guarded building in the city – the French embassy and Tunisian Big Ben. After 15 minutes, we are at our destination – TGM Tunise Marina metro station. The fare is 700 millimeters.

An electric train consisting of only two cars takes us to Carthage in 20 minutes. In fact, this is an open-air archaeological museum scattered throughout the village of Kartazh, and there are several stations there. It’s more convenient for us to get off at the Carthage Hannibal stop and walk to the first facility – Terme Anthony. It is interesting to wander through the labyrinths of preserved cellars of the first century AD, and indeed – to touch such antiquity …

A common ticket costs only 10 dinars per person. A booklet is issued, briefly outlined about each object. In principle, in two hours you can run everything. But we were lucky with the weather – it was not hot.

Then we visited the blue-blue village of Sidi Bou Said, where tourists are also brought. You can take the same underground metro, but we decided to take a walk – just three kilometers in a straight line from Carthage. The village impresses with its cosiness, and views from the observation platforms – it is located on a hill. Many winding streets in which you can get lost. The main thing is to leave the paths laid by tourists!

We return the same way, by train from Sidi bou Said station. We are quite in time for the train to Sousse, which leaves at 18:00 (in extreme cases, the next – 18:35). The main thing is not to delay until eight in the evening, this is the last train, and if you do not have time for it, you will have to spend the night in Tunisia.

In general, we liked the rest, it was a fruitful week, we learned and saw a lot of new things. It’s a pity, we couldn’t swim in the sea, but we will definitely do it next time!