TUNISIA

We visited Tunisia during October, it was still quite hot but the evenings were long. The sun went down at about 4pm. We stayed at the Skanes El Hana, first class hotel, situated between Monastir and Sousse. The rooms were very roomy and the service was excellent. The only down side to this holiday was the price of the drinks. Ouch!

The food was typically Tunisian, although there was always a choice of four different meals to choose from each night. Fish, Tunisian, meat and vegetarian main courses. The starters and desserts were buffet style and these could not be faulted.

A large outside pool area led on to the beach, and there was a medium sized oval pool inside the hotel. The hotel also offered a gym and massages and the entertainment team were good. During the day, they offered a number of activities including darts, volleyball on the beach and in the evening they did a splendid disco. Outside and downstairs at night was a discotheque where most of the shows started at 10pm, the price of the drinks inside the discotheque was robbery, twice the price that you would pay in the nightclub upstairs. The shows were really worth going to see even if you choose not to purchase a drink. We saw a Transvestite Show, Snake Show and a Typically Tunisian Folklore Dance Show. When the shows were over, the disco lights came on and the nightlife started, where you could party until the early hours. Amazingly enough considering the volume, no noise could be heard inside the hotel, which shows how good it was soundproofed.

On the beach during the day there were a number of activities which were run privately, i.e. Parascending, banana boat rides and rubber tyres to sit and be bounced about - not very comfy, so our two boys told us. Horse riding could be booked at the nearby Sahara Beach Hotel.

Monastir

This is a town with a little history. The town's old quarter has a small walled medina packed full of fascinating shops. We enjoyed our walk around Monastir and the shops can offer some good buys in souveniers and T. Shirts with designer logos. Bartering is favoured in the smaller shops, it will pay you to shop around and polish your bartering technique before parting with any money.

Sousse

Sousse is a bustling and colourful town with a strong Moslem tradition, and consequently you will only find a few bars, but plenty of cafes. The town's Roman museum is worth exploring. We took a horse and cart ride around the town and saw the beauty of Sousse, not just the Bazaar that is what most people experience. Inside the medina the bazaar is buzzing, there are loads of small shops for you to buy your souveniers but watch your purse!

Port El Kantoui

This is a modern resort, purposely built for tourism. The harbour, aligned with bars and cafes is quite spectacular. The shops have all agreed prices on their good, so bartering would only offend. Whilst we were there, we took a boat trip out in to the bay. It was a glass-bottomed boat and it is nice to sea what lives in the sea, some of the colours of the fish are amazing. We really liked Port El Kantoui because at night you could enjoy a walk around the dimly lit harbour and soak up the ambiance. A nice place to visit and take back some good memories.

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