1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The camel ride into the Sahara after sunset with a full moon lighting up the desert. Our night in a Bedouin tent was unforgettable: the guides singing by the fire, our meal (couscous of course!) sitting on the floor around the communal table and the children playing in what was to them the biggest beach in the world.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
On the way home, make sure you change your dinars back to pounds BEFORE you go through passport control or you will be stuck with them (as several people on our holiday were). Ring up and check the ages/gender of the other children going on the holiday. There are no guarantees of them getting on but obviously it makes it easier if they are close in age. The children on our trip got on like a house on fire which really helped on the days when we were in the bus for a long time. Ring up and check whether you really do need a sleeping bag. We had to take six for our family and could really have managed without them. Discuss the next day's itinerary with your guide the night before as there is some flexibility if you know in advance what he is planning. Brush up your French and learn a couple of words in Arabic. Most people speak French (but speak English badly) and, if your children can say shukran (thank you) to the local people, it creates a lot of goodwill.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Local people were always employed and we ate in local restaurants. Not sure about the impact on the environment as we spent quite a lot of time in the bus (although there were 17 of us in the bus). However, one of our fellow passengers had contacted the tour operator to ask if they did quad biking on the salt lakes (which one of the other companies does) and was told they did not because it was not environmentally sound.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It was great to see our children (9, 8, 6, 4) realise that an adventure is not just about running and jumping and fighting villains. It's about discovering new places, different cultures and unfamiliar food. They might not always be nice (horrible smells) but each one is an experience and an adventure in itself. The Tunisian people obviously love children (which makes a pleasant change from England) and are very tactile with them. Whilst I would hesitate to let a complete stranger cuddle my daughters in England, there is something very endearing about the Tunisians reaching out to touch their head, kissing their cheek or even bending down to give them a hug.
Reviewed 04 Jun 2007 by Helen Steen
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Camel riding in the Sahara and sleeping under the stars.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Remember its very hot in Tunisia in May/June and a/c not always working very well. Don't suggest you stop at a restaurant en route unless the guide has phoned ahead to find some recommendations from friends. We ended up in a dreadfully unhygienic place and all the kids looked aghast at the food and wouldn't eat anything. Toilet stops were not pre-chosen either!!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Used local men for camel ride and didn't leave anything behind except for fire. Could have been covered over with sand.
Reviewed 13 Jan 2006 by Bridget Feary
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
El Jem amphitheatre was very impressive. The mosaics in the museum in Tunis were also a highlight. The Star Wars sets were also a highlight, including staying the night in a hotel used for the movies - very cool.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The weather in December was very cold and some of the accommodation was not heated. The desert is very cold at night all year round, we had a frost, so pack for the cold.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Not particularly.
4. Any other comments?
We travelled in a separate Jeep from our guide and our driver did not speak English so we couldn't ask questions when we were travelling. There is a lot of driving in this tour, so not lots of opportunities to walk around except at meal breaks.
Reviewed 22 Apr 2006 by Caroline Gibson
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Most memorable part of holiday was camel riding and night in desert. Was timetabled as being about 3 hours but was only 1 hour long - would have liked more.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
As the operator says, don't take their list of items to take as gospel - did not need sleeping bag or walking boots - best to phone them a few weeks before going and find out exactly what needed. Their list is too general and probably covers all their trips.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Went to an evening event in Tozeur - relatively very expensive (GB £15 for singing and dancing plus meal - we had had a lunch in Tozeur that day for about GB £2) - probably does give local people employment but the event was not to my personal liking, too touristy. Our drivers and first (very good) guide were from Tunis and I imagine that just being part of the tourist trade and staying in hotels, eating in restaurants and buying souvenirs all brings income to local people. Impact on environment was as minimal as could be expected when travelling in 3 4x4 vehicles and covering average of 100/150km per day.
4. Any other comments?
2/3 stars - would have given it 4 but our 'local' guide was so local he barely spoke English and no French, and seemed to have only basic knowledge about places that we were visiting (got the impression that he hadn't been to some of the places before or at least not recently). We learnt very little that was not already in our guide books. This is a complaint that I - and most of our group - are taking up with the operator. Despite these niggles I will probably try this operator again if they have a trip that covers an area that I want to visit and suits the dates I want to travel, but I would also investigate alternative companies.
Read the operator's response here:
Receiving feedback from our customers is extremely important to us as it allows us to monitor the trips from the perspective of our passengers. I was delighted to read that you had a wonderful experience on the trip and your praise for the drivers but concerned to hear of the problems with your group leader, Tarek. The majority of your feedback revolves around the group leader. Youssef had been contracted to lead the whole trip however on reaching Tozeur he informed the office that he was not prepared to continue further. Given the situation our local agent needed to find a last minute replacement to take over mid-tour. As it was Easter week finding another leader with good English without notice proved difficult.
Tarek is a qualified guide with a degree of English and although not a full time guide with our agent had successfully handled a few groups for them. Under the circumstances he was the best option available and should have been able to lead the rest of the trip to a satisfactory level. Although Tarek was briefed on the trip having been brought in at such short notice there was not sufficient time for our agent to go through all the requirements of the trip and the expectations of our clients in as much depth as they might otherwise have done. Unfortunately Tarek did not perform as he should have meaning that the service you received for the second half of the trip was not as high as we would expect it to be. We would like to apologise that he did not organise things properly nor provide appropriate briefings to keep everyone informed.
Reviewed 13 Jan 2006 by Colin Goulding
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Camel trek into the Sahara with a night in a Bedouin tent, complete with a perfect sky and a couple of shooting stars.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Get used to eating Brik a l'oeuf and cous cous. That was lunch and dinner for about 5 consecutive days.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
People: we were able to interact with the locals in less touristy areas. Environment: I was disappointed see the camel drivers dumping their rubbish in the Sahara. They seemed to have scant regard for a spectacular landscape.
