Hi all.

Here is the place to post your country research. eg...

* Car papers ie carne passage (spelling?), signage (AA);
* Car requirements ie warning vests, 2x triangles, etc;
* Border crossings ie times, etc;
* Customs regulations ie booze, perfume, cigs, food, cash, etc - what not to take ie pepper spray, medical drugs;
* Vaccinations needed?;
* Dress code, local customs/habits/behaviour;
* Local history, culture, food, languages (dictionary of basic conversation);
* Time zones;
* Drivers licence, which side of road to drive;
* Currency;
* Tourist attractions, accommodation;
* Identify Embassy;
* Travel distances;
* Climate/seasons/rainfall;
* Maps;
* Banking.........please add or delete!

Visa Requirements:

Uk Nationals:  NO visa required.  Need valid passport and can stay for up to 3 months.

South Africans: Visa required.  May purchase on arrival and allows to stay for 30 days.

All visitors must hold documents/tickets for onward travel.

For certain nationalities - visa fee of 3 dinars (R19.23)

Will submit visa requirement for Peruvian, German soon!

Embassy of Tunisia:
Pretoria, South Africa: 27 012 342 6282/83

Tunisia emergency numbers:
Police: 197
Medical service(samu): 190

Currency:
Tunisian Dinar (TND)

TND 1.00 = R 6.41

TND 1.00 = $ ?  

TND 1.00 = 0.43 pounds

Banking:
Banks and some hotels provide foreign exchange.  
ATM's are found in most towns and at all the tourist resorts.
Visa, Diners Club, American Express and Mastercard are accepted.  Visa encounters least problems.

All tunisian currency must be exchanged before departure.  

--Last edited by monique on 2008-08-16 12:02:39 --

Climate:
AT THE TIME OF YEAR WE ARRIVE IN TUNISIA BE PREPARED FOR HOT TROPICAL LIKE WEATHER!!
The two main climatic influences are the Mediterranean Sea which reduces temperature and produces rainfall and the Sahara Desert with its dry, hot winds.  Tunisia consists of 2 regional climatic belts, Mediterranean influences in the north and Saharan in the South.  Temperatures are moderate along the coast with an average annual temperature of 20 degrees celsius and HOT in the interior South.

Rainfall:  Usually over winter months - October - April
Summer season - May - September is hot and dry.  
(Spring season - March - May - brings desplays of wild flowers throughout the countryside.  - might catch the end of this gorgeous display of nature!)  

--Last edited by monique on 2008-08-16 11:29:40 --

Time zones:

GMT +1

Electricity:

Round european style two-pin plugs are used.

Custom regulations:

Tusisia is a muslim country and visitors should respect local sensibilities.  
Women should dress modestly outside of beach resorts.

No duty free charges on the following:
200 cigarettes,
50 cigars - for all you cigar smokers!
400g tobacco
1 bottle of alcohol
gifts to value of 10 Tunisian dollars

Health:

NO VACCINATIONS required and no serious health risks.

BUT need to show YELLOW FEVER CERTIFICATE if coming from infected area.  WILL NEED ON HAND!!

Diarrhoer and other parasitic infections may occur outside of sea resorts.  
NB!  only drink boiled, purified water and eat well cooked food.(outside sea resorts areas)

Medical expenses need to be paid for immediately - cost HIGH.
Medical availability is limited.
Health insurance a necessity.
Visitors need stocked medical supplies.

Language:

Majority speak Arabic and French.

English is taught in schools and is on the increase with younger people.

Some german and italian also spoken.

French is common language of business and interpreters will be necessary otherwise.

A firm handshake is accepted form of greeting.

Arabic "Salaam Aleikum" works best as a simple "HELLO"

Border crossing information:

The procedures at the border is quite time demanding, and using half the day on getting to the other side of the border, is quite commonplace. Except that it takes time, all of this is reported to be unproblematic, and neither Libyan nor Tunisian officials will cause more problems than you deserve yourself.

STAR WARS!!!! - MOS ESPA
SOUNDS LIKE FUN - 4X4 IN THE DESERT!!??

SOME INFO:
There are several places in Tunisia which have been used for the making of the Star Wars movies. The landscape and the Berber architecture has inspired George Lucas in many ways.
When making scenes from Mos Espa for The Phantom Menace he may have run out of ready-made locations, and created his own city scenes here instead.
Ten years on, the place in so good condition that it attracts a high number visitors from Tozeur every day. They drive across rugged desert tracks in 4WDs, and cross a couple of sand dunes to get into the mood of desert travelling. The tracks were actually made for the shooting of another grand movie, The English Patient.
The site of Mos Espa consists of 15-20 buildings, of which some are only facades. Four satellite readers or something still stands, and there is even a blue pod beneath the houses.
Mos Espa will not survive many decades, the disintegration has since long begun. Pieces are falling off, and the chicken wire and the pieces of wood holding it together are revealed. Yet, it is all impressively well-preserved. And if you're lucky to behold it without many tourists around you, you will get the right feeling.

SOME INFO ON TOZEUR:

Tozeur is very much a city relying on tourism, but everything is done in a tasteful manner. Early developers understood that it was the traditions and culture that represented the possibilities for the future. While agriculture remains an important income, tourism employs a large part of the 40,000 inhabitants. But it is not only the lifestyle and the specific architecture of Tozeur, that bring tourists out here. The city is well situated at the fringe of the seasonal large lake Chott el Jerid, allowing visits into the Sahara, as well as to many other smaller settlements.
The history of Tozeur goes back a couple thousand years. Through most of its history has been autonomous, and beyond the direct control of Tunisian rulers. With the arrival of the French protectorate, no place in the country resisted new lifestyles and education more than Tozeur.
Houses of Tozeur are decorated with rectangular yellow bricks arranged in patterns. The result is one of the most distinct and beautiful architectural styles of Tunisia. What is even better, is that all new houses implement the same style. If you see a construction site, you will see that load-bearing walls are made in common concrete, and the yellow bricks are added just as decoration.
This almost metropolitan city has surprisingly many bicycles,- very rare in Tunisia, and quite a number of women in black veils covering everything. Note the use of white and black ribbons on their cloaks, blue is married, white is unmarried.

INFO ON JERBA:  SOUNDS GREAT!

Jerba hosts some paradoxes. It's a fairly big island, just off the North African coast, which has almost no islands. And it's a tourist resort, a big one, giving room for easy living, at the same time as a portion of the inhabitants here are Kharijites, the third group in Islam, next to Sunnis and Shi´is. And the Kharijites have always been known for their unwillingness to get in touch with other people. There are still some Christians as well as about 1,000 Jews living here.

Jerba is not only appreciated for it's architecture, made up of square whitewashed houses all over the island. The whole island is like a little world of its own, so compressed that lazy traveller's can cover most of it. Yet, there is enough here to make globe-trotters have a great time here for a good fortnight. The topography of Jerba is simple, and there are some kilometres between each village, each telling its own story Jerba is smooth, sometimes startling, and just as charming as enthusiastic Tunisians tell you it is.

The touristic life of Jerba is both for foreigners (you'll meet lots of Libyans and Europeans here) and Tunisians. Tunisians are throwing old limitations behind them when coming here. As so many can stay here without meeting neighbours or relatives, Jerba is the one place in Tunisia where some Tunisian women appear in only the lower halves of their bikinis.

On the island of Jerba, there are many villages, but almost no towns. The only real town is the beautiful Houmt Souq, while the second town, Midoun, is less exciting. Many travellers arriving at Jerba pass through the village of Ajim, but more picturesque is the little visited Guellala.
Many visitors are intrigued by the presence of Jews, whose main synagogue is in Hara Sghira, while the majority lives in Hara Kebira. One of the most photographed places in Jerba is the mosque in El May. Unfortunately, many of the people visiting Jerba, only stay in the Zone touristique, and never get to see any of the great small places of this island.

INFO OF HOUMT SOUQ:

Houmt Souq is the only place on Jerba that really is a city, even if there are not many thousands living here. The city, close to the sea, is all centered around the beautiful and lively markets. There are two, one vaulted suq, and another for foodstuffs. The small and colourful suq ends in a couple of squares that are filled with outdoor cafés, cafés that are more used by Tunisians, and which have normal prices, and normal (=better) quality.
It could be said that Houmt Souq has been turned into a tourist trap, but this is only partially true. The style have been here longer than the German tourists that seem to be making up the clear majority of the foreigners here. And almost all the time you will not be the object of troublesome vendors or hustlers.

MORE INFO TO COME!!
thanks