What to Expect on a Private Excursion from Hammamet step by step

Expect a day that runs around you. The car carries only your group, the driver picks up nobody else on the way, and the order and length of each stop bend to your pace. That is the big difference from a coach tour sold at hotel reception.

In practice, a private excursion from Hammamet lasts from 4 hours (Friguia Park) to almost 10 hours (Dougga and Bulla Regia) door to door. Here is the short version.

Very little, on purpose. You book in two minutes and we confirm within two hours by email and WhatsApp, with your driver's name and the exact pickup time. No payment is asked for before the day.

If anything changes, the date, the number of travellers or the hotel, a message is enough. Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before departure.

The pattern is always the same: morning pickup, two or three stops with the drive between them, lunch wherever you like, then back to your door. Take our most booked day, Carthage, Sidi Bou Said and the Tunis medina, which lasts about 7h.

The order is deliberate. The medina comes first, while everyone is fresh and the souks are waking up. Sidi Bou Said comes last: the coaches leave the village around 4 pm, the lanes empty and the light turns soft on the white walls.

At 8:00 or 9:00, whichever you prefer, at your hotel reception, outside your Airbnb or at any address you give us in Hammamet. No meeting point by the roadside, no shuttle to wait for.

Some days are better with an earlier start. In Kairouan the Great Mosque closes to visitors around 2 pm, so leaving at 8:00 gives you time to see everything. For Dougga we recommend 7:30 so you are home before dark. In July and August, leaving at 7:00 spares you the worst of the heat at El Jem.

An air-conditioned vehicle sized to your group: a sedan for a couple or small family, a van above four, a minibus up to twelve. Child seats are provided on request, at no extra cost.

Your driver knows the roads, the sites and the good places to eat. They explain the essentials while driving and give you your bearings at each stop. They are not a licensed guide, though, so they do not lead a commentated tour through the ruins.

It mostly comes down to time and freedom. On a group tour you follow the coach's timetable and the other passengers. On a private day, the trip starts at your door and moves at your pace. Here is what actually changes.

The driver drops you at the entrance, tells you where to meet and lets you explore at your own pace. You buy tickets at the gate, in dinars and ideally in cash: about 12 TND for Carthage, El Jem, Dougga or Kairouan, about 8 TND for Kerkouane or the Water Temple.

Expect to walk. On the Carthage and Sidi Bou Said day, count three to four kilometres on foot, between the medina's cobbles and the gravel paths of the ruins. Dougga covers 65 hectares of hillside with no shade.

On the day of the excursion, directly to the driver, in cash, in euros or dinars. There is no online payment and no deposit. The price is for the whole vehicle, shown before you book, and nothing is added to it.

It covers the car, driver, fuel, tolls and parking. Site tickets, lunch and shopping are yours to pay. A family of four going to Carthage and Sidi Bou Said pays €80 for the car, which is €20 per person.

The basics for a day outdoors, plus cash. Most ancient sites have almost no shade.

A private excursion is often easier with children, precisely because you stop when you need to. Child seats and boosters are free on request, and Friguia Park works from age 2 or 3.

For limited mobility, let us know when you book. Some stops are flat, like Port El Kantaoui or the Monastir seafront. Others are demanding: the spiral staircase of the Sousse ribat or the fifteen-minute climb at Zriba Loulia. Your driver adapts the route.

They are almost always avoidable. These are the ones our drivers see most often.

For a first outing we most often suggest Sousse, Monastir and Port El Kantaoui: short drives, three towns and an early return. With children, Friguia Park fits in a morning. If you only do one day, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said is the most complete.

Here are all seven days with their length and price per vehicle, so you can choose with the facts in front of you. Each name opens the full excursion page.