Travel Eye on Djerba (Tunisia)

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Overview:

This is an arid island oasis of olive groves, citrus orchards, palm trees and miles of broad, soft, sandy beaches. Flat as a pancake, and only about 19 mls by 17, the island is reasonably easy to get around, though most tourists tend to stick to the big, modern hotels of the tourist zone, which lies on the N and E coasts. Much of the 106,000 population resides in the principal town of Houmt Souk (on the N coast) or among the many scattered tiny settlements inland. With direct international charter flights able to get into its small regional airport, tourism has really mushroomed in the last decade, although the island is yet to become over commercialised.

Locality:

Djerba is located off the SE coast of Tunisia, close to the Libyan border. 316 mls S of the capital, Tunis; 215 mls S of Sfax. Served by its own international airport. It is a flat island in the Gulf of Gabes, barely 1 ml off the coast. Connected to the mainland by a long French-built causeway.

Entertainment/Facilities/Attractions/Things to do:

The area is suited to upmarket couples and families wanting relatively unspoilt beaches and a comprehensive range of in-house entertainments and modern leisure facilities.

Accommodation is almost exclusively self-contained hotel complexes and club-style establishments standing almost side by side for several miles along the N and E coast.

The beach here is 10 mls of broad, virtually unspoilt and unbroken stretches of soft, pale sand along the N and E coasts. Hotels maintain their own sections and furnish them with thatched parasols, snack shacks, loungers and water sports. Flotsam and seaweed can be prevalent during the winter season.

Shopping is rather limited. Houmt Souk has a small concentration of typical souvenir shops and souks selling local jewellery, trinkets, rugs and wool products. Most hotels have their own more expensive in-house retailers selling anything from leather goods to postcards. The village of Guellala is a big pottery-producing centre. Sprawling Friday-morning market in town of Midoun.

Activities and entertainment are predominantly beach based. A 27-hole golf course lies behind the main rank of hotels. Various local historic sites can be seen involving subterranean dwellings and ancient settlements. Horse riding is also available. By night individual hotels offer their own programme of live bands and impromptu dancing; some have unsophisticated nightclubs. Not for the 18 to 30 crowd.

Eating out offers few options. Houmt Souk has a few cafes and eateries of no particular quality. With little other choice, visitors are obliged to confine themselves to the hotels.

Getting around is fairly easy with plenty of taxis ply the main coast road or hover outside the gated entrances to the hotels. Fares are a little more expensive than in other parts of Tunisia, owing to the captive market. Buses run hourly (supposedly) to and from the tourist area to Houmt Souk.