The Rough Guide to Tunisia 8 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) - Softcover

Jacobs, Daniel; Rough Guides

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1858288223 ISBN 13: 9781858288222

Publisher: Rough Guides, 2009

Synopsis

The Rough Guide to Tunisia is the definitive guide to this Afro-Mediterranean destination. The full-colour introduction covers the mile-long beaches of the distinctly European northern coast, as well as the fortified kasbah’s of the mountainous interior and the sub-Saharan oases. There are lively accounts of all the sights, from Roman remains and Islamic monuments to the ancient Medinas of Tunis, Sfax and Sousse. You’ll find two full-colour sections that highlight Tunisia’s striking architecture and varied wildlife, information on the best resorts, and exciting excursions into the mountains and desert. The guide is fully updated, with expanded listings of restaurants, accommodation, and nightlife for all budgets, as well as all the practical grittiness you’d expect from a Rough Guide. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Tunisia.

About this title

About the Author

Daniel Jacobs is from London. He is coauthor of the Rough Guides to Tunisia and Morocco, and has also worked on Rough Guides to India, Mexico, Egypt, Kenya, and West Africa.

Rough Guides are written by expert authors who are passionate about both writing and travel. They have detailed knowledge of the areas they write about—having either traveled extensively or lived there—and their expertise shines through on every page. It's priceless information, delivered with wit and insight, providing the down-to-earth, honest read that is the hallmark of Rough Guides.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Climate and seasons

Tunisia follows usual Mediterranean patterns of climate. The best time to travel, from a scenic point of view, is spring, when the south has not yet reached full heat and the north looks astonishingly fertile - above all, around the orchards and vineyards of Cap Bon. Be warned, though, that March and April are the dampest months of the year in the south and it can bucket down in the north.

Summer has mixed virtues. July and August are much the hottest months of the year - if only slightly more so than in the southern parts of Italy or Greece - and the one time you really do need to lapse into a local way of life, for example resting through the midday hours at a cafŽ or taking a siesta at your hotel. Obviously this goes above all for the deep south and the ksour (see Chapter Nine). On the more exposed beaches of the north coast, midsummer is actually a pull - some of them are only warm enough for swimming from around May until October. If you wait until autumn, you get the best of both worlds, with warm swimming and few crowds, even at the big resorts.

In winter, the north and the Tell can get distinctly cold; A·n Draham, the highest mountain town, commonly has a metre of snow, and in 1985 it even snowed at Bizerte on the Mediterranean coast. Tunis, Cap Bon and Sousse are not so much cold in winter as dull, with sporadic rains. But this is an ideal time for covering the ancient sites at leisure and then migrating south to Jerba's beaches and the Sahara.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rough Guides
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1858288223
• ISBN 13: 9781858288222
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 608