Travel Report Tunisia 2023
Participating Members: Nathan Baker, Jan Denk, Milan Binder
Countries: Tunisia
Duration: 6 days
Equipment: Sleeping bag, airmatress
Start: 13 october 2023
End: 18 october 2023
Tripgoal: Heading south into the desert
Biggest issue: Getting rid of couchsurfing host
couches surfed: 3
Author: Milan Binder
A really spontaneous trip kicked off in October after Jan and I chatted on a Thursday evening. I was already a bit tipsy and about to head out to a student council party. Out of a joke on WhatsApp and a short phone call, I actually booked a flight for the next day to Tunis. The party felt even better knowing I’d be leaving cold Germany for a few days. The next morning, a buddy from uni drove me to the airport, and by evening, I made it to Tunis. After a frustrating 20-minute negotiation with a taxi driver, I arrived at the riad where Jan and Nathan were waiting. Jan had met Nathan a few days before there, and we decided to travel together to the south. We took the train to Sfax.
Just before we jumped off to check out some ancient Roman ruins, we were lucky to meet Bilel in Sfax. He was a bit odd but funny, so we ended up hanging out with him. He suggested going to the desert the next day. What an adventure! The following day, we met Am Taha, a friend of Bilel, in the desert near Douz. Even with a big language barrier, we had a lot of fun with Am Taha because he was joking all the time. We spent the night in the dunes and got an incredible dinner in the sand, served by Am Taha himself.
After another 5 hours of driving the next day, we were back in Sfax but too late to catch a train north. So, we explored the city again in the dark and found another Couchsurfer, Atef. He was super chill, so we hung out with him and his buddies in a café and had some more interesting conversations.
On our last day, we finally made our way north again, with a layover in Sousse for a quick dip in the sea. Back in Tunis, we spent one last night in a hostel with some other interesting folks. On Wednesday, we all headed to the airport since Jan got COVID and had to take an earlier flight back. The city was full of demonstrations, and we were a bit worried we wouldn’t make it to the airport on time. But in the end, everything was alright. A short, action-packed trip in a desert country with special food, nice people, and a country left behind and forgotten by tourists after several terror attacks a few years ago.