Hi,

Well, when I went to Tunisia, I was 16 years old and with my parents. And yet I still felt uncomfortable. And we only went into the town once.

But from my own opinion, i dont think it would be particularly safe to be walking around, especially in the towns.

Seeing parts of Tunisia that aren’t the beach would be best done through tours with tour operators.

Obviously, I went 6 years ago, maybe things are better or worse there now I don’t know! I just remember men leering at me and asking my dad if they can have me!!

Any more questions, just ask. :)

I went as a 17-year-old with my family. It’s not safe for girls to be walking round. We stayed at the hotel Soviva, in Port el Kantoui, which was great as the hotel itself had everything we needed. But outside it is pretty dangerous, ESPECIALLY if you’re girls. You get lecherous comments wherever you go. It’s not safe, so if you do go walking round, go in the daytime in public places and just be extra careful.

We never used public transport so I can’t say, but it is a nice place, providing you stay in the complex.

We went as a couple with Nancy 2 years ago …

Even though I was obviously her Husband and had my arms around her shoulder or holding hands most of the time we would still get these bad looks from obviously hungry young males …

I cannot say how far this can go .. obviously there are ways to make them feel that you are not looking for anything else than the souvenirs in the shops but you are likely to get a lot of attention and persistent – sticky fellows following you around …

If you can bring along a Male friend it will make a big difference …

I believe that it will be more fear than real danger but it will still make your stay unconfortable …

I know Tunis is Cheap … I cant say I was thrilled by it though … I mean if you are going to Northen Africa anyway you could have a look at Morocco (south part in particular)

In any case it is better to find a tour package if you are girls only …

Enjoy !

Hello,

I thought I would answer this one as well. My husband’s family is Tunisian, so although I was a tourist there, I spent most of my time away from the tourist areas. I always felt perfectly safe there. HOWEVER, I was with my husband at all times. I never walked out alone. The one time that we had an argument and I stormed out, he was quick to follow after me to bring me back. Also, when I did walk with my husband, he wanted me to be where he could see me at all times. He didn’t want me to walk behind him at all. He didn’t feel it was safe for me. He didn’t trust the people around us. He said, “You never know.”

I would have to agree with the people who commented here before me. Try to stick to the beach and tourist areas. If you do go out sightseeing, make sure you go with a guide. It is possible that you could go out alone and nothing would happen, but I wouldn’t advise it. It is better to be safe than sorry later.

Many men there think that Western women are easy, and don’t really understand that independence that we enjoy so freely. They think that women who wear shorts and show a little more of their bodies want sex, and that’s why they think the woman dress that way. It doesn’t seem to occur to them that it is unbearably hot at times, and fewer clothes feel cooler.

Anyway, I have been to Tunisia twice. Both times I spent three weeks there. When I do go, I make sure to dress more conservatively than I might at home. I buy light clothes that cover more, before I leave. At the beaches, I wear my swimsuit like everyone else.

Also, the women who wrote before said it had been several years since they had been to Tunisia. I was there in 2003 and 2006 and I noticed big changes. The biggest change I noticed was that in 2003 I hardly saw any women covering their heads with hijabs. The only women who wore them were older women or house servants. Last summer, the first thing I noticed was that many, many women both young and old were covering their heads. I asked my husband about it. He said that he noticed the same thing. He said that because of the war in Iraq and extreme anger towards Bush, the Muslim countries are turning more towards Islam and becoming more conservative. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. It might be a good thing for Tunisia, but might not be as good for tourists.

I know this is getting long, but I just want to say, that despite everything, I love Tunisia. It is a beautiful, exotic place which is very sensual with its jasmine scented nights and spiced foods. It is also a place of beauty. However, there is a reason why so many of the Tunisian homes have ironwork around the windows, and the tall walls around their homes have shards of glass sticking straight up out of the tops of them.

My husband and I and our two children ages 11 and 8 went to Tunisia this past April. We had an excellent time. Even though we heard public transit is great, we opted for a rental car. It was cheap and gave us great flexibility. I must admit, I am older than the people who have responded so maybe that is why in my experience I had no problems what so ever. We traveled throughout Tunisia and it was pretty much the same everywhere. Extremely polite, very helpful and friendly. Perhaps in the more touristy areas the people can be a bit jaded (seeing all the wealth come into their country and only staying at the beach resorts and not exploring the real Tunisia. Remember, this is a Muslim country and sexual conduct and behavior is strictly governed by the Koran. I don’t think a women really has anything to fear except people trying to separate you from your money. Here is a great website for details on Tunisia http://lexicorient.com/tunisia/zz_getting_around.htm

I went in January by myself and often traveled with the train, it was very easy to get to places and very cheap.
A lot of local girls took the train to the university all where dressed very modern, no hijabs or anything.
I never felt threatened or anything, but I’m not a woman. I never heard of or saw any harassment.
My feeling is that is not as unsafe as some people here claim, but you can always ask other tourists if you can join them on a trip if you feel insecure.
At the trainstation you will find a lot of tourist waiting for the train.

Be very careful in Tunisia.
I was arrested for “kissing in public”, which I definitely didn’t do.

I’d say I don’t really recognize Tunisia in most answers here.
I was there 2 years ago with my GF.

Sure you will get looks, as you will in most of souther Europe too, and men will come up to you and try to pick you up. But as far as I know, it stops right there. They might be pretty persistent though.

As mentioned already, sexual conduct and behaviour is a really bad sin in the Koran. So Muslims will not engage in that sort of thing.

This is however the most liberated Muslim coutry in the world, they are very accepting, but if you want to enjoy your trip, more than having guys trying to pick you up all the time, you should probably dress a bit more conservative.

Tunisia is all in all a very nice warm country to go to. Larger cities are more open minded than small ones. Keep that in mind and all will be well! Good luck with your trip!

I was there with my friend in the Sousse/Port El Kantoui area 2 years ago. We are both young and American girls. We had no problem at all when we were together walking, but if you are alone that is the problem. And also avoid walking at night. And as for public transport, we just used taxis cuz they are cheap, but whatever you do, make sure they turn on the meter, otherwise you are getting ripped off. I hope you go and have fun, and you’ll probably make some friends there I’m sure. All the guidebooks tell you to ignore ppl, but that’s not necessary unless they are trying to sell stuff to you, or are saying something rude or vulgar. Also, if someone tries to give you something for free, absolutely don’t accept cuz then they will turn around and try to get an exorbitant amount of money for whatever it is you just took. (that includes flowers from little kids) My friend and I had this experience one time on the beach with a guy giving us a coke. Lesson learned.

I just wanted to comment a little more. I know I’ve probably already said enough, but I wanted to add that although Tunisia is a Muslim country, Muslim fundamentalism is discouraged. I won’t go into details about this, but as one small example we were discouraged from hiring religious singers to sing at a couple of parties we had there. We had both of our son’s circumcised in Tunisia. Before the circumcisions we always have very big family parties and my husband wanted to hire religious singers to come and sing at the parties. Also, very recently women in Tunisia were being stopped on the streets for wearing the head covering. They were asked to remove it and told that it is not permitted in public places. They were even asked to sign a paper saying that they would not wear them in public again. This was in a news article I read. I know that many Tunisians drink alcohol as well. Although Tunisia is a predominately Muslim country, I don’t think they are completely governed by the laws of Islam like other Muslim countries. If so, why would women be asked to remove their hijabs? I agree that it is a more modern Muslim country. In fact, my husband’s mother is the equivalent to a senator in Tunisia.

I agree with people that Tunisians are friendly. In fact, I found them to be a lot friendlier than the European tourists that I encountered at our hotel and in the tourist areas. I didn’t understand why they were so cold while we were there. I thought maybe it was because my husband and I are a mixed couple. Maybe it was the anti-American sentiment that is being felt worldwide. I just know that I personally felt much more comfortable outside of the tourist areas because people just weren’t very friendly. And on that note, there are many more people in Tunisia who speak German, French, Italian and Spanish than there are people who speak English. When I went to the hotels for dinner, the foods were translated into several languages, but English wasn’t one of them. I am sure that is because they don’t get as many tourists from Great Britain or the U.S. as they do from those other countries.

By the way, I have been to many cities in Tunisia, so if you have any questions about any of them, I would be happy to answer them. I have been to Sousse, Hammamet, Nabeul, Sidi Bou Said, Dougga, Sbeitla, Kassrine, Carthage, Tunis, El Kef, Tabarka, and the island of Djerba. We drove through Kairouan, but I didn’t get out of the car. I was too hot and tired from traveling. Also, my husband immigrated to the U.S. in 2000, so he hasn’t been out of the country too long.

Anyway, I know I have written tons. I hope you find it helpful. Good luck and have a wonderful time in Tunisia!

The thanks goes to everyone really! what a great idea this 43 places forum is—you get to talk about your travels (which most other friends get tired of hearing about) AND you get to help people out.

Thanks!

I recommend taxi-cab, that’s the safest way.

You really need to walk around with a boy, preferently a tall and confident one. I’ve been in Tunisia last week, with my class mates, and every girl was watched and told things. I don’t know if anything could happen, but you will really feel much safer with a boy by your side.