Unique travel destinations always raise the question, “Why do you want to go there?” and Tunisia was no exception. Because….Tunisia has Ancient Carthage, fantastic Dougga, sand dunes, Isle of Jerba, and….

Star Wars was filmed here!

Next question? “Is it safe?” Fellow travelers, we have to get a grip on reality and stop thinking that every Arab or Muslim country is loaded with extremists just waiting to rip our eyeballs out. “ex-Marine” (husband, Steve) and I (of course, he doesn’t go around wearing his old fatigues…not that they would fit) have found without exception, the Arabs to be extremely courteous, hospitable people. Perhaps, it is our working vocabulary of four words in Arabic – “hello” – “peace” – “thank you” – and “maybe tomorrow.” (“Maybe tomorrow” is the clincher!)

map of Tunisia
The problem? Finding a tour organizer that goes there. Tunisia is not exactly #1 on the hit parade, but deserves to be up there and visited a lot more than it is.
Fortunately, there is always Explore U.K. who goes everywhere, including Libya and North Korea.

I had been eyeballing their “Ancient Carthage and Camel Safari” for years but didn’t want to do the “Camel Safari” part. (Been there…done it.) They finally changed the itinerary to read “…should you not wish to participate in the camel safari, it should be possible to stay in Douz with your time free to relax in a comfortable hotel…” Now we’re talking business here. Once again I booked through Adventure Center (Explore U.K.). Check out the “Find Your Adventure” on this site and surf through the hundreds of offers. Adventure Center is an American representative for several U.K. tour companies. The costs are the same whether you book through them or directly with Explore U.K.

There was one additional problem …ex-Marine…who took one look at the map of Tunisia and started screaming…”That’s Libya on one side and Algeria on the other…now I know you’re trying to kill us.” And again, I ignored him and booked the trip.

The trip planning began…