Grand Tour of Tunisia

Day 1 Fly from London Heathrow to Tunis. Transfer to the Tunisian 5-star El Mouradi Gammarth for two nights.

Day 2 Visit the ruins of ancient Carthage, on the eastern lake shore. Continue to the picture-postcard coastal town of Sidi Bou Said. Later visit the Military Museum and Tunis Medina. (B, L, D)

Day 3 Travel to the ruins of Dougga, with temples, baths, a theatre and colonnades. Continue to the very traditional port town of Tabarka. Overnight at the Tunisian 4-star Hotel El Mouradi Hammam Bourguiba. (B, L, D)

Day 4 Visit Bulla Regia, with Berber, Punic and Roman origins with semi-subterranean Roman Villas. Continue to Hammamet for two nights at the 5-star Radisson Blu Hammamet. (B, L, D)

Day 5 Tour the Cap Bon peninsula, where vineyards and citrus groves give way to sleepy towns and secluded beaches; later visit Hammamet medina. Continue to the coastal ruins of Kerkouane, thought to have been abandoned in the 3rd century BC and listed by UNESCO as the only example of a Phoenician, and Punic city to have survived. (B, L, D)

Day 6 Visit the Roman site of Thuborbo Majus. Continue to Tozeur (6 hrs), set within sight of the Sahara in Tunisia’s south-western reaches and sandwiched between a huge dry salt lake, and a large and lush palmeraie. Two nights at the Tunisian 4-star El Mouradi Tozeur. (B, L, D)

Day 7 Visit the Tozeur historic medina, a tightly packed maze of beautiful buildings and buzzing activity; and the Dar Cherait Museum of Tunisian art and artefacts, housed in a restored mansion. Optional excursion by 4x4 vehicle to the Sahara sand dunes, the oasis town of Nefta, and the rock formations of Onk Jemal, the Star Wars filming location (bookable locally, £30 approx). (B, L, D)

Day 8 Travel through the striking landscape of the dry Chott el Djerid salt lake to Douz, ‘the gateway to the Sahara’. Visit the town’s Sahara Museum, highlighting the history and culture of Saharan nomadic life. Overnight at the Tunisian 4-star Melia Mouradi Douz. (B, L, D)

Day 9 Travel to the Berber town of Matmata, to explore the troglodyte houses. Continue to El Djem (4 hrs), to visit the 3rd-century AD Roman amphitheatre. Continue to Sousse, for two nights at the 5-star Mövenpick Sousse Hotel. (B, L, D)

Day 10 Visit the ‘Holy City’ of Kairouan, the medina, Great Mosque of Sidi Oqba and the Sidi Sahbi Mausoleum. Return to Sousse to explore the medina and enjoy an afternoon lecture at the Ribat. (B, L, D)

Day 11 Transfer to Tunis airport for the return flight to Heathrow; or extend your stay in Sousse. (B)

• Key
• B - Breakfast
• L - Lunch
• D - Dinner