Has anyone backpacked Tunisia on a budget?

Posted by DannyFlood@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 7 comments

I just arrived in Tunis yesterday on the overnight ferry from Sicily and honestly I feel like I'm still in Europe 😂 transportation and food is quite cheap, but the hostels here are about double what I was paying in Athens (and I mostly had the dorm to myself, as it was low season, here it's much busier).

Hotels are also very expensive, idk what I was expecting, maybe about 20-25% pricier than Egypt, but Egypt is dirt cheap compared to here.

Somebody recommended that I check out the government owned hostels (Maison des jeunes). Are those decent or totally crappy? I'm ok with simple if it means slashing my accommodation costs in half - spent two months in Japan sleeping in manga cafes/ Kaikatsu clubs.

Has anyone backpacked Tunisia before and what are your budget travel tips to stretch out travel funds? I want to travel as long as possible, preferably forever.

Thank you!

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Folkloer@reddit

It’s been about fifteen years since I was there but definitely look into the Maisons des Jeunes. The ones I stayed in were basic but cheap. After all, you just need a bed for a few hours.

DannyFlood@reddit (OP)

I went to one in Hammamet but it seems they won't offer me a bed

Some of the hostels are only for groups so it’s worth asking others. I remember one hostel I wanted to stay at was only for youth sporting groups but I stayed at a few others.

Geepandjagger@reddit

I stayed in cheap hotels. Never paid more than 15$ mostly around 10 or 12$ I didn't like Tunis so only stayed a few days. The cheap eating and transport and entrance fees more than made up for it. Averaged about 25$ a day which was fine.

Yeah that is pretty good. I found a hostel which is $14 a night which is okay I guess. But others were like $25 and up - for a ten bed dorm

larrylestersbuns@reddit

I was there last November for 2-3 weeks, and I only met 2 other backpackers. The most common demographic of traveler that I noticed was large organized groups of older tourists set up by an agency. Tunisia’s tourism infrastructure imo caters more to the spendy tourist, but you can definitely get by as a backpacker too. you can take louages (like a minivan/shared taxi) everywhere, intercity and intracity, and food and historical site tickets are cheap.

100% check out the Maison des jeunes; they are quality, safe, and super clean! I think I paid like 50 dinar to stay for 2 nights in a Maison des jeunes in tozeur, which is a relatively more expensive area. And I got my own large room + bathroom to myself. I will say if you don’t have a command of French or Arabic, it will be a bit harder to adhere to a backpacker budget because the Maison des jeunes seem to be through word of mouth only. they do not appear on booking.com or hostelworld, and I couldn’t find any Tunisian website aggregator for them, or any cheap stays really. in fact, all booking.com showed for literally every city i went to, were private rooms and apartments à la Airbnb.

atefrihane@reddit

Im from Tunisia Check facebook marketplace or contact local agencies.. You can find reasonable accomodation