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This week's destinations are hot, hot, hot:
Tune In To Tunisia
Outside the eurozone but is just a short flight away – not much farther than the Balearics – Tunisia offers great value for money. A favourable exchange rate with the dinar means it’s cheap too.
Its 450 miles of clean, white, sandy beaches are lapped by the Mediterranean. For those who want more than beach-time, there are ancient ruins, desert adventures, golf courses and sumptuous spas.
Tunis
The capital is a bustling city with a pretty medina, souks and a wide selection of restaurants and cafes. It is close to the ruins of Carthage and the gorgeous village of Sidi Bou Said. This white-walled, blue-shuttered, flower-filled town was once the haunt of artists but is now popular with tourists, who come to sip mint tea and watch the world go by.
You can stay in Tunis or Sidi Bou Said for a city-break type holiday, or can compromise by staying in Gammarth, a beach resort nearby.
Gammarth is home to The Residence, one of Tunisia’s most upmarket hotels. It’s a 15-minute taxi ride (£3) from Sidi Bou Said or a 30-minute ride (£6) from Tunis, giving you the option of sightseeing or going out for dinner while retaining the best facets of a relaxing beach holiday.
Hammamet and Yasmine Hammamet
Hammamet is where beach tourism in Tunisia began. It has a lovely old medina with a castle by the sea, and a choice of hotels from the top end of the market to the bottom.
The mostly low-rise properties front the big, wide, sandy beaches that are particularly fine, even by Tunisian standards, and the resort is full of lemon trees and bougainvillea. There’s a good range of bars and restaurants, and it has a traditionally Tunisian feel.
Neighbouring Yasmine Hammamet is a newer, purpose-built development with a marina and wide boulevards filled with bars, cafes, restaurants and shops. It has a much more European feel than Old Hammamet. Both resorts have good upmarket options and are great for couples, though families can enjoy the resorts too.
Yasmine Hammamet also has Carthageland, a children’s theme park, as well as a casino.
Sousse and Port el Kantaoui
White beaches stretch down the coast for the six miles between Sousse and Port el Kantaoui, so staying in one of the hotels in between means clients can make the most of both resorts.
Sousse is an old town with a stunning 9th-century fortress, a good museum, and busy souks and cafes, bars and shops.
Port el Kantaoui offers more in terms of entertainment and nightlife than any other Tunisian resort. It was purpose-built 25 years ago as a copy of Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol for the yachting set.
Nowadays it has a well-rooted feel, with pretty Moorish architecture and lots of facilities in a compact area. These two present one of Tunisia’s livelier options and can suit young couples and families.
Monastir
Monastir has an interesting old town with a large fortress housing a museum and a fishing port. There is also a new marina and the hotels are set away from the centre on the beach.
Djerba
The quietest and most relaxing place in Tunisia – bar the desert! This island is suited to couples and honeymooners looking to kick back in one of the lovely upmarket hotels, surrounded by swaying palm trees.
Visitors can slowly explore the white Moorish buildings and small squares of the town of Houmt Souk, and check out the Berber villages in the island’s interior.
Hot Hot Hot
There is a buzz about the Caribbean at the moment, despite the recession, and this is thanks to new flights and sustained investment.
A major factor in the region’s success is that it never goes out of fashion, it’s dependable and that’s what people are looking for in the current economic climate. People know that they can get good quality accommodation, service and food. The Caribbean does luxury incredibly well, too. It has an informal charm you can’t get elsewhere. The range of luxury products and services available is on the up.
We can offer clients private transfers and Antigua now has an exclusive VIP lounge service on departure for British Airways passengers. Clients bypass the main terminal completely and get driven out to the aircraft – a service previously reserved for government ministers and private jet passengers.
Another of the region’s strengths lies in the depth of its offering, with lots of product aimed at the budget-conscious. We have definitely seen the return of the all-inclusive. Families looking for some sun are keen to know the full cost of a holiday up front and all-inclusive lets them do just that. It is also a week of luxury where travellers can have one more pina colada or an hour of yachting without having to worry about the costs.
Developments of note in the latter include the 10-bedroom boutique Atlantis Hotel, which opened its doors at the end of 2009. A former 19th-century grand private home, the colonial-style property is situated in the beautiful Tent Bay area and boasts an opulent and historic feel.
In the air
Caribbean destinations don’t get much hotter than Jamaica right now.
On the accommodation front, the iconic Goldeneye estate will reopen in October after extensive refurbishment. The Island Outpost property boasts beach cottages and villas on the former ocean-front home of James Bond author Ian Fleming. In Ocho Rios, Sandal’s all-inclusive, all-suite resort, Royal Plantation, has introduced a personal butler service for all guests.
Since new flights started to St Kitts and Nevis early last year, these lesser-known islands are set to increase in popularity in 2010, they are ideal for clients already familiar with the Caribbean.
Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia are well known, but the quiet charm of the plantation house accommodation in St Kitts and Nevis, with their verandas looking out across the hillsides, offer a unique experience and colonial charm.
Another island set to benefit from more flights is Grenada. On March 28, flights will increase to twice-weekly. The island’s Kalinago Beach Resort, with 29-beachfront rooms is set on Grenada’s most popular and picturesque beach, Morne Rouge Bay.
On the ground
Meanwhile, over in St Vincent, the 1,200-room Buccament Bay resort is due to open in July. Its facilities are set to include a casino, a performing arts academy with workshops and masterclasses for children and adults, and a Pat Cash tennis academy.
The exclusive Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands, featured by Caribtours, has also introduced butler service, plus beach service for guests. The pool has been upgraded, too, and new Ayurvedic treatments and iridology (studying the eye to gauge a person’s state of health and wellbeing) have been added to the spa menu at this island resort.
Dancing in the Streets
The lift doors open and three devils with oiled chests, curved horns and gold hotpants get in. It’s a bit of a squeeze – they’re burly chaps, and there are six ladies in sparkly bikinis with huge feathered headdresses it is Carnival Tuesday, and everyone on the island is here to party. So three devils, six go-go girls and one bewildered tourist is par for the course.
Disregard Rio and let there be no mention of New Orleans. Ask any islander where the real Carnival happens, and they’ll tell you that it’s right here in one of the Caribbean’s southernmost islands. There’s nothing quite like being in Port of Spain for this captivating riot of colour and noise. The country goes into unofficial shutdown over Carnival, because no one wants to miss the party – and Trinidadians know better than most how to throw a party.
The five days of carnival
It’s said that there are only two seasons in Trinidad: Carnival, and getting ready for Carnival. Serious preparations start as soon as Christmas finishes, and there are plenty of parties or ‘fetes’ in the week or so preceding Carnival, most notably one held every year by cricketer Brian Lara.
Fittingly for Trinidad’s most famous son, his huge mansion sits on top of the tallest hill in the capital, Port of Spain. Out front there are bars and food stalls and a large sound stage – it’s like a mini festival and everyone is in their finest. Anyone can buy tickets to attend.
The main events really begin to ramp up on the Friday before Carnival Tuesday. Friday night sees the soca Monarch competition. The fast, thudding beat of soca music is the heartbeat of Carnival, the driver that keeps people dancing in the streets for two solid days.
Visitors can watch live or head to a bar with a big screen to hear a few of the tunes that will be blasting out from the sound-systems on Monday and Tuesday.
Saturday night is all about the music too – but the more traditional steel pan. Bands from all over Trinidad and Tobago practise all year for the Panorama Finals, held in the Grandstand at Queen’s Park Savannah in the centre of Port of Spain. It’s a magical event – performers young and old are fired up and the sound of hundreds of pans played together is thrilling. Get there early to get a seat close to the stage.
Sunday brings Dimanche Gras, and the competition to see who will be crowned King and Queen of Carnival. Again held in the Savannah grandstand, all the bands that will march or ‘play mas’ (meaning play masquerade) in the main parade submit contenders, dressed in vast, complex costumes. There are a number of intricately designed, themed costumes that make Trinidad’s Carnival unique. It’s fascinating to visit a ‘mas camp’ and see how the costumes are made – on kitchen tables and in the backyards of houses by volunteers, surrounded by sequins, feathers, cardboard and even metals such as copper.
Monday is when Carnival proper begins. You get up at 3am, dressed in your oldest clothes, all ready to play j’ouvert. The game stems from the days of indentured labour, when the only time slaves could celebrate was the early hours. Then they dressed up to mock their masters, now, j’ouvert bands march through the streets throwing mud, paint and oil at one another. It’s great fun, and a good way to get involved in Carnival without the cost or commitment of playing mas itself.
Monday afternoon sees a kind of practice-run for Tuesday’s main parade. Most marchers will wear at least part of their costume.
Tuesday is the big day, and it starts at 9am. The bands, in full costume and accompanied by floats carrying steel pan bands or DJs blasting out soca tunes, move around the Carnival route.
You can have reserved seating in a stand with a roof next to the judges – the best seats in the house, bookable for $50. You can see perfectly and could pop down to the street side for the full atmosphere.
The music is so loud that it’s a good idea to bring earplugs, and make sure you don’t forget cameras and batteries. It’s a photographer’s paradise: thousands of people in colourful costumes dancing in the street.
Whether you play or watch, it’s an awesome spectacle, utterly infectious fun, and a definite contender for the ‘Best Show on Earth’ title.
For all of your holiday needs be sure to make Barrhead Travel your first port of call. Call now on 0871 226 2673 or visit us on www.barrheadtravel.co.uk and book your next holiday today!
Showing posts with label tunisia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tunisia. Show all posts
Friday, 9 April 2010
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Barrhead Travel Destination of the Week: Tunisia
This week's featured destination is in sunny North Africa.
Sands of Time – Tunisia
On the map it’s just a nugget of a country clinging to a crag at the top of a vast continent, but on the ground the reality turns out to be something quite different.
It’s certainly Africa, but the architecture has overtones of Moorish Spain, the history has associations with ancient Italy, the language originates from the Middle East and the flavours are redolent of France, along with groves of olives, yards of vines, miles of beaches and swathes of Sahara. Yes, Tunisia packs a surprisingly big punch for a tiny country.
In fact, this little slice of North Africa is far more bewitchingly exotic than most other winter sun destinations, despite being closer to the UK than many at under three hours’ flying time.
A factor which, when combined with the increasing desire among travellers to avoid the eurozone, means Tunisia has done steady business of late, attracting holidaymakers who might otherwise have been tempted by the likes of the Canaries or Cyprus. Tunisia represents particularly good value, especially if you’ve an interest in thalassotherapy, history, desert landscapes, empty beaches and/or golf.
Summer visitors tend to be on two-week family holidays and stick to popular resorts like Hammamet, Port el Kantaoui and Djerba. Winter visitors typically go for a shorter duration and will favour more cultural experiences, sampling the desert oases and ancient cities, and are becoming increasingly interested in the country’s growing stock of boutique hotels.
The shoulder season, particularly autumn, can be very busy while the sea is still warm.
The big news in recent years has been the completion of upscale resort Yasmine Hammamet and the opening of a golf course attached to The Residence, Tunisia’s top hotel. Golf is earmarked for further development, with the present 10 courses expected to double within the next decade.
There is also the imminent opening of Enfidha Airport, 50 miles south of Tunis in Tunisia’s main tourist resort area, built in expectance of a substantial increase in visitors.
Sousse
The Tunisian equivalent of Barcelona comfortably combines business and tourism, with a port and a promenade at the heart of the city. There are bright lights as well as a 1,000 year old medina protecting a maze of narrow pedestrian-only streets. From the tower of the Ribat, a fortified monastery built in 827, you look across a townscape of tiny coloured pieces like thousands of carefully arranged eggshells. Proximity to the giant mosque at Kairouan and the amphitheatre at El Jem make this a good focal point for culture. If you don’t want to stay in town – and there’s a spanking new Moevenepick hotel to encourage you to do so – then the purpose built marina resort of Port el Kantaoui is only six miles north. Developed in 1979 in traditional Tunisian style, the resort is made up of brilliant white buildings, cobbled streets and narrow walkways.
Hammamet
There’s a variety of beach resorts to choose from up and down Tunisia’s coast, but Hammamet remains a perennial favourite. Its beaches are, of course, excellent, particularly south of the old town, and have all the usual watersports on offer. Hammamet also boasts a medina of its own, with an old fortress now largely populated by funky cafes and surrounded by craft and souvenir shops. The town is a well-balanced mix of traditional Tunisian style and international resort, and the proximity to Tunis 40 miles away makes the big city easily accessible for a day trip. Southern Hammamet has been recently rebranded as Yasmine Hammamet, named after the jasmine that grows in profusion and the resort now hosts a range of five-star hotels and upmarket shopping centres. The town’s location at the food of Cap Bon gives access to a small peninsula with miles of unblemished sand and unspoiled coastline. There are caves full of bats at the falconer’s village of El Haouaria, a Spanish castle and fishing port at Kelibia, and a hinterland covered in vines and wild flowers.
Tunis
Tunis is where Paris meets Tales from the Arabian Nights. The centre is charming and traffic-free and you can buy a baguette or café au lait with the aid of your schoolboy French in the wider, post-colonial city. In the intricate maze of narrow lanes of the 1300 year old walled medina, the ancient centre where a lot of people live out their lives, you won’t want to do much more than wander through the souks, rich with smells of leather and perfume. The variety of merchandise and haggling is the norm. While in the medina, pop you head into the Great Mosque, sip mint tea in a café and try the wonderfully named brik a l’ouef, effectively an egg fried in pastry.
Carthage
Back around 200BC, the Carthaginians dominated the Mediterranean. The remains of their capital city is now part of the northern Tunis suburbs and there’s an extensive museum both on the site and in the Bardo a short drive away. Equally interesting at Carthage is the Punic Port, where a secret lagoon was excavated and a massive circular hangar erected, large enough for 250 warships. Here there’s a nifty Oceanographic Museum and a scale model of what it all must have once looked like. If you’re heading to Carthage on the metro – as most visitors do – then it would be foolish not to continue a couple of stops afterwards to Sidi Bou Said, the charismatic village suburb on a hill overlooking the sea, where Tunisian and international celebrities live.
Djerba
In summer it’s a popular beach destination and in winter it’s far enough south to have a better climate than the majority of Tunisia’s beach resorts, but the island of Djerba – connected to the mainland by a causeway – also has its own distinctive cultural appeal. For a start, it’s low-slung architecture is indicative of the varied ethnicities living here and it has several charismatic funduqs in Homt Souk, its main town ,which were once caravanserais (roadside inns) offering food and shelter to itinerant merchants. All are reminders of Djerba’s long history as a key meeting and trading place on the Med. The island is also far enough south to give access to some of the extraordinary landscapes of the Ksour, including the surreal village of Matmata, where many people still live in cave houses under the ground.
The Sahara
The southernmost third of Tunisia is mainly desert, but desert with great variety. Beside the dunes, there are arid mountains, salt lakes and oases, and all have something to offer tourists. Most choose to base themselves at Tozeur, an oasis with an airport and a labyrinthine old quarter, with walls of delicately patterned brickwork. In the palmeraie itself, the filtered light under the canopy of palms, twitters and rustles, distant voices argue over irrigation and old men lurch down foot-hardened paths, seeking fresh grass for their donkeys. The second most popular oasis, Douz, compensates for its lack on intrinsic charm by providing all sorts of desert activities, from go-karting to ballooning and camel trekking. The nomadic Adhara camelteers gather at the village of Zaafrane, from where, if you wish, you can negotiate a five-day desert crossing to Ksar Ghilane.
Thalassotherapy
The Carthaginians knew about the benefits of bathing in warm seawater even before the Romans built their thermal baths in the Cap Bon region. Today, seawater cures and treatments that maximise the therapeutic effects of marine minerals are huge in Tunisia and second only to France – but at a lower price. Mostly they take place in the larger hotels and especially in purpose-built recent resorts like Yasmine Hammamet. Typically they will offer a proper medical assessment followed by a course of treatments which are particularly good for joints, muscles and skin. Most will have a seawater pool and offer the likes of seaweed wraps, massage and even traditional hammam, Turkish baths.
For all of your Tunisia travel needs be sure to make Barrhead Travel your first port of call. Phone one of our friendly consultants today on 0871 226 2673 or visit www.barrheadtravel.co.uk and start planning your holiday to Tunisia today!
Sands of Time – Tunisia
On the map it’s just a nugget of a country clinging to a crag at the top of a vast continent, but on the ground the reality turns out to be something quite different.
It’s certainly Africa, but the architecture has overtones of Moorish Spain, the history has associations with ancient Italy, the language originates from the Middle East and the flavours are redolent of France, along with groves of olives, yards of vines, miles of beaches and swathes of Sahara. Yes, Tunisia packs a surprisingly big punch for a tiny country.
In fact, this little slice of North Africa is far more bewitchingly exotic than most other winter sun destinations, despite being closer to the UK than many at under three hours’ flying time.
A factor which, when combined with the increasing desire among travellers to avoid the eurozone, means Tunisia has done steady business of late, attracting holidaymakers who might otherwise have been tempted by the likes of the Canaries or Cyprus. Tunisia represents particularly good value, especially if you’ve an interest in thalassotherapy, history, desert landscapes, empty beaches and/or golf.
Summer visitors tend to be on two-week family holidays and stick to popular resorts like Hammamet, Port el Kantaoui and Djerba. Winter visitors typically go for a shorter duration and will favour more cultural experiences, sampling the desert oases and ancient cities, and are becoming increasingly interested in the country’s growing stock of boutique hotels.
The shoulder season, particularly autumn, can be very busy while the sea is still warm.
The big news in recent years has been the completion of upscale resort Yasmine Hammamet and the opening of a golf course attached to The Residence, Tunisia’s top hotel. Golf is earmarked for further development, with the present 10 courses expected to double within the next decade.
There is also the imminent opening of Enfidha Airport, 50 miles south of Tunis in Tunisia’s main tourist resort area, built in expectance of a substantial increase in visitors.
Sousse
The Tunisian equivalent of Barcelona comfortably combines business and tourism, with a port and a promenade at the heart of the city. There are bright lights as well as a 1,000 year old medina protecting a maze of narrow pedestrian-only streets. From the tower of the Ribat, a fortified monastery built in 827, you look across a townscape of tiny coloured pieces like thousands of carefully arranged eggshells. Proximity to the giant mosque at Kairouan and the amphitheatre at El Jem make this a good focal point for culture. If you don’t want to stay in town – and there’s a spanking new Moevenepick hotel to encourage you to do so – then the purpose built marina resort of Port el Kantaoui is only six miles north. Developed in 1979 in traditional Tunisian style, the resort is made up of brilliant white buildings, cobbled streets and narrow walkways.
Hammamet
There’s a variety of beach resorts to choose from up and down Tunisia’s coast, but Hammamet remains a perennial favourite. Its beaches are, of course, excellent, particularly south of the old town, and have all the usual watersports on offer. Hammamet also boasts a medina of its own, with an old fortress now largely populated by funky cafes and surrounded by craft and souvenir shops. The town is a well-balanced mix of traditional Tunisian style and international resort, and the proximity to Tunis 40 miles away makes the big city easily accessible for a day trip. Southern Hammamet has been recently rebranded as Yasmine Hammamet, named after the jasmine that grows in profusion and the resort now hosts a range of five-star hotels and upmarket shopping centres. The town’s location at the food of Cap Bon gives access to a small peninsula with miles of unblemished sand and unspoiled coastline. There are caves full of bats at the falconer’s village of El Haouaria, a Spanish castle and fishing port at Kelibia, and a hinterland covered in vines and wild flowers.
Tunis
Tunis is where Paris meets Tales from the Arabian Nights. The centre is charming and traffic-free and you can buy a baguette or café au lait with the aid of your schoolboy French in the wider, post-colonial city. In the intricate maze of narrow lanes of the 1300 year old walled medina, the ancient centre where a lot of people live out their lives, you won’t want to do much more than wander through the souks, rich with smells of leather and perfume. The variety of merchandise and haggling is the norm. While in the medina, pop you head into the Great Mosque, sip mint tea in a café and try the wonderfully named brik a l’ouef, effectively an egg fried in pastry.
Carthage
Back around 200BC, the Carthaginians dominated the Mediterranean. The remains of their capital city is now part of the northern Tunis suburbs and there’s an extensive museum both on the site and in the Bardo a short drive away. Equally interesting at Carthage is the Punic Port, where a secret lagoon was excavated and a massive circular hangar erected, large enough for 250 warships. Here there’s a nifty Oceanographic Museum and a scale model of what it all must have once looked like. If you’re heading to Carthage on the metro – as most visitors do – then it would be foolish not to continue a couple of stops afterwards to Sidi Bou Said, the charismatic village suburb on a hill overlooking the sea, where Tunisian and international celebrities live.
Djerba
In summer it’s a popular beach destination and in winter it’s far enough south to have a better climate than the majority of Tunisia’s beach resorts, but the island of Djerba – connected to the mainland by a causeway – also has its own distinctive cultural appeal. For a start, it’s low-slung architecture is indicative of the varied ethnicities living here and it has several charismatic funduqs in Homt Souk, its main town ,which were once caravanserais (roadside inns) offering food and shelter to itinerant merchants. All are reminders of Djerba’s long history as a key meeting and trading place on the Med. The island is also far enough south to give access to some of the extraordinary landscapes of the Ksour, including the surreal village of Matmata, where many people still live in cave houses under the ground.
The Sahara
The southernmost third of Tunisia is mainly desert, but desert with great variety. Beside the dunes, there are arid mountains, salt lakes and oases, and all have something to offer tourists. Most choose to base themselves at Tozeur, an oasis with an airport and a labyrinthine old quarter, with walls of delicately patterned brickwork. In the palmeraie itself, the filtered light under the canopy of palms, twitters and rustles, distant voices argue over irrigation and old men lurch down foot-hardened paths, seeking fresh grass for their donkeys. The second most popular oasis, Douz, compensates for its lack on intrinsic charm by providing all sorts of desert activities, from go-karting to ballooning and camel trekking. The nomadic Adhara camelteers gather at the village of Zaafrane, from where, if you wish, you can negotiate a five-day desert crossing to Ksar Ghilane.
Thalassotherapy
The Carthaginians knew about the benefits of bathing in warm seawater even before the Romans built their thermal baths in the Cap Bon region. Today, seawater cures and treatments that maximise the therapeutic effects of marine minerals are huge in Tunisia and second only to France – but at a lower price. Mostly they take place in the larger hotels and especially in purpose-built recent resorts like Yasmine Hammamet. Typically they will offer a proper medical assessment followed by a course of treatments which are particularly good for joints, muscles and skin. Most will have a seawater pool and offer the likes of seaweed wraps, massage and even traditional hammam, Turkish baths.
For all of your Tunisia travel needs be sure to make Barrhead Travel your first port of call. Phone one of our friendly consultants today on 0871 226 2673 or visit www.barrheadtravel.co.uk and start planning your holiday to Tunisia today!
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