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Tunisia is well away from the typical backpacker trail. It’s the northernmost country in Africa, just across the Mediterranean Sea from some of the most expensive, least budget-friendly countries of Europe. Despite millions of tourists flocking to the European continent every year, only a fraction visit Tunisia – and they’re all missing out. This, despite the country being notable for not just everything Star Wars, but impressive beaches, Roman ruins and energetic markets too. Moreover, everything in Tunisia is competitively priced for backpackers and budget travellers.
After spending a month in Tunisia on a kind of backpacker budget and, as always, recording exactly what we spent, we tallied it all up to get an accurate portrayal of what the country costs to travel. We’ve broken down our totals into transport, food, accommodation, attractions, alcohol, sim cards and more to help you budget your own epic budget/backpacking trip around Tunisia!
Hopefully we can answer the (slightly subjective) question – is Tunisia cheap to travel?
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IN THIS GUIDE //
Is Tunisia Cheap to Travel?
CURRENCY IN TUNISIA
CLOSED CURRENCIES
CASH AND CARD IN TUNISIA
– ATM CHARGES IN TUNISIA
– MONEY EXCHANGES IN TUNISIA
IS TUNISIA CHEAP TO TRAVEL?
– TRANSPORT PRICES IN TUNISIA
– ATTRACTION PRICES IN TUNISIA
– FOOD AND DRINK PRICES IN TUNISIA
– ACCOMMODATION PRICES IN TUNISIA
– MISCELLANEOUS PRICES IN TUNISIA
OUR EXACT COSTS
HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON A TUNISIA BUDGET
FINAL THOUGHTS – IS TUNISIA CHEAP?
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CURRENCY IN TUNISIA
Tunisia’s currency is the Tunisian dinar, sometimes denoted as DT or TND. It is then divided into a thousand millimes or millim. Tunisian currency comes as both notes and coins, with the 5, 10, 20 and 50 notes most frequently used. Tunisian dinars and millimes both feature Latin numbers on them (although the coins can be difficult to read).
In August 2024, the rates against various well-used currencies are as follows (check xe.com or Google for up-to-date rates):
1 GBP = 4.0 Dinar
1 EURO = 3.39 Dinar
1 USD = 3.03 Dinar
If you are planning on exchanging money in Tunisia, we would recommend taking either British pounds, euros or U.S. dollars as these are readily accepted at money exchanges.
CLOSED CURRENCIES
Similar to currency in countries like the Maldives and Laos (and many others around the globe), the Tunisian dinar is a closed currency. This means it is a criminal offense to import or export Tunisian currency in or out of Tunisia. If exchanging money at the end of a trip, proof of withdrawal from a bank is needed to exchange into another currency. An ATM receipt will not suffice.
We’ve heard of situations where border control have checked tourists for dinars on departure – everything inside Tunis International Airport is priced in euros (and particularly expensive).
Try and only take out as much cash as you need!
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A WEEKEND IN TUNIS | STREET ART OF DJERBAHOOD
CASH OR CARD IN TUNISIA?
Credit cards are accepted in many places in Tunisia, such as supermarkets, hotels and restaurants, however we would always advise having some cash accessible for small purchases.
Tunisia’s tourist infrastructure is continually improving since the pandemic and is improving on the 12,000 point of sale credit card machines World Bank reported in 2011. However, the reality is that in local shops, taxis and small restaurants, it isn’t possible to use credit card yet.
Supermarket chains such as Carrefour, Monoprix and Geant, any tourist-leaning stores, most larger hotels and restaurants will all take credit cards. Of these, Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted but American Express is also usable in some places. Most gas stations accept credit card (although sometimes there’s a wait for the card machine).
Although card payments are prevalent, we still had to wait to pay for our car hire because the machine wasn’t charged up!
We didn’t actually use a huge amount of cash – local food is inexpensive and visiting during Ramadan meant we didn’t frequent too many restaurants. Most of our currency was used at gas stations and for attraction tickets (although you can often pay on card for these too).
ATM CHARGES IN TUNISIA
ATMs in Tunisia typically charge between 10-12 dinars (around £3) per withdrawal. We paid 11.9 dinars when withdrawing the maximum 300 dinars from a Tunisian ATM (the maximum varies per bank).
There are apparently some ATMs that don’t charge at Tunis Airport so if you find one, please let us know in the comments!
MONEY EXCHANGES IN TUNISIA
Money exchanges in Tunisia (Bureau de Change) can be found in the airport and in a few places across the cities. There are lots around Tunis, Sousse has a few and there are also some in Djerba.
SO, IS TUNISIA CHEAP TO TRAVEL?
As with many other popular backpacker countries, Tunisia can be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be. There are high-end luxury hotels, especially in Tunis, which can run as high as £400-500 a night; homestays in local dars are generally very affordable, even for a bargain-basement backpacker. Food costs are incredibly cheap at the lower end; a quality glass of wine in a rooftop bar in Tunis could set you back a pretty penny.
It’s a fantastic country in that respect – if you want a classy, wine-fuelled beach resort or a homestay with a local family – Tunisia can offer you both for a fraction of the price of Europe.
TRANSPORT COSTS IN TUNISIA
Tunisian transport is very affordable. Whether you hire a car, take the public minivans or catch a train, getting where you need to be is easy, efficient and inexpensive. For a little more information on getting around Tunisia, check out our backpacking in Tunisia guide.
CAR RENTAL
We rented a car for almost the entire month we spent in Tunisia and it was definitely the best option for us.
Prices | out-of-season car hire in Tunisia can be quite cheap but, from our experience, it gets more expensive in the summer months and closer to the booking date. Automatic cars typically cost more than manual cars.
We actually stayed in Tunisia longer than originally planned. This meant extending our original Tunisia car hire several times and also hiring from a different company towards the end of our trip due to a lack of vehicle availability. The car rental extensions and second booking cost a *huge* amount more than our initial reservation. Book *well in advance* for best rates.
Insurance | in Tunisia, we recommend taking the full insurance from whoever you use as your rental broker for peace of mind. This adds on an extra cost (we pay for the extra insurance in every country we’ve driven in across the world – it’s saved us a few times). We use Discover Cars for all our car rentals – their insurance actually pays out in the event of an accident.
If you are interested, check out our post on self-driving in Tunisia. Hopefully it’ll settle any unsure thoughts and persuade you that it’s an excellent idea!
CAR HIRE FOR YOUR TUNISIA TRIP
We always rent our vehicles all over the world, including our recent trips in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan and Morocco, with Discover Cars. They’re often the most affordable, plus they paid out immediately on an insurance claim we made when our car took some heavy damage in Sicily. We fully recommend them.
If you book through the link below, we make a small profit, at zero cost to you, which helps us write these posts with no advertising! We only endorse products and companies we actually use regularly. For more information, read our position on affiliates.
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TAKE A LOOK BELOW OR CHECK CAR RENTAL
LOUAGES
The Tunisian shared taxi or ‘Louage’ is a fantastic budget method of getting around and between any city or town in Tunisia.
For example, travelling from Sousse to Tunis costs around 12 dinars (about £3.10) for about a two-hour trip. From Djerba to Kairouan is about 24 dinars (£6).
These run all over the country and are easy to figure out – most cities will have at least one Louage station. Ask your accommodation and check Google for locations.
TRAINS
Train routes cover the northern part of Tunisia, down to Gabes. They are a very affordable option for any route in Tunisia (although Louages are considered faster and more efficient).
The most popular train route is within Tunis, called the Tunis-La-Goulette-Marsa line (TGM), which runs from Tunis Ville Nouvelle to the tourist attractions at La Goulette, Carthage, Sidi Bou Said and La Martha. Single trips start from under a dinar (although *I think* we were sold a return and it was all a bit confusing).
TAXIS
Taxis in Tunisia are very reasonable, especially compared to most cities in Europe. We only used taxis in and around Tunis and our most expensive taxi was just under 20 dinars (£5.20) for a 45-minute journey.
We would recommend downloading the Bolt app in Tunisia if you’re planning on getting many taxis. It functions just like Uber, so you order a taxi online and with a predetermined destination. At time of writing, this app did not accept credit cards as payment. Bolt is particularly useful for those who don’t speak much French or Arabic (like us).
PETROL/GAS PRICES IN TUNISIA
In Tunisia, gas is extremely affordable. For us, it was priced around 2.52 dinars per litre (£0.65) during our visit. Tunisia is a reasonably compact country anyway, so with low gas prices, it is a cheap place to road-trip. Gas is sold by the litre in Tunisia.
HIGHWAY TOLLS IN TUNISIA
We drove a considerable distance on our four-week itinerary in Tunisia and took the toll roads any time it made sense to because they were substantially faster (and empty and well-paved).
The prices were extremely reasonable. In total, we paid 17.8 dinars (£4.70) on tolls in Tunisia during our 4000-kilometre trip. The fees are payable at booths by the exit of your toll-road stretch. There were often screens displaying the cost and the attendants spoke French. We always paid by cash.
PARKING COSTS IN TUNISIA
This was an amazing thing about Tunisia – we paid zero parking fees, anywhere! There were almost no parking restrictions apart from in major cities, which also usually had plenty of free street parking. There are no roving parking attendants, like in Morocco, and we never struggled to find parking.
All hotels had free, often private, parking.
Don’t drive in the Tunis medina area, it’s the one place that has almost no parking options – you’ll have a shit time trying to drive around it, let alone find parking.
TUNISIA ATTRACTION COSTS
Generally, we found that everything was priced very reasonably for access to sites in Tunisia. The only entry fees we paid were to (many) Roman ruins and the incredible mosque in Kairouan.
The archaeological sites we visited (Utique, Uthina, Thurburbo, Carthage, El Jem and Dougga) are at a fixed price by the government and most cost 8 dinars (£2.10). The entry fees for Carthage (full site ticket) and El Jem were 12 dinars (£3.10) each. Kairouan’s Mosque (Sidi Okba Mosque) also cost 12 dinars (£3.10).
Everything else we visited was free, including parking around medinas and beaches.
We didn’t take any tours whilst there as we self-drove.
FOOD AND DRINK PRICES IN TUNISIA
As we visited during Ramadan, we ate a lot from supermarkets and made the absolute most of any free food provided for breakfast. Below are some details of our costs.
SUPERMARKETS
Our experience was that products from supermarkets like Monoprix and Carrefour were moderately priced. Certain items, such as cheese, were surprisingly expensive in Tunisia though, with few good options available. Some prices of things we bought (or spotted) include:
Large baguettes – 0.85 dinars (£0.22)
Small baguettes – 0.29 dinars (£0.08)
Water (1.5 litres) – 0.65 dinars (£0.15)
Coke Zero (1 litre) – 2.24 dinars (£0.58)
Jars of tomato pasta sauce – 14.79 dinar (£3.84)
Small peach Greek yoghurts – 0.98 dinar (£0.25)
Gouda cheese (small block) – 10.38 dinars (£2.70)
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MARKETS
We found these often had cheaper options than the big supermarkets, though a more limited variety. In Ayn Darahim, for example, we bought three huge tomatoes for 0.45 dinars (£0.12) that lasted us two meals.
BOULANGERIES AND PATISSERIES
French cuisine is commonplace in Tunisia and none more so than the baked goods department, both sweet and savoury. A selection of pastries and cakes can be found for incredibly reasonable prices. Large fresh baguettes, for example, were often only 0.2 dinars (£0.05), a quarter of the supermarket equivalent (and much nicer).
RESTAURANTS
Because it was Ramadan during our visit, we didn’t dine in at as many restaurants as a typical tourist usually would. Most were closed until the Iftar meal and some only offered an Iftar buffet option in the evenings.
We saw lots of Iftar menus advertised at 70-75 dinars (£18-20) each (day-after-day of this would have made us both incredibly fat and poor).
Some examples of restaurants we did visit: one charged 39 dinars (£10.15) for 2 medium vegetarian pizzas and another charged 21 dinars (£5.50) for two vegetarian paninis.
ALCOHOL
This was moderately priced on hotel bar menus (the only place you could buy alcohol during Ramadan).
We didn’t buy any, but the national Tunisian beer, Celtia, was usually priced at 7.5 dinars (£2.00) for a 330ml bottle and a 750ml bottle of Tunisia’s ubiquitous Magon red wine was around the 40-47dinar (£10-12) mark. These prices, because they were in hotels, would almost certainly be far more than in smaller, local places.
Outside of Ramadan, alcohol is commonly served in various restaurants, but we didn’t get to see this.
TUNISIA ACCOMMODATION COSTS
This was one of the most expensive parts of our Tunisia budget. It was at the end of a nine-month trip (that felt like three years), and we couldn’t be bothered to budget too hard.
Tunis dar | at the end of our one-month road-trip around Tunisia we stayed in a super fancy (read: budget destroying) place for our last two nights. We highly recommend this stunning, traditional dar, with incredible original heritage features but super modern, classy suites – it’s got the best of both worlds. The rooftop bar is one of the best we’ve ever been too, as well. It is called Dar El Geld – take a look, it’s exquisite and worth the money. There are not that many rooms, so don’t book too late.
Apartments | for 10 days, we rented apartments with kitchens so we could prepare meals (due to Ramadan).
We also stayed in some (far cheaper) homestay-style dars, which really helped balance out the cost.
Our accommodation was often booked last-minute (commonly as a walk-in) to maintain flexibility. It is certainly possible to save money by booking further ahead and also by not having a kitchen.
In Tunisia we used a cashback app for any online accommodations. It saved us loads – from 4-15% per night on platforms like Agoda, Hotels and Booking.com.
MISCELLANEOUS TUNISIA COSTS
The largest miscellaneous cost we had in Tunisia was our local Tunisian sim cards and an Airalo e-sim. We also paid one ATM fee of 11.9 dinars.
There are three mobile networks in Tunisia to choose from – Ooredoo, Orange and Tunisie Télécom. We bought a 5 Gb and 25 Gb sim card at Tunis airport for 45 dinars (£11.85) total from Ooredoo, who we’ve used before in places like Oman and the Maldives.
Ooredoo worked fantastically apart from in a few areas of Ayn Darahim in the far north-west of Tunisia.
If you aren’t coming into Tunisia by plane (for example, arriving by ferry like we did) you could also consider getting an E-sim. These are simple and start working as soon as you’re in the range of the country. Airalo currently offer E-sims starting at just $5 – we purchased one of these for our midnight arrival and it worked brilliantly.
IS TUNISIA CHEAP TO TRAVEL?
Below is a breakdown of all the sections discussed above, showing the exact costs for 28 days in Tunisia during the month of April.
In the end, our total was 9550.30 dinars (£2480.60), which is 4775.15 dinars (£1240.30) per person, a total of 170.54 dinars (£44.30) per person, per day.
HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON A TUNISIA TRIP
Although we are happy with how much we spent on this one-month trip, it is absolutely possible to cut costs substantially. Below are a few ways we think our Tunisia budget could be reduced.
Plan Ahead (better than us!)
Whilst we love to travel spontaneously and be flexible, it does often increase expenditure. There are several things that could save you money – specifically renting a car well ahead of time, securing accommodation before the day of arrival, and having a proper itinerary to save backtracking and messing about.
One day I’m sure we’ll start planning more efficiently, but apparently Tunisia was not the time for it.
Cheaper Accommodation
As much as I fully endorse the incredible dar we stayed in during our final few nights, it was, without a doubt, a crazy luxury purchase (of several hundreds of pounds). A few other hotels we stayed in were more expensive than we’d usually pay because we were exhausted and didn’t do much research.
Accommodation, especially outside of Tunis, is incredibly good value in Tunisia – we feel like you could easily halve the total we spent and still stay at comfortable places.
Food and Drink
This was a pretty good section of our budget for us because we rarely ate out. Ramadan was a major contributor to this as most places were closed when we’d normally eat dinner.
Our biggest weakness was snack foods for the car drives, although these were still pretty cheap.
I drink an inordinate amount of coke (zero) and Nick loves coffee. It would certainly be easy to reduce our food and drink budget by having just water instead.
Sim Cards
We bought a large, 25 GB sim card so we could tether from it whilst working and keep our billions of photos backed up on the cloud. If you do not upload 283,567 pictures an hour to social media then a smaller sim card will more than satisfy a month in Tunisia, even without any hotel Wi-Fi.
Car Rental
I know it was briefly mentioned above about saving money by planning, but I thought I’d reiterate *how extreme* the cost was to add extra days on to our car rental – It was mildly obscene (way more than double). Book ahead for car rental, as far as you can, to save money. Our first rental was really great value so it kind of shocked us!
Another thing to mention is that manual transmission cars are the norm in Tunisia. It’s far easier and cheaper to rent a manual than a car with an automatic transmission. Also, we found that they ran out of automatics quite quickly (it’s why we booked with a different rental company at the end). You can definitely cut our car budget down if you’re comfortable using a manual! (We are British, so drive a manual at home, but on the left side of the road!).
Obviously, it is possible to use louages for the entire trip which is far cheaper, but you lack in flexibility and it will take longer to see the sights.
FINAL THOUGHTS – IS TUNISIA CHEAP
Tunisia was as affordable as we’d hoped, considering the minimal research we did before arriving. It’s a great value destination, with magnificent sights, beaches, medinas and ancient ruins, all for a fraction of the price in Europe, just across the Med.
Our best budget ‘award’ during our Tunisia trip goes to all the free parking! I know it’s not much, but parking in every city and town can really add up after a while and the ease of driving and parking was just amazing. The second big win for Tunisia, finances-wise, were those incredible 5p fresh-baked baguettes. Although not hugely nutritious, they were top-notch and saved our food budget (plus they were sometimes the only available food).
We really loved our road trip around Tunisia. Considering the number of places we visited and the amount we got to see (despite our appalling planning), we’re really pleased with what we spent and think it was absolutely worth it.
So, in our opinion, Tunisia is cheap to travel as a wonderful, slightly alternative, backpacker destination.
We hope you have a fantastic trip and spend far less than we did! Let us know in the comments if you have any questions.
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