[Nicki]

Has anyone been to Tunisia, and can they recommend anything to eat/bring home?

[KristainLondon]

Dates are everywhere. I've never eaten so many dates in my life! Very delicious. Not something to bring home, but there is also a ton of fresh fish served everywhere. i did not see as much couscous as i expected, but it is there.

Krista
http://kristainlondon.typepad.com

[Alexandra_M]

This might be an old topic, but maybe someone else will find it useful!

I definitely agree with Kristain-- dates are everywhere and absurdly good. Fish is also quite good in the coastal cities. A really common appetizer/snack are briks (fried pastries)- the brik à l'oeuf being the most common variety. I don't think you can go to Tunisia without trying a brik! The quality varied somewhat, but I never had truly awful one.

My favorite find in Tunisia though were the sandwich shops. Inside these shops, you can watch your sandwich being made with freshly baked bread, some sort of meat filling (shwarma is the most common, and my favorite), all sorts of condiments, and frequently french fries as well. A warning though- they can be quite liberal with the harissa if you don't tell them to not make it hot. Make sure to find a sandwich shop that actually bakes the bread on site-- they should have a guy putting rounds of bread in the oven in the front of the shop.

Oh, and this might depend on the time of year, but when I was there in early January, I couldn't get enough of the orange juice. Freshly squeezed orange juice was sold everywhere, and it was always excellent. Tunisian oranges are truly some of the best in the world I think.

Finally, try some makroudh. These are deep fried semolina pastries filled with dates and covered in a honey syrup. They are a specialty of Kairouan, and if you go there, the carts selling piles of them are everywhere. I found them in other parts of the country too, but they usually weren't as good or as fresh.

[Barbara]

Alexandra M I'm so glad you resurected this comment. I'm seriously considering a trip to Morrocco whcih my husband will come along although reluctantly. I'm unsure as to doing an Intrepid tour or an independant trip and arrange a guide when there. Any suggestions you have I would appreciate.
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Barbara

[Alexandra_M]

Disclosure: I've not been to Morocco, only Tunisia. In my experience in Tunisia, it wasn't that difficult to travel independently, especially if you spoke at least a little French (or Arabic, of course). So, I don't think it's really necessary to be part of a tour group. I admit though, that I tend to be rather anti-tour in general, so I'm probably biased . We traveled independently throughout the country and basically just ended up arranging guides as needed, which, as it turned out, was only when we wanted to travel in the Sahara for a bit.

Hope that helps!

[Barbara]

Thanks Alexandra M. I've never done a group tour before but Intrepid have only a max of 12 people so should be bearable. I'll do more research before I make the decision.
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Barbara