Tunis 7-Day Itinerary: Carthage, Dougga and Kairouan

How should you spend 7 days in Tunis?

Spend days 1 and 2 slowly on the medina, the Bardo and the Ville Nouvelle, day 3 on Carthage and day 4 on Sidi Bou Said and La Marsa. Then use three day trips: Dougga on day 5, Kairouan or El Jem on day 6 and Cap Bon’s Kerkouane and Hammamet on day 7, or keep day 7 free.

A week lets Tunis breathe. The Tunis 3-day itinerary squeezes the medina, the Bardo and the whole coast into three full days; this plan gives each of those a day of its own, then adds three of the UNESCO sites the heritage agency lists within reach of the capital: Dougga, Kairouan or El Jem, and Kerkouane (AMVPPC).

Hours and fees come from the AMVPPC, the heritage agency, and from the Ennejma Ezzahra palace in Sidi Bou Said, checked on 16 October 2026. Fees are for non-residents in Tunisian dinars. Rail notes come from Seat 61, last updated on 2 June 2026.

Keep one central base all week if you can: the day trips leave from the city and the TGM covers the coast. If you want sea evenings, move to La Marsa or Sidi Bou Said for nights 3 and 4 only; where to stay in Tunis compares the areas.

What does a week in Tunis look like day by day?

Four city days come first, each in one area, followed by three day trips that get longer and then shorter again. The earliest start is the 06:05 train in the El Jem option. The table shows the opening hours, closures and transport that shape each day, so you can reorder around Mondays and Fridays.

Mondays matter most: the Bardo, the Ennejma Ezzahra palace and the museum at Kerkouane all close that day (AMVPPC Bardo; CMAM; AMVPPC Kerkouane). Dougga and the medina are good Monday days. On Fridays, the Great Mosque of Kairouan admits visitors only until 12:00 (AMVPPC), so avoid that day for Kairouan.

Winter and summer hours below are as the heritage agency lists them; it does not publish the changeover dates, so treat the earlier closing time as the safe one in spring and autumn.

How is this plan different from the 3-day itinerary?

The 3-day plan gives the medina, the Bardo with the Ville Nouvelle, and Carthage with Sidi Bou Said one day each, with Dougga only as a swap. This week splits the coast into two unhurried days, adds afternoon rest in the hot months and turns Dougga, Kairouan or El Jem and Cap Bon into full day trips.

That changes what you book. The city days need nothing more than tickets on the day, but the three day trips need transport: a driver or tour for Dougga and Cap Bon, and either a bus, a louage or a driver for Kairouan. Seat 61 notes that Kairouan has no railway station, with SNTRI buses from Tunis taking about two and a half hours and louages, shared taxis, also running (Seat 61).

The national tourist office describes the louage as a collective taxi carrying five passengers and their luggage, one of the most popular ways to travel between cities. It is cheap and frequent but leaves when full, so it suits flexible travellers rather than anyone racing a 14:00 closing time.

The week also gives you room for weather. If a day trip day turns wet in winter, swap it with day 2 and spend the rain at the Bardo; if a summer day is too hot, Kairouan’s morning-only hours make it the natural choice, because you are back under cover by the afternoon.

Days 1–2: how do you take the medina and the Bardo slowly?

On day 1, walk the medina from the Zitouna quarter through the souks to Dar Ben Abdallah and the Ottoman monuments, with a long lunch and an evening on Avenue Habib Bourguiba. On day 2, reach the Bardo at opening by light metro or taxi, give it the morning, then spend the afternoon on the Ville Nouvelle’s façades.

The tourist office highlights the 9th-century Great Mosque of Zitouna and many Ottoman-era monuments in the medina, among them the Hammouda Pacha mosque, the Slimaniya madrasa and the mausoleum of Princess Aziza Othmana (Discover Tunisia), and places the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions in the Dar Ben Abdallah palace (Discover Tunisia). With a whole day, add a guided walk and leave time simply to sit in a café.

The Bardo opens 09:30–16:30 in winter and 09:00–17:00 in summer, closes on Mondays and charges non-residents 13 dinars. The tourist office describes its mosaic collection as the world’s largest (Discover Tunisia). Transtu’s history records light-metro line 4 being opened to Le Bardo (Transtu); a metered taxi is the simpler alternative.

Spend the afternoon of day 2 on the Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Arabisance buildings the tourist office points out on the edge of the medina (Discover Tunisia), and keep the evening free. The FCDO says theft is the most common crime, so keep valuables out of sight in the souks.

Days 3–4: how do you split Carthage and Sidi Bou Said?

Give Carthage the whole of day 3: the Byrsa museum at opening, then the Antonine Baths, the Malga cisterns and the theatre, with a rest at midday. On day 4, take the TGM to Sidi Bou Said for the Ennejma Ezzahra palace, closed on Mondays, then drift on to La Marsa for the beach or dinner.

The Carthage Museum opens 08:30–17:00 in winter and 08:00–18:00 in summer, charging non-residents 12 dinars, and the heritage agency notes a grouped ticket and lists the Malga cisterns, the amphitheatre, the circus, the Damous Carita basilica, the Antonine Baths, the theatre and the Odeon quarter among the things to see (AMVPPC; Antonine Baths). The tourist office says the Malga cisterns held 60,000 cubic metres and that Damous el-Karita was the largest church in Africa (Discover Tunisia).

In Sidi Bou Said, the Ennejma Ezzahra palace opens 09:00–13:00 and 14:00–17:00 from September to June and 09:00–15:30 in July and August, with the ticket desk closing 30 minutes earlier; full-price entry is 10 dinars. Take the TGM on to La Marsa, the line’s northern terminus (Transtu FAQ), for the beach in summer.

Splitting the coast is what makes this a holiday rather than a checklist. If you want sea evenings, these are the two nights to sleep in La Marsa or Sidi Bou Said, then return to the centre before the day trips.

Day 5: how do you plan a Dougga day trip?

Leave early with a driver or on a tour for Dougga, a Roman town over 70 hectares whose monuments the tourist office ranks among the best preserved in the Roman world. It opens every day, 08:30–17:30 in winter and 08:00–19:00 in summer, and charges non-residents 8 dinars. Allow three hours on site and travel back in daylight.

The tourist office describes Dougga’s 2nd- and 3rd-century monuments as among the best preserved in the Roman world, across 70 hectares, with a theatre for 3,500 (Discover Tunisia). The AMVPPC gives the hours and fee above and marks the site open all week, which makes it the best day trip for a Monday; it has been on the UNESCO list since 1997 (AMVPPC).

If a full day on the road is too much, Thuburbo Majus is a shorter Roman-site alternative: open all week, 08:30–17:30 in winter and 08:00–17:00 in summer, at 8 dinars for non-residents (AMVPPC).

The FCDO warns that driving at night outside towns can be hazardous because of unlit roads, vehicles without lights and livestock, and its summary page advises against travel to border areas in Jendouba, El Kef and Kasserine governorates. Stay on main roads and be back before dark.

Day 6: should you choose Kairouan or El Jem?

Choose Kairouan for Islamic architecture: the Great Mosque, founded in 670, opens to visitors only until 14:00, and until 12:00 on Fridays, so leave early. Choose El Jem for the Roman amphitheatre, reachable by train with a 06:05 departure from Tunis that arrives at 09:46. Both charge non-residents 12 dinars.

The heritage agency dates the Great Mosque of Kairouan to 670 and its present plan to the Aghlabid works of 836–841, describing its teak minbar of 862 as the oldest surviving in the Islamic world. It opens 08:00–14:00 in winter and 07:30–14:00 in summer, with a 12-dinar grouped ticket for non-residents (AMVPPC); the Aghlabid Basins list the same 12-dinar grouped ticket and, in winter, stay open until 17:00 (AMVPPC). Dress modestly, as the FCDO advises for religious sites.

El Jem’s amphitheatre, built between 238 and 250, could hold 27,000 to 30,000 spectators and has been a World Heritage Site since 1979; it opens 07:30–17:30 in winter and 07:30–18:30 in summer, at 12 dinars (AMVPPC). Seat 61 lists a 06:05 train from Tunis reaching El Jem at 09:46, notes that much of the network is single-track and says bookings open only three days ahead; check the return times at the station.

Kairouan has no railway, so take an SNTRI bus or a louage, or hire a driver (Seat 61). Avoid Fridays for Kairouan, and remember that the FCDO says rail travel is generally safe but that petty crime on trains is a risk.

Day 7: is Cap Bon worth it, or should you rest?

Go to Cap Bon if you still have energy: Kerkouane is the only preserved Punic city, a UNESCO site since 1986, and Hammamet’s medina and citadel make an easy afternoon. Kerkouane’s museum closes on Mondays. If you fly that evening, keep day 7 for the souks and a final walk instead.

The heritage agency calls Kerkouane, at the tip of Cap Bon, the only surviving Punic city, abandoned after its destruction in the First Punic War and inscribed by UNESCO on 28 November 1986. It opens 09:00–16:00 in winter and 09:00–18:00 in summer, charges non-residents 8 dinars and closes its museum on Mondays (AMVPPC). The tourist office calls it a Punic Pompeii (Discover Tunisia).

Hammamet’s citadel is open all week, 08:30–18:00 in winter and 08:00–19:00 in summer, for 8 dinars (AMVPPC). Without a car, Seat 61 notes that the nearest station, Bir Bou Rekba, is 5.7 km from Hammamet (Seat 61), so a driver or tour is simpler for a combined Kerkouane and Hammamet day.

A free final day is not wasted. Use it to buy what you priced earlier in the week, revisit a favourite corner of the medina, or spend a last afternoon on the beach at La Marsa. Leave a generous margin for the airport run before an evening flight.

How should the season and safety advice change the week?

From June to September, start every outdoor day at opening and rest through the afternoon; Tunis-Carthage averages highs of 31°C to 34.5°C then. From November to February, expect about seven or eight rain days a month and keep the Bardo for the wettest day. Avoid the FCDO-listed border areas, including Sbeitla in Kasserine governorate.

The WMO 1991–2020 normals for Tunis-Carthage give July and August highs of 34.0°C and 34.5°C and winter highs of about 16°C to 18°C, with December the wettest month at 68.1 mm. Dougga, Thuburbo Majus, El Jem and Kerkouane are open-air sites, so the season matters more on days 5 to 7 than in the city.

The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Kasserine governorate, including Sbeitla, which is why this plan does not include that Roman site, and against travel to other western and southern border areas. It also warns that terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks, with tourist and religious sites among the places at higher risk (FCDO).

Ramadan, next starting in February 2027 according to the FCDO, brings Ramadan opening hours at most sites; El Jem, for example, opens 08:00–17:00 (AMVPPC). See best time to visit Tunis for the month-by-month picture.

What should you book before a week in Tunis?

Book your base first, then transport for the day trips: a driver or tour for Dougga and Cap Bon, and a train seat for El Jem no more than three days ahead. Site tickets are bought at the gate. Consider a licensed guide for the medina day, and add tours only where they solve transport.

Compare tours by start time, what is included (entry fees, lunch, hotel pick-up) and the cancellation window. A Dougga trip that leaves at 10:00 in July loses the coolest hours, and a Kairouan trip that arrives after midday on a Friday misses the Great Mosque altogether. Our GetYourGuide vs Viator vs Klook comparison explains how the platforms’ policies differ.

For more ideas, see things to do in Tunis and the Tunis destination guide; for a shorter stay, the Tunis 3-day itinerary keeps everything within reach of the TGM.