1 independent reviews for Tunisia National Parks vacation
Reviews for Tunisia National Parks vacation
Monica Eeuwens review 30 May 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Visiting the archaeological sites (Bulla Regia and Dougga). We had excellent guides at both sites and both visits were amazing.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Inland Tunisia is much more conservative than the east coast so I would recommend long trousers or skirts. T shirts were ok, though I didn't see any local women without long sleeved garments. The visit to Djebba Park could be missed out. It was an interesting place, but without an experienced guide there was little to see. There's a lot of driving, so make the journey part of the experience. Our driver was fantastic, he explained things we had seen or were going to see, and he told us about, and helped us experience, Tunisian life.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We believe our trip benefitted local people because the guesthouses, driver and guides were all local Tunisian people. We ate in local Tunisian cafés and visited local shops to buy our souvenirs. All of this benefits Tunisian employment. I don't think our visit reduced environmental impacts because we were traveling and causing pollution (plane to Tunisia, car tour), used bottled water to drink, etc. This is inevitable in any tourism. Our visit to Lake Ichkeul provided some funds for conservation at that site. Our visits to Bulla Regia and Dougga would support preservation of those important archaeological sites.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Brilliant! All arrangements went smoothly. Lindsay at the tour operator kept in contact during the booking phase, adapting the trip to meet our needs, and also checked in during our trip. Everything in Tunisia ran smoothly and when an activity was impossible due to the weather, an alternative was quickly arranged (that was the initiative of our driver Taieb, who was fantastic!).Read the operator's response here:
We do use plastic bottles on tours, but we recycle all of them. She mentioned how her trip benefited the local communities, but we also donate a portion of our revenue back into communities and to benefit the environment. We donate 5% to our non-profit to support infrastructure projects in our destinations. Historically it has been for our water project in Tanzania, but I am working with a local collective in Tunis to support their initiatives. We also donate to the Yaeda Valley REDD+ Project through Carbon Tanzania to reforest this region and support the Hadzabe community. Now that Tunisia has picked up as a destination for us, we are looking into a similar project locally.
Monica has all this information (I sent it prior to the trip), but I wanted to respond since the email said specifically to address the comments that the traveler made in regard to responsible travel.
Please let me know if you need anything else from me!
Thank you!
Lindsay
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