Excursions from Hammamet: all 7 day trips compared

Excursions from Hammamet can target seven different destinations, every one of them doable without an overnight stay. They are ranked here by drive time to the first stop, because that governs how tired you feel at the end far more than total distance does.

Prices are per vehicle, everything included except site tickets and lunch. The effort column accounts for cumulative drive time, walking on site and sun exposure.

That is geography, not opinion. Hammamet sits in the curve of the gulf, halfway between Tunis and Sousse, with the A1 motorway ten minutes away. You are an hour from Carthage, ninety minutes from El Jem, and forty-five minutes from an abandoned Berber village few travellers have heard of.

It is also where rates are lowest, because the reference prices are set from there. Add roughly €10 leaving from Sousse or Monastir, €20 from Tunis. Over two day trips that is a €20 to €40 difference.

The Greater Tunis day, without hesitation. One trip covers the country's most famous archaeological site, its most photographed village and the medina of Tunis, for only an hour of driving.

• One hour on the road, so you are not wrecked the next day.

• Three very different moods: ancient ruins, blue and white village, working souk.

• You grasp the country's geography, which makes the second day trip more interesting.

• €80 for four people, so €20 each.

The classic trap is spending too long at Carthage. The site sprawls over several hectares and it is tempting to see everything. Two well-chosen stops beat six skimmed: ask your driver which two he recommends given the hour and the crowds. The full programme is on the Greater Tunis excursion page.

Friguia Park for under-tens, the Sahel for older children. They are the only two days where the walking stays short and you are back early.

Friguia Park, €45, half day

Thirty minutes of driving, a wildlife park with animals in semi-freedom, and back at the hotel in early afternoon. It is the only half day on the list, which also makes it the best option for an arrival or departure day. Go early: the animals are far more active before 11 am.

Sahel: Sousse and Monastir, €90

The medina of Sousse is compact enough not to exhaust anyone, children like the ribat at Monastir because you climb the tower, and there is beach. Thirty minutes out leaves real room to improvise.

Clearly avoid Dougga with small children: eleven hours, five hours of cumulative driving, and a site in full sun with a slope. It is a superb day for motivated adults and a hard one for a six-year-old.

El Jem if you only have one day, Dougga if you have two and have already seen amphitheatres. Both are World Heritage sites, but they tell different stories.

If you are still torn, our comparison of El Jem and Dougga goes through both site by site.

Alternate a long day and a short one, and leave at least a rest day between them. Four combinations that work well depending on the group.

One remark brochures never make: do not schedule anything for the day after you arrive if you land in the evening. Between the flight, the transfer and settling in, a 7.45 am start is paid for across the rest of the holiday.

Excursions from Hammamet start at your hotel reception, between 7.30 and 9 am depending on the day trip, and end in the same place that evening. Nothing for you to organise: no driving, no parking, no tolls.

• The day before, you get the driver's name and the exact time, usually by WhatsApp. If nothing has arrived by the evening, chase it.

• In the morning, the driver waits at the main reception, never at a shared assembly point.

• Payment is made to the driver on the day, with no deposit, on an amount fixed in euros when you booked.

• A tip is neither required nor asked for: custom sits around €5 to €10 per vehicle for a full day.

Two last habits worth keeping: carry cash for site entrances, and avoid Friday if Kairouan is your main reason for going, since visiting hours at the Great Mosque are reduced that day.