Overland region

The Tunisian Sahara by 4x4 and motorbike: local guides and trips

A sand dune in the Tunisian Sahara
Photo: Jérôme Prax, CC0

The Tunisian Sahara lies south of the salt pan of Chott el Jerid, where the Grand Erg Oriental begins. Douz, known as the gateway to the Sahara, is a starting point for desert trips by 4x4, motorbike or camel, and Ksar Ghilane, an oasis with a hot spring on the eastern edge of the erg, is the other main stop. For anyone travelling with their own vehicle it means sand tracks through the Jebil National Park, remote spots like Jebel Tembain, Aïn Ouadette and the Sif Essouane dune, and the Roman ruins of Tisavar. Here are the local guides who work in the area and the trips that cross it.

16 local guides and 15 trips in the Tunisian Sahara on GuideMeet.

On the map

  1. Chott el Jerid Chott el Jerid — Salt pan. Vast salt pan between Tozeur and Kebili, the largest in the Sahara; how much of it is flooded varies a lot. The salt crust is not always firm, so walking or driving onto it is dangerous. 33.7000, 8.4300 · Google Maps
  2. Kebili Kebili — Town. Capital of the governorate and one of the oldest oases in Tunisia, south of the Chott el Jerid. Dates are its main crop; Douz, the best-known Saharan destination, lies to the south. 33.7050, 8.9650 · Google Maps
  3. Douz Douz — Town. Town known as the gateway to the Sahara, surrounded by more than 500,000 palm trees. A starting point for desert treks by camel, motorbike or 4x4; it hosts the International Festival of the Sahara. 33.4572, 9.0250 · Google Maps
  4. Jebil National Park Jebil National Park — Park. National park of 150,000 ha created in 1994, inside the Grand Erg Oriental. Home to dorcas gazelles and fennec foxes, with an enclosure where addax are bred for reintroduction. 33.1026, 9.0608 · Google Maps
  5. Jebel Tembain Jebel Tembain — Peak. Hill south of Douz, with its summit at 239 m above sea level; sand tracks link it to Aïn Ouadette, further south. 32.8732, 9.1121 · Google Maps
  6. Aïn Ouadette — Lake. Small lake and marsh with a hot spring, far to the south of Douz in the sands. It also appears on maps as Houidat Erreched. 32.5946, 9.1096 · Google Maps
  7. Sif Essouane Sif Essouane — Dunes. Big dune in the far south-west of the Tunisian Sahara. The name is also written Sif Es Souane. 32.4251, 8.7872 · Google Maps
  8. Ksar Ghilane Ksar Ghilane — Oasis. Oasis on the eastern edge of the Grand Erg Oriental, reputed to be the southernmost in Tunisia, with a hot spring where you can swim. An asphalt road links it to Douz, 80 km to the north. 32.9808, 9.6364 · Google Maps
  9. Tisavar Tisavar — Archaeological site. Ruins of a Roman fort less than 1 km from the Ksar Ghilane palm grove: a border post of the limes Tripolitanus, built at the latest under Commodus (180–192). 33.0086, 9.6162 · Google Maps
  10. Bir Soltane — Village. Small hamlet with a café and a campsite, about 35 km north of Ksar Ghilane. 33.2841, 9.7104 · Google Maps

Local guides in the Tunisian Sahara

More local guides (4)

Overland trips in the Tunisian Sahara

Trips already run here

When to go

The cooler months, from October to April, are the most comfortable: at Kebili the average temperature is about 10 °C in January and above 31 °C in July and August, with records close to 49 °C. Winter nights can drop below freezing.

Before you go

Photo credits

Photos from Wikimedia Commons, under the licences shown.

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