Watersports
The clear waters around Tunisia, with the coral beds and varied
sea life make it a popular destination for scuba diving.
Tabarka Yachting Club and the International
Diving Centre located at Port el Kantaoui
are accepted by the World Confederation for Diving
and offer fully equipped lessons and trips. Permission must be obtained
to dive at the natural reserve islands of La Galite and
Zembra.
For underwater fishing, you will need to bring
your own equipment, and obtain details of conservationist underwater
fishing restrictions from the National Tourist Office in Tunisia.
Visitors who have brought their own equipment can refill their air
bottles at the offices of the Société d'Air
Liquide at Mégrine, 7 kilometres (4 miles) from
Tunis, and also at Sfax.
Some of the hotels on the coast have a heated pool as well as a
private beach suitable for swimming.
Port el Kantaoui is a port of international standard
offering mooring for over 340 boats, deep-sea navigation school,
harbour master's office, a sailing school, a ship-chandler, boat-rental
and a dry-docking area with maintenance shops. Prices are very competitive,
particularly for winter careening services. The marina at Cap Monastir
has similar facilities and another sailing (and water-skiing) centre
is Le Club Nautique de Sidi-Bou Said, which has a marina complex.
The abundance and great variety of fish makes fishing
a very popular sport and catches include groupers, mullet, ray,
red rock mullet, dogfish, crayfish and shrimp. A wetsuit is necessary
between November and April. Coral fishing can be
observed at Tabarka, sponge fishing at Sfax, octopus
fishing off the Kerkennah Islands, on the island
of Jerba and in the Gulf of Gabès, and tuna
fishing by the experts at Sidi Daoud. These 'fishing
spectacles' take place during May and June.
Golf
There are good courses at Port el Kantaoui near
Sousse, Monastir, Carthage at
Tunis, Tabarka, Tozeur,
Djerba and Hammamet. Players of all skills
will find very high-quality facilities in the country.
The Open Golf Championships have attracted several
leading competitors from all over the world. Created by renowned
golf-course architects, the courses are dotted with palm, pomegranate
and olive trees, and are next to the ocean. Each of the 18 holes
is on a different kind of terrain, and the treated turf has been
imported from California. There are lush clubhouses, equipment to
rent and training/practice grounds with a putting green.
In Tunis, the golf course at the Country
Club at La Soukra has lately undergone extension and re-landscaping
and more courses are planned for each major resort.
Gliding
The best-known venue for gliding enthusiasts is the Federal
Gliding Centre at Jebel Rassas, 25 kilometres
(15 miles) from Tunis, where gliders and qualified instruction in
the sport are available to tourists and visitors.
Birdwatching
Tunisia has several species of birds, most of which are protected
in the national parks. The cork-oak forests of Ain Draham,
the hills and steps from Kef to Kasserine,
the lake and marshes of Ichkeul (near Bizerta),
the coastal lagoons round Sousse and Tunis and the oases and deserts
of the south all have their characteristic birds.
Birdlife also differs with the seasons. In the winter, geese, spoonbills,
ducks, robins and wagtails seek refuge from the cold further north,
whilst during the spring and autumn, migrant swallows, warblers
and birds of prey at Cap Bon pass through on their journeys between
Africa and Europe. In the summer, Mediterranean species like bee-eaters,
storkss and rollers stay to nest.
Health
spas
There are many hot-spring stations throughout Tunisia - mainly in
the north of the country. Several of the spas have been used for
this purpose since Roman and Punic times.
The important stations are run by personnel specialised in the paramedical
and medical fields and treatments are available for arthritis, rheumatism,
a variety of lung and skin complaints, circulatory troubles and
gynaecological problems.
Film
tours
Tunisia's desert near Tozeur has featured in many
films, most notably in The English Patient and
Star Wars.
An increasing number of the tour operators now offer desert safaris
to the locations where these well known blockbuster movies were
shot. Further information can be obtained from the Tunisian National
Tourist Office.
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