Tozeur, Tunisia: The 7 Best Things to Do

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If I’m completely honest, Tozeur is not somewhere I ever imagined myself visiting. I’d wanted to visit Tunisia for years, but Tozeur was never really on my radar. Primarily because I never knew that it existed! But, that’s the thing about travelling to find hidden gems – quite often, the best ones are the ones you’ve never heard of. And this was certainly the case with Tozeur, Tunisia. 

This small oasis city is located in the Sahara Desert in Tunisia. It’s strangely beautiful and there’s a surprising amount to see and do around it considering it’s more or less in the middle of nowhere. If you’re planning to visit Tunisia, or Africa in general, this is definitely one to add to your bucket list. 

✅ Don’t have time to read the whole article? Here’s the best tour in Tozeur, and the hotel we stayed at during our time there.

Where to Stay in Tozeur

Tozeur is a fair distance from the popular touristy places of Tunis and Hammemet. As such, it can be slightly more difficult to find a good place to stay. But, I wholeheartedly recommend the Palm Beach Palace.

The lobby is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in a hotel, the rooms are very comfortable and there are lots of facilities.

There’s an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, the bar serves delicious cocktails (ask for the Blue Lagoon – trust me), and the staff are really friendly and welcoming.

There’s also a very large breakfast buffet station and a great dinner selection. 

If you’re looking for a wonderful place to stay in Tozeur, I cannot recommend Palm Beach Palace enough. 

✅ Book a room at the Palm Beach Palace Tozeur

The Best Things to Do in Tozeur Tunisia

But, now, let’s get down to business. Here are the 7 most unforgettable things to do in Tozeur Tunisia.

1. Explore Chebika Oasis

Out of all the places that we visited in Tozeur, this was my favourite. I have a thing for exploring abandoned sites and historical places and pairing that with the stunning oasis, waterfalls and palm groves really took my breath away. Beautiful would be an understatement. 

We visited Chebika Oasis on our second day in Tozuer. It’s about a 45-minute drive north of the city centre.

To get there, you’ll need to get a taxi because there isn’t any public transport. It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so it’s easy to see why.

We had a private driver, but there were also a few other tour groups at the site. 

Despite this, it was fairly quiet. In fact, compared to other historical sites I’ve visited in Africa, it was virtually empty of tourists.

There were a lot of vendors though, selling their wares. You could buy all sorts of things from handmade jewellery to a very unique ‘desert rose’ which was effectively crystallised sand. There is also a small cafe here and toilets.

How to visit Chebika Oasis

There are two sides to Chebika Oasis – the abandoned village and the oasis itself.

You have to walk through part of the the village to get to the oasis, but there are two ways to do this, either climbing over the hill or by heading down into the oasis from the bottom. We chose to climb to the top of the village and then back down into the oasis. 

It was worth it. The views were stunning. 

Our guide also told us that the whole place used to be underwater and actually showed us water markings on that rock from thousands of years ago. Considering how high we were, I was completely amazed!

After exploring the village, we headed down to the oasis. There were several streams and waterfalls here, although, once again, the water used to be much deeper than it is now.

The entire route through Chebika is pretty much a circle and you can spend as long as you like there. The site is free to enter and we were there for about 45 minutes.

I could’ve easily spent longer as it’s such a beautiful spot and one of the best things to do in Tozeur, Tunisia.

✅ I recommend this tour to Chebika Oasis!

2. Wander Around Onk Jemel (Mos Espa)

If Chebika is my favourite thing to do in Tozeur, then this is my second favourite. I had no idea before I visited Tunisia, that it was such a popular filming location. 

There are hundreds of film locations in Tunisia, scattered throughout the desert. You can actually book film tours around the region to see them all. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do this and only had time to see this one, but it was well worth it. 

What is Mos Espa?

For those Star Wars fans out there this pace needs no introduction. Even I recognised it since my fiance has recently made me watch the entire Star Wars franchise. It wasn’t actually that bad, but I certainly felt like a bit of a nerd as I was walking around. 

One of the most important and well-recognised sets of the entire franchise, Mos Espa is the birthplace of Anakin Skywalker, the little slave boy who later becomes Darth Vadar. 

You can explore the entire set, purchase Star Wars merchandise, and even go on a camel ride or hop on a dirt bike. It’s right in the middle of the Sahara Desert, so it’s surrounded by sand dunes. We saw several Jeeps at the top of the dunes that looked like they were showing tourists around.

Like Chebika, Mos Espa was surprisingly quiet. For the most part, we had the site to ourselves and it was completely free to visit. It’s around 40 minutes from the centre of Tozeur in the opposite direction to the oasis.

I recommend hiring a driver or booking a guided tour for this as it’ll probably be quite tough to get someone to take you back to Tozeur once your taxi leaves. But, it’s well worth visiting. The site is very impressive and another of the best things to do in Tozeur.

✅ I recommend this tour to Mos Espa!

3. Visit Tozeur Medina

Next, let’s explore somewhere a little closer to the centre of the city. The Medina is the heart and soul of Tozeur. It’s a maze of narrow alleys and centuries-old architecture. A visit here provides you with a wonderful glimpse into the rich culture of the region. 

You can explore the historic quarter and admire the traditional Berber influences and gorgeous Islamic architecture. I absolutely love the geometric designs here, the pattern of the bricks and the ornate wooden doors. 

You can also explore the souks, and find an array of local crafts, from vibrant textiles to intricately woven carpets and beautiful pottery. If you’re interested in authentic Tunisian culture, Medina is one of the best places to visit in Tozeur.

4. Explore Tamaghza Oasis

Another of the natural wonders located just a short distance from the city, Tamaghza is a great place to combine with a trip to Chebika. It’s about a further 20 minutes from Chebika and is another beautiful site to visit from Tozeur, Tunisia. 

This oasis also contains a canyon – and one of the most impressive canyons in Tunisia. Once again, you’ll need to hire a driver to get here as it is quite remote, but I recommend using the same driver that took you to Chebika and asking them to take you a little further. 

After we’d parked up here, it was just a short walk into the oasis itself. You’ll pass more vendors selling similar fares to what they were selling at Chebika and another small cafe. 

Once you get down into the canyon, you’ll have to cross a small stream via sandbag stepping stones. Then, you’ll reach the waterfall. It’s taller than the waterfalls at Chebika, but the surroundings are not quite as impressive.

You can walk behind it though, which makes it a little more exciting.

Once you’ve explored the waterfall, you can either head back the way you came or continue for a walk into the canyon. We didn’t do this, but I would certainly be curious to find out where the stream leads.

✅ I recommend this tour to the oases of Tozeur!

5. Go Zip-Lining at Sahara Lounge

Without question, one of the most fun things to do in Tozeur Tunisia is to take a trip to the Sahara Lounge. Located within the city centre, Sahara Lounge is a series of zip lines strung from the palm trees in the oasis.

If you enjoy adventure attractions when you travel, this is definitely one to add to your Tunisia bucket list. 

When you first arrive, the staff will help you into your harness. You’ll then be given a safety demonstration showing you how to use the equipment and have to complete a training course including a rope bridge, and a mini zipline. 

After that, they set you loose on the real thing. 

There are 7 zip lines in total across the course; some small, some long, and a giant one at the end which was over 100 meters long.

To get between the zip lines, you sometimes have to climb up rope bridges and navigate platforms very high up in the palm trees. Then, you strap yourself to the zip line and wizz across to the next one!

It was so much fun and if you enjoy adventure, you will love it here!

6. Explore Tozeur Town

After your adventure at the Sahara Lounge, head into the old quarters of Tozeur for a bit of a wander around. The city is pretty busy with local markets, stalls selling dates, pottery, wicker baskets, lanterns, and many other handmade products.

You’ll also be able to explore more of the architecture. You’ll see more of the curious brick pattern all over the walls, a statue in the centre of the city covered with lights, and rows of shops with pattered carpets draped from the roofs.

This is another great place to get lost exploring Tunisian culture and, of course, it’s pretty essential to see the city centre when you’re visiting! 

7. Try the Local Cuisine

Last but not least, when in Tozeur Tunisia, you have got to try the local cuisine. Tunisian cuisine wasn’t something I’d previously heard a lot about but it was pretty delicious.

We were spoiled for choice with dishes from all over the country. But there were a few things that really stood out to me and you have to try while in Toezur:

• Brik – A type of filo pastry parcel filled with a runny egg, tuna, and potato. It was one of the most delicious things I tried on this trip.
• Lamb with cous cous – An African classic but completely delicious. The cous cous was fragrant and laced with chickpeas and spices and the lamb just fell off the bone.
• Bambaloni – An incredibly light fried doughnut. It was so light and fluffy that I could probably have eaten about 5 of them in one sitting!
• Dates – Dates are an important part of Tunisian culture and the country is one the largest exporters of dates in the world. They’re often served alongside deserts or as a side dish.
• Thibarine – A scrummy date liquor. It was so sweet and smooth and something that I suspect I could’ve drunk quite a bit of! 

There are lots more wonderful foods to try in Tunisia, but these were just a few of my favourites.

The Best Time to Visit Tozeur Tunisia

The best time to visit Tozeur is either at the start of the year between January and April or at the end of the year between October and December. 

Between May and the end of September, the desert city can reach highs of around 40°C which is much too hot to really do anything. As such, the winter, early spring, and autumn months are much more pleasant. 

We visited in January and the temperature was around 20°C during the day. This did drop a fair bit at night though, but it was still bearable with a jacket.

How to get to Tozeur

By far the easiest way to get to Toezur is by plane. There is a direct connection from Tunis International Airport to Tozeur which takes around 1 hour. Tunis has connections to a lot of other destinations around the world.

This is how we would’ve travelled to Tozeur, but unfortunately, the flight was cancelled at the last minute so we ended up driving instead. It wasn’t too bad a drive.

We stopped at the city of Kairouan for a little wander around the old town a few hours into the drive. But overall, it takes 6 hours to get to Tozeur from Tunis by car, so it’s much easier to fly. 

How Many Days Do You Need in Tozeur?

This depends on your interests. If you’re a film fanatic or a Star Wars fan and want to go around the desert exploring all of the fascinating film sets, you could easily spend 5 days or more here.

However, if you want to explore some of the main attractions, and see the Sahara and the oases, I recommend spending around 3 days in Tozeur. 

We were there for 2 days and, even though we visited a lot of incredible places, it felt like there was more to see when we left. So, I think 3 days is the perfect way to have a relaxing trip, whilst seeing the best of Tozeur.

Is Tozeur Worth Visiting?

Yes, I think Tozeur is definitely worth visiting. Compared to the more touristy areas of Tunisia, it felt much more authentic. It wasn’t crowded at all (unlike the town of Sidi Bou Said which was very busy in the afternoon).

This meant you could explore at a comfortable pace without having to battle lots of other tourists. Plus, some of the sights were just incredible. 

Overall, if you love hidden gems and authentic culture, you’ll love Tozeur.

Final Thoughts on Visiting Tozeur, Tunisia

I really enjoyed my time in Tozeur. The city was unique, the surroundings were beautiful and there was quite a lot to see and do there.

I feel like it’s one of those places that aren’t really on the tourist radar yet. This is partially why I loved it so much because undiscovered places and hidden gems are literally what I live for.

Nonetheless, if you’re planning on visiting Tunisia, I do recommend you pay a visit here. It’s authentic, it’s unique, and it’s a wonderful place to explore if you love culture, natural beauty, and fantastic film locations.

*This guide was written in partnership with Discover Tunisia. All opinions are my own.

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