A guide to the customs of Tunisia, tips about Hammamet, taxis in Hammamet, Hammamet souk & medina, customs & tips guide.

All of the taxis in Hammamet are yellow and have meters but you sould make sure that the meter is running because sometimes they don't turn them on and just make up the fare, also you should tip about one dinar, there are lots of taxis looking for business and you pay the same for a brand new mercedes as you do for a beaten up old peugeot so don't just get into the first one you see.

In the town centre is the medina and inside that is the souk, this is a market set down small allyways, you will be constantly bothered by the market sellers trying to get you into their shops with phrases such as 'please let me know if my shop is as good as the shops in England' & 'cheaper than Asda' they rely on you not wanting to be rude and just ignore them but after a few hours of this you will think nothing of just walking past and pretending you don't speak english, if you think of it all as just a game then it can be very enjoyable.

Haggling is the national passtime in Tunisia and the locals are experts at it, the best way of getting some idea of just how much you are being overcharged when they give you their first price is to go to a fixed price shop, these are mainly government run shops with prices on the goods and thats the price that you pay, so have a wander around one of these to get an idea of how much you can haggle down the vendors in the souk and it will be a lot. Ramadan lasts a month and is sometime during September & October (check for exact dates) it won't affect you much as a tourist but you should refrain from eating or smoking when walking down the street in daylight hours and you wiil find that the restaurants put up some screens so that locals walking down the street during the day don't see you sitting at the table eating and smoking.