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- Destinations
- Africa
- Tunisia
- The East Coast
- Port El Kantaoui
Port El Kantaoui
One could be forgiven for imagining that the quaint blue and
white holiday village of Port El Kantaoui had been built as a
Hollywood stage set and simply uprooted and plonked down on the
Tunisian coast, flanked by two long stretches of perfect clean
sandy beaches. In fact, this is not far from the truth: El Kantaoui
is a chic, purpose-built holiday resort, which owes nothing to
history, but everything to catering for the up-market tourist,
seeking leisurely luxury in an enchanting setting.
The El Kantaoui complex is built around a modern marina, which
can accommodate more than 300 vessels, most of them moored by
millionaires. Its complex of hotels centres on the cobblestone
streets of the perfect reproduction of a typical medieval medina,
abuzz during the day with souvenir hunters. In the evening the
action switches to the bars and cafes opposite the marina. The
entire town has been termed a 'tourist ghetto', but it is indeed a
delightful and highly successful one, enhanced by its Mediterranean
location and Moorish flavour.
Information & Facts
Activities
In the holiday resort of Port El Kantaoui, a variety of boat
trips are offered from the Marina, whether it is pleasure cruises,
glass-bottomed boat tours, fishing expeditions or dolphin viewing
experiences. The close proximity of the older, more established
resort town of Sousse, just six miles (10km) away, means that
visitors can enjoy the best of both worlds and travel by the local
'Noddy Train' between the two, sampling the beaches and watersports
on offer. The two resorts also share two golf courses. Other
pursuits include quad biking, horse riding and beach camel rides,
as well as a variety of excursions to choose from like shopping
trips to Tunis, expeditions to view the Roman ruins at Carthage,
the pretty village of Sidi Bou Said, or an evening in the desert at
a Bedouin Feast.
Language
The overwhelming majority of people in Tunisia speak
Arabic and French. English is taught in all schools and is
increasingly spoken especially by younger people. Some German and
Italian is also spoken.
Money
The unit of currency is the Tunisian dinar (TND), divided into
1, 000 millimes. Travellers cheques are widely accepted. Banks and
some hotels provide foreign exchange. ATMs are found in most towns
and at all the tourist resorts; almost all will accept Visa cards
and many will also accept Maestro (Switch) cards. Visa, Diners
Club, American Express and MasterCard are accepted for payment in
souvenir shops, upmarket hotels and restaurants, although Visa
encounters the least problems. All Tunisian currency must be
exchanged before departure.
Negatives
Port El Kantaoui is often over-crowded, and more expensive than
the other holiday resorts in Tunisia. There are no facilities here
for budget travellers because most hotels are top-rated
establishments.
Night Life
Nightlife is low key, but most holidaymakers can find something
to their taste whether it be simply lingering over a delicious
meal, sipping drinks at a waterfront cafe or enjoying the in-house
entertainment at one of the hotels. There is also a casino about
five minutes away.
Restaurants
El Kantaoui bristles with excellent restaurants serving all
sorts of cuisine and holidayakers will not be disappointed. Most of
the best restaurants are fronting the Marina, like sophisticated La
Daurade, or Les Emirs, which serve up traditional specialities, and
Le Mediterranee. Prices are modest by European standards, but
higher than elsewhere in Tunisia.
Shopping
Like the entire resort, the shopping centre and model 'souk' in
Port El Kantaoui is geared to holidaymakers, stocking mainly
souvenir items with prices higher than elsewhere in Tunisia.
Bargaining for goods is an entertaining experience, however. For
better bargains and a more realistic Tunisian bazaar experience
take an excursion to nearby Sousse.
Time
Local time in Tunisia is GMT +1 (GMT +2 from the last Sunday
in March to the last Sunday in October).