Last February my husband surprised me with my first trip to Tozeur. I could not wait to find out about what to do in Tozeur. Tozeur is an oasis retreat famous for its palm trees, date production, and traditional yellow kilns brick. I truly had an amazing experience while visiting the city. Getting to Tozeur from Tunis is a long drive, around six and a half hours, but once you’re there you see why it was worth the drive down. Below I give details of my trip including where I stayed in Tozeur, and what I did in Tozeur during my three days there.
Weather in Tozeur
The best time to visit Tozeur is either in the spring or fall. We went in February and it was fairly warm during the day but chilly in the early morning and evening. During the summer months, Tozeur’s average temperature reaches above 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees celsius) which makes difficult conditions to go out and explore.
My hotel in Tozeur
My hotel in Tozeur was the Anantara Tozeur. I absolutely loved my time there. This hotel opened just about a month before my stay so everything was brand new. Our room had a beautiful view of the desert. The breakfast was really nice. As well as the spa! We had a magnificent service as well. I would recommend staying there. In my opinion, it is one of the best hotels in all of Tunisia.
How I got around Tozeur
We arranged for a private guided tour of Tozeur through our hotel. If you are planning on going into the Sahara having someone who knows where they are going is a must and will make your trip go smooth and that much more enjoyable. There are different tour companies you can book a guide with or your hotel should be able to recommend one.
What to do in Tozeur?
Below I give you the details of what there is to do in Tozeur, and what I personally saw during my time there.
The Chebika Oasis
The first thing we did in Tozeur during our guided tour was the Oasis in Chebika. This oasis is in the mountains of Tozeur. We first visited the old village of Chebika that was abandoned in 1969 due to severe flooding. It is perched upon a hill and has a magnificent view. After that, we climbed down to the oasis. The walk down to the oasis is something out of movies. The dry desert landscape with the contrasting green palm trees makes up a picturesque walk. The oasis is an inside out island for me. The water is the center and the land surrounds it. You can swim in the oasis if you like, we did not swim as it was February and we thought it was not the weather for swimming.
Tamaghza
Next on our tour was Tamaghza. Tamaghza is the largest mountain oasis in Tozeur. The mountains were impressive as they were immense, and we stopped at the waterfall to take a few photos and admire the beauty.
Mides
Before lunch, we stopped at Mides. Like Chebika, Mides also has an abandoned town. We wandered through it a bit. After came the canyons. I had no idea beforehand that there are canyons in Tunisia. The canyons are picturesque and impressive.
Camel Neck (Ong Jamal)
After our lunch break, we headed to the Sahara desert. On our way to the Star Wars set Mos Espa, we stopped at what is called Camel Neck. This mountain is said to look like a camel sitting down with his neck sticking out. You can climb up the mountain to have a birds-eye view of the desolate and peaceful desert.
The Dunes
Before reaching Mos Espa we drove through the large Sand Dunes. On top, we had a view of the set before reaching it!
Star Wars Site Mos Espa
The town Mos Espa is one of the star wars set still intact. While interesting to see, the condition of the set is going down. The buildings are slowly filling up with sand. You do not need much time to explore. An hour is good to take your pictures and ride a camel if that is something you would like to experience.
Nafta
The last stop before reaching our hotel was Nafta. We went to a lookout point where there was a beautiful view of an oasis.
Other Noteworthy sites
There are two other things to do in Tozeur that is worth visiting that we did not cover on our tour.
Chott El Djerid
Chott El Djerid is the largest salt lake in the Sahara Desert. We drove down the long stretch of road on our way back to Tunis which runs right through the lake. In the summer the lake is dried up, but during the winter when rain is present boats are used to cross some parts of the lake. The lake’s salt is currently collected for production. You can expect gold and pink hues from the salt lake as well as plenty of mirages.
Tozeur Old Medina
We didn’t have time to stop at the medina of Tozeur, however, on our next trip, we will make sure to visit it. The style of the medina is made up of the traditional yellow kilns brick, which is special to Tozeur and the surrounding cities.
If you are looking for an oasis retreat in the desert, Tozeur is definitely the place to go. The land of the oasis, palm trees, and dates will definitely not disappoint you. I hope this guide helped with finding what to do in Tozeur.
