Safety in Tunisia

Overall: Tunisia is welcoming and safe for anyone applying basic common sense. A dedicated tourist police force patrols the resort areas and is easy to spot by the uniform and armbands.

Petty theft: Keep an eye on your bag and phone in markets and in the crush of the medina. Pickpockets are not common, but vigilance costs nothing, so carry valuables in front of you.

Traffic: Drivers do not give way to pedestrians, crossing or no crossing. Look both ways very carefully every single time, since driving here is chaotic and often fast.

Pushy helpers: Self-appointed guides in the medina can be extremely persistent. A free tour always ends in a shop with inflated prices, so say "la, shukran" firmly and keep walking.

Water and hygiene: Drink bottled water and use it to wash fruit too. Skip ice in street cafes, and pick places busy with local customers, which is the surest sign of fresh ingredients.

Where not to go: Do not plan trips to the border zones with Libya and Algeria in the south, where counter-terrorism operations take place. Stick to the well-travelled routes in the north and centre, and read your own government's travel advisory before you book.

Tunisia is gentler than Morocco in its pressure, but the schemes are the same: nearly all of them exist to walk a tourist into a shop.

"My brother works nearby." A classic of the Tunis medina and Sidi Bou Said. A friendly man starts a conversation, walks you "the short way", and delivers you to a carpet shop where you will be given tea and worked on for an hour. You can always leave, but it is psychologically hard — which is the point.

Carpets. The main overpayment. The opening price is three to five times inflated, and the stories about a "government certificate" and "duty-free shipping home" are part of the performance. If you genuinely want a carpet, use fixed-price shops.

Taxis. The meter is compulsory and usually works in Tunisia. "Broken" is a reason to get out and take another car. The night tariff is 50 percent higher and that is lawful.

Henna and photographs in tourist zones follow the Moroccan pattern: it is done first, then paid for.

Currency exchange. Change money only at banks and licensed bureaux, and keep the receipt. You need it to convert leftover dinars back on departure: exporting the dinar is prohibited, and without receipts no one will change it back.

Camels in Douz and the Sahara. The pyramid scheme again: mounting and dismounting are priced differently. Agree everything in advance.

Drones are prohibited. Bringing one in without Ministry of Defence permission is impossible, and the device is confiscated at the airport.

Exporting dinars is forbidden. The Tunisian dinar is a closed currency. Change leftover cash back at the airport, presenting your exchange receipts. Without them, the dinars stay with you as souvenirs.

Drugs. The notorious "Law 52" prescribed a year in prison for cannabis use alone for many years. Judges regained discretion in 2017, but the article remains in force and foreigners are prosecuted under it. No liberalisation has taken place in Tunisia.

Same-sex relations are criminalised under article 230.

Photography. Military sites, police stations, government buildings and checkpoints are off limits. There is a lot of police presence and they are wary of cameras.

Ramadan. No eating or smoking in public during daylight. Resort zones are more relaxed; the cities are not.

Dress. The resorts of Hammamet, Sousse and Djerba are relaxed. In the medina, in mosques and inland, cover your shoulders and knees.

Border areas. The Chaambi mountains near the Algerian border and the whole strip along the Libyan border are military zones with genuine risk. People do not go there, and organised tours do not either.

Vaccinations. None mandatory. Hepatitis A and typhoid are advised.

Water. Not from the tap: it is heavily mineralised and chlorinated, and it upsets visitors' stomachs even where it is formally safe. Bottled water is cheap.

Stomach. Ordinary traveller's diarrhoea is the most common complaint. Take care with salads, seafood standing in the heat, and dairy desserts in small cafes.

Heat. The south — Douz and Tataouine — stays above 45°C in summer. Take Sahara excursions in spring or autumn, and in summer only at dawn.

The sea. The Mediterranean coast is calm, but currents off Djerba and Cap Bon can be strong. Jellyfish appear sporadically in late summer.

Thalassotherapy. Tunisia is one of the world centres and the standard is decent. If you have heart or blood pressure problems, agree the programme with a doctor: contrast treatments are a serious load.

Healthcare. Private clinics in Tunis, Sousse and Monastir work to a good standard, and the country is building up medical tourism. Public hospitals are weaker. Insurance is needed.

Tunisia sits mid-table globally on corruption, and police are generally correct with tourists.

There is a heavy police presence. Since the 2015 attacks, armed posts stand outside hotels and museums and at the entrances to resort zones, and documents are checked regularly on the highways. It looks unfamiliar, but it is what restored safety to the resorts.

Tourist police. Operating in Hammamet, Sousse, Monastir and Djerba. Worth approaching over a dispute with a trader, a driver or a hotel.

Road checks. Routine. Keep your passport or a copy with you, and with a rental car, the contract and your licence.

Reporting theft. Reports are taken and certificates for insurers issued. The document will be in Arabic or French — ask for a copy.

Languages. French is universally understood, English in tourist zones. Russian occurs among hotel staff but not among police.

Emergency numbers: 197 for police, 190 for ambulance, 198 for fire.