Tunisia entry requirements, by passport

What draws travelers to Tunisia

Tunisia packs into a small country three things you normally have to look for separately: first-rate Roman ruins, living medinas and desert. The amphitheatre of El Jem, one of the largest in the Roman world, and the archaeological site of Carthage, the Punic capital razed and refounded by Rome on the Gulf of Tunis, have been on the World Heritage List since 1979, the same year as the Medina of Tunis, a still-inhabited maze of souks, madrasas and palaces. Kairouan, founded in the 7th century, keeps the Great Mosque that served as a model for the rest of the Maghreb; the Medina of Sousse preserves its ribat and kasbah; Dougga, inland, is the best-preserved Roman town in North Africa; and Kerkuane is the only Punic town never rebuilt over. The island of Djerba joined the list in 2023 for its dispersed settlement pattern and its historic coexistence of communities. The country has ten World Heritage sites in all, among them Ichkeul National Park, a wintering lake for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds. To the south, the cave dwellings of Matmata and the salt chotts open onto the Sahara. Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travel to the border areas with Algeria — including Mount Chaambi — and with Libya, especially around Ben Guerdane, and to the eastern strip of the Jendouba and El Kef governorates.

Sources for this section: whc.unesco.org (World Heritage List: 10 sites in Tunisia, including El Jem 1979, Carthage 1979, Medina of Tunis 1979, Ichkeul 1980, Kerkuane 1985/86, Kairouan 1988, Medina of Sousse 1988, Dougga 1997, Djerba 2023); Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel advice for Tunisia (areas advised against). Accessed 17 September 2026.