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To Tunisia in 48 hours without flying?
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Above:
The Grand Mosque, Sousse |
Fly to Tunisia? There's no
need. You can travel
safely, comfortably and affordably from London's St Pancras Station to Tunisia without
flying, by train and ferry. Simply take Eurostar to
Lille and a TGV high-speed train or overnight 'Corail Lunéa' sleeper train to Marseille, then
a cruise ferry to Tunisia. This page is a step-by-step
guide to planning, booking and making a trip to Tunisia by
train and ferry, no flying necessary!
On this page...
London to Tunis by train+ferry - times, costs, how to buy
tickets
On other
pages...
Train travel within Tunisia
Sponsored links:
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Above: SNCM's Liberté boarding at Marseille... |
London ►
Tunis
- Day 1: Travel from London to Marseille by train,
leaving London St Pancras by
Eurostar at 14:04 (14:34
on Sundays),
changing at Lille Europe (arrive 16:24, depart 17:54) onto a
direct TGV to Marseille, arriving
Marseille St Charles at 22:46 (22:21 on Sundays). Alternative trains are
available if you'd like to leave London earlier and spend an
afternoon or evening in Marseille, see the
London to France page.
It's a very scenic trip, as south of Lyon the TGV runs along
the Rhône Valley, crossing and
re-crossing the River Rhône, flying
at ground level through the hills of Provence over some
impressive viaducts to reach Marseille. Watch out for a
dramatic viaduct over the Rhone just before Avignon, with
views of the famous 'Palais des Papes' in the distance (though
if you can spot anyone dancing 'sur le pont d'Avignon' you've
got better eyesight than me). You'll catch a glimpse of
Marseille harbour with its Chateau d'If of Count of Monte
Cristo fame to your right just before arriving at Marseille St
Charles station. Spend the night in a hotel.
Facilities on board
TGVs.
Map of Marseille.
-
Day 2: Sail
from Marseille to Tunis by cruise ferry, usually leaving in
the morning or lunchtime and arriving in Tunis the following
morning (day 3). Two ferry companies, the French SNCM and the Tunisian CTN (Compagnie Tunisienne de
Navigation) sail from Marseille to Tunis several times a week
all
year-round. Sailing
times & dates vary, so see the
Seat61 Ferry Shop or www.sncm.fr
for actual times &
fares for both SNCM and CTN for your dates of travel. CTN also have their own
website,
www.ctn.com.tn, although without online booking.
Both French SNCM and Tunisian CTN ships are modern and
comfortable with a full range of restaurants, bars, cinema &
cabins. Make sure you're on deck as the ship sails out of the
port of Marseille, past the fishing boats in the Vieux Port and the infamous
Chateau d'If, with great views of the city. 24 hours
later you've crossed the Mediterranean, and the ship sails into the Bay of Tunis, past the ruins of
the ancient city of Carthage on Byrsa Hill, with a real sense
of arrival that airline passengers will never know. -
Day 3:
The ferry arrives at Tunis international
ferry terminal at La Goulette, about 6 miles
(10km) from Tunis city centre. You
can either take a taxi (10-15 dinars, but insist that the
driver uses the meter) or walk to the nearby
La Goulette station on the Tunis-Marsa 'TGM' light railway
and take a train two stops to the Tunis
Marine station at the end of the line,
journey time about 15 minutes. There
are banks in La Goulette for local currency
to buy a ticket.
Map of Tunis (the ferry terminal is at
the right-hand end of the long straight
section incorrectly marked as the Avenue Habib Bourguiba, south
of Keredine, at the entrance to the Ben
Arous).
For onward trains from Tunis to Sousse, Monastir, Sfax & Gabès,
see the Train travel in Tunisia page.
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Above: 24 hours later, the Liberté sails into the
beautiful deep green waters of the Bay of Tunis... |
Tunis ► London
-
Day 1: Sail from Tunis to Marseille by cruise ferry.
Ferries sail several times a week, usually at around 11:00 or
12:30, arriving in Marseille
the following day (day 2) at 08:30, 10:30 or occasionally
14:00. Sailing
times & dates vary, so see the
Seat61 Ferry Shop or www.sncm.fr
for times &
fares for both SNCM and CTN. Both French SNCM and Tunisian CTN
ships are modern and comfortable with a full range of
restaurants, bars, cabins, cinema, and so on. Tunis
international ferry terminal is at La Goulette, 6 miles from
the city centre by taxi or light railway plus a short walk.
- Day 2: Travel by train from Marseille back to
London. Allow at least 3 hours to make a
connection in Marseille between the scheduled arrival of the
ferry and the departure of your train.
-
If the ferry arrives 08:00-09:30,
there's a 13:28 TGV high-speed train from Marseille, change at Lille
onto Eurostar, arriving London St Pancras at 19:34, still on day 2.
If your ferry arrives 09:30-11:00, there's a 15:28 TGV to
Paris, change train & stations in Paris and take the Eurostar arriving London 21:36. If your ferry is due to arrive
any later than 11:00, then you should plan to spend the night
in a hotel and travel the next day (day 3). This advice
takes into account the fact that ferries can sometimes arrive
late. See the see the
London to France page for
the full range of times, fares & options from Marseille to
London.
How much does it cost?
-
The fare from London to
Marseille starts at £109 return by Eurostar+TGV high-speed
train. See the London to
France page for more information about fares.
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From Marseille to
Tunis, a ferry ticket starts at £141 single, £281 return
including a a berth in a 4-berth
cabin. You can check fares for different cabin types and
dates at www.sncm.fr.
How to buy tickets online:
How to buy tickets by phone:
- Book the ferry first, by calling SNCM's and CTN's UK agent, Southern Ferries,
www.southernferries.co.uk, on
0844 815 7785.
-
Then book the train from London to Marseille, by calling Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848 (lines
open 09:00-21:00 Mondays-Fridays, 09:00-18:00 Saturdays,
10:00-17:00 Sundays).
Alternatively, you can
book through any European rail-appointed
travel agent such as Ffestiniog Travel (01766 772050 ) - click
here for more European rail booking information.
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It is
also possible to travel from London to Tunisia via Genoa in
Italy - the ferry may be a bit cheaper from Genoa to Tunis than
from Marseille to Tunis, but the train fare from London to
Genoa is usually more expensive and less convenient than London to Marseille.
-
SNCM
(French) and CTN (Tunisian) provide a joint ferry service
from Genoa to Tunis once or twice a week, with fares
starting at about £85
single, £155 return - visit www.sncm.fr
to check fares and sailing dates for both companies.
-
Grandi
Navi Veloci (Italian) also sail from Genoa to Tunis two
or three times a week - see
www.gnv.it
to check fares and sailing dates.
-
For details of train
times and fares between
London and Genoa, and how to buy tickets see the
London to
Italy page.
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Above: The Majestic Hotel, Tunis |
A good guidebook like the Lonely Planet or
Rough Guides will point you at some good hotels in each town
or city when you get there. Alternatively, you
can pre-book hotels through
www.hotelscombined.com, just use the search box
below. This is not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites for you (AsiaRooms,
Opodo, Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms and many others) to
find the cheapest hotel rates on the net. Set up in
2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place to
start for booking any hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Personal recommendation...
The Hôtel
Majestic on the main Avenue de Paris in Tunis has the best French colonial
facade in town and is a great place to stay, see
www.majestichotel.com.tn. It's been closed for
refurbishment for a while, but is due to reopen sometime in
2009. It's
comfortable and central, and rooms with en suite facilities cost around
£20
per night. Telephone +216 (0) 71 332 666 or e-mail Majestic@gnet.tn.
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   You
should take a good guidebook. For
the independent traveller this means either the Lonely Planet
or the Rough Guide. I personally prefer the layout of
the Lonely Planets, but others prefer the Rough Guides.
Both provide an excellent level of practical information
and historical background. You won't regret buying
one..!
Click the images
to buy online at Amazon.co.uk
  The
Thomas Cook European Timetable has
train, bus and ferry times for every country in Europe, including European Turkey from Istanbul westwards.
The Thomas Cook Overseas
Timetable is probably
the most adventurous timetable ever produced... It has train,
bus and ferry times for every country in the world outside
Europe, including Asian Turkey from Istanbul eastwards.
These
timetables are essential for any serious overland traveller,
and an inspiration for armchair travellers! Each timetable costs
around £13.99 from the bureau de change section of any branch of Thomas Cook, or you can
buy online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com.
Alternatively, you can
buy the twice-yearly Independent Traveller's editions at
Amazon.co.uk also with shipping worldwide.
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