Author: Soler
Turkey - 7 million Russian tourists a year; Tunisia - 630 thousand. However, the comparison of the two countries does not lose its relevance from year to year before the season. This is what we will do!
"Which is better - Tunisia or Turkey?" - of course, an ambiguous question.
History and geography already determine the differences and characteristics: taste, color, flavor. For one - this is the ultimate dream, and for another - a waste of time. We propose to close the subjective debate and listen to the facts and your own response. So, we decide where it is better to go on vacation - to Turkey or Tunisia?
IMPORTANT: Turkey is now open for Russians - you can fly both on tour and on your own. Tunisia is also open, but there are no direct flights from Russia.
The fact is also explainable:
| TUNISIA 🇹🇳 | TURKEY 🇹🇷 | |
| Currency | 1 dinar = 28 rubles | 1 lira = 10 rubles |
| The language of communication | Arabic, French, English; absolutely none, but Russian - in the resorts | Turkish, English, decent Russian - in the resorts |
| Flight time from Moscow | 4 hours | 3-3.5 hours |
| Tourist season | May-October; | April-October; |
| average temperature | Summer: + 38 ° С in air, + 27 ° С in water. | Summer: + 35 ° С in air, + 25 ° С in water. |
Tour prices
Last minute tours to Turkey from 10,000 rubles are the norm, and you will have "all inclusive". You will leave for Tunisia for 20 thousand, if the stars converge ... And, God forbid, not everything will be "off". We will talk about the level of service and quality below, but for now, consider the prices for tours to Tunisia and Turkey.
- In 2021, the cost of an all-inclusive ticket to Turkey starts from 45,000 rubles for 7 nights for two (departure from Moscow, hotel 3 *)
- A similar tour to Tunisia - from 60,000 rubles (when charters appear)
It is most budgetary to have a rest both there and there in April-May and September-October, however, in these months, Turkey wins in price. Plus, it offers a wider variety of family tours (with good discounts for children).
Where to look for tours on your own?
Both countries proudly bear the burden of “tour resorts”: the voucher is guaranteed to cost less than an independent trip. It is even more profitable to monitor vouchers online, rather than storming travel agencies. You select the options yourself, read the reviews, focus on the cost and, in the end, find "the one".
You can study offers from all tour operators at once - which means that you can catch available promotions for Tunisia or Turkey on 3 large aggregators:
- Travelata
- Level.Travel
- Onlinetours
The services analyze the databases of verified companies, compare prices and show the lowest possible for the required dates.
Fortress Ribat - incredible views of the Mediterranean Sea from the top
(Tunisia, Monastir) / Our trip to Alanya, Turkey
Where is the warmer climate? Country weather
Where it will be warmer, in Turkey or Tunisia, depends on the time of year: if in the first season the beach season can be opened in mid-April, then in the second it is rainy during this period. But the comfortable weather lasts in Tunisia until the end of October - when in Turkey you no longer really want to undress to a swimsuit.
🇹🇳 Tunisia is subtropics + desert, sand, rocks and date palms. Summer, to put it mildly, is hot.
A real beach holiday is possible in May and September-October: the absence of humidity gives a mild pleasant climate.
In winter, it is quite warm, + 20 ° С is quite real - the Germans and the French sunbathe on the beaches (they do not climb into the water).
February-April: the opportunity to be the first to taste local delicacies: olive oil, strawberries, artichokes, citrus fruits.
🇹🇷 Turkey's climate is continental and subtropical. You don't get sunbathing here in winter, but you can go downhill skiing from December to April.
Due to the mountains, the humidity is higher and the vegetation is thicker.
Swimming begins in May and ends in October, the water is completely warmed up by June.
In summer (July-August) there is also a "gas chamber" here, but more humid than hot, as in Tunisia.
Where is it cheaper to have a rest?
Having found out that it is cheaper to go to Turkey, let's say a word about specific cities and towns, because a resort is not necessary for a resort.
- Turkey: you can have an inexpensive vacation in Alanya, Kemer, Antalya find a tour >>
- Tunisia: in Sousse (except for the Port el-Kantaoui area), Monastir
Beach vacation and the sea
🇹🇳 The beaches of Tunisia delight with a gentle entrance and powdery white sand - there is no such thing in Turkey!
The resort area stretches from the city of Hammamet to the island of Djerba. The best beaches are in Mahdiya or Nabele.
In Sousse it is dirty - there is a port nearby (besides, in August-September the sea is flooded with jellyfish); Djerba, Mahdia and Hammamet are clean and there are no nasty algae.
🇹🇷 Turkey is more variable: there are bays, sandy and pebbly beaches, the sea is quite clean.
The most picturesque and green resorts: Marmaris, located at the confluence of the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean, Bodrum, Kemer, Fethiye, Side.
By the way, it is cooler at the resorts of the Black Sea and Aegean coasts, you can swim from the end of June (Bodrum, Marmaris).
Our trip to Chimera (Turkey)
Attractions and entertainment
🇹🇳 Tunisia is a former French colony, and the service here is very comme il faut, especially in the spa area.
You will not find European-level thalassotherapy procedures for 6000 rubles / day anywhere else!
Nightlife: Sousse, Hammamet. Guardians of the underwater world: Tabarka, Midun, Djerba, Mahdia.
🇹🇷 Entertainment in Turkey hotels means you won't want to leave them again.
In between storming the water slides in the water park, crawling from pool to pool, playing on the sports grounds, you are entertained by an animator.
Hotels in Tunisia for such a variety will require a higher fee.
It is not worth thinking about where it is better to go - to Turkey or Tunisia - for artifacts of the past - they are in abundance everywhere.
In Tunisia, don't miss:
- Sidi Bou Said - a snow-white town with blue roofs and windows, immersed in bougainvillea and jasmine
- National Museum of Bordeaux in Tunis (capital)
- Colosseum El Jem (third largest in the Roman Empire)
- Ruins of Carthage
- Grand canyon of the Atlas mountains
Turkey is the alma mater of relaxation, where you are entertained "from breakfast to breakfast" within the hotel. However, the shackles of templates are easily broken outside resort areas:
- Ancient ruins in Izmir, Mir, Ani (capital of Ancient Armenia)
- Limestone basins of Pamukkale
- Duden waterfalls (Antalya)
- Damlatash Cave (Alanya);
- Cappadocia
If you suddenly come up with an idea to rent a car, then you should know: the infrastructure of the internal communication deserves a big plus in every country. However, reviews of tourists at the same time - Tunisian roads are more comfortable and familiar to the European eye.
| Average cost: | Tunisia 🇹🇳 | Turkey 🇹🇷 |
| Car rental | 100 dinars per day - mechanics (automatic machine is more expensive for 20-30 dinars) (32 euros) | 165 liras per day (25 euros) |
| Gasoline | 2 dinars (0.6 euro) | 6.6 lire (≈ 1 euro) |
| Intercity t / c | 4-6 dinars (1.2-2 euros) (+ developed railway communication) | 13-15 lire (2-2.3 euros) |
| Travel within cities | 1 dinar (0.3 euro) | 3 lira (EUR 0.4) |
| "A spoon of tar" | Directions and numbers buses - in Arabic | Non-compliance with traffic rules local drivers |
Ruins in Tunisia - Excursion to Demre, Turkey
Excursion prices
The cost of excursions in these countries does not differ much, on average: 48-50 dinars (1350-1400 rubles) per person. The advantage of Tunisia is that it is inexpensive to get to local attractions by taxi.
Excursions to other worlds, for example, to the Sahara (Tunisia), start from 240 dinars (6700 rubles); to other cultures - the Greek islands (from Turkey) - from 2000 rubles + a single entry visa on the spot for € 35, if there is no Schengen. The closest way to get to the islands is from Bodrum.
Where is it better with children - Turkey or Tunisia?
Tunisia has an institute of tourism with a faculty for animators - there is no need to worry about the entertainment and safety of the child, with one big "but": quality service for kids is not available in all hotels and is much more expensive than in Turkey. Suitable resorts: Djerba, Hammamet, Mahdia.Keep in mind that in summer the child can get tired of the heat, and the excursions are too exotic and tiring.
Therefore, it is better to plan a vacation with children up to adolescence in Turkey: the climate, animation, beach infrastructure will be beneficial for both the parent and the child. Family vacations are spent on the warmer Mediterranean coast: Side, Belek, Kemer (pebbles); with older children you can go to Alanya.
Where is it safer with a child?
It is not easy to say unequivocally where it is better with children - in Turkey or Tunisia (in terms of safety). You can leave your child at the hotel nanny or in the kids club in any country.
The only thing is that in Turkey more hotels offer different age children's clubs: your child will not learn anything unnecessary and superfluous. But remember: in Tunisia, such entertainment is less common and not very budgetary.
Do not forget that a child who is vacationing without parents must agree to travel abroad.
5 star hotel in Turkey, Side
Hotels and resort infrastructure
The price / quality ratio, or stardom / quality, is definitely better in Turkey - here you can find a decent "three" on the 1st line, and, with great diligence, even a "two". In Tunisia, it is advised to settle only in 4-5-star hotels, and half of this segment is very "shabby", but at least everything else is on the level.
In Turkey, there is a wider choice of both huge club hotels and hotels such as bungalows or villas. On average, prices for accommodation in a good 5 * resort hotel for two (with self-booking) are from 7,000 rubles / night in Turkey and from 5,000 rubles / night in Tunisia.
Kitchen and food. Where is the best all-inclusive system?
A tour to Turkey a priori assumes a buffet, imaginable and unthinkable drinks and suitable food for any European stomach, be it fries or seafood with sauce.
In Tunisian hotels, the all-inclusive system is more modest, alcohol is not round-the-clock, and you will not find pork in your plate. Many hotels offer continental breakfast. Budget tours are often based on the "half board" scheme (breakfast and lunch / dinner) - all inclusive, after all, stayed in Turkey (not counting more star hotels). Muslim principles here surprisingly coexist with European ones: for example, the liberal attitude towards alcohol even gave rise to a local wine festival.
Flight and distance
- The flight Moscow-Antalya will take 3.5 hours plus / minus 20 minutes (distance 2200 km)
- The flight from Moscow to Tunisia takes an average of 4-4.5 hours (3000 km)
Turkey plays along with the "savages": tickets to the coast from Moscow: from 14,000 rubles, to Istanbul - for a ridiculous 12,000 rubles (both directions). At the same time, Moscow - Tunisia - Moscow: about 22,000 rubles (+ if you travel on your own, you need to apply for a visa).
Where is the best place to relax - in Turkey or Tunisia?
And the final of the competition "which is better, Tunisia or Turkey, for a trip in 2021?"
Tunisia, if you:
- have already been in southern Europe and, moreover, in Turkey
- without small children
- if you want exotic, oriental fairy tale, color, but that the flying carpet is with a conder, and you do not shake
- lover of adventure, antiquity, ruins and do not get tired of walking and moving
- "Snorkeling" and "diving" are not just words for you
- you want white sand, as in the advertisement, but you don't want to fly for a long time
- your vacation in spring or autumn, and the budget is more than 50,000 rubles for two
Turkey if you:
- not ready to fly with transfers (there are no direct flights to Tunisia yet)
- never been to Turkey
- love to wander through the picturesque surroundings
- you would like to go out to see the sights, but come back before dinner
- want to hang out and swim a lot ... and eat and drink a lot (and drink) 🙂
- considering resorts where it is better to relax with children
- your budget is less than 50,000 rubles for two
