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From London 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. Take
Eurostar to Lille or Paris and change onto a high-speed TGV train to Marseille, then
sail to Tunisia by cruise ferry, which sail regularly every
few days. 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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Day 1, by Eurostar & TGV from London to Marseille:
Take Eurostar to Lille or Paris, then a 186 mph TGV from
Lille or Paris to Marseille... |
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Chill out along the Rhone Valley... The TGV flies
past pretty French villages, crossing and re-crossing the River
Rhone on huge viaducts. Spend the night in Marseille. |
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Day 2, at Marseille, you board the ferry to Tunisia, with
comfortable en suite cabins, restaurants, bars and sun decks... |
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Day 3, arriving in the Bay of Tunis, with the sun
glinting off the sparkling waters, and the ruins of Carthage up
on Byrsa Hill on your right... |
London ►
Tunis
- Day 1: Travel from London to Marseille by train,
leaving London St Pancras by
Eurostar at 14:34 (12:58
on Saturdays),
changing at Lille Europe (arrive 16:54, depart 17:54) onto a
direct TGV to Marseille, arriving
Marseille St Charles at 22:46. Alternative trains are
available if you'd like to leave London earlier and spend an
afternoon or evening in Marseille, or if you'd like to travel
via Paris, 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.
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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.
Tunis ► London
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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.
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If the ferry arrives 08:00-09:30,
there's a 13:39 TGV high-speed train from Marseille to Lille, change at Lille
onto Eurostar, arriving London St Pancras at 19:56, 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 21:56.
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
London to France page for
the full range of times, fares & options from Marseille to
London.
How much does it cost?
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The fare from London to
Marseille starts at £68 one-way or £119 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 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.
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Then book the train from London to Marseille, by calling Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848 (lines
open 09:00-19:00 Mondays-Fridays, 09:00-18:00 Saturdays).
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.
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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.
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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.
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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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The Majestic Hotel, Tunis |
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.booking.com/hotel/tn/majestic.en.html. It was closed for
refurbishment for a while, but has now reopened in 2011.
It's comfortable and central, and rooms with en suite
facilities cost around £20 per night.
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◄◄◄◄◄ Search all the major hotel
booking websites at once...
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
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