 The Grand Mosque, Sousse |
London to Tunisia without flying
You can travel safely, comfortably and affordably from London St Pancras to Tunisia in 48 hours without flying, by Eurostar, TGV high-speed train and comfortable ferry. Take Eurostar to Lille or Paris and change onto a high-speed TGV train to Marseille, then sail to Tunisia by Corsica Linea or CTN ferry, ferries sail several times every week. This page is a step-by-step guide to planning, booking and making a trip to Tunisia by train and ferry, with no flying necessary!
London to Tunis by train+ferry
Useful country information:
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Hotels & accommodation in Tunisia
On other pages
Useful country information
London to Tunis
 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
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Day 1: Travel from London to Marseille by train, leaving London St Pancras by Eurostar at 11:04, changing at Lille Europe (arrive 13:26, depart 14:01) onto a TGV to Marseille, arriving Marseille St Charles at 18:50. For details, see the London to France page.
Other 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.
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Day 2: Sail from Marseille to Tunis by cruise ferry.
Two ferry companies, the French Corsica Linea and the Tunisian CTN (Compagnie Tunisienne de Navigation) sail from Marseille to Tunis.
Corsica Linea sail all year-round, once a week in winter and up to 3 times a week in summer. The ferries usually leave in the morning and arrive in Tunis the following morning (day 3).
Sailing times & dates vary, so use the Direct Ferries website or www.corsicalinea.com for actual times & fares for your dates of travel. CTN also have their own website, www.ctn.com.tn, although without online booking.
Both French Corsica Lines 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.
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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 use the Direct Ferries website or see www.corsicalinea.com for times & fares.
Both French Corsica Linea ships 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.
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Day 2: Travel by train from Marseille back to London. Allow at least 4 hours to make a connection in Marseille between the scheduled arrival of the ferry and the departure of your train.
If the ferry arrives 06:00-08:00, there's a 12:14 TGV high-speed train from Marseille St Charles to Lille Europe, change at Lille Europe onto Eurostar, arriving London St Pancras at 18:57, still on day 2.
If your ferry arrives 08:00-11:00, there's a 15:12 TGV from Marseille St Charles to Lille Europe, change at Lille Europe onto Eurostar, arriving London St Pancras at 21:57, still on day 2.
If the ferry arrives any later, you should plan to spend the night in Marseille and travel the next day (day 3). This allows for 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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London to Lille by Eurostar starts at £51 one-way, £78 return in Standard or £98 one-way, £140 return in Plus (1st class).
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Lille to Marseille by TGV starts at €20 each way. Fares vary like air fares, so book ahead.
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From Marseille to Tunis, a ferry ticket costs around €142 single, €259 return including a reclining seat, but prices vary. The cheapest private cabin costs an additional €54 each way, more luxurious suites also available.
You can check fares for different cabin types and dates at either the Direct Ferries website or www.corsicalinea.com.
How to buy tickets online
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Check sailing dates & book the ferry at www.corsicalinea.com or using the Direct Ferries website.
Then book the train from London to Marseille. You can book online from any station in Britain to Marseille at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com with print-at-home or show-on-phone tickets. See the London to France page for a complete step-by-step guide to booking train tickets from the UK to Marseille.
How to buy tickets by phone
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Book the ferry first, by calling Corsica Linea'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 International Rail on 0844 248 248 3, lines open 09:00-17:00 Mondays-Fridays or Ffestiniog Travel (01766 512400) - but it's quicker and cheaper to book online. Click here for more European rail booking advice.
London to Tunis via Genoa
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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CTN (Tunisian) provide a ferry service from Genoa to Tunis once or twice a week, with fares starting at about £85 single, £155 return - use the Direct Ferries website to check fares and sailing dates.
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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.
Find hotels in Tunisia
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 reopened in 2011. It's comfortable and central, and rooms with en suite facilities cost around £20 per night.
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 excellent practical information and historical
background. You won't regret buying one!
Click the images to buy online at Amazon.co.uk
The European Rail Timetable has train, bus and ferry times for every country in Europe. It costs £15.99 from www.europeanrailtimetable.eu.
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Travel insurance & VPN
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Always take out travel insurance
You should take out travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer. It should cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit. These days, check you're covered for covid-19-related issues, and use an insurer whose cover isn't invalidated by well-meant but excessive Foreign Office travel advice against non-essential travel. An annual policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself. Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here. Here are some suggested insurers, I get a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback always welcome.
www.staysure.co.uk
offers enhanced Covid-19 protection and gets 4.7 out of 5 on
Trustpilot.
www.columbusdirect.com is also a well-know brand.
If you live in the USA try
Travel Guard USA.
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Get an eSIM with mobile data package
Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a European mobile data package and stay connected. Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list. There's no need to buy a physical SIM card! Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data.
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Get a Curve card for foreign travel
Most banks give you a poor exchange rate then add a foreign transaction fee on top. A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this. The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards. And you can get a Curve card for free.
How it works: 1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android. 2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses. 3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card. 4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app. You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.
I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader. The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than getting a card out). I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great. See details, download the app and get a Curve card, they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.
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Get a VPN for safe browsing. Why you need a VPN
When travelling you may use free public WiFi which is often insecure. A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi. It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply. See VPNs & why you need one explained. ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using this link you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription. I also get some commission to help support this site.
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Carry an Anker powerbank
Tickets, reservations, hotel bookings and Interrail or Eurail passes are often now held on your mobile phone. You daren't let it run out of power, and you can't always rely on the phone's internal battery or on being near a power outlet. I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over. Buy from Amazon.co.uk or buy from Amazon.com.
Touring cities? Use hill walking shoes!
One of the best things I've done is swap my normal shoes for hill-walking shoes, in my case from Scarpa. They're intended for hiking across the Pennines not wandering around Florence, but the support and cushioning for hiking works equally well when you're on your feet all day exploring foreign cities. My feet used to give out first and limit my day, now the rest of me gives up before they do!