Craig and I left the blue skies of Tunisia’s desert and arrived to a downpour in the city of Sousse. The rain was so heavy that the city had flooded and every road our louage navigated through was filled with brown water.

When we hopped out the vehicle we donned our ponchos and waded through the streets towards the medina where we’d be staying for the night.

We booked into a Dar which is a historic house with Arabic architecture that’s been converted into a boutique guesthouse. It’s similar to a riad in morocco with a central courtyard area. The courtyard looked less than appealing when we arrived as it didn’t have a roof so rain covered the ground. The room was pleasantly decorated but the temperature was Baltic so we blasted the heaters up and had a hot shower.

We didn’t explore Sousse as we knew we’d be back in a few days for our flight out, so the following morning we headed to the coastal town of Monastir. It was very convenient to reach as a train plied the route in just 30 minutes. For some reason almost every window on the train was shattered or boarded up. We did manage to find one that wasn’t destroyed which was lucky as we travelled through an area of salt pans, home to dozens of flamingos.

Monastir was a lovely base, much calmer and cleaner than Sousse and offered everything a traveller could want. Our first stop was the beach, which I’d imagine would look rather lovely on a calm day but after yesterdays rain and wind the sea was choppy and the beach was covered in washed-up trash.

Littering is a big problem in Tunisia and it’s probably the reason Sousse flooded so easily – the drains would have been clogged up with rubbish.

We strolled along the rocky outcrops where the waves crashed into the walls and then we wandered towards the Ribat – an Islamic defensive structure. It was built in 796 A.D and has undergone many extensions and transformations over the years but it was in mint condition.

I’m not usually drawn to historic sights but the Ribat was very impressive. There were only a couple of other tourists strolling around which was remarkable for such a grand sight, in other countries it would be heaving.

The medina wasn’t anything special in Monastir but overall we liked the vibe of the town and when we left our apartment one night for dinner the trees surrounding us were full of chirping starlings.

There were thousands of them flying chaotically through the sky and it almost felt apocalyptic at times. Occasionally they’d form groups where they flew in unison, shape-shifting above us.

Monastir also acted as a great base to explore the historic city of Kairouan, but we woke up extra early so we could check out the sunrise at the beach before we hopped in a louage heading inland.

Kairouan is one of the holy cities and spiritual capitals of Islam. They say that if you visit Kairouan’s Great Mosque seven times, it’s the equivalent of a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

We’re not city people, however Kairouan ended up being one of our favourite day trips in Tunisia. The place just had a nice, authentic feel to it. It hasn’t changed for tourism and felt like a very traditional Tunisian city.

The Great Mosque had a huge courtyard with pillars and carved stone encircling it. It was an impressive building, but I must admit, I prefer the mosques which have more colour. Luckily the mausoleums nestled throughout the medina ticked that box.

The Mausolée Sidi Abid el Ghariani for example was tiny in comparison to the mosque but I loved the painted archways and how every wall was adorned with mosaics.

Nearby was the old House of the Governor which is now an elaborate carpet shop. A friendly chap led us through the labyrinth of rooms which all seemed to have central courtyards leading 3 stories high.

Every inch of the wall and ceiling was covered in intricate artwork. I absolutely loved it. While the man pointed to a few rugs along the way he never pushed for us to buy one so it was a very pleasant experience.

Kairouan’s medina was a delight to stroll around, with the typical white facade and the doors and window frames painted blue. There were lanes leading in all directions so we enjoyed getting lost.

A couple of times men tried to intervene with our blissful aimless strolls and started saying things like “come with me, I show you this!” Or “the mosque is this way, come, come, I take you.”

It was rather annoying, maybe they were just trying to be helpful but it came across as rude and tout-y. Luckily it just happened twice in Kairouan and the rest of our time was delightful. We even discovered a ceramic shop where we picked out a handmade mug each for 50p.

For our final night in Tunisia we returned to Sousse, to stay in our first ever 5-star hotel. It was a bargain price at £50 including a buffet breakfast and pool so we were excited to check it out, especially after working in a 5-star hotel in England and knowing what to expect.

We made a bit of an entrance when we arrived through the revolving door. The security guard asked us to put our bags on the side and walk through. The buzzer went off and I realised it was because I was holding my phone in my hand and stupidly went to put it in my pocket but I forgot my pocket had a gigantic rip in it so the phone fell to the marble floor, making a loud bang for everyone in reception to witness.

Talk about a subtle entrance – we already looked out of place with our hiking sandals and day-packs. I turned bright red after my little blunder while Craig was desperately trying not to smirk.

As we sat down in the grand foyer we both got a serious case of the giggles. We managed to contain ourselves when the concierge came over with some complimentary fruit juice, and then we were led to our sea-view room.

It was a lovely room with a huge, comfy bed and everything was nice and clean, but it wasn’t quite 5-star in our opinion and definitely needed some maintenance issues seen to. Our tea and coffee tray was empty so we had to call reception to get some delivered but overall it was a very nice room and the view of the sea was fabulous as it was wild and windy, causing big rolling waves.

One of the most disappointing parts of our stay was the showers for the pool, which were quite frankly feral and looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. The pool however was nice as we had it to ourselves.

The buffet breakfast the following morning was also a bit of a shocker. Nothing was labeled so we didn’t know what half of the food was. It was all Tunisian food too which was fine but we expected some international options. The rice pudding was literally savoury rice served in a bowl of warm milk and everything just looked a bit old and shrivelled up. It still wasn’t a bad price for the stay though, although it would cost a lot more in peak season.

After 10 days it was time for us to say goodbye to Tunisia and make our way to the airport for our flight home. Overall we had a fun time, but I wouldn’t put it in my list of favourite countries. A couple of kids told us to fuck off, locals hassled us in the medinas and the rubbish situation was very disappointing. But on the plus side we saw some really interesting sights, ate some tasty and very cheap food and took advantage of the countries fab louage system which was extremely convenient and affordable.