Search the travel guide:

Resort

• Port El Kantaoui Travel Guide
• Travel Information
• Shopping
• Restaurants
• Nightlife
• Activities
• Negatives
• Photos
• Hotels in Port El Kantaoui

Rants and Raves

• Write a Travel Review

Tunisia Map

• 

Directory

• Travel Insurance
• Hostels
• Useful Resources

Port El Kantaoui marina © Tore Kjeilen/LexicOrient. Used with kind permission from Adventures of Tunisia

Overview
One could be forgiven for imagining that the quaint blue and white holiday village of Port El Kantaoui had been built as a Hollywood stage set and simply uprooted and plonked down on the Tunisian coast, flanked by two long stretches of perfect clean sandy beaches. In fact, this is not far from the truth: El Kantaoui is a chic, purpose-built holiday resort, which owes nothing to history, but everything to catering for the up-market tourist, seeking leisurely luxury in an enchanting setting. The El Kantaoui complex is built around a modern marina, which can accommodate more than 300 vessels, most of them moored by millionaires. Its complex of hotels centres on the cobblestone streets of the perfect reproduction of a typical medieval medina, abuzz during the day with souvenir hunters. In the evening the action switches to the bars and cafes opposite the marina. The entire town has been termed a 'tourist ghetto', but it is indeed a delightful and highly successful one, enhanced by its Mediterranean location and Moorish flavour.

Shopping
Like the entire resort, the shopping centre and model 'souk' in Port El Kantaoui is geared to holidaymakers, stocking mainly souvenir items with prices higher than elsewhere in Tunisia. Bargaining for goods is an entertaining experience, however. For better bargains and a more realistic Tunisian bazaar experience take an excursion to nearby Sousse.

• The main souk is a great place for shopping - lots of stuff geared towards tourists though, but what isn't in these resorts anyways? : Willem...See More Tips  |  Add Tip

 

Restaurants
El Kantaoui bristles with excellent restaurants serving all sorts of cuisine and holidayakers will not be disappointed. Most of the best restaurants are fronting the Marina, like sophisticated La Daurade, or Les Emirs, which serve up traditional specialities, and Le Mediterranee. Prices are modest by European standards, but higher than elsewhere in Tunisia.

Nightlife
Nightlife is low key, but most holidaymakers can find something to their taste whether it be simply lingering over a delicious meal, sipping drinks at a waterfront cafe or enjoying the in-house entertainment at one of the hotels. There is also a casino about five minutes away.

• Go to the waterfront bars, or the Red Iguana. It's awesome and we went a couple of times. : Kristin...See More Tips  |  Add Tip

 

Activities
In the holiday resort of Port El Kantaoui, a variety of boat trips are offered from the Marina, whether it is pleasure cruises, glass-bottomed boat tours, fishing expeditions or dolphin viewing experiences. The close proximity of the older, more established resort town of Sousse, just six miles (10km) away, means that visitors can enjoy the best of both worlds and travel by the local 'Noddy Train' between the two, sampling the beaches and watersports on offer.

The two resorts also share two golf courses. Other pursuits include quad biking, horse riding and beach camel rides, as well as a variety of excursions to choose from like shopping trips to Tunis, expeditions to view the Roman ruins at Carthage, the pretty village of Sidi Bou Said, or an evening in the desert at a Bedouin Feast.

• Check out the dolphins - they're so cute!!! : Jamie-Lynn...See More Tips  |  Add Tip

 

Negatives
Port El Kantaoui is often over-crowded, and more expensive than the other holiday resorts in Tunisia. There are no facilities here for budget travellers because most hotels are top-rated establishments.