My memories of Tunisia, or Skanes in particular, are not pleasant I'm afraid although perhaps the resort will suit you well as it does many other people but I found there was little or nothing to do in Skanes. Fist off, Skanes is not Monastir, it is a tourist resort only; Monastir is a town some distance away.

As you will be mostly hotel-based (nothing in the area) you will be limited as to where you shop; I suggest you get a taxi or train to Souss which has many shops and restaurants and the art of haggling becomes more entertaining.

On the money front, Sterling will be accepted for exchange into Tunisian Dinars in the hotels. Not sure about Travellers Cheques nowadays but I took them when I was there a while ago but elsewhere (partic Morocco) they are notoriously difficult to exchange.

I can only describe Skanes as a having 25Km of beach, an airport, no shops (except in hotels), no sights, no bars, no nightclubs (except in hotels), nothing but hotels and beach.
In other words, as there are no shops, bars etc, there's nothing to spend your money on.

The one redeeming feature was an interesting small town called Sahline, ask any Tunisian to direct you as it makes a nice change, I only found it on my return from Sousse one dark night when I got lost coming off the train.

Tourists visiting Tunisia who are willing to explore are fortunate to find a fairly reliable railway network spanning most of the country. The trains can take you, in a matter of minutes, to Monastir which is about 10Km from Skanes in one direction or Sousse which is also about 10Km from Skanes the other way.
The train also goes to Mahdia, a fishing town best visited on Friday for the market or any day for the early morning fishing activities; the journey took about one and a half hours.
Of course the rail can take you much further if you are prepared to go all the way to Tunis for example.

The voltage in Tunisia is 230V, 50Hz and you will need a european 2-pin adaptor.

Get in touch if you need a map or ideas of typical trips.

Hi - don't be put off by the comments. If you are looking for sun and beach then you are in the right place, although the weather is starting to cool off now, but this can be a plus as our summer is really hot! To be honest, I don't know the price of anything in Skanes but I can give you some idea: Water in the cities is at a fixed rate. Sometimes the supermarkets will have them on special. A one litre bottle will usually cost around 1/2 dinar or less. Taxis - it will depend on where you are going of course but a 1 km journey will cost around TD1.000. It is only acceptable to haggle for goods in the open markets (not food) and in the souqs. Shops have fixed prices. You should bring a European 2 pin plug adaptor although many of the hotels will happily lend you one if you need. There are a number of alternatives for public transport, train, bus and louage. The louage is the cheapest and sometimes the best fun! They are mini vans holding 9 people and will leave when the seats are taken. Again, the price will depend on where you are going but the transport here is cheap. For example, if I travel to see my mother-in-law about 20km from where I live it costs me the grand total of just on TD3.000, but beware that whether you travel the whole distance or not, you still pay the same price. I am not sure about the prices for water sports - but in general, your currency will take you a long way here. Everything is much, much cheaper than in the UK!!! One thing to be aware of is that you should try to use up all your TD before you leave. The currency rate overseas is woeful and the international airport duty free will not accept TD only foreign currency or credit cards.

I hope you have a wonderful vacation

Dani - yes you can use British credit cards but please be aware that Cash is King here and credit cards are not the norm. Usually the resorts and hotels will accept the cc and also the larger hire car companies.

Enjoy your visit

Annie - Kasserine is in the south. It depends on how long you are going to go as to whether it would be worth renting an apartment. I don't think there are trains direct from Monastir to Kasserine. You will need to probably go to Tunis and then to Kasserine. The best way is to take the bus, comfortable and reliable.

Boris - we all use cash here. You can change sterling into TD in any bank, post office or in the large cities the Bureaux de change. the er fluctuates so you should go to a site such as: www.xe.com where you will see the latest rates. You can sometimes shop around to get the best rate but the banks will be the best.