Hammamet Tunisia

Camel Ride

Camel ride in Hammamet, Tunisia

You can travel to the safari zoo in Sousse for a cheap camel ride but we decided to go for one a bit closer to our hotel in Hammamet.

We booked the trip through one of the hotel approved salesmen who wonder around the complex and it cost us 30 DT each (about £15).

Where we picked up the camels

There were six of us from out hotel (the Sol Azur) and we were picked up at the hotel gates at about 10.00am by a mini bus and taken about 10 minutes inland to the camel lodge.  Another six or so people from another hotel arrived at the same time and we were given a seat in the shade whilst they setup the camels.  Being typical Tunisians they didn’t waste this opportunity to try and sell us things but they weren’t very persistent and we resisted their offers to spend £3 on a head scarf.

We were signalled to come down to the camels as they were ready for us.  I’d been on a camel before in Tennerife when I was younger so knew what to expect when mounting the beast.  My one was very well behaved and as soon as I got on he got straight up and was ready to go.  Some were a bit naughty and gave their riders a fright but overall they were a good bunch of dromedaries.

My Camel Getting Ready

The ride lasted for about two hours and saw us go across a paved road, past some houses then up a path to the top of a big hill.  At the top we were served complimentary drinks in a Bedouin tent and encouraged to dress up as Arabs and get our photos taken.  The views of the Hammamet coastline and beaches from atop of the hill were amazing and worth the journey alone. There was also a couple of authentic mad Arabic women in the tent to provide entertainment before we set off again on our trusty steeds to the bottom of the mountain/hill.  Being the enterprising fellows that they are the guy that was taken photos had managed to get the photos printed out by the time we got back to base and kindly offered to sell them to us for a mere 5DT per photo.  We took him up on his offer and bought all five for about £12.

What's He Doing?

This was the only excursion we did and I would definitely recommend it.  The same guys were also  selling quad bike rides in the hills/mountains as well as horse drawn carriage rides.

Although I was expecting it this was the time during out trip to Tunisia of the holiday where I was offered a camel in exchange for my girlfriend.  He offered two and I tried to haggle him up to three but in the end we agreed at two and a baby.

Taking a rest at the top of the mountain in Hammamet

Tunisian Dog

View of Hammamet from top of Camel Mountain

Another view of Hammamet from top of Camel Mountain

Animation Team

When we were looking through the hotels before booking and reading the reviews we kept seeing the term ‘animation team’ and ‘animations’ mentioned.  I had never heard of this term so didn’t pay it much attention but when we arrived at the hotel we realised just what it meant.

The Animation Team are similar to holiday reps or the Red Coats you find at Butlins.  They are in the in-house entertainment team and provide the animation events or entertainment that takes place at the hotel.  During the day there are animations for the children such as gymnastics, pool activities and mini golf and in the evening there is a children’s’ disco which is then followed by some ‘fun’ for the adults.  During the day the animation team hang out at the hotel practising their dance moves, chatting up the female holiday makers and trying to entice people to the evening animation event.

Typical evening animation events included a cabaret, karaoke, Tunisian night, a disco and belly dancing.

Normally I’d give this kind of thing a wide berth but the animation team are a persistent bunch and my girlfriend seemed quite keen so on the second night we went to the cabaret.  I didn’t really know what to expect and it was a very surreal experience but by the end I was enjoying it as some of the unbridled enthusiasm of the animators rubbed off on me (plus I’d had a few beers).  We went to a few more evening events during our stay but the caberet was easily the best and the great heights set on our second night were never reached again.  Each evening event is followed by a round of bingo in which I won a CD of songs performed by the animation team of 2009.  I haven’t listened to it yet but I’m sure it is fantastic!  After the event animation team round up a few lucky ladies to accompany them to Jimmy’s nightclub next door to party the night away.  Unfortunately my girlfriend didn’t make the cut so I never got to find out what Jimmy’s was like.

Most hotels in Tunisia seem to have an animation team but I cannot guarantee they will all be as good as the team at the Sol Azur hotel in Hammamet.