Tunisia: When to Go

Low season in Tunisia is from January to February, when hotel rates are down and the weather's cool and rainy. During the sweaty high season, from June to August, expect hotel rates to be up, car rentals to be scarce and the markets and museums to teem with foreign visitors. This is when the coastal towns are at their liveliest. It's also when the Tunisian tourist authorities kick into action with a number of superb festivals in old Roman sites.

If your holidays fall at the right time and you're travelling independently, one of the best times to visit is between mid-March and mid-May when the spring days are pleasantly warm and the countryside is at its prettiest after the winter rains. November is the best time for visiting the Saharan south - longer expeditions deep into the desert are possible, the date harvest (which produces some of the best dates in the world) has just finished, prices are generally cheaper and Douz and Tozeur host back-to-back desert festivals.

Weather

Northern Tunisia has a typical Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers (June-August) and mild, wet winters (December-February). Tunis' high temperatures top out around 32°C (90°F) and drop no lower than 6°C (40°F). The mountains of the northwest occasionally get snow, while the farther south you go, the hotter and drier it gets. Annual rainfall ranges from 1000mm (40in) in the north, down to 150mm (6in) in the south, although some Saharan areas go without rain for years on end. Tunisia's lowest point is at Chott el-Gharsa, at 17m (56ft) below sea level, and its highest point is at Jebel Chambi at 1544m (1785ft).