“A true desert sand dunes riding experience”
11 Day Enduro Dirt Bike Guided Motorcycle Tour in Tunisia
Tunis, Tunisia
Motorcycle Tour Tunisia
Ever thought of taking a guided motorbike tour across the dunes of Africa as the original Dakar Rally riders? Ever desired to embark on the adventure of your life, on an off-road motorcycle holiday before you get too old and your active life will have passed? This guided dirt bike tour in Tunisia takes you to the vast Sahara desert far from the beaten tracks where you can improve your off-road riding skills, push your limits and those of your bike on a vast array of different desert terrains, have a lot of fun searching for the best passages across the dunes and experience the Dakar spirit pushing through the sand sea. Take part in a Desert Soul Adventures motorcycle dirt bike tour in the desert of Tunisia.
Key information
- Terrain: a mix of tarmac, gravel, dunes, and soil
- Bike: personal or rental bike (SWM models)
- Mileage: 630 kilometers / 391 miles
- Daily rides: 20 - 150 kilometers / 13 - 93 miles
- Riding gear: not included (bring your own): helmet, goggles, body armor, gloves, knee protectors, and MX boots
- Meals: all breakfasts from day 2 through 10; all dinners from day 1 through 10
Meet the guides
Tilen
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Highlights
- Starts in Tunis and ends in Matmata
- Ride until you reach Ain Houdette, a lake lost in a vast sand sea
- Discover the oasis of Douz, also known as "the gate to the Sahara"
- See the Berber settlement of Matmata, known for its underground troglodyte dwellings
- Take your bike to the nearby dunes and join a workshop on sand- and dune-driving
- Feel the soft breeze and enjoy perfect silence of Tembaine mountain
- Stay at a famous tourist oasis of Ksar Ghilane
- 10 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Styles
9 riding days in English
The organizer also speaks: Croatian, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Group size: 8-14 participants
Accommodation
Tents and sleeping mats rental for all nights which are not spent in the hotel are included, as well as all costs related to sleeping in campsites. You will have 5 overnights in 4 and 5-star hotels in twin rooms.
Program
Terms and conditions
A valid driver's license is required to take part in this adventure on the motorbike as you'll be also riding on public roads. do not check your license, but prior to the first driving stage, you will have to sign a declaration that you possess one and that you will ride according to your experience and capabilities and entirely on your responsibility. In case of an emergency, the insurance company might require you to present your valid driver's license.
What do you need as a participant?
- A hard enduro bike with a 21-inch front wheel and hard enduro or cross tyres - the lighter, the better, Desert Soul Adventures strongly advises it to be under 140 kg - the rental bikes certainly comply with these criteria
- A sleeping bag that will provide you with a comfortable sleep at temperatures down to 0°C – a tent and a sleeping mat is provided by Desert Soul Adventures
- Enduro equipment for maximum daytime temperatures between 20 and 28°C (MX helmet with goggles, body armour, enduro jacket, backpack with a minimum 3-litre hydration bag, 2 pairs of MX gloves, knee protectors, MX or enduro pants, MX boots, rain gear)
- Light clothes for during the day and warm ones for the evenings
- Head-lamp for the camp
- Off-road motorbike riding experience – if you are a complete newbie to enduro (but not motorcycle) riding, a couple of trials bike lessons will be much better for you than a motocross training
- Good mood and reasonable physical shape for the planned stages
- Each participant will receive ahead of time all the necessary information about the trip: how to prepare the bikes if not rented from Desert Soul Adventures, when to arrive to the starting point of the tour as well as what to take with you and what to leave at home
Itinerary
Day 1: Tunis
Please arrive at the designated 5-star hotel in Tunis by dinner time on day 1 of your motorcycle tour. From there on, Desert Soul Adventures will take care of your tour. Dinner and overnight in the hotel.
Day 2: Tunis - Djerba - Matmata
On this day, you will be already riding in the desert. But first, you will take a morning flight from Tunis to Djerba (not included in the tour price, but can be arranged by Desert Soul Adventures) where you will be greeted by your Desert Soul guide and taken to the assistance truck where the bikes will be waiting for you. You'll gear up and quickly get off the asphalt. The 130 km ridden on this day will take you across gravel roads, dry river beds, open spaces, and through the mountains to a village of Matmata, famous for its troglodyte dwellings. Only the last 10 km will be ridden on asphalt.
After checking into your troglodyte 4-star hotel, you'll have a drink and discuss today's riding experience with the other tour participants. Dinner and overnight in the hotel.
- Distance: 130 kilometers / 81 miles
- Surface: compact sand, tarmac, gravel, round rocks
Day 3: Matmata - Douz
You will leave the hotel in the morning and get off the asphalt straight away. After getting over the mountains surrounding Matmata, the open desert space will open in front of you. Fast tracks, sandy river beds, and some low dunes will characterize today's riding experience that will bring you to the oasis of Douz, also known as "the gate to the Sahara". Dinner and overnight in a 4-star hotel in Douz.
- Distance: 150 kilometers / 93 miles
- Surface: compact sand, sandy tracks, rocks, gravel, sandy river bed, dunes, maybe some tarmac
Day 4: Douz - rest day with a dune riding course
Rest day in Douz. You'll head for the centre with the assistance vehicles or by motorbikes in the morning and enjoy the colours of this cheerful town. In the afternoon, you'll take your bike to the nearby dunes and take part in a short workshop on sand- and dune-driving where you'll get some feeling for riding on different types of dunes, learn recovery techniques, and get advice on how to spend your energy in the most effective way when dune-driving and recovering your motorcycle. Dinner and overnight in a 4-star hotel in Douz.
- Distance: 20 kilometers / 12 miles
- Surface: tarmac and dunes
Day 5: Douz - sand sea
You'll leave Douz on this day and take your motorbikes into the sand sea. The exact route and difficulty level will be chosen by the guide based on the proficiency level of the participants. A couple of nights will be spent deep in the desert without light pollution or cell-phone coverage. Dinner and overnight on an attractive location in the Desert Soul Mobile Camp.
- Distance: +-70 kilometers / 44 miles
- Surface: soil, dunes
Day 6: Sand sea - Tembaine mountain
After the breakfast, your bikes' heading will be south and later south-east, reaching the table mountain Tembaine in the afternoon after crossing an a bit challenging sand sea. You'll be learning the importance of correctly deflated dirt bike tyres today.
An alternative easier route following the support truck can be taken by whoever doesn't feel fit for the higher dunes you'll be riding on this day. When reaching the the table mountain, you'll of course park the motorbikes and climb to its top on foot. You will feel the soft breeze and enjoy perfect silence with a sight of endless dunes, stretching to the east, south and west as far as the horizon. On this day, your bivouac is planned to be in the vicinity of the mountain.
- Distance: 20 - 40 kilometers / 12 - 25 miles
- Surface: dunes
Day 7: Tembaine -Ain Houdette - Tembaine mountain
A pretty challenging day for the advanced riders: you will make an unsupported ride 30 km to the south across some pretty high sand dunes to reach Ain Houdette, a lake lost in a vast sand sea. The way there and back will take a full day and the whole fuel tank, so it's going to be a true deep desert experience.
Desert beginners will have the chance to relax on this day, walk and enjoy the sand dunes, or ride (in couples!) at a safe distance around the bivouac and gain dune-riding proficiency.
- Distance: 60 kilometers / 37 miles
- Surface: dunes
Day 8: Tembaine - Ksar Ghilane
This half-day stage will lead you directly across the sand sea, without support, to the famous tourist oasis of Ksar Ghilane, known for its thermal pool surrounded by beer-selling bars. Spending some time in the warm water will be much welcomed after the long desert stage. Dinner and overnight at the oasis camp site.
- Distance: 100 kilometers / 62 miles
- Surface: gravel, dunes
Day 9: Ksar Ghilane
Rest day around the oasis pool. Desert Soul Adventures suggests a trip to the Roman fort, playing with your motorbikes in the dunes, or taking an excursion with camels or on horse back. Dinner and overnight in the oasis camp.
- Surface: dunes
Day 10: Ksar Ghilane - Matmata
A completely different desert stage will be experienced on this day to reach the Berber settlement of Matmata, known for its underground troglodyte dwellings. Desert gravel roads and open tracks, frequently crossing dry flash flood channels in the first part, will give way to impressive bare mountains surrounding us when already approaching Matmata. Farewell dinner and overnight in a 4-star hotel.
- Distance: 80 kilometers / 50 miles
- Surface: gravel
Day 11: Matmata - Djerba - Tunis
Early in the morning, you will be transferred to the Djerba airport where you'll take the morning flight to Tunis (air ticket not included in the tour price, but can be arranged by Desert Soul Adventures).
If you have been using your own motorbike, it will be delivered to you on an agreed date in Ljubljana (or transported on your expense to any other destination of your desire). End of services.
Note
Thanks to the assistance vehicles on all stages, it will be possible to cover part of the stage on a seat in the assistance vehicle in case of technical failure that can't be overcome, injury or fatigue.
Motorcycle
Possible motorcycle rental includes an SWM RS300R or SWM RS500R with a set of tyres suitable for the tour, engine oil and filters as per the servicing interval, and motorbike maintenance during the tour (oil changes, air-filter cleaning). All bikes are equipped with TUbliss, so any possible puncture is sorted out quickly by your tour guide.
Skill level(s) required for this tour:
Intermediate:
- can ride for 3-4 hours
- average riding experience
- little assistance required
- comfortable with extreme curves and leans
- average experience with unsurfaced roads
- steep ascents and descents
Advanced:
- can ride for 5-6 hours
- extensive riding experience
- assistance on demand (if required)
- experienced with riding a variety of motorcycles
- comfortable with any terrain and weather conditions
Guides
Tilen Gabrovšek
Desert Soul founder and professional tourist guide since 1996 with profound knowledge about Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Jordan, Libya, Croatia, and Slovenia; Tilen's fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian, English, and Slovenian. After having extensively hitch-hiked in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco between 1995 and 1998, he rushed into south Moroccan sands that had attracted him since long time ago with a brand new Peugeot Partner in 2001. A decade of learning Arabic proved very useful in desert countries he visited afterward. The following years brought him fulfillment of his teenage dreams.
Location
The motorcycle tour will take you along a desert route in Tunisia.
Food
Included in your package is all breakfasts from day 2 through 10; all dinners from day 1 through 10; 7 mid-day snacks on days when off-roading.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
- Snacks
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
What's included
- Transport of 1 motorbike, your enduro equipment (in case delivered by you), possible spare-parts (in case delivered by you), and personal luggage (in case delivered by you) from Slovenia to Tunisia and back
- All breakfasts from day 2 through 10
- All dinners from day 1 through 10
- 7 mid-day snacks on days when off-roading
- 5 nights accommodation - Tents and sleeping mats rental for all nights which are not spent in the hotel and all costs related to sleeping in campsites
- 5 nights accommodation in 4- and 5-star hotels in twin rooms
- Possibility to take a shower each night (even in the desert)
- Guide on a motorbike
- Rally assistance truck with kitchen, power generator, air-compressor (for bikes and filters cleaning and tyres), washing line, water, food, petrol, your equipment, and for recovery interventions in case of a breakdown
- Travel medical insurance and assistance
What's not included
- Air-tickets (both domestic and international)
- Drinks
- Bike fuel
- Spare parts (i.e. Inner tubes, tyres, oils, filters, etc.)
- Damage on rental motorcycles
- Other individual expenses
- A security deposit of 1000 - 2000 EUR depending on the model of motorcycle, must be paid to (or reserved by) Desert Soul Adventures at the beginning of the motorcycle rental period (the deposit will be held until the undamaged motorcycle is returned in acceptable condition. The deposit will be refunded at that time)
How to get there
Recommended Airports
TUN
Tunis–Carthage International Airport
6 km
Transfer not provided
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 40% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookMotorcycleTours.com. All major credit cards supported.
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