Rent a car and yourself to travel around the remote Roman ruins that cling to the sunshine on the beach or even wander to the threshold of the Sahara Desert - what better way to learn all the delights of this Mediterranean and so diverse in the landscapes of the country ? Despite the African "origin" , the car rental business in Tunisia is in the best way: near your hotel there will most likely be a couple of highly civilized car rental agencies, so you will only have to compare price offers and determine the model of the car To drive Tunisian roads is easy, the only rule is to be prepared for any inadequate (by European standards) behavior of other drivers, pedestrians, horses, donkeys and other animals walking along the roadsides !

@@ Required documents

When renting a car in Tunisia, an international driving license and driving experience of at least two years are required . Serious rolling offices strictly follow the observance of the second rule, and on the first one often They hide their eyes - enough Russian domestic law . Accordingly, in police control, law enforcement officials are also satisfied with Russian rights . Small offices in popular resorts and do not pay attention to both requirements: you can rent a car with a driving experience of "life" from one year .

When renting a car in Tunisia, be prepared to leave a security deposit in cash - it varies, usually from 200 to 500 EUR . Alternatively, you can ask for a copy of the credit card or a copy of the passport . Blocking the amount of the room ha on the "credit card" is not practiced . However, small rental agencies in pursuit of the client often do not adhere to these rules - pay money for rent - and here are your keys . The majority of rented cars are equipped with a GPS tracking system, and some and also a mechanism that allows remote shutdown of the engine, so that the agency does not risk anything, even if it does not charge the lender with a deposit. .

Rented cars are necessarily insured by the owner company in the "all risks" system, so tourists also do not have to race oshelivatsya to repair the car, if it would suffer in an accident. Of course, this does not negate the fact that you should drive carefully - at least for your own safety reasons.

Police control

If you are stopped by police control, first of all you will be asked to show a car rental contract and a driver's license. Passports are rarely asked. It is important that the contract specifies the person who is behind the wheel, rather than sitting in the backseat. The maximum number of drivers specified in the rental contract is two, so do not neglect the opportunity to indicate your companion on a trip as a second driver, even if you assume that you will only be driven.

Rental cars in Tunisia are easily calculated in a different color numbers - blue as opposed to the usual black. Rented cars attract more police attention than private ones - you may be asked to check documents several times during your journey.
Tunisian traffic rules are identical to European ones - the legacy of the French protectorate, which lasted 75 years.

Fuel and refueling

The majority of rented cars are filled with gasoline (sans plomb), the smaller part - with diesel fuel (gasoil 50). On the cover of the fuel tank it is usually indicated which fuel to fill, so that the fuel workers are hardly mistaken. However, to designate the required fuel verbally will never be superfluous.

The cost of gasoline is 1, 710 TND, diesel fuel - 1, 470 TND. The fuel price is identical at all gas stations of the country, as regulated by the state.

Refueling is located everywhere in cities and resorts, as well as on both sides of the highway. Moving through the Tunisian outback, you need to refuel in the settlements, as on secondary roads the station is practically nonexistent. Popular brands - Total, Agil, Shell, OilLybia. There is no particular difference in the quality of gasoline, you can safely refuel at a fancy station.

Tunisians call the refueling "kiosk", and, asking the passers-by where the nearest one is located, it's better to use that word.
Bordj El-Kebir, Mahdiahttp: : //drive.google.com/uc? export = view & id = 1_j4m4eDQDxdYNL9b2NIBvY4qPSjuzC8s Rent a car in Tunisia
Residential quarters, Ain Draham Car rental in Tunisia
On the streets of Tunisia.jpeg Car rental in Tunisia

Traffic Laws

The rules of the road in Tunisia are identical to the European ones - the legacy of the French protectorate, which lasted 75 years. When driving in a circle, priority is given to those on the circle, except for specially designated single cases. Most of the intersections of roads are "untied" by circular motion. There are very few traffic lights in the country, mostly only in the capital, Sfax and Sousse, and also, perhaps, one piece at the resorts, and not all at all. Use of the safety belt is mandatory only outside the city.

The speed limit is 50 km / h in the localities, and 30 km / h in special areas within the settlements. Between cities it is allowed to drive at a speed of 70 km / h, of course, being guided at the same time and to signs too. The speed limit on the autobahn is 110 km / h, in case of rain - 90 km / h. Spacious policemen are widely used - near schools, pedestrian crossings and hotels.

On secondary roads in the outback, the practice of unauthorized laying "recumbent policemen" thrives without warning about it with the appropriate sign. This is the sin of the owners of coffee houses and restaurants, farm and other roadside zabegalovok, wishing to get into their clinging paws a braked customer. Be very careful when traveling while driving a car in the outback.

Road signs

Signposts and directions in Tunisia are written in two languages ​​- Arabic and French, so it will not be difficult to navigate the route for a European tourist. The distances are in kilometers. Road marking corresponds to the European one. Perhaps its only feature is the presence of curved arrows on the dividing dot ("go back to your lane"), informing about the imminent approach of the continuous band and the prohibition of overtaking. Road signs also do not differ from the Russian ones that are familiar to us.

Local exotics is found only when approaching desert areas: the camel sign indicates that the dromedaries often go there, you have to be careful. For added safety, the silhouette of the camel is also painted directly on the roadway.

Penalties

Tunisian policemen are strict and incorruptible, but are resourceful .For violation of speed, fixed by the radar, will have to pay a fine - from 20 to 100 TND .Bribe a policeman better and do not try - it threatens an even more serious penalty .For the non-fastened belt, a fine of 50 TND .Drivers can not be particularly drunk - of course, if your car does not go from the side of the road to the roadside .The practice of "breathing in a tube" is absent .The intersection of a solid and, the more so, two continuous ones, as well as passage under a "brick" - the most serious violations .Rights, of course, will not be taken away (after all you are foreigners), but the fine will have to pay very respectable .

Driving in the center of the capital

Paid roads

Two thirds of the territory of the country along the resort coast passes a toll road .The established name - "otorut" (from the French "autoroute" - road) or "peage" (payment) .The autobahn begins in Bizerte, reaches Tunisia, then branches off to Beja (the segment is not very popular), and the main branch continues farther south - through Hammamet, Sousse, Monastir, Mahdia and ends at Sfax .Depending on the segment, here two to four lanes in each direction .As a delimiter are green plantations with metal fences on both sides or concrete bumpers .

During the "otorut" motorist will meet four cash desks, as well as additional cash at some of the congresses from the highway. The fare for a car varies from 0, 900 TND to 1, 600 TND.

Approaching the cash registers, it is important to focus on the green windows with the designation of a man. Cash desks, indicated in blue, are intended for owners of contactless payment cards, there are no personnel in them, and no one will "cash" you.

Autobahn has a good infrastructure - on both sides there are refueling stations with the possibility to go to the toilet, have a snack and buy all sorts of stuff in the store. Every two kilometers there are orange payphones with the inscription "SOS", from which you can make an emergency call free of charge in case of a breakdown or an accident. Also on the autobahn, security cars that follow the situation on the road regularly and evacuators ready to pick you up on demand.

Parking places

Parking in the European sense of the word can be found only in the capital, where the mass of cars and fairly dense traffic, especially during rush hours .They are open and underground, in rare cases, separately standing high-rise .Under open parking lots are usually assigned to the usual wasteland in popular business areas, usually without asphalt pavement and markup .Underground are located under office or residential buildings .In detached multi-storey parking you can not only leave the car, but also buy car accessories or arrange a coffee break . The payment for using the parking lot, as a rule, does not exceed 1-2 TND.

Parking at the airports of Tunisia - the capital Tunis-Cartage and Monastir - also paid, the cost depends on the time, but also low - from 1 to 5 TND. At Anfida Airport parking is free of charge only for cars.
In the Tunisian outback (which is all outside the capital and the resort coast), walking along the roadside became a national sport.

National style riding

When leaving for the road in Tunisia, you should immediately be prepared for the fact that any person (as well as an animal) on the roadway or sidewalk can behave in any unpredictable way .It is customary to start from the curb without a turn signal, turn from the far right to the left or simply stop on the left lane to greet a friend walking on the opposite side of the street .Equal to another car and asking the driver for the right direction is also not considered to be reprehensible .Among other things, the turn signals are generally not in the credit of the Tunisian drivers - they sweep aside the conventions and either completely "clog" the warning signals, or, at best, notify their intentions with the help of the hands hanging out into the open window .

Turned down the palm in combination with the fingers spread out mean "quieter, I brake", and careless movement with the index finger hanging from the window of the hand warns of a turn to the left.
Right turn without any declaration of war - the driver is sitting on the left, and therefore can not wave in the front right window.

Another misfortune, lurking accustomed to the European style of driving a tourist, is the very specific attitude of Tunisians to the car as such. Machines in the mass are not new and inexpensive subcompacts or pickups of "people's" producers. Therefore, park up to a characteristic click or hook inadvertently the side of another car is not considered something out of the ordinary. Hence the moral: keep distance from all sides and do not expect that another driver will regret his piece of iron.

Pedestrians are no less dangerous for the driver than his "colleagues" on the carriageway .Residents of Tunisian cities and villages cross the road in any place they like, while often not looking at the approaching transport .Therefore, counting on the fact that "he will see and not go" is absolutely not worth it .In addition, in the Tunisian outback (which is all outside the capital and the resort coast), walking along the roadside became a national sport .A special glamor is considered to be a leisurely step at the border of one-third of the carriageway .All its kind of pedestrian, as it were, hints "I do not care about drivers, I'm not afraid of anything" - and when cars are forced to sweep just 30 cm from a corpse, this brings him universal respect and respect from less courageous relatives .

However, despite such a sad picture of compliance with traffic rules, driving in Tunisia has a number of pleasant moments .The reverse side of disorder and "blockage" is expressed in the fact that you will always be happy to miss, especially if you ask for it, they will be allowed to join the "wrong" row or will not object if suddenly you go to the "brick" - of course, if nearby there is no police .Among other things, Tunisians diligently warn about the radar, blinking headlights oncoming cars, and generally in every possible way supporting each other in the fight against law enforcement officials .