Djerba &Zarzis: Sahara Ksar Ghilane, Matmata & Star Wars set

About This Experience

Saoud Voyages sells this one on rhythm rather than coverage: fewer stops, longer at each, and a route that avoids the busiest circuit. If the standard Djerba day trip sounds like too much windscreen time, this is the version built to answer that.

The main stop is Ksar Ghilane, the Sahara oasis at the edge of the dune sea, and you get extended free time there — the natural hot spring, the dunes, or simply sitting still. Quad hire and camel rides are available at the oasis and are paid separately; one recent reviewer put quads at around €30 per person.

Matmata follows, with its houses dug down into the earth rather than built up out of it, and the Sidi Driss site used in the Star Wars films. A local tea and honey tasting is folded into the day.

Be clear-eyed about the distance: this is a long drive. Reviewers who gave it five stars still describe a route of over 500 kilometres, and pickups before six in the morning. What they also describe, consistently, is a driver-guide who talks the whole way.

Highlights

• Extended free time at the Ksar Ghilane oasis — hot spring, dunes, or nothing at all
• Small-group 4x4 rather than a coach, on a route away from the main circuit
• Matmata's cave homes, with the Sidi Driss Star Wars site
• Traditional tea and honey tasting along the way
• Hotel pickup and drop-off on Djerba or in Zarzis

What's Included

• ✓ Small-group guided 4x4 tour from Djerba or Zarzis
• ✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off
• ✓ Professional driver-guide
• ✓ Air-conditioned 4x4 transport
• ✓ Visit to the Matmata cave homes
• ✓ Extended free time at the Ksar Ghilane oasis, including the dunes and hot spring
• ✓ Traditional local tea tasting
• ✓ Traditional Tunisian meal

Not Included

• Camel rides and quad biking in the Sahara
• Personal spending
• Tips for the driver-guide

What to Bring

• Swimwear and a towel for the hot spring
• Sunglasses and a sun hat
• Sunscreen
• Cash in dinars for optional rides and drinks

Good to Know & Caveats

• Roughly eight and a half hours of that day is spent on the ground in the south; the rest is the drive there and back.
• Pickups are early — reviewers report 5:30 in the morning from Djerba hotels.
• The total route runs well over 500 kilometres. Passengers who loved the day still describe it as a long one in the vehicle.
• Quad and camel rides at Ksar Ghilane are extras. One 2026 reviewer quotes about €30 per person for a quad, €45 for two — treat that as indicative, not a quoted price.
• The tour is built around fewer, longer stops. If you want to tick off Tataouine, Chenini and the ksour as well, this is the wrong itinerary.
• Guiding is offered in several languages including French, German and Arabic as well as English.

Meeting Point

Hotel pickup on Djerba or in Zarzis, and drop-off at the same address. Reviewers report collections from around 5:30 in the morning.