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User Image Review submited by Susan

Resourceful guide

Reviewed July 21, 2016

My husband and I had a wonderful experience hiring Aicha Boukari as our tour guide during our stay in Tunis in July, 2016. Aicha is knowledgeable, flexible, resourceful, and fun to spend time with.

We had stayed with extended family near the beach and toured some sites, including some in Carthage on our own, but wanted to have the experience of a guide to more fully understand what we were seeing. At that point we only had two days left on our trip. Our plan was for further touring of Carthage and to see the Tunis medina on the first day and to see the ruins of Dougga on the second. Aicha did a terrific job: she arranged transportation for us by taxi around all the Carthage ruins, explained the historical and political background of the various sites and pointed out many things we had missed in our earlier tour of the Carthage Museum. We followed our Carthage tour with a taxi ride to the Tunis medina, which we had not seen before. Aicha showed us all the facets of the medina beyond the tourist area, explained Tunisian customs behind the various items for sale, found a wonderful restaurant in the medina for lunch, even pursuaded a construction worker to allow us inside a renovation they were doing to one of the old houses in the medina. When taxis were scare, she accompanied us on a bus back to our hotel.

The next day, she gamely met us at 6:30 a.m. at our hotel for a day trip to Dougga. At her suggestion, we stopped by the small town of Testour, which turned out to be one of the highlights of our day -- with its beautiful and historic mosque, round loaves of bread fresh from the oven and interesting scenes of life on the main street of the small town. Dougga was fascinating (and hot!). Thanks to our well informed guide, Aicha, we saw all the highlights of the ruins -- enough to satisfy my history buff husband, which is a tall order. Aicha's crowning accomplishment though was assisting us in getting to an obscure WWII battlefield (Longstop Hill) that my husband wanted very badly to see near Medjez El Bab. Aicha communicated with the police and local folks in a nearby village – and found us the dirt road to the top of the mountain, then helped the driver scout the difficult path back down to the valley. If we are able to visit Tunisia again some day, we will certainly look for her as a guide. Susan and Wayne Purdom

Travelled in as a couple

aishaboukari-tunis-tour-guide
AISHA BOUKARI's response to the review

August 4, 2022

Many many many thanks

User Image Review submited by Donna

Our time in Tunisia would have been nothing without Aicha.

Reviewed June 8, 2016

My husband and I traveled in Tunisia for 12 days in March with Aicha. The breath and depth of her knowledge of Tunisian history and culture is astounding. My husband was in the Peace Corp in Tunisia during the 1960s. Aicha found a former colleague and friend and made arrangements for us to visit with them. She arranged visits to the schools where he used to teach. This made the trip even more meaningful for us. In addition to Aicha's extensive knowledge of her country she has a wonderful sense of humor, and is a lot of fun to be with. Aicha knew so many people where we traveled and because of her relationship with them she was able to access places that were closed. She was tireless in her efforts to accommodate our every need and want. She also knows where all the good Tunisian food is located and has a sweet tooth! As my husband said when we returned home, "Our trip would have been nothing without Aicha." Not only did we have the very best tour guide, Aicha became a new friend with whom I remain in contact. I highly recommend Aicha as a guide and strongly encourage travel in Tunisia. 

Travelled in as a couple

User Image Review submited by Stephanie

Best guide

Reviewed March 20, 2016

Aicha is a wonderful guide. Not only did she have great insight into the history and culture of Tunisia, she is also a fun, warm person who you want to spend time with! The tour with her was so exceptional that I worry every other guide will fall far short. 

Travelled in with friends

User Image Review submited by Steven

Fun, smart, and a real pro

Reviewed January 15, 2015

We traveled with Aicha for 11 days in December/January 14-15. You can tell she's been doing this for years -- everywhere you go, people smile and wave. She's one of the few female tour guides in the country. She can tell you as much (or as little) as you want to know about ruins but really knows her stuff when it comes to culture, politics, food, shopping, and getting around. One of my favorite times is when a local weaver was trying to add to the price of something and she scolded him about trying to take advantage of a tourist. She is uber patient too and takes you to places not in any guide book.

Travelled in with friends

User Image Review submited by Eugenia

women's history specialist

Reviewed July 9, 2014

toured with Aicha with OAT in 2009 just before the up rising. Her knowledge of history was amazing; especially of the role of women in its establishment over the ages. She took us to off the beaten path places and even arranged a Turkey dinner for us on our Thanksgiving day. It was a big surprise for us. We had wild turkey, potatoes, vegetables and dessert. Her knowledge of Americans was delightful. Of special interest ,was a trip to the hammum bath in Hammamet . She arranged for the women to go for the cultural yet common place, life experience of all Tunisian women. It was an opportunity to see the real life, of local women, and to experience it with them. We found it to be relaxing and invigorating. In the Sahara we got to ride over the desert in an ultra lite air craft, and of course ride the camels in the dunes. Additionally, we met her family, and Mother cooked a traditional Tunisian meal for us at her home. We hiked camped, toured, swam, ate, and generally enjoyed 3 wonderful weeks with Aicha. I would gladly travel with her again.

Travelled in with friends