Guided Enduro trip Tunisia Sahara

On our organized motorcycle trips to Tunisia, we always start on Saturday morning around 5:00 am from Tübingen to the ferry port in Genoa, where we load the remaining motorcycles of the participants who arrive at the ferry port on their own wheels. At 3:00 pm (2 hours before departure), we meet at the ferry area. All participants receive premade entry and customs forms including ferry and cabin tickets from us. We have enough time to secure the remaining motorcycles on the trailer for the crossing and to stow your luggage in the support vehicle. The scheduled departure of the ferry is always set for 5:00 pm, which according to Tunisian time means that it will be closer to 7:00 pm before the ferry departs. Nevertheless, you should be at the ferry port at least 2 hours before departure (3:00 pm) to comfortably complete all formalities. After settling into the cabin, we meet for dinner and discuss the next day as we will every evening.

After breakfast, we meet for the tour briefing of the enduro tour through Allah’s Garden. During the travel briefing, riding behavior and tour procedures as well as the can and cannot of the riders are discussed. In the afternoon, we dock in Tunis. After leaving the ferry and customs via 'express processing', we drive to our accommodation in Hammamet (about 70 km). For the motorcycle tours organized by the tour operator OVERCROSS in Tunisia, the transfers for the motorcycle trip participants are always organized in such a way that they must fly in optionally on Saturday or at the latest on Sunday for the pre-meeting. After an extensive dinner on Sunday evening at the hotel, we will discuss the tour and coordinate the equipment, providing participants with the remaining information for the next day's tour.

Today we say goodbye to luxury. The motorcycle group rides over a connecting stage on asphalt past the outflows of the Atlas Mountains to Tozeur, where we pitch our first campsite after the first long riding day. Our camp is located here in a beautiful palm grove above Tozeur, from where you have a fantastic view over the Chott el Jerid. Since we arrive in Tozeur only in the late afternoon, there is only time to cook and have a beer or two before we crawl tired into our tents and dream of tomorrow when we first hit the sand.

Today's day is somewhat short at about 60-70 km, but is perfect for getting a first feel for riding in Tunisian sand. The sand loop around the old Star Wars filming location Mos Espa is still moderate in difficulty but gives a first insight into the coming days in the desert. Here we will have a small sand training for the upcoming days and prepare you for the toughest dune stages of the Sahara. Couch potato was yesterday, the adventure begins now! On our way back to Tozeur, we travel along a fascinating and scenic route along the Chott Er Rahim, which is 17 meters below sea level. Back in Tozeur, there is still plenty of time for coffee and tea in the city before returning to the camp. As every evening, we cook together and make a campfire to relax at the end of the day.

Today we have to cover some distance again to reach the beautiful oasis town of Douz by the afternoon, which is also known as the gateway to the desert. We ride on a beautiful approximately 80 km long sandy track along the Chott el Jérid. We will cross the salt lake /Durqueren depending on the water level and the optimal weather conditions for motorcycle travel through Jott El Jerid. One of the legendary motorcycle off and on-road stages leads past the site of combat actions from the Second World War, where the legendary General Claus Schenk Graf von Staufenberg lost his left eyesight due to a shell splinter. Depending on the dynamics of the tour and the interests of the participants, we will either set up our motorcycle camp at the warmest spot in Tunisia OR alternatively, we will set up our campsite at the most beautiful camping site in Tunisia in a small town that holds the title 'the Gateway to the Sahara', and spend one to two nights. A vacation day by measure, showers, camping under palm trees, and an extensive dinner by the campfire.

Today is a free day for you that can be used to check out the market in Douz, which takes place every Thursday, or simply to relax and gather strength for the next days when we dive into the desert. We stock up on supplies and fill the enduros and reserve canisters with fuel before continuing to drive to the tabletop mountain Tembain the next day.

Today we will dive into the Sahara for the next 5 days and be completely self-sufficient. Depending on the size of the group, the size of the motorcycles, and the riding skills of the participants, we will adjust the tour course for the next days accordingly. If the riding skills of the group are good enough, there is a consideration to ride out to the lost lake, Lac Houidhat Erreched, a hot spring which is about 90 km straight line from Douz and not very easy to reach. The days in the desert will bond us together: shoveling, riding, tipping over, picking up, revving up, and experiencing the vastness of the Sahara. These days will guaranteed be the most impressive experiences we will reflect upon in the evenings under the 1000-star hotel under the open sky.

The Tembaine is a prominent tabletop mountain and landmark in the desert and will be our first stop. Those who have the desire and stamina can climb it and have a great view of the entire area along with all surrounding tabletop mountains like Large and Small Dekanis, el Mida, or Gour Kleb. Today's path is sandy; however, the dunes are still small and easy to navigate, with small dune fields alternating with rocky plains.

The dunes are slowly getting higher, and the first key points appear that we need to overcome. Passing the tabletop mountain of Small Dekanis, we continue to the large Dekanis. The area consisting of several tabletop mountains is our goal for today, where we will set up our tents among the dunes in the late afternoon, make a fire, cook, and consider whether the path to the lost lake will be feasible with the group or not.

Depending on how the past days went, we will either make a detour to Lac Houidhat, which is still about 25 - 30 km from here, or continue directly to el Mida from here. Both are beautiful routes but with different levels of difficulty.

Today also has a lot in store for us. We leave the area of the tabletop mountains and continue towards the oasis Ksar Ghilane, which unfortunately has increasingly turned into a tourist trap in recent years, complete with resorts, camel riding, and quad rentals. We will only pay a short visit here with a possible bath in the hot spring, then spend the night outside the oasis because it is simply nicer and, above all, much quieter.

From Ksar Ghilane, we will drive to the nearby Roman fort the next day before returning to Douz into civilization. The former fortress and barracks is now just a stone ruin, but worth a visit as the way there is another thin but very easy to navigate.

Depending on how we get through the desert, we have built this day as a buffer. If everything goes according to plan, we will still ride over sandy stone tracks to Matmata today and spend our last night in a tent in this beautiful mountain village. In a nearby restaurant, we will once again savor the typical Tunisian delicacies before embarking on the long connecting stage back to Hammamet tomorrow.

Today we will begin our return journey to the north. The long connecting stage towards Hammamet is monotonous and paved, but luckily we have our beautiful memories of the last days with us to keep us entertained. In the afternoon, we arrive at the hotel in Hammamet and enjoy the contrast between palm trees, pool, and sea.

Every adventure comes to an end, and so today we drive back to Tunis with heavy hearts to say goodbye to this multifaceted country at the ferry port La Goulette. For participants flying back, an airport shuttle is organized, and for the others, it's time to board the ferry and head to the bar :)

Return trip ferry Tunis to Genoa, which we as a motorcycle tour operator have been using since 1999.