by Fiona Thompson

Created on: January 24, 2008   Last Updated: January 25, 2008

Hammamet is one of the most popular holiday resorts in the North African country of Tunisia and as such there are plenty of tour companies offering package deals.Flying time from the UK is around four hours and packages to Hammamet usually involve flying to the airport at Monastir just to the south of Hammamet. The coach transfer to Hammamet takes roughly an hour depending on which part of the resort you are staying in. Hammamet is basically made up of three distinct areas - Hammamet Yassmine (or Hammamet Sud), Hammamet Plage and Hammamet centre (confusingly, this is not in the middle, it is just the town centre!)

Hammamet Yaassmine is the first part you hit and this is the vey new part of town, massive hotel complexes, high rises and quite glitzy. The biggest hotel here opened just before we visited and the rep told us that it had already made it's way into the top fifty hotels in the world. However, they couldn't fill the hotel and most of it's visitors had just been guests from more modest hotels going in for a look around. This hotel is designed to look like a huge, white North African fortress or casbah - I hated it!

There didn't seem to be many restaurants in this area - I wondered whether it was because most of the hotels here are offering fully inclusive packages. There is a small area on the edge of Hammamet Yassmine as you approach Hammamet Plage with a few bars and restaurants. While not particularly great or even Tunisian in style, it seems to be quite lively.

Hammamet Plage (plage being the French word for beach), is the next part of the resort and this is where we stayed. The area is quiet and there are enough restaurants and cafe-bars to serve the cluster of hotels without making the area too busy and spoilt. There are some pizza/pasta places which also do steaks and other international dishes and there are a few restaurants that, amongst a wide international menu, also do good Tunisian fish dishes.

There are a series of larger hotels here which have their own access to the beach and some have their own roped off area with private sun-loungers. However, there is still plenty of beach to enjoy and these private areas are quite small. The beach at Hammamet Plage is lovely - clean, golden sand, wide expanses and you can walk for miles. Locals young men walk up and down the beach trying to sell soft drinks and fruit but they don't seem to pester you that much.

The water is shallow for a fair distance and then becomes steeper so is good for both adults

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