Soccer and handball, the most followed sports
Soccer. Soccer is the king sport! The Eagles of Carthage, the national team, unleash passions throughout the country when they are out. Especially when they qualify for major international competitions. The Eagles have participated 5 times in the World Cup, including the last one in 2018, and have had great runs in the African Cup of Nations (CAN). Finalists in 1965 and 1996, they won the trophy in 2004 on their land against Morocco. Then, after a series of ups and downs, the Tunisians will return to the forefront and once again reach the semi-finals at the 2019 edition. On the club side, the two Tunisian teams, Esperance Sportive and Club Africain, are the most popular and most successful in the country. The derbies of the capital are hot!
Handball. Handball is the collective sport in which Tunisia is the most competitive at the international level, since it is among the very good world nations. Ten times African champions, the Eagles regularly qualify for the Olympic Games and the World Championships (where they finished 12th in 2019)
Very popular board games
It is very common to see men playing backgammon or dominoes in cafés at the end of the day. Tunisians also play a lot of cards, including belote and the two most popular card games: scopa, a game of Italian origin, and rummy.
A diving destination
The country's waters are full of unusual places and surprising bottoms. They are among the most fishy and best preserved in the Mediterranean basin and about 200 wrecks are listed along the Tunisian coast! The best dives are done from May to October. The underwater fauna is represented by dolphins, groupers, sars, breams, rays and sponges. Underwater hunting is regulated and grouper hunting is strictly forbidden. Tunisia is the ideal destination to start diving: proximity, diversity of fauna, flora and wrecks.
You can easily book your dives on site. If you prefer to take a complete package, many agencies specialized in diving offer you stays at affordable prices. The supervision in most of the centers is carried out by C.M.A.S. certified instructors.
Region of Tabarka. The reputation of the ancient Thabraca was built on the beauty of its corals and the abundance of its groupers. With more than twenty sites, diving is the main activity here. Everywhere, the protection of the seabed has favored the evolution of an abundant and colorful fauna and flora. But we can mention the pigeon cave, a site rich in fauna with rocky bottoms from 3 to 15 meters deep and ideal for beginners, the numerous tunnels with walls full of gorgonians and inhabited by groupers, lobsters and wolves, or the grouper rock, a site full of gorgonians, sea urchins of different colors, big octopuses, moray eels and, as its name indicates, grouper that are not very shy and that can reach up to 40 kg! Moreover, the city hosts every year the Coralis festival, an international festival of marine and underwater images (formerly the underwater photography festival) which takes place in early September.
Galite Island. More than 50 km away from the nearest coast, the island is located at 3 hours of navigation from Tabarka. The archipelago consists of seven islands with similar names, the main ones being Gallo, Galline, Galiton and Galite. It is the most northern point of Tunisia. Between the mainland and the islands, no depths greater than 200 m are recorded. Divers know well the wonderful surroundings of this archipelago, the last den of a colony of monk seals, unique in the Mediterranean and of course protected (they usually camp on the island of Galiton). As such, the Western Galiton has been classified since July 1980, by order of the Ministry of Agriculture, as an "integral natural reserve".
The archipelago is home to a large number of rare, endemic and threatened species. It is of major importance in terms of biodiversity. Among these species are: the endemic brown seaweed, a biological indicator of pure waters, the red calcareous seaweed which indicates the presence of a facies of maerl threatened, the large bivalve endangered, gastropods, bio-indicators of the coasts of the western Mediterranean and the lobster, which is fished at a rate of about thirty tons annually. According to the Barcelona Convention, the archipelago is currently classified as a specially protected area of Mediterranean importance.
As in the region of Tabarka, coral (especially beautiful red corals) can be found around the island of Galite.
East coast. In Kelibia, there is a large number of wrecks. In Hammamet, there are a few spots to start and beautiful wrecks like the Alaz or the Takrouna. On the Nabeul side, you can dive at the Odysea rock to see groupers or the Salome wreck which lies at 18 meters
Other interesting sites in Tunisia are Bizerte, Port El Kantaoui, Monastir, Mahdia, Djerba and Zarzis (wrecks, caves, rocky bottom...).
Water sports galore
Kitesurfing. The island of Djerba is becoming a reference for kitesurfing in the Mediterranean basin. The best spots are located there and centers offer courses and equipment rental: an excellent way to discover or perfect this sport and at very low prices. Most of the kite clubs are located between Aghir and El Kantara in the southeast of the island. The wind is almost always on shore, so there is no problem to take off the kite and we often have foot in the lagoon. In short, ideal conditions!
Water sports. As in all the big seaside tourist destinations, it is obviously possible to practice water sports on the whole coastline: jet-skiing, water-skiing, wakeboarding, parasailing, towed buoys, etc. The beach days will be busy!
Fishing. In Sfax, in the Kerkennah Islands, in Djerba or in the Gulf of Gabes, it is possible to go fishing with local people. Beautiful fish, octopus or sponges are on the program! No permit is required.
