Official Tunisia.com Blog

After moaning about the food I better give credit where is it due and the crossing itself was very smooth and on time. Once we arrived in Tunisian waters the police setup a passport control desk on the 6th floor and I was able to do the passport procedure there.
Once we arrived the exit was a smooth as the entry and we progressed to the police and the customs section.

I was stuck in customs for over two hours as I debated the cost of having my flat TVs with me. I managed to get the demanded tax down from 700 to 500 dinars however I was told that this was still too much but at the end of the day it was this or leaving a fragile bit of equipment there which I did not want to do.

I was assisted by a man who spoke English as I was kept behind for another 5 minutes as he begged me for money no settling for anything less than 20 dinars which really annoyed me.
My tips for customs.

• Don’t show them things unless prompted as maybe they will miss things as they are a bit lazy.
• Do not show money as it seems that the exercise is to remove money from you and do not make the mistake I did of having money in a bundle as people see it and then try and beg at the end. Have 10 dinars or so loose if possible and if you have to change money in the customs do so so nobody can see.
• Prices are negotiable I was asked for 700 and then paid 500 however I was told that 300 would be possible.
• When you have a car make sure that all the documents are in your name as this was a pain as the car was German and the customs folks didn’t understand the export papers all that well.

Thanks be to god I got out and met Hajer and Sara at the exit and we drove to Bizerte for a deserved relax.