If it's tranquillity and beautiful beaches that you are after, then the quit fishing town of Mahdia or the secluded island of Kerkennah might be just what the doctor ordered. The peaceful atmosphere means that both have retained their charm and are ideal for families who like an uncluttered "back to basics" kind of holiday with activities like beachcombing, scouring the rock pools for crab and catching fish for supper.
The hotels in Mahdia can organise water sports and there is a good riding stable in the grounds of Hotels Cap Mahdia. A new diving school is also operational.
Kerkenak is composed of two principles, Gharbi and Charguia, and of habited islets, the archipelago rises near the bac coming from Sfax. We taste there the simple pleasure of the sea - bathing and the sun-bath. The ancestral activity here is fishing in the water of the gulf clear and full of fish.
El Jem was no doubt a thriving Roman agricultural region producing both olive oil and wheat and the grandiose coliseum, second only in size to that of Rome itself, attests to its wealth. Arriving at this small city from Sousse or Sfax, the sight of this amphitheatre rising in the distance like a Colossus is both wondrous and slightly strange, as the present surroundings give no hint of its former importance.
 

Cultural Events & Festivals :
 - Mermaid Festival (July)
 - International Festival of Symphonic Music El Jem (July/August)