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Djerba the hot – after its big role in Star Wars, Faima Bakar finds the Tunisian island is truly out of this world, with amazing weather for most of the year and some beautiful beach spots
Just off Tunisia’s southeastern coast is an island mixing year-round Mediterranean sunshine with a melting pot of cultural delights. It’s a place where whitewashed buildings, dreamy soft sand beaches, and turquoise waters blend with colourful souks and Star Wars film fantasy… so it’s surprising Djerba has been under the radar for many travellers until now.
But with the launch of easyJet holidays’ package tours to the island at the end of last year, it’s now arousing the interest of curious holidaymakers who want more than a fly-away-and-flop break and don’t fancy the bustle of Djerba’s neighbouring holiday hotspots.
Leaving its Star Wars fame till later, I began my exploration into the delights of the island at its capital, Houmt Souk, meaning “the market neighbourhood”, with a wander around its maze-like streets lined with cafes, restaurants, jewellers and souks.
Here you’ll find Djerba’s finest products such as olive oil, harissa, carpets and handmade pottery. Go out of season as I did and sellers lower prices to as little as 10 dinars (£2.50) for beautiful plates and bowls.
Soaking up the sights, sounds and spices in the sunshine can be thirsty work, so seek out former inn Fondouk dating back 380 years, which is now an extremely instagrammable restaurant and cafe. With white walls, blue doors and dotted with woven lamps, it provides good coffee and a cool retreat from the streets outside.
In February when I was there, Djerba was enjoying highs of 21C, making it a great winter sun destination. So you’ll want to spend time on its amazing beaches such as Plage de Sidi Mahrez and Plage El Hachen. You can even have camel rides.
From Djerba Marina, you can take a boat trip to Flamingo Island, a serene nature reserve on a peninsula where hundreds of these beautiful wading birds can be found in winter. Fans of the classics will know it is thought to be the mythological island in Homer’s Odyssey that is home to the lotus-eaters.
Here, according to the Ancient Greek poet, the islanders ate a honey-sweet fruit that kept them in a dreamlike state making them never want to leave. After a blissful sunny day on Djerba’s gorgeous beaches, I got the same feeling.
Once you’ve dipped your toes into island life, you’ll be ready to discover its history – locals rejoiced when Unesco added Djerba to its list of World Heritage Sites in 2023. While in Houmt Souk take in the Mosque of the Turks with its striking white facade, minaret and multiple domes. Constructed in the 16th century, it’s a national Tunisian monument. Then venture out to the waterfront to Ghazi Mustapha Fortress, a striking 14th century sea fort considered a fine example of Ottoman military architecture. Explore the museum then marvel at the sweeping views over the Med from the bastions.
From there head to the Haroun restaurant for excellent fish dishes as well as traditional Tunisian brick – a filo pastry served with potatoes, herbs and vegetables.
The El Ghriba Synagogue in the Jewish village of Hara Sghira is Africa’s oldest, dating back more than 2,000 years, and is a place of pilgrimage with an imposing interior richly decorated with bright blue columns, multicoloured tiles and stained glass. For an in-depth look into Djerbian and Tunisian heritage, visit the Museum of Guellala, set on Tassida Hill, the highest point on the island. Its 30 rooms detail festivities, arts and crafts, as well as Tunisian wedding traditions.
And not so historic but just as alluring for Star Wars fans is the prospect of a guided day trip to lots of the movies’ locations.
Hordes of devoted Jedheads regularly flock to landmarks and hotels, designed as traditional Berber troglodyte underground buildings, that George Lucas used to create Tatooine in Episode IV: A New Hope.
In the port of Ajim on Djerba, there is Chalmun’s Cantina, which served as the backdrop for the famous Mos Eisley Cantina (where Han Solo shoots Jabba the Hutt’s bounty hunter), as well as Ben’s House, the place where Luke Skywalker discovers the true identity of Ben Kenobi.
In Matmata on mainland Tunisia, reached from Djerba via a Roman causeway, you’ll find the Hotel Sidi Driss which stood in for Luke Skywalker’s childhood home in the original movie and was seen again in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Spread over several pit courtyards connected by underground tunnels, much of the original set is still there.
Another location is the town of Tataouine in Tunisia, where you can check out Ksar Hadada, with its atmospheric maze of courtyards and alleyways, which served as Anakin Skywalker’s slave quarters in The Phantom Menace.
Between film locations, Mabrouk restaurant in the Chenini Berber Village is a pleasant lunch stop serving traditional couscous and chicken dishes.
My base for the trip was the five-star Radisson Blu Palace Resort and Thalasso, where I stayed in a balcony suite overlooking the Gulf of Gabes. The Athenee Thalasso & Spa is one of the biggest on the island for you to get that squeaky clean feeling with a hammam treatment. The hotel has five restaurants ranging from buffets to traditional Tunisian dining.
There’s also a jolly Irish pub, cocktail bar and a shisha lounge – and a chorus of birdsong at dawn and dusk that can be heard all through the hotel as birds soar through the courtyard.
Djerba is a dreamy off-the-radar destination waiting to be discovered.
And you don’t have to be a Star Wars fan to love it.
Book the holiday
- easyJet flies from Luton to Djerba, Tunisia, from £43 one-way. easyjet.com
- easyJet holidays offers seven nights on all-inclusive at the Radisson Blu Palace Resort & Thalasso in Djerba from £863pp, with flights from Luton on May 10, 23kg baggage and transfers. easyjet.com/en/holidays
- More info at discovertunisia.com
