--- title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Djerba, Tunisia | Wimup" description: "Djerba, Tunisia in one page: El Ghriba, the Djerbahood murals, Guellala's potters, Ajim's Star Wars cantina, plus beaches, food and how to get around." url: https://wimup.com/city/djerba type: City guide updated: 2026-09-04 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10 Things To Do in Djerba Djerba, Tunisia · Africa · By Wimup Editorial, 14 min read Most visitors arrive on a package flight and stay on the sand at Sidi Mahrez. The island rewards anyone who drives inland: potters at Guellala, a Roman causeway to the mainland, and a Star Wars cantina still standing in a fishing village. ## Quick answer Djerba is Tunisia's largest island and its most layered. Whitewashed villages and fortress mosques earned it a UNESCO listing in 2023, El Ghriba is the oldest synagogue in Africa, Erriadh is a street art museum in the open air, and the east coast is one long shallow beach. Give it four days and a hire car. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** Apr · May · Oct - **Ideal length:** 4 days - **Budget per day:** $45–95 - **Language:** Arabic, with Djerbi Berber still spoken in the south - **Getting around:** Hire car, yellow taxis, buses between the towns - **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://www.discovertunisia.com/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## The 10 best things to do in Djerba ### 1. El Ghriba Synagogue Synagogue · Erriadh (Hara Sghira), about 7 km southeast of Houmt Souk Held to be the oldest synagogue in Africa, on a site used for Jewish worship for around 2,500 years, though the building you walk into dates from the late 19th century. Blue tiles, low arches and a congregation that still prays here. Expect a security check at the gate. - **Time:** 45 min - **Cost:** Ticketed - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** Closed Shabbat and Jewish holidays ### 2. Djerbahood Street art · Erriadh village lanes, off the Houmt Souk road In 2014 the Itinerrance gallery brought about 150 artists from 30 countries to spray more than 250 murals onto Erriadh's whitewashed walls, and a second wave added more in 2022. Some have weathered badly, which is part of the point. Park at the edge and walk the side lanes. - **Time:** 1–2 hr - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Late afternoon - **Tip:** Combine it with El Ghriba ### 3. Houmt Souk medina Old town · Houmt Souk centre, around the covered souks and the fondouks The island's main town and its market: covered lanes of silver, wool and spice, caravanserais turned into cafes, and the fish auction down at the harbour. Monday and Thursday mornings are the weekly souk, when the place trades for locals rather than performing for visitors. - **Time:** 2 hr - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Mon or Thu morning - **Tip:** Prices fall away from the main lane ### 4. Borj Ghazi Mustapha Fort · Houmt Souk waterfront, north of the medina Ottoman work over an older Spanish castle, and the best preserved fort on the island. A monument built of Spanish skulls from the 1560 battle stood on the shore beside it until 1848. The ramparts hand you the harbour, the fishing fleet and the north coast in one turn. - **Time:** 45 min - **Cost:** Ticketed - **Best at:** Late afternoon - **Tip:** No shade on the walls ### 5. Guellala pottery workshops Craft village · Guellala, south coast, about 20 km from Houmt Souk Djerba's clay village, and still a working one: wheels turning in open sheds, amphorae stacked along the road, wood-fired kilns out the back. Buy here rather than in the Houmt Souk tourist shops. Djerbi, the island's Berber language, is what you will hear on this street. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Free to browse - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** Cash, and haggle politely ### 6. Ajim Fishing port · Ajim, west coast, at the ferry terminal for El Jorf A working sponge and octopus port, and the streets George Lucas dressed as Mos Eisley in April 1976. The cantina exterior was a bakery and is now a ruin; the hut used as Obi-Wan's home sits about 3 km north on the Sidi Jmour road. Neither is signposted. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** Ask at the port for directions ### 7. Djerba Explore Park Park & museum · Route Touristique, Midoun Three things on one site: a crocodile farm holding several hundred Nile crocodiles, the Lalla Hadria museum of Islamic art, and a reconstructed Djerban village. It is the island's one answer to a wet day and the most reliable stop with small children. - **Time:** 2–3 hr - **Cost:** Ticketed - **Best at:** Feeding time - **Tip:** Village and museum keep different hours Links: [Website](https://www.djerbaexplore.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 8. Fadhloun Mosque Mosque · On the road between Houmt Souk and Midoun A fortress in the shape of a mosque: blunt white walls, a stubby minaret and cisterns inside, built to hold out against a raid from the sea. Dated to 1279 and restored, it is the clearest example of the defensive architecture that got the island its UNESCO listing. - **Time:** 20 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Golden hour - **Tip:** Photograph it from the road ### 9. Ras R'mel (Flamingo Island) Sandbank · Sandspit off the north coast, boats from Houmt Souk port A sandspit rather than an island, reached by the pirate-ship boats that leave Houmt Souk port in the morning and return mid-afternoon. Flamingos feed here between November and March and are gone all summer, so book it for the water and the sandbar, not the birds. - **Time:** Half day - **Cost:** Boat trip - **Best at:** Nov–Mar - **Tip:** Take shade; there is none out there ### 10. Sidi Jmour Shrine & beach · West coast, north of Ajim on the coast road A white marabout on an empty stretch of the west coast, used as a Star Wars location and still the best place on Djerba to watch the sun go down. Nothing here but the shrine, the rocks and a few fishing boats. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Sunset - **Tip:** No shops, no shade, bring water ## Best beaches in Djerba Where the sand actually is, and what each stretch is for. 1. **Sidi Mahrez** (White sand · Resorts · Northeast): The island's widest white sand, backed by the hotel zone and shallow a long way out. 2. **Aghir** (Dunes · Quiet · East): Kilometres of golden sand behind dunes and palm groves, and quieter than the hotel strip. 3. **Seguia** (Lagoon · Kitesurf · Southeast): Flat lagoon water on the southeast tip, and the beach the kite schools work from. 4. **Ras R'mel** (Sandbank · Boat · North): The sandspit off the north coast, reached by boat and worth it out of season. 5. **Sidi Yati** (Shallow · Quiet · Southeast): A long shallow bay on the southeast coast, near empty once the excursion boats leave. ## Best heritage sites in Djerba The buildings UNESCO put on the list in 2023, and the one it did not. 1. **El Ghriba Synagogue** (Synagogue · Ticketed · Erriadh): Africa’s oldest synagogue, still in use, at the centre of a spring pilgrimage. 2. **Fadhloun Mosque** (1279 · Free · Midoun road): Dated 1279, and built to be defended as much as prayed in. 3. **El May Mosque** (Mosque · Free · El May): One of the most heavily fortified mosques on Djerba, and a listed monument. 4. **Sidi Yati Mosque** (Mosque · Free · Near Guellala): A coastal watchtower with a prayer hall attached, above the southwest shore. 5. **Borj Ghazi Mustapha** (Fort · Ticketed · Houmt Souk): The Ottoman fort on the Houmt Souk waterfront, and the island’s best preserved. ## Best villages in Djerba Five settlements that each do one thing, spread thin on purpose. 1. **Houmt Souk** (Main town · North): The island’s town: souks, fondouks, the fish auction and the fort. 2. **Midoun** (Market town · East): Second town and market capital, with the weekly souk locals actually use. 3. **Erriadh** (Village · Art · Centre): The old Jewish village, now half pilgrimage site and half open-air gallery. 4. **Guellala** (Potters · South): Clay, kilns and Djerbi Berber, on the quiet south coast. 5. **Ajim** (Port · West): Sponges, octopus pots, the Jorf ferry and a ruined Star Wars cantina. ## Best restaurants in Djerba Four kitchens in and around Houmt Souk, none of them in a hotel. 1. **Haroun** (Seafood · Port · Houmt Souk): Fish straight off the harbour boats, served on a deck over the water. 2. **El Fondouk** (Tunisian · Courtyard · Houmt Souk medina): Tunisian cooking in the arched courtyard of a restored caravanserai. 3. **Baccar** (Tunisian · Since 1957 · Houmt Souk): In the same family since 1957, and now run by its fourth generation. 4. **Le Petit Marin** (Seafood · Beach · Coast): Djerban home cooking and grilled fish on a near empty beach. ## Best crafts & markets in Djerba The four places where something is still produced or traded. 1. **Guellala workshops** (Pottery · Free · Guellala): Wheels, wood-fired kilns and roadside amphorae, bought from the maker. 2. **Midoun weekly market** (Thu–Fri · Midoun): Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, and a working market rather than a souvenir one. 3. **Houmt Souk souk days** (Mon & Thu · Houmt Souk): Monday and Thursday mornings, when the covered lanes trade for the island. 4. **Ajim sponge quay** (Sponges · Ajim): Sponges landed and dried at the port, sold by the people who dived for them. ## Best water sports in Djerba Flat water, steady afternoon wind, and a boat trip everyone takes. 1. **Djerba lagoon kitesurfing** (Kitesurf · Mar–Nov · El Kantara): Waist-deep flat water over a wide lagoon, which is why the schools cluster here. 2. **Aghir and Seguia schools** (Kite · Wing · Southeast): Shallow, forgiving water on the southeast tip, with reliable afternoon wind. 3. **Diving off the north coast** (Diving · Sidi Mahrez): Centres in the hotel zone run out to shallow reefs and wrecks. 4. **Pirate-boat day trips** (Boat · Half day · Houmt Souk port): The Ras R'mel boats: lunch aboard, a swim stop and an hour on the sandbar. ## Best day trips in Djerba Four mainland runs, in rising order of how long the day gets. 1. **Zarzis** (About 1 hr · Mainland): Straight over the Roman causeway for olive groves and an emptier coast. 2. **Matmata** (About 2 hr · Mainland): The underground Berber houses, about two hours by road from the causeway. 3. **Tataouine and Chenini** (About 2.5 hr · Mainland): Fortified granaries, then a village stacked up a ridge in the ksour country. 4. **Ksar Ghilane** (About 3.5 hr · Mainland): A hot spring at the edge of the Sahara, roughly three and a half hours each way. ## Festivals & annual events in Djerba (2026) - **El Ghriba pilgrimage** (Apr–May): Lag BaOmer, 33 days after Passover. Jewish pilgrims from across the world converge on Erriadh, under heavy security. - **Ramadan** (Feb–Mar): Daytime cafes close and the island runs late into the night. Hotel restaurants keep normal hours throughout. - **Eid al-Fitr** (Mar): The end of Ramadan. Families travel home, the ferry queues build, and workshops shut for two or three days. - **Midoun spring festival** (Apr–May): Horse parades, folk music and a staged traditional wedding through the island’s second town. - **Eid al-Adha** (May–Jun): Sheep are bought and slaughtered at home. Expect a quiet island and closed workshops for several days. - **Republic Day** (25 July): A national holiday. Offices and museums close for the day; the beaches carry on as normal. - **Djerba Ulysses Festival** (Jul–Aug): Concerts, dance and theatre across Houmt Souk, named for the Odyssey stop the island claims. - **Guellala pottery festival** (Summer): Kilns lit, demonstrations and stalls the length of the potters’ street on the south coast. ## Must-try dishes in Djerba, Tunisia - **Rouz jerbi**: The island’s own dish: rice steamed in a couscoussier with octopus or lamb and herbs. - **Couscous with fish**: Grouper or sea bass over semolina, with the fish sauce cooked separately. - **Kabkabou**: Fish stewed with tomato, capers, olives and preserved lemon. - **Grilled octopus**: Caught in clay gargoulettes off the coast, then grilled with little more than oil. - **Brik à l’oeuf**: A whole egg folded into pastry and fried. Eat it fast and lean forward. - **Ojja**: Eggs broken into tomato and harissa, usually with merguez in the pan. - **Salade mechouia**: Grilled peppers and tomatoes crushed with garlic and oil, topped with tuna. - **Bambalouni**: A ring doughnut fried to order and rolled in sugar, sold at the souk. ## Djerba transport & airports - **Djerba-Zarzis International Airport** (DJE): The island has its own airport, at Mellita about 9 km from Houmt Souk, and it is how most visitors arrive. There is no airport bus: take a taxi or a transfer booked with your hotel. [Website](https://www.oaca.nat.tn/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - **Ajim to El Jorf ferry** (FERRY): Car ferries cross the western strait between Ajim and El Jorf through the day, roughly every half hour. Foot passengers travel free and cars pay a token fare in dinars. - **El Kantara causeway** (ROAD): The Roman causeway runs about 7 km from the island’s southeast corner across to Zarzis. It is the only road link, there is no toll, and it is the sane way in with a hire car. - **Taxis and island buses** (LOCAL): Yellow metered taxis are cheap and everywhere in Houmt Souk. Regional buses link the three towns from the Houmt Souk station, but a hire car is what makes the interior reachable. ## Djerba at a glance - **Country:** Tunisia - **Region:** Medenine Governorate, off the southeast coast in the Gulf of Gabes - **Population:** About 184,000 across the island (2023 estimate), roughly 79,000 of them in Houmt Souk - **Founded:** Settled since antiquity; the low-density village pattern UNESCO listed took shape from around the 9th century - **Nickname:** The island of the Lotus Eaters, after the stop Homer describes in the Odyssey - **Language:** Arabic is official and Tunisian Arabic is spoken; Djerbi, a Berber language, survives around Guellala, and French is widely used - **Currency:** Tunisian dinar (TND), a closed currency: it cannot legally be taken in or out, so change what you need and keep the receipts - **Time zone:** UTC+1, with no daylight saving - **Calling code:** +216, with no city codes and eight-digit numbers - **Airports:** Djerba-Zarzis International (DJE) at Mellita, about 9 km from Houmt Souk - **Power:** 230V, 50Hz, sockets of types C and E - **Emergency:** 197 police, 190 ambulance, 198 fire and civil protection, 193 national guard ## Interesting facts - UNESCO listed Djerba in 2023 for its settlement pattern: self-sufficient neighbourhoods spread thin across a dry island. - El Ghriba is held to be the oldest synagogue in Africa, on a site used for Jewish worship for some 2,500 years. - Ajim played Mos Eisley in the first Star Wars, shot over two days in April 1976. - The island has no permanent watercourse. Rain was collected in household cisterns, which is why the villages sit so far apart. - The El Kantara causeway to the mainland is Roman in origin and still the island’s only road link. ## Djerba travel FAQ ### How many days do you need in Djerba? Four. Two for the coast and the boat trip out to the sandbar, one for Houmt Souk and Erriadh, and one to drive the south: Guellala, Ajim and the west coast shrines. Add a fifth if you want a mainland desert day. ### Is Djerba worth visiting beyond the beach? Yes, and that is the argument for going. UNESCO listed the island in 2023 for its villages and fortress mosques, El Ghriba is the oldest synagogue in Africa, and Erriadh holds more than 250 murals. None of it is on the hotel strip. ### When is the best time to go to Djerba? April, May and October. July and August reach the low thirties and the island is at its busiest; winter is mild but the sea drops to about 15°C. Flamingos are on Ras R’mel between November and March. ### How do you get around Djerba? Hire a car. The island runs roughly 30 km across, the sights are spread deliberately thin, and buses only really link the three towns. Yellow taxis are cheap for short hops inside Houmt Souk. ### Can you visit the El Ghriba synagogue? Yes, outside Shabbat and Jewish holidays. There is a security check at the gate and modest dress is expected, shoulders and knees covered. It sits in Erriadh, about 7 km southeast of Houmt Souk. ## Nearby guides - [Sousse](https://wimup.com/city/sousse.md): Tunisia · 10 picks - [Tunis](https://wimup.com/city/tunis.md): Tunisia · 10 picks - [Constantine](https://wimup.com/city/constantine.md): Algeria · 10 picks - [All of Africa →](https://wimup.com/africa): 67 cities Part of the [Tunisia guide](https://wimup.com/country/tunisia.md) · [Africa](https://wimup.com/africa.md) ## Sources - [Djerba tourism board](https://www.discovertunisia.com/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Djerba Explore Park (official site)](https://www.djerbaexplore.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Djerba-Zarzis International Airport (official site)](https://www.oaca.nat.tn/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.