Southernmost Oasis · Hot Spring & Dunes
A hot spring at the edge of the erg.
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The Experience
A warm pool, a dune field on three sides and a Roman fort in the sand — in one stop.
Getting to Tunisia's southernmost oasis, and what to do once you are there.
The oasis can be reached on asphalt by the Matmata road, but the eastern approach past Beni Kheddache and Guermassa is still stony track and sand. Tours from this island run 4x4s so they can take that route and drive out onto the dunes.
The pool is spring-fed, warm all year and open to anyone. It is what guests write about most, ahead of the film sets. There is nowhere on site to hire a swimsuit or a towel.
The Roman fort sits under a kilometre into the sand — a frontier post on the limes Tripolitanus, built no later than the reign of Commodus. Tours give free time here rather than a guided visit.
Camel and quad rides are sold at the oasis and are almost never in the tour price. Bring dinars, or decide in advance you are not doing them.
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Photo Gallery
Palms, the spring pool, the dune field and the fort in the sand.
Same destination, different amounts of it.
| Feature | SMALL GROUP Small-Group 4x4 via Matmata | Day Trip via Ksar Hadada | Extended Oasis Stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 342 ratings at 4.6 / 5 | More than 1,700 ratings at 4.8 / 5 | 162 ratings at 4.7 / 5 |
| Time at the Oasis | An afternoon with lunch | 3 hours | Extended free time |
| Other Stops | Toujane, Matmata, Berber family | Ksar Hadada, Guermassa | Matmata and the Sidi Driss set |
| Hot Spring Swim | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vehicle | 4x4 or SUV, small group | 4x4 | Small-group 4x4 |
| Cave Houses at Matmata | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pickup | 6am, Djerba and Zarzis | About 6am | Early morning |
| Starting Price | From $69 per person | $69 per person | $68 per person |
| Free Cancellation | ✓ Up to 24 hours before | ✓ Up to 24 hours before | ✓ Up to 24 hours before |
| Check Availability | Compare | Compare |
More Options
Different routes, lengths, and prices — all with free cancellation and instant confirmation.
MOST REVIEWEDA full day from Djerba to the Ksar Ghilane oasis by 4x4, taking in the Ksar Hadada film location and the hilltop village of Guermassa on the way.
CHEAPEST OVERNIGHTThe cheapest way to sleep in the Tunisian Sahara from Djerba — two days by 4x4 through Tataouine, Chenini and Ksar Ghilane with a night at a desert camp.
SMALL-GROUP 4X4A small-group 4x4 day trip from Djerba and Zarzis to Ksar Ghilane, with the Berber mountain village of Toujane and the Sidi Idriss cave hotel at Matmata.
BERBER VILLAGESA day across the Dahar from Djerba: the Chahbania salt lake at first light, the Tataouine market, and the hilltop Berber villages of Chenini and Douiret.
LONGEST OASIS STOPA slower small-group 4x4 day from Djerba, built around long free time at the Ksar Ghilane oasis with Matmata and a Star Wars set on the way.
SHORTEST 4X4 DAYThe shortest run on this site that still reaches real sand: the Tataouine ksour, desert track to the Ksar Ghilane oasis, and a full menu lunch — in eight hours.
SUNSET & SUNRISEA late start, a night in a desert tent and both a Saharan sunset and sunrise — with Ksar Hadada, the Chahbania salt lake and the Ksar Ghilane hot spring either side of it.
PRIVATE TOURThe private version of the Star Wars circuit: eleven hours, Chenini and three ksour, with entry to Ksar Hadada and the Sidi Driss cave hotel included in the price.
The Southernmost Oasis
A warm spring, a Roman frontier post, and the point where the plateau gives out and the sand sea starts.
Ksar Ghilane is the most southerly oasis in Tunisia and one of the most practical Sahara destinations from Djerba. It sits on the eastern limit of the Grand Erg Oriental, the line where the stony Dahar plateau stops and the sand sea starts, and it combines palms, dunes, a thermal spring, camel rides, quad biking and desert camps in one place. That is why almost every desert itinerary sold on Djerba ends up pointing at the same handful of palm trees.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can you visit in one day? | Yes |
| Better overnight? | If the Sahara is a priority |
| Main attraction | Oasis and dunes |
| Hot spring | Yes |
| Camel rides | Yes |
| Quad biking | Yes |
| Desert camps | Yes |
Yes. It sits on the edge of the Grand Erg Oriental. However, the oasis itself is developed and receives many day tours. For more open desert, move beyond the central palm area: fifty metres past the last tent there is nothing but sand.
The oasis is fed by a warm source, and the pool it feeds is open-air, palm-shaded and swimmable through the year. In the reviews for these tours it comes up more often than the Star Wars sets do, so keep that in mind if you are choosing an itinerary on the film stops.
The stops vary a lot in length. The most-reviewed tour gives it three hours; the Djerba and Zarzis small-group route deliberately drops other stops to buy extended free time here. An hour is enough to look at the water. Three is enough to be in it.
Bring swimwear and a towel if you want to get in, whether or not the tour description mentions them. Do not treat it like a spa: the attraction is the desert-oasis setting, not the facilities. The hot spring guide covers the water, what to bring and how long to spend there.
Walk among the palms first, and take a few minutes to slow down before you add any activities. Then walk out into the dunes: you do not need to pay for a ride to be in the Sahara, and it is easy to spend a whole visit around the cafés and the pool without ever leaving the oasis.
Camel rides range from short tourist experiences to longer journeys into the dunes. They are sold at the oasis and almost never included in the tour price, so check the duration before paying.
Quad rides let you cover more ground quickly. They are often optional extras, paid at the oasis on the day like the camels.
A short walk out into the sand stands Tisavar: a Roman castellum built no later than the reign of Commodus, a border post on the western stretch of the limes Tripolitanus, the line the empire drew along the edge of the desert. It is under a kilometre from the palms and most tours leave you free time instead of guiding you to it, so it helps to know what you are looking at before you set off across the sand.
Not every short camel or quad ride reaches it, so ask before you pay if the fort matters to you.
Ksar Ghilane is about four hours from Djerba by road. The oasis can be reached on asphalt from the road between Matmata and Douz, and an ordinary car can make it with care. The eastern approach, from Beni Kheddache and Guermassa, leaves the tarmac for stony track and sand, and that is the way the Ksar Hadada itineraries come in. It is why the tours from this island run 4x4s and jeeps, and why the day is ten hours, not seven. From Hammamet or Sousse it is not a day trip at all.
Easiest for most Djerba visitors: hotel pickup across Djerba and Zarzis, a driver who knows the tracks, lunch and usually a guide, for $68 to $87 a day on the tours below.
Best for flexibility. You choose the stops and how long to spend at the oasis, so agree the time on the ground before you set off.
Possible to the established oasis on the asphalt road by way of Matmata. Park at the edge of the oasis instead of driving into the sand, and leave the desert tracks and any dune driving to experienced local drivers.
A day trip is realistic but long. You will spend about four hours driving before reaching the oasis, and the same again on the way back. Once there, you may have time for:
Keep the itinerary simple. One day is enough for the oasis, the dunes, one activity and lunch; trying to fit in the spring, a camel ride, a quad ride and the fort usually means doing all of them in a hurry.
Stay overnight if the Sahara is a major priority. The 1-day or 2-day guide compares the two in detail.
Yes if seeing the Sahara is important to you. Less so if you dislike road trips and are only mildly interested in the desert, in which case the shorter Tataouine and Chenini day, about two hours out, may suit you better.
Ksar Ghilane has established camp accommodation, and camp standards range from basic to comfortable. Before you book an overnight, check:
The desert camps guide goes through what a camp night is like, and the 2-day tours page compares the overnight trips.
A strong combination if you want both Sahara scenery and Star Wars and troglodyte architecture: the cave houses at Matmata and the underground Hotel Sidi Driss. The Ksar Ghilane or Matmata guide weighs the two if you only have time for one.
A good option if you want dunes plus ksour and villages: Ksar Hadada and the hilltop village of Guermassa on the way down, then the afternoon at the oasis.
Ksar Ghilane is more practical from Djerba. Douz makes more sense on a longer route, usually paired with Tozeur over two or more days.
The small-group 4x4 to Ksar Ghilane and Matmata is the pick if you want the oasis and the cave houses in one day. A 6am start, the Toujane mountain pass, rosemary tea and homemade bread with a family still living underground at Matmata, then the afternoon at the spring. $69, rated 4.6/5 from more than 330 reviews, and the operator runs jeeps, not buses, which keeps the group small enough to change the plan. Our full breakdown.
The most-reviewed itinerary on this site is the same price and takes the eastern line instead: Ksar Hadada, Guermassa, then three hours at the oasis. 4.8 out of 5 from more than 1,700 guests, by a wide margin the most-rated desert tour departing this island. Our full breakdown.
The eight-hour 4x4 at $87 is the shortest day that still reaches the sand, and the jeep route via Matmata at $85 adds the Sidi Idriss hotel and a licensed guide.
For the night instead of the afternoon, both overnight tours build around this same oasis: the 2-day 4x4 tour with a desert-camp night at $48 and the sunset and sunrise tent night at $144.
October to April is generally easiest for sightseeing. Summer can be extremely hot: average highs at Tataouine reach about 38°C in July and August, against about 27 to 30°C in April and October. The month-by-month guide has the detail.
Take:
In high season there are people in the pool. The oasis is touristy, but that is also why it is easy to visit. What there is not is a resort: the camps are low, the palms are real, and past the last tent there is nothing in any direction. Reviews that mention crowds still rate the stop highly, and usually in the same sentence.
For a short Djerba holiday, a full-day Ksar Ghilane tour is enough. If the Sahara is a major priority, spend one night and experience the desert after the day visitors leave.
Guest Reviews
Ratings and review counts are the tour operators' live figures on GetYourGuide and may shift slightly day to day.
"A wonderful experience, unique places that we didn't expect to see. Our guide, Riyadh, made the difference. He is a great professional, knowledgeable, smiling, and very cultured. We will never forget him. Special thanks to Waalid, who transported us in the best way possible!!!!"
"A really great day trip from start to finish! Everything was perfect. I highly recommend quad biking in the desert; it was an incredible and unforgettable experience. A big thank you to Montana, who was super nice, funny, and always in a good mood! He gave us lots of great tips and really helped make the day even better. We also ate really well; everything was very good! Thank you for this wonderful experience. I recommend it 100%!"
"Our tour guide Neder was excellent, and we also learned a lot about life in Tunisia. The trip was exactly as described in the offer. We took a camel ride in the desert, and it's a great experience. We highly recommend it; it was a great experience."
"Greetings to Mr. Montana and the driver – great people, down-to-earth, easy to talk to and with a wealth of knowledge. The tour passed in a pleasant atmosphere and provided us with a wealth of knowledge. I definitely recommend it!"
"An unforgettable day. Many thanks to Mohamed, our guide, and to the driver. We came from Djerba; the journey was a bit long, but it was worth it! Quad biking in the dunes and a little swim in the oasis at Ksar Ghilane. The various encounters with the local Berber people were so enriching! The only downside was the several stops during which we had to take out our dinars (coffee, tea, drinks at the oasis, stop in Toujane). We highly recommend it. Our teenagers aged 13 and 17 loved it!!!"
"A great experience. I highly recommend this activity, with the live guide who speaks several languages fluently, the 4WD driver Aymen who explained everything to us well, and we also took some beautiful photos during the stops. A very pleasant day! Thank you very much!"
"Our guide, Montana, was very friendly and entertaining. The driver was very safe, and you could tell that the two of them made a good team. We saw a lot, even if it was (of course) the full tourist program. You can probably skip the hot springs and the Star Wars hotel, but it wasn't bad either."
"Thank you to Fakher for his kindness, his smile, his availability, and his sharing, which allowed us to discover the unusual places of Tunisia."
Read all 342 verified reviews
See All ReviewsA 6am pickup in Djerba or Zarzis, the Toujane mountain pass, tea with a Berber family at Matmata, then the oasis and the hot spring — in a 4x4 with a small group, not a coach. From $69. Starting from $69 per person.
Check Availability & BookThe spring, the fort, the drive, and what the extras cost.
Yes. The oasis is fed by a warm spring and the open-air pool is swimmable year round — it is the thing guests write about most, ahead of the film sets. Pack a swimsuit and a towel even on a day trip; the most-reviewed of these tours gives you three hours there.
About four hours each way. The oasis can be reached on asphalt by way of Matmata and the Douz road, but the eastern approach past Beni Kheddache and Guermassa is stony track and sand, which is why the tours from the island run 4x4s.
Yes. It is a palm oasis fed by a warm spring, on the eastern edge of the Grand Erg Oriental, and the dunes start just past the last tents. It is developed for visitors, with cafés, camps and activity stands, but that is also what makes it easy to reach from Djerba.
Tisavar, a frontier castellum built no later than the reign of Commodus as a post on the limes Tripolitanus — the line the empire drew along the edge of the Sahara. It sits under a kilometre from the palms, and most tours give free time rather than a guided visit, so it helps to know what you are walking to.
Almost never. Both are offered at the oasis and paid there on the day. The fare covers transport, the guide, lunch and — on some itineraries — insurance.
The $69 4x4 via Ksar Hadada is the most-reviewed, with more than 1,700 ratings and gives the oasis three hours. The $69 small-group tour via Toujane and Matmata is the pick if you want the cave houses in the same day. The $68 Djerba and Zarzis route deliberately trades stops for a longer stay at the oasis.
Yes, but that is also why it is easy to visit. In high season the pool has people in it. There is no resort — the camps are low and the palms are real, and fifty metres past the last tent there is nothing in any direction. Reviews that mention crowds still rate the stop highly.
Yes for a first visit. A day trip gives you time for the dunes, the spring, a camel or quad ride and lunch, though it is a long day with about four hours of driving each way.
Yes. The oasis has established desert camps, ranging from basic to comfortable, and the 2-day tours from Djerba sleep there. A night lets you see the desert after the day visitors leave.
Still have questions? Email us at info@djerbadeserttours.com
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