Alhambra Thalasso Review – My 5 Day Stay In Hammamet Tunisia – How Was It?

After my whirlwind trip through Italy, it was nice to finally slow things down with this much needed break in Tunisia, and In this post – My Alhambra Thalasso Review – I’ll share what it was really like spending five days at this all-inclusive resort in Hammamet, plus my own short story of how I ended up here after a missed ferry, a VERY long bus ride, and a lot of mosquito bites!

Please Keep reading For My Top Tip To Get Rid of The Irritation From Mosquito Bites! and How To Get a Taxi / Transfer from the Airport in Tunisia for the Cheapest Price Possible!

Now, without further ado…

Do I Regret Staying All Inclusive?

For me, staying all Inclusive is not really my thing at all. This was only my 2nd time EVER doing this – and the amount of times I’ve travelled away in the past 9 years – it’s pretty mad really how I have managed to avoid places like this for so long, but for sure – paying almost £500 somewhere for just shy of a week is not really what I do.

Budget travel is much more my thing but on this occassion I definitely made my peace with it.

It was mostly (if not fully) because my Sister had booked herself to stay here too. I never would have booked here otherwise if I’m being honest. Even though I was looking at Tunisia after going to Morocco earlier in the year because I thought you could also see wild monkeys here (alongside Algeria and Gibraltar).

I since learned you can’t (see wild monkeys here) and actually my sister never ended up coming but I still decided to come and If you read my Italy to Tunisia Ferry Blog Post (see here) you will see it was quite a mission for me.

It was an idea that I really could have just gave up on. The money I could have made go a lot further but now I have stayed here – I definitely would recommend it. Even though, as I mentioned already paying over the odds to stay somewhere (for not even a week) isn’t my style in most cases.

Although, I do suppose for what I got it was good value for money really if I am being fair.

It was nice to go for a bit of luxury for a change. As much as I hated spending what I did with getting here and all the rest – £83 a night for the room and all the taxis etc. – I really liked the place and I would definitely come back to stay here again without a doubt.

Leaving Italy For Tunisia

Now, Just to recap (If you didn’t read my last post) – getting here was a LOT of hard work. I had to go from Rome to Salerno for a ferry which I missed. Then I had to go all the way to Milan – travelling for 12 hours on a coach overnight and then I had to stay awake for the whole day after until I got on my plane.

The whole experience honestly was pretty exhausting. In fact, the whole week before was quite bad as well with sleepless nights, early mornings and lot’s of rushing around (and recovering from hangovers because I was drinking too much) but I was quite happy in the end with how this all came to be.

Getting To Alhambra Thallaso From Tunis Airport

This did not really take me too long at all to get from the airport to the hotel. When I think of other times like in Malaga and Serbia, and actually Prague (the last time I was here) when this process took absolutely ages this was not like this at all.

On this occasion I can’t have been in the airport any longer than 20 minutes. I connected to the airport WIFI first of all, sorted out some cash, got some mobile data and then ordered a Taxi with the InDrive app.

It was a bit annoying in a way – as when I got my Tunisian money out it said what it would cost me on the App and the driver seemingly agreed to this but when I got in the Taxi he told me it would be a lot more.

💡 Travel Tip: Always agree on the final fare in the InDrive chat before getting into the taxi. Even if the app shows a price, confirm it in writing first.

My driver wanted 180 TND (about £45 GBP). I hesitated at first as it was a lot more than the price on the app, but it seemed fair for the long drive here. Although, worst part we were stopped at a police checkpoint. The driver was fined for not having proper paperwork for tourist pickups — something I didn’t even realise could happen, and he wanted me to cover part of the fine.

I didn’t do this. For me there is no worse feeling than getting into a new country and it costing you top dollar for one thing after another. Besides the only cash I had was what I got out the ATM – the amount me and the driver both agreed on before setting off.

He did get me here quickly and safely though. Really it would have been nice to tip him at least but I just couldn’t justify it. It was his error and I just wanted to get inside so that I could finally rest and relax properly after such a hectic past week.

My First Impressions of the Alhambra Thalasso

Walking into the hotel that first night (around 10:00 p.m.) was such a relief. After all the dodgy hostels, early mornings and long journeys – stepping into the calm, spacious lobby was a very much needed upgrade.

The receptionist I found very friendly here. I didn’t catch her name but she was trying her best to help me for my whole stay here. I know she was only doing her job but she really seemed to want to make sure I had the best stay, and I was able to make use of all the facilities.

Besides this probably the best part of that first night was just having my own room for a change. It was very nice, clean, tidy and had everything here I needed to make myself comfortable, and actually just relax.

It was nice to just get here take a shower and go to bed without having to worry about other people in the room, snoring too loud or being disturbed in the night.

I know maybe I could have got this at any hotel but this place did seem like it had something good about it.

🏨 The Room and Facilities

The room was spotless, the décor elegant, and very spacious with a balcony overlooking the outside of the hotel. There was 2 comfy beds (one for me and one for Teddy) and after the shockingly rubbish places I had to stay at in Italy this was miles better. On a completely different level.

Although, I did have cleaners coming in my room every day. On one occassion I went out and came back to the beds made with Teddy as he is in the picture. I imagine this person was laughing her head off doing this. Definitely, I see the funny side but it did seem they took him out my bag which I think was a bit naughty.

🍽️ Food & All-Inclusive Dining

The next morning, I discovered what would become one of the highlights of my stay: the food. Honestly, I think it was the best I’ve eaten in months — a mix of Tunisian and Mediterranean dishes, fresh salads, grilled fish, and a whole lot more.

They even had Calamari Squid Rings which I thought was a surprise. I wasn’t too adventurous with some of the other food put out like the Tagines for example but I definitely was not disappointed.

The waiters were very good and polite as well. Every time my drinks finished I was being asked if I wanted a refill. It is kind of the dinner service you don’t expect but still can really appreciate.

🏖️ The Beach

One of the first things I did on the first morning at Alhambra Thallasso was to head outside to explore. I didn’t actually know that I would find this beach just 5 minutes but wow I am glad I did.

The hotel’s private beach was stunning. The sea was warm, the sand soft, and best of all — I didn’t have to worry about leaving my belongings while swimming. The staff at the bar here had no problem with looking after my bag which gave me the perfect opportunity to take a dip in the sea.

It turned out to be the perfect remedy after being bit so many times by the insects In Italy. My body was covered in bites head to toe. I was itching like mad when I got here to the hotel in Tunisia but I thought this might help and it sure did.

Sea water is packed with minerals like Iodine, which can help the skin and Irritation. There does not seem to be a lot of scientific studies to back this up available online but I would say just try it because it helped me massively!

Going Out In Yasmine Hammamet

Shamefully, for me the worst part was I didn’t do much outside of the Alhambra Thallaso. Besides going to the beach I never booked any tours or really went anywhere else besides the shops. The only place of any significance was actually somewhere I wanted to come to Tunisia to go to – even before I actually started booking for this trip.

Visiting Friguia Park Zoo

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On my second day in Tunisia, I took a trip to the Friguia Zoo Park . This is about a 30 minutes drive away from the hotel. It is located near Bouficha, Tunisia, approximately 70 km south of Tunis and 25 km north of Sousse.

I really would have loved for my little niece to have come here — she loves animals — so it was sad she never ended up coming on this holiday but even going alone, I still quite enjoyed it, and I still got to show her the photos.

🐅 What to Expect At Friguia Park?

Entry was only 15 TND (around £6 GBP), although my taxi cost was 55 TND each way (110 TND) plus a 10 TND waiting fee. Factoring in everything – this wasn’t really cheap at all to come here and get back but It was one of those things I was happy to do.

After looking at this before online and kind of fantasysing about it being a wild monkey refuge it was a kind of full circle moment to actually get to this place. Even though it was nothing quite like I initially thought it was after reading about it from AI descriptions lol

The zoo isn’t huge, but it’s well-designed. Walkways cross above the lion, tiger, and hyena enclosures, so you get great views.

They even had white tigers and white lions. Both species that can only be found in captivity. They have quite a lot of them here – although I couldn’t help feeling the mix of species (including a lion-tiger enclosure) was a bit odd. It looked like my maybe it was set up for an inter species breeding program – (Liger / Tigon).

Visiting Friguia Park For The First Time

And talking about breeding. The Giant Tortoises – I shall say no more. I could not help but laugh. The noises for one. I didn’t know they could make such a racket.

So, that was one thing. It wasn’t quite the “wild macaques in the mountains” experience I’d imagined — like in Morocco’s Ouzoud, but it was cool in its own way.

I felt like it was still very much worth the visit. The Ostriches were full of character, and seeing the Barbary macaques again (even inside their enclosures) brought back memories of Morocco and Gibraltar, and it meant there was more Oh oh ah ahs to tell my baby niece about.

Sadly, there were no Giraffes, Elephants, or Dolphins here. The latter I was most disappointed by. According to Google they had Dolphins here up to 2016 but they had to find them new homes due to financial problems. The Giraffes/Elephants I don’t know what happened to them but it seems like they may also have been moved on due to the costs of keeping such large animals.

Lazy Days By the Beach & My Spa Misadventure

I was definitely being quite boring on this trip. Besides going to the Zoo, eating my 3 free meals a day (which, may I add, was (I’m sure) the best I’ve eaten in a long time) – there was only going to the beach again (Not every day like I told myself I would) and one day where I went in the swimming pool.

The only other thing was I told myself I wanted to give the Spa facilities a go.

The receptionist who I mentioned at the start of this post was doing her best to persuade me to give this a try. It wasn’t that I was against the idea but I was just a bit shy about it all. I was putting this off and putting this off until I finally decided to go for it on the day before my last.

Finally Plucking Up The Courage To Go In!

I walked in and not sure what I was expecting really. There was a group of older women in Swimming costumes waiting. It was silly because I was thinking I’d go in and it would be just me – a youngish man – and these ladies who must have been 60+ years old.

A very awkward encounter possibily but really I didn’t know what I was doing.

It would have been my first time in a Spa. I’ve heard great things about these places but really I had no idea what I was walking in to, so I ended up just walking out.

I was thinking maybe I would have ended up in a hot tub in a steam room or something but I was just given a pamphlet in FRENCH for all the services and how much they cost. It was just so confusing – I didn’t know what to do and I definitely wasn’t looking to spend money on premium services after already paying my all inclusive fee.

Not My Finest Hour

So, I came here thinking the Spa was free to use. It looks as if somethings are and others aren’t (check out the facilities here).

For me It was just making me feel a bit embarrased and nervous. I think if my sister had been here as originally planned then I maybe would have been alright and actually done something like this but I just basically chickened out at the thought of it.

They actually said in the end that if I wanted to (for free) I could use the sauna that it was next to the restaurant. That was funny because I never did actually find it. It must have been somewhere but god knows where and it certainly wasn’t where I actually ended up in some mysterious part of the hotel for staff only (I think it was the boiler room or something lol).

I just felt so stupid and with that I just thought I’d go for a swim in the pool and leave it at that.

Returning to the Zoo (Yet, Again!)

Struggling for Ideas of what to actually do for the rest of my stay – I actually went back to Friguia Park for a second visit. Maybe it was silly, but I wanted to see the giraffes and elephants I’d missed 2 days before (spoiler: they’re no longer there), and I suppose it was just kind of admitting defeat to doing something more exciting.

It was a bit different this second time. One thing was that there was a calypso band playing — they sounded so much like the Baha Men that I half-expected them to break into Who Let the Dogs Out. I mean what are they even doing now. Could they now be relying on gigs like this for an income after their short lived fame and only ever being famous for this one single song?

 Where To Stay In Yasmine Hammamet (Other Than Here)

Yasmine Hammamet is one of Tunisia’s main resort areas, built in the late 1990s as a purpose-built seaside destination with dozens of hotels, a marina, restaurants, and attractions like Carthage Land theme park.

If you’re planning a trip here but want to compare a few options before booking, these hotels are among the most popular choices in the area.

2. Royal Tulip Taj Sultan

Best for: Beachfront all-inclusive stays

Located close to the marina, this resort offers classic resort facilities including pools, restaurants, and entertainment. It’s a popular option for package holiday travellers who want everything in one place.

Highlights:

• Beachfront location
• Large pool complex
• Close to Yasmine Hammamet Marina

4. El Mouradi Hammamet

Best for: Affordable 5-star resort option

A large beachfront resort with multiple pools, restaurants, and entertainment. It’s often priced slightly lower than some of the other luxury hotels, which can make it good value for money.

Highlights:

• Large beachfront property
• Multiple restaurants and bars
• Good value compared with other 5-star hotels

Leaving Tunisia & Final Thoughts

Saying goodbye to Tunisia was bittersweet. The people were friendly, though the shopkeepers could be a bit intense. I was quite sad to leave. Hammamet had its charm, especially the sea and the food. It was the most relaxing week I’ve had in a long time and I really could have done with another week here.

I had to go back to Italy for a night on the way back as well. It was like being back in hell all over again. The hostel was saying I had to be there for 11pm but there was all sorts of problems making me later and later, I got to the area at about 11:45 and then I see the email – my booking was cancelled.

It was very worrying but I was let in, and I got a new booking, but it was not the most cosy of places. The bunk bed I had to sleep in – the top bunk was so low that I kept banging my head. It was like my karma for rubbing peoples noses in it with me going on holiday yet again.

I got back OK the next day though. This was the main thing. It really was no trouble and I got back at a reasonable time in the day too. Just what a trip away it was and YES is the answer.

Would I stay at the Alhambra Thalasso again? YES ABSOLUTELY

I came here expecting just a few lazy days by the pool, but left thinking Tunisia deserved a lot more of my time — and next time, I’ll be sure to bring my sister, my niece, and maybe even book that massage I chickened out of.

💡 Travel Tips for Staying at Alhambra Thalasso

• Transfers: Use the InDrive app for taxis, but confirm fares in the chat first.
• Spa access: Treatments aren’t included in the all-inclusive price, so check the menu and book in advance.
• Beach: Bring reef-safe sunscreen — the sea water is lovely and helps soothe mosquito bites!
• Day trips: Friguia Park Zoo is 30 mins away, or visit Hammamet’s medina and Kasbah for local culture.